1 Peas hill Cambridge

3 Peas Hill, Cambridge

History of 3 Peas Hill

1832 Poll Book

John Hatt

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1851

(3 Peas Hill)

John Hatt, 60, bookseller, b Brentford

Sarah, 47, b Meldreth

Ann, 28, b Cambridge

Sarah, 7, b Cambridge

Henry, nephew, 23, assistant, b Middlesex

John Hatt – 19th century Bookseller in Cambridge & Crime-fighter by Clare Cambridge

Commentary
John Hatt’s life provides a valuable insight into a group of people who are often overshadowed in accounts of nineteenth-century Cambridge. While the University’s scholars and colleges dominate much of the city’s recorded history, figures such as Hatt illustrate the importance of the independent booksellers, printers and stationers who connected academic life with the wider community. His career offers an opportunity to explore how commerce, religion and civic life intersected in Victorian Cambridge.

From his premises at 3 Peas Hill, Hatt operated as a bookseller, bookbinder, stationer and proprietor of a circulating library. These were complementary activities that placed him at the centre of Cambridge’s literary and educational life. Before inexpensive books became widely available, circulating libraries enabled readers to borrow works that many could not afford to purchase outright. Businesses such as Hatt’s therefore played an important role in making books and information available beyond the University’s immediate circles.

Hatt’s association with the Round Church reflects another important aspect of nineteenth-century Cambridge. His History of the Round Church, published in 1846, demonstrates both his interest in local history and his familiarity with medieval architecture. The restoration of the church formed part of the wider Gothic Revival, while the Cambridge Camden Society helped shape Victorian attitudes towards church design and restoration throughout Britain. Hatt’s connections with the Society suggest that local tradesmen could become closely involved in wider religious and cultural movements.

The article also places Hatt within the world of nineteenth-century journalism through his relationship with The Cambridge Advertiser. The newspaper represented a newer commercial and political voice within the town and appealed to many local businessmen and artisans. Hatt’s choice to advertise there illustrates how newspapers were becoming increasingly significant not only as sources of news but also as expressions of commercial identity and political outlook.

His involvement in founding the Town of Cambridge Association provides another perspective on everyday urban life. The Association sought to improve protection against theft and crime at a time when the University maintained its own police force and legal system. Its existence reflects the continuing distinction between “Town” and “Gown” and the different concerns of the University’s governing institutions and the town’s commercial community.

The discussion of Hatt’s apparent absence from University printing contracts raises wider questions about the relationship between the University and independent tradesmen. The reasons remain uncertain, but they invite further investigation into the commercial, religious and social networks that influenced business opportunities in nineteenth-century Cambridge.

Hatt’s story also illustrates the methods of local historical research. Beginning with a burial inscription in Mill Road Cemetery, it is possible to reconstruct aspects of an individual’s life through trade directories, newspapers, guidebooks and other documentary sources. Such an approach demonstrates how relatively modest records can illuminate broader themes in the city’s history.

Some aspects of Hatt’s life remain uncertain. His precise relationship with the Cambridge Camden Society, the extent of his involvement in funding the restoration of the Round Church, and the reasons why he apparently undertook no printing work for the University cannot presently be established from the available evidence. These remain subjects for future research rather than settled conclusions.

Taken together, John Hatt’s life illustrates the contribution made by Cambridge’s independent tradesmen to the intellectual, religious and commercial life of the town. His activities as bookseller, printer, publisher and local author show how businesses outside the University formed part of the networks through which ideas, information and culture circulated in nineteenth-century Cambridge. His career therefore provides another perspective on the relationship between the University and the town during a period of considerable social and cultural change.

1861

John Hatt, 60, bookseller

John King, 19, apprentice, b Cambridge

Sarah Hatt, wife, 49,

Ann, daughter, 41, governess

Sarah, 17, daughter

[The ages of the Hutt family in the 1861 census seemed not to have changed as expected from the 1851 census!]

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1871

Goodin

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1879

H  Hutt, basket makers

This firm had been previously at 6 Butcher Row in 1866 and 4 Corn Exchange in 1859

1882

Shrive and Son, basket makers, took over the business

1891

John Shrive

Mary A

John D, 16, school teacher, b Cambridge

Rosetta, 17, school teacher, b Cambridge

Violet H

Ernest W, 13, b Cambridge

Arthur E

Mary née Denson was the daughter of John Russell Denson and Sarah née Russell of Waterbeach.

In 1881 the Shrive family were at 4 Sidney Street.

1901

John Shrive, 52, basket maker, b Northants

Mary A, 52, b Waterbeach

Violet, 25, b Cambridge

Arthur, 21, basket maker, b Cambridge

Florence, 19, b Cambridge

Ethel, 14, b Cambridge

Alice, 12, b Cambridge

Gracie, 9, b Cambridge

May Wick, 14, b Cambridge

John Shrive died in 1909.

In 1911 Arthur was living in Stretham. In 1916 he married Miss Laws of 3 Guest Road.

Arthur Edward Shrive

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1913

Shrive & Son, rod merchants, basket and chair manufacturers

PW sent an email in 2022 which included the following note:

Mary married John Shrive, and he died in 1909. They had the basket shop at 3 Peas Hill from 1891. Before that, the basket shop was at 4 Sussex Street from 1875. The business may have started at 4 Sidney Street in 1873, when John took over the stationers shop there. 

They had a heap of kids too:
Rosetta 1873-1965 lived at The Home Farm, Stretham (which had been in the Strive family for a while. She stayed there until she died in 1965. I think she was a school teacher at Stretham.
Violet 1876-1954 worked in the shop at 3 Peas Hill.
Ernest 1878-1917 lived in Baker Street for a while, and had a shop or worked in one at England’s Lane. He died at Flanders Fields on 26 September 1917.
Ethel
Mildred
Florence
John
Arthur – died at Ypres 26th Sept 1917. [Private in 1/4th Bn Suffolk Regiment. He left a widow, Cassie Constance H Shrive.]
Hilda
Grace

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1962

F O Sennitt, fishmonger

2018

Aromi