Town Not Gown Cambridge History Tours

18/02/2021

New book ‘A Brush with the Past’ celebrates Allan Brigham’s legacy of Cambridge local history

A new book has been published of Cambridge local history written by popular local historian Allan Brigham, who died last year. Allan was working on the publication until his death in September, and its title ‘A Brush with the Past’ is a nod to his job as a City Council road sweeper.

Allan swept the streets of Cambridge for almost four decades. He was also an accomplished Blue Badge Guide, leading history tours around the city for thousands of tourists and residents. Rather than focusing on the more traditional history and buildings of the University, Allan’s ever popular ‘Town not Gown’ tours highlighted the lives of the ordinary people of Cambridge. With tales of iron foundries, railways, council housing and baths, he brought their stories to life.

‘A Brush with the Past’ brings together nine of Allan’s local history research interests, including published articles and lectures, and is richly illustrated with archive images plus a selection of Allan’s own photographs of the city he loved. The book has been edited by fellow local historian Becky Proctor, who worked with Allan for many years at the Cambridge Folk Museum (now the Museum of Cambridge) and on the recent Mill Road History Project.

Becky says, “It was a real privilege to work with Allan on his book. Readers will enjoy nine chapters of Allan’s most popular articles and talks, all written in his own inimitable style which made him such an incredibly successful tour guide and lecturer. Over the years I went on many of Allan’s tours, and the book gives me a sense that Allan is still guiding us round the city!”

You can buy the book for £10 (plus £2.20 second class postage) through this link: https://hannahbrigham.wixsite.com/allanbrigham

03/06/2020

Iron Curtain: So quickly Forgoten History

Mark Mazower Dark Continent reminds us of startling number of deaths in Eastern Europe to create 'national' boundaries for Russians, Poles, Jews, Ruthenes, Hungarians and more.
Boris Johnson barely touches on horrors of World War 2 when stating who was 'vicictorious'.

A disturbing read

"A useful, important book that reminds us, at the right time, how hard [European unity] has been, and how much care must be taken to avoi...

01/06/2020

Italy: A Forgotten History?
In the childhood of some still.‘A Great Power’ with African empire in Libya and Ethiopia? Forgoten, like Spainish flu until now. Will Coronavirus be forgoten?

'What Mussolini really dreamed of was a new Roman empire, full of italianità and romanità, one that would cover the Mediterranean and north Africa, include a generous slice of the Balkans and open gateways to the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.

His first test, retaking Libya, conquered and then mostly lost in the first world war, succeeded largely through brutality and the merciless hunting down of rebels....... When, in 1935, he advanced on Abyssinia, he was undeterred by the sanctions imposed by the League of Nations, and though victory came with yet more savagery – and the use of poison gas – it gave him the empire he craved.

All this, however, used men and materiel. Support for Franco in the Spanish civil war ate up planes, trucks, ammunition and left Italy with a deficit of over 40 billion lire, but did not stop Galeazzo Ciano, Mussolini’s son-in-law and foreign minister, from proclaiming it to be “a new formidable victory for Fascism: perhaps up to now, the greatest”.

Plus Albania, Corfu, Greece – all a mess.
Italy ruled Dodecanese until WW2 – visit Kos and see their rebuildings.

A meticulous, skilful account of the Duce’s erratic and ultimately disastrous attempt to make Italy a great power

30/05/2020

Who lives here? Who wants to live overlooking the railway and Hills Road traffic in Cambridge???

Is it a developer letting it out to London commuters? Or a much needed home?

15/05/2020

History in the past.......... and making history today. Will Castle Hill remain in public hands? Will enough genuinely affordable houses be built? ‘Making a clean sweep of Cambridge’.

My career as road sweeper and tour guide. A short 9 minute film made last year by film maker Kip Loads.
We met by chance while having coffee in 'Relevant' on Mill Road. Film just completed - May be of interest. Do you recognise the beautiful flower meadow - which Cambridge Park?

Cambridge historian, tour guide and former roadsweeper Allan Brigham tells his life story, underscoring the importance of everyone's history - not just that ...

11/05/2020

May be of interest - click on 'Allan Brigham Life Story'

Allan Brigham, a graduate of Sheffield University, took a temporary job in his early twenties as a road sweeper in Cambridge. He took to the job, partly because of an inspiring co-worker, and partly because he was allowed periods of unpaid leave to undertake adventurous travels. He developed a keen....

08/05/2020

Green vista from back bedroom Romsey window. Uplifting. Hides neighbourbouring buildings with a canapy of leaves. Shows what can be achieved in area of terraced housing.

Lockdown a reminder that terraced streets with long narrow gardens provide outdoor space for growing plants, private relaxation and fresh air. Much modern 'densification' with courtyard gardens just give profit to developers. But what we should be looking at is choice. Watch developers push four storey terraces with small gardens! Stairs not good for lifetime living.

And watch plans for St Matthews Gardens in Sturton St - rather than more tall buildings area need return of open space.

30/04/2020

Public Art?

23/04/2020

Public Art: Imaginative and not noticed by many. These dandilion heads are on the former Samuals Watch and Jewelers Shop in Petty Cury. Created when the Lion Yard redevelopment destroyed much of old Cambridge.

Do you remember blowing the white seeds to tell the time? Dandilions rapidly comining up in our lawn already!

23/04/2020

A lovely fragment - a link from Mill Road to the Russian Court:

Grand Old Lady of Collier Road