Birdwood Area Residents' Association
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History

An excerpt from pages xiii-xiv of Cambridge Street Names: Their Origins and Associations:
"Cambridge streets reflect the dominance of the University.  There are clusters of names... where each college holds or held land, often acquired in the nineteenth century Inclosures... 
Peterhouse: LANGHAM, GISBORNE, HOLBROOKE, PERNE, [BROOKS], BIRDWOOD, CHALMERS, GRAY, WARKWORTH, [BEAUMONT], AINSWORTH." 
 
From page 127:
"In a Peterhouse cluster occurs the name of William Riddell BIRDWOOD (1865-1951), Field Marshal.  He was in command of the Anzac Corps in the Gallipoli landing of 1915 and in France til 1918.  In 1925 he was Commander-in-Chief of the Indian army.  From 1930 to 1938 he was Master of Peterhouse."
From pages 124-125:
"Benjamin BRITTEN (Baron Britten)  (1913-76) conducted his arrangement of Gay's The Beggar's Opera in Cambridge in 1948 and thereafter often visited Cambridge." 
More information:
  • Building  Birdwood 
  • World War II
  • Perne Road corner
  • Maloney and Rhodes

Memories​:
  • Arthur Ambrose, 85 Birdwood Road
  • Veronica Mepham (nee Fenn)
  • Val Parker, Birdwood Road
  • Various short memories     
And from pages 88-89:
"Builders and developers have a better chance of influencing the naming of streets than many others.  Rattee and Kett have provided stone for colleges... The names are given to streets near their premises... [ANCASTER] is another well-known quarry, whose stone was used for St John's Chapel.  (The Duchester of Ancaster was Thomas PANTON's daughter)." 
An excerpt from British History Online: Cherry Hinton.
"In 1945 St. Thomas's Hospital sold off the land to the east of the Peterhouse holdings: initially 100 prefabricated houses were built there, but they were replaced in the 1950s by more substantial semi-detached council houses around St. Thomas's Square, and along Walpole Road. They were set back from the road, with wide tree-lined verges. Some of those houses though built of breeze blocks have since been given brick fronts.  Overall the west of the parish came to be occupied by middle-class, including professional people, while a group of council estates to the east was intended for less prosperous people." 
The National Library of Scotland has some fun maps, including the Spy Viewer, a sample you can see below.  You can view different periods of maps overlaying openstreetmap.com.  Or you can look at whole maps using Find by Place.
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  • Home
  • News and events
    • News >
      • Newsletters
    • Events
    • Past events
    • Survey
    • Other events
  • Information
    • The area
    • Advice & Links
  • History
    • Building Birdwood
    • WWII
    • Perne Rd Corner
    • Maloney and Rhodes
    • Ambrose
    • Mepham
    • Parker
    • Various
  • Contact