History

The development of Richmond Road dates from 1838 when the area known as Chesterton Field was divided into plots and distributed to new owners by a Parliamentary Act.

In 1881 the first house was built for William Morrel, a college servant and possibly also a groundsman, at one of the nearby playing fields. The house known as Forteval Cottage is now number 18.

Development moved on and by 1895 fifty-nine houses had been constructed in groups such as Bay Terrace, Wentworth Villas, Villas Rialto, Pine Villas, and Richmond Villas, each small group individually numbered. In this year a bit of order was brought into the street by numbering each in sequence.

The occupations of the residents at this time were largely made up of artisans with three painters, four bricklayers, and three college servants living in the road as well as the editor of the Cambridge Chronicle and a Fellow of Trinity.

During the twentieth century, the road continued to see new houses being built and this is reflected in the many diverse designs that can be seen along Richmond Road. In addition, a shop was established at number 42, which also served as a Post Office until closing in 1987.

The road also had at least two laundries at number 35 and 82, serving the local area and possibly the university.

Recent developments have seen the creation of Nursery Walk, built on the site of the old brickworks in 1990 and most recently Seaby's Yard development on a site that back in the '50s and '60s was the location for Ted Seaby's renowned racing pigeon lofts.

The residents of the road have been a diverse group with early residents being mainly in skilled trades such as bookbinding or the building trades and flour millers. The road also has connections with Eden Lilley's with sisters of the founder living in cottages on the street.

Eden Lilley's was a department store in Cambridge that is sadly no more. The Lilley family helped establish the cemetery on Histon Road just a short distance from Richmond Road.

Like countless streets throughout the world, Richmond Road suffered the loss of young men and women in what was then referred to as the Great War. As part of the centenary remembrances, we have uncovered some background about the nine soldiers associated with the road who lost their lives.

Richmond Road continues to evolve with residents from all across the globe, many working in Cambridge, or studying or researching at the university. Our now annual Internation Cafe is a testament to this diversity and brings the street together for a great culinary and cultural gathering!

We are attempting to build an archive that looks at the lives of previous and current residents, helping us understand how the road and its current community developed. We're always grateful for material and narrative from residents old and new.

Find out when your house was built and perhaps who lived there!

If you have any interesting information about the history of our street, please get in touch with one of the committee.

A collection of photos documenting Richmond Road through the years: