Bobbi Ward, 53 Jesus lane c.1980

53 Jesus Lane, 4 St Radegund’s Buildings

History of 53 Jesus Lane

1861

William Wiseman, 60, yeoman, b Cambridge

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1913

James Wright, lodging house keeper

Philip Lake, University lecturer in Geography

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1931

Beatrice Ward starts running lodging house here.

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1938 Electoral Roll

Beatrice Gertrude E. Ward née Germany

Albert Edward Ward

Reginald Ward

Beatrice and Albert married in 1901.

Other members of the Germany family lived at 50 Jesus Lane

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1939

Albert Edward Ward, b 1878, manager clothing salesman

Beatrice Gertrude E, b 1879, unpaid domestic duties

Reginald Claude, b 1918, R.A.F.V.R.

Irene Helen Cockcroft, b 1906, unpaid domestic duties

Ruth L Maud Frotman, b 1923, paid domestic duties

Adrian Adams, b 1920, pre-clinical student in medicine

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1955 – 1979

Mr Ward, worked for Crossman and Co solicitors

Pearl Kathleen ‘Bobbie’ Ward, wife

Susan, b 1943

Michael, b 1952

Veronica, daughter

Jesus College students boarded during term time and other guests in the summer including Willie Herbert of Scott Polar Research and the actress Anna Quayle who was starring at The Arts Theatre  in Pal Joey. The Cambridge Evening News included ‘Bobbie’ in an article about Cambridge landladies. The house used to have a yellow front door and distinctive railings, now gone.

Grandma Beatrice also took me into their garden at no.50 Jesus Lane. An alleyway ran along the back of the houses with an entrance into each house’s garden from it. Our garden was just under a 100’ long with a walled off area at the back that was the old stables. Our garden had a large outbuilding at the back, a garage with room above and the remains of a stable and we had a mounting block in the main garden I remember a horse trough with ring to tether a horse to it in the corner in the back section. The college took about half the length of gardens and a carpark was built so all the gardens were shortened. I dug up an old coaching lamp and threepenny bits and farthings in that section.

Veronica attended Park Street Primary and then the High School for Girls. (info from VG2024)

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1962 Kelly’s

Mrs A E Ward (Beatrice Ward)

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1982 Cambridge Evening News 7/5/1982: story about landladies who were among the first to take female students.