Tour of Gwydir Street

Gwydir Street from north to south

Gwydir Street from south to north

Upper Gwydir Street

Prominent buildings

The Past

Gwydir Street from north to south

Norfolk Street is coming in on our right and Upper Gwydir Street is behind us. The tape shop is on the left. Beyond that on the left is Beaconsfield House, built in 1984 after the old Beaconsfield Conservative Club, a social club, was demolished. Milford Street comes in on the left, with the Alexandra Arms on the corner. The bollards are in the distance. On the right beyond the bollards is the old Pye site, which now has small businesses.

As we move towards Mill Road, we round a slight curve to see the next section. There is a new housing development on the left. The bikes and wheelie bins are all part of the Gwydir Street scenery.

This part includes the Cambridge Blue pub on the right. Since this is a Victorian street, it wasn't built for a car age. Double yellow lines and residents parking are necessary, and even so there isn't much room! This section ends with Hooper Street on the left (which has the other set of bollards) and Gwydir Cottages on the right.

Most of Gwydir Street are terrace houses set right on the pavement, but this end of the street has houses with front gardens, and some have bay windows. At the end, you can see Dales Brewery. The Bath House is opposite, and there are several antique shops and other businesses. Gwydir Street ends at Mill Road, at a set of traffic lights. The street light is on, possibly because it was about to rain very hard!

This is the short, gently curving section. You can just see the machine for Pay and Display parking. Some of this area is residents parking. This is the end part of Gwydir Street, complete with bollards! Norfolk Street is at the end, on the left, and Upper Gwydir Street beyond that. Upper Gwydir Street Upper Gwydir Street runs from the junction of Gwydir Street and Norflk Street (seen on the left) to Edward Street, round the corner. Prominent buildings The Bath House used to be just that. It was opened in 1927 to provide necessary washing facilities to the local area. In old maps, you can see 'springs' marked there, which must have given them a water supply. In 1978, it was renovated and is now used by various groups (see notice board outside for details). Click here for a little on the history of the Bath House on this website. Dales Brewery used to be one of several Cambridge breweries. Now it houses several shops and businesses. It's a notable landmark at the Mill Road end of Gwydir Street. Click here for a little on the history of Dales Brewery. The Cambridge Blue pub is half way down Gwydir Street. It used to be called the Dewdrop Inn, a Tolly Cobbold pub. The name "Dewdrop Inn" is a typical Victorian pun! Now it is often known as 'The Blue'. Click here for a little on the history of the Cambridge Blue. The Alexandra Arms is next to the bollards, on the corner of Milford Street. The 1904 street directory shows that this pub was in Gwydir Street then, and had the same name. It is a Green King pub (as seen by the two plaques on the wall). It is often known as 'The Alex'. Click here for a little on the history of the Alexandra Arms. Although generally known as "the bollards", they are a more complicated form of road barrier. Perhaps they cannot be described as a "prominent building", but they have changed the nature of the area considerably. They were installed about 1979. These, and the bollards in Hooper Street, mean that it is impossible to get from one end of Gwydir Street to the other by car without travelling via East Road and Mill Road. It does mean that it is more pleasant to walk or bike down Gwydir Street! They can cause problems for people visiting! "Which side of the bollards are you?" This barrier is open during the Mill Road Fair in December. This is because Mill Road itself is closed at this time, and people living in most of Gwydir Street and near-by need to get out by car. The Past If you want a comparison with times past, this was an air-raid shelter close to Number 60, during World War II. This is the VE celebration street party after the war. You can see the same air-raid shelter. Return to index