This walking trail will lead you from Ridgefield School along Mill Road into the Market place in the heart of Cambridge, exploring the important stories along the way including the coming of the railway, the Poor House at Ditchburn Place and the Coronation Feast on Parker's Piece and give you insights into the Cambridge Coat of Arms, the story of football, and much more!
You can see a preview or the trail and route below or download a pdf version HERE
Michael Rosen has composed poems about Cambridge people and places pinned to the history trail which Historyworks has recorded with some new songs performed by local primary children to entertain you on your journey. The trail lasts approximately 90 minutes.
Audio Trail downloadable in MP3 format available on the web at: www.audioboom.fm/historyworks
© Historyworks 2017.
This trail & accompanying audio have been devised and produced by Helen Weinstein, to whom all suggestions for revisions should be directed (historyworkstv@gmail.com).
Narration of the trails by Michael Rosen. Michael Rosen is a poet, novelist, broadcaster, famous for his poems like 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt', 'Chocolate Cake', and for this project his poems include 'The Fitzwilliam Lions' and 'Coldham's Common'. Photos from Cambridgeshire Collection, the National Railways Museum and Historyworks.
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A) Ridgefield - Victorian School
<p>The new building was officially opened on 1<sup>st</sup> October 2003 but it developed from two older schools. These were Romsey School and the Sedley Infants School, with …
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B) Coming of the Railway
<p>The first successful railway locomotive train ran in 1804 and Stephenson’s Rocket was designed in 1829. Railways then started to expand across the UK. Eventually the …
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C) Cambridge Bath House
<p><span class="Apple-converted-space">The Bath House on Mill Road was once a place where local people would visit to wash, as everyone did not have mains water like …
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D) Ditchburn Place - Victorian Workhouse
<p><span>Ditchburn Place is the oldest surviving building on Mill Road and opened as a Victorian workhouse in 1838. The workhouse took in people who were not …
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E) The Two Mills of Mill Road
<p><span>There have been two famous Mills on Mill Road. The street was originally named because of the windmill that was for milling grain to bake bread …
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F) Parker's Piece
<p><span>Parker's Piece is one of Cambridge's most famous open spaces, named after college cook, Edward Parker. Originally part of Trinity College, it was acquired by Cambridge …
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G) Sedgwick Museum
<p><span>The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences was founded in 1904 in memory of Adam Sedgwick. It was designed as a working museum where research could also …
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I) Unsung Women
<p><span>In 1897 the Victorian women of the University of Cambridge got rather fed up with not being allowed to graduate like their male classmates. Therefore on …
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H) The Fire of 1849 in Market Square
<p><span>On the night of Saturday 15th September 1849 there was a huge blaze which came to be known as the Great Fire of Cambridge Market. It …
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Other Points of Interest