Trumpington Local History Group Trumpington Timeline: 1901 - 1950

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Edited by Andrew Roberts Trumpington's history in the first half of the 20th century, including the incorporation of the village into Cambridge, the spread of housing and increase in population and the impact of the two world wars. One of a series of pages with Trumpington's timeline.

Sketch of the proposed design of the Village Hall, April 1907, drawn by Walter Brierley. Source: Village Hall archive.

20th century For fuller information, see 20th Century Trumpington, published by the Trumpington Local History Group in June 2000. This was written by Shirley Brown, with research by Arthur Brookes, Peter Dawson, Ken Fletcher, Michael Hendy, Margaret Marrs, Liz Maloney and Nicholas Wise. Sources of information: Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington. Local History Group web page: Group publications

Front cover, 20th Century Trumpington.

1901 Census carried out on 31 March, population of Trumpington 1084. Sources of information: The Victoria History of the Counties of England (1948). The History of the County of Cambridge & the Isle of Ely. Volume II, page 138. Local History Group web page: 1901 Census of Trumpington.

early 1900s The village begins to extend to the south, with new housing built on the north east side of the road to Great Shelford (later called Shelford Road). Sources of information: Local History Group web page:

Shelford Road from the junction with the High Street and Hauxton Road, with the first houses on the left, c. 1920. Photograph: reproduced in Trumpington in Old Picture Postcards, 25.

Extract from the Inland Revenue Land Value map for Trumpington, 1910-11, showing the cemetery. Reproduced by permission of Cambridgeshire Archives, file 470/047, sheet XLVII.10.

1907-08 In 1907, an appeal was launched for subscriptions to fund a village hall. Trumpington Village Hall (Trumpington Men’s Institute) was designed by York architect Walter Brierley and built in the centre of the village, on the east side of the High Street. The opening meeting in the new hall was held on 22 October 1908. Sources of information: Village Hall archive. The Victoria History of the Counties of England (1982). A History of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely, Volume VIII. Armingford and Thriplow Hundreds. Trumpington, page 251. Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington. Pages 3-4. Local History Group web page: History of the Village Hall

The subscribers who supported the building of the Village Hall, 1907. Source: Village Hall archive.

1908 Percy Robinson appointed Master of the Church School. Sources of information: Local History Group web page: Education and schools in Trumpington

1909-11 The government ordered a national Land Valuation survey, the results of which were published in 1910-11, including a map and schedule with details of the occupier, owner and status of each plot of land. The map is the 1901-03 Ordnance Survey 1:2500 map, annotated in 1910, with information for Trumpington assumed to have been collected in 1909-10. Sources of information: The Commissioners of Inland Revenue (1910). Duties on Land Values. Record of Valuations Made by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue ... Valuation Book for the Parishes of Coton, Dry Drayton, Grantchester and Trumpington. (Cambridgeshire Archives, file 470/047.)

Extract from the Inland Revenue Land Value map for Trumpington, 1910-11, showing the Tally Ho. Reproduced by permission of Cambridgeshire Archives, file 470/047, sheet XLVII.10.

1909 Rupert Brooke moves to The Old Vicarage, Grantchester, and writes the poem ‘The Old Vicarage, Grantchester’ while reminiscing in Berlin, including the lines: ‘At Over they fling oaths at one, And worse than oaths at Trumpington’ Sources of information: Caesar, Adrian (2008). ‘Brooke, Rupert Chawner (1887–1915)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Local History Group web page:

1911 Census carried out on 2 April, population of Trumpington 1269 people. Sources of information: The Victoria History of the Counties of England (1948). The History of the County of Cambridge & the Isle of Ely. Volume II, page 138. The Victoria History of the Counties of England (1982). A History of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely, Volume VIII. Armingford and Thriplow Hundreds. Trumpington, page 251. Local History Group web page: 1911 Census of Trumpington.

1912 Up to this date, the historic parish of Trumpington had been administratively separate from Cambridge. The first of two major boundary changes was implemented in 1912, with a considerable area of the parish to the north of Long Road being incorporated in Cambridge Borough (497 acres out of an historic area of 2312 acres (527 people), leaving 1815 acres). Sources of information: Darby, H.C. (1938). A Scientific Survey of the Cambridge Region. London: British Association. Page 178. The Victoria History of the Counties of England (1948). The History of the County of Cambridge & the Isle of Ely. Volume II, page 137. The Victoria History of the Counties of England (1982). A History of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely, Volume VIII. Armingford and Thriplow Hundreds. Trumpington, page 248.

1914-18 The impact of World War I: a Role of Honour was established in the Church to recognise everyone who took part in the fighting and a plaque was erected in the Village Hall. Thirty seven soldiers who died during the War or as a result of their wounds were commemorated by the War Memorial (dedicated in 1921). One of the first casualties was Francis P. Campbell Pemberton, killed during fighting in Belgium in October 1914, remembered by a memorial by Eric Gill in the Church. In later years, three brothers from the Wilson family (Whitlocks Yard) were killed. Sources of information: Curme, Phil (2000). World War I and II Role of Honour, Trumpington War Memorial. Pevsner, Nicholas (1970). Cambridgeshire. The Buildings of England. Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, pages 8-9. Local History Group web page: The Wilson Brothers.

The War Memorial in the Village Hall, dedicated to ‘Men of Trumpington who served in the Great War 1914-1918’. Photo: Stephen Brown.

1918 Fisher Act of 1918 made secondary education compulsory up to age 14. Local History Group web page: The Education system in England.

1919 Two British princes lived at Southacre House, Latham Road: Prince Albert, who became George VI, and Prince Henry, who became the Duke of Gloucester. Sources of information: Renfrew, Jane M., Renfrew, Magnus A. and Rose, John K. (1996). Rus In Urbe. Chaucer Road and Latham Road: the History of Two Rural Roads in Cambridge. Local History Group web page: Developing Chaucer Road and Latham Road.

c. 1920 Foundation of the Trumpington Branch of the Women’s Institute. Sources of information: Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, page 12.

1919-21 Fund-raising, creation and dedication of the War Memorial on Cross Hill at the junction of the High Street and Church Lane. The base of the earlier village cross (c. 1475) was discovered during the erection of the War Memorial. The memorial was designed and carved by Eric Gill and dedicated on 11 December 1921. It is now a Grade II* listed structure. Sources of information: Curme, Phil (2000). World War I and II Role of Honour, Trumpington War Memorial.  Pevsner, Nicholas (1970). Cambridgeshire. The Buildings of England. Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, page 12. The Victoria History of the Counties of England (1982). A History of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely, Volume VIII. Armingford and Thriplow Hundreds. Trumpington, page 251. Local History Group web page: Trumpington War Memorial.

Photograph from the brochure about the dedication, 11 December 1921. Original held by Shirley Brown.

Decorative relief on the south face of the War Memorial: portrait of a soldier. Photo: Arthur Brookes, 1997.

The unveiling of the War Memorial, December 1921. From a photograph used by Percy Robinson during lectures in the 1920s-1940s.

1920s Walter E. Dring was born in Alpha Terrace in 1912 and grew up in Trumpington. He wrote his reminiscences of 1920s Trumpington in 1974. Sources of information: Dring, W.E. (1974). Trumpington – Fifty Years Ago. Local History Group web page: Trumpington Fifty Years Ago

1920s A notorious period of ribbon development along Shelford Road, including low-cost prefabricated bungalows. There was a concern that this type of development would lead to the spread of Cambridge into the countryside, with the Cambridge Preservation Society being formed to fight urban growth. Sources of information: Local History Group web page:

1921 Census year, the population of Trumpington was 1627 people. Despite the transfer of the northern part of the parish to Cambridge Borough in 1912, this figure is apparently the total for the original area (unlike in 1931, when the boundary change had a dramatic effect on the population figure). Sources of information: The Victoria History of the Counties of England (1948). The History of the County of Cambridge & the Isle of Ely. Volume II, page 138.

1921 Building of the Evelyn Nursing Home on a site to the east of Trumpington Road. The hospital was founded by C. Morland Agnew. It was sold and renamed the Nuffield Hospital in 2003. Sources of information: Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, page 12. Mann, Sheila (2005). A Wonderful Thing for Cambridge. The Evelyn Hospital, 1921 to 2003.

The Evelyn Nursing Home. From a photograph used by Percy Robinson during lectures in the 1920s-1940s.

1922 The Royal Show was held in Trumpington in July 1922, on a site to the north of Long Road, near the railway lines. The site even had its own railway station. Sources of information: Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, page 12-13. Local History Group web page: The Railways of Trumpington, 1845-2010.

Schematic Plan of Royal Show Station, 1922, courtesy Railway Magazine. Source: Edmund Brookes.

1923-24 The Village Hall was extended, with the addition of a second hall and a committee room built in memory of Canon and Captain Pemberton, more than doubling the size of the original building. The new rooms were opened on 28 February 1924 by Sir Clifford Allbutt. Sources of information: Village Hall archive. Local History Group web page: History of Trumpington Village Hall, 1920s.

The Village Hall, after the 1924 alterations, with the entrance to Manor Farm to the left. From a photograph used by Percy Robinson during lectures in the 1920s-1940s.

1925-43 Percy Robinson, the local school teacher, began to give lectures about Trumpington and its history. He died in post in 1943, aged 65. Sources of information: Copy of lecture notes and photographs held by Local History Group. Local History Group web page:

1931 Census year, the population of Trumpington was 820 people. Following the transfer of the northern part of the parish to Cambridge Borough in 1912, this figure is the population in the reduced area. Sources of information: The Victoria History of the Counties of England (1948). The History of the County of Cambridge & the Isle of Ely. Volume II, page 138.

1934 The second major boundary change came into effect in April 1934 when most of Trumpington was incorporated in Cambridge Borough. The centre of the village became part of Cambridge, while 382 acres of ‘virtually uninhabited’ land was transferred to Haslingfield (the area to the north of Long Road had been transferred in 1912) (total area transferred 1439 acres, 1179 people). Sources of information: Darby, H.C. (1938). A Scientific Survey of the Cambridge Region. London: British Association. Page 178. Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, page 19. The Victoria History of the Counties of England (1982). A History of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely, Volume VIII. Armingford and Thriplow Hundreds. Trumpington, page 248.

1936 Demolition of the original Red Lion public house, followed by the construction of a new pub, c. 1939. Sources of information: Local History Group web page: The Red Lion public house

The Red Lion and the War Memorial. Source: Cambridgeshire Collection, Cambridge Central Library. Reproduced in Trumpington Past & Present, p. 72.

1939-45 The impact of World War II on the local area. The Village Hall was used as a canteen for school dinners and the Air Raid Precautions unit set up a feeding centre in case of enemy attack. Evacuees from St James School, Muswell Hill, set up a schoolroom in the Hall and the British Legion and Women’s Institute organised a canteen for soldiers living in local camps. Anstey Hall and its grounds were used by the military and Trumpington Hall was the location for an important Red Cross Hospital from 1941. Sources of information: Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, page 20-26. Local History Group web page: History of Trumpington Village Hall, World War II.

1943-47 An Internment Camp for Italian and German Prisoners of War (PoWs) was established on a site to the west of Hauxton Road, near the current Park & Ride site. Sources of information: Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, page 23-24. Local History Group web page: Trumpington Prisoner of War Camp.

1944 Education Act set up the split between primary and secondary education at age 11 and raising the school leaving age to 15. Local History Group web page: Education and schools in Trumpington.

1945-47 The names of eight individuals who died during the War were added to the base of the War Memorial after the War and it is understood this was by David Kindersley. Sources of information: Curme, Phil (2000). World War I and II Role of Honour, Trumpington War Memorial. Pevsner, Nicholas (1970). Cambridgeshire. The Buildings of England. Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, page 27. Local History Group web pages: History of Trumpington War Memorial. History of Trumpington Village Hall, World War II.

Memorial to the dead of World War II on Trumpington War Memorial. Photo: Arthur Brookes, 1997.

1945 Foundation of the Trumpington Branch of the Young Farmers. Sources of information:

1945-48 Construction of the housing estate to the east of the High Street and Anstey Way: Paget Road, Foster Road and Byron Square. Sources of information: Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, page 27. Local History Group web page: The Estate.

Foster Road during construction, c. 1946. Cambridgeshire Collection, Cambridge Central Library.

1947 Development of the Trumpington Allotment site between Shelford Road and Foster Road. The first page of the original Minutes Book of the Trumpington Allotment and Garden Society Ltd (TAGS) records the inaugural meeting in April 1947, when building of the estate was still in full swing. Early pages from the first plot rentals book, dating from May 1947, show that allotment tenants, as now, came from right across the village, not just from the estate. Sources of information: Trumpington Allotment Society. Local History Group web page: Foster Road Allotments.

The Trumpington Allotments minute book, 1947. Source: Trumpington Allotment Society.

1949 Transfer of the ownership of Byron's Pool from Trumpington Hall estate to Cambridge Council. Unfortunately, this coincided with the reconstruction of the weir, which resulted in an ugly structure which detracted from the beauty spot and led to a change to the layout of the river which made it less attractive for swimming. The weir also acted as a barrier to fish: a fish pass was developed in 2011 to alleviate this problem. Sources of information: Information panels at Byron's Pool, December 2010 and August 2011.

Byron’s Pool in the 1920s. From a photograph used by Percy Robinson during lectures in the 1920s-1940s.

August 1949 Residents from the new Estate went for a day trip to Wicksteed. This was reported in the Cambridge Daily News, with the caption “Members and friends of the Trumpington Estate Tenants’ Association about to leave yesterday for an outing to Wicksteed Park, where a very enjoyable time was had by 350 children and 150 adults." Sources of information: Cambridge Daily News, 19 August 1949, Brenda Bass (née Jones) and Val Burden (née Charge). Local History Group web page: Growing up on the Estate.

1949-50 Opening of Fawcett Junior School (1949) and Fawcett Infant School (1950), followed by closure of Church School (1950). Sources of information: Trumpington Local History Group (2000). 20th Century Trumpington, page 28. Local History Group web page: Education and schools in Trumpington. History of Fawcett School.

Fawcett School in the 1950s. Photograph: Cambridgeshire Collection, Cambridge Central Library.

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Copyright © Trumpington Local History Group, 2011. Updated 12 November 2011. Email: admin@trumpingtonlocalhistorygroup.org