Cave’s Yard, Union Road, Chesterton

History of Cave's Yard

Possible location.

22 June 1901
Thomas R. of Cave’s Yard, Old Chesterton was charged with having stolen a drake. Detective Marsh said he saw the prisoner with a sack on his back. He opened it and found a large brown and white drake which Thomas said he had bought yesterday from a man named Pope of Upware for 2s.6d. (12p). The bird was quite warm – prisoner replied it had been in his house by a blazing fire all day. Then he said: “I knocked it over down the fen against the sewage farm. It came out of a ditch and I gave it a crump. I ain’t going to starve as long as there is anything about. You can do what you like: hang me if you like”. He was remanded for a week.

Credit: Mike Petty Archive, Cambridge Chesterton Scrapbook, reference 1901 06 22.

17 October 1907
Cottages in Cave’s Yard, Union Road, Chesterton are as about as bad as any in the district, an inquest into an infant was told. Vermin found on the child’s body were not the fault of the mother: it would be impossible to keep such a house in that district free from vermin; the district ought to be burnt down. The slums in Old Chesterton are as bad as any you will find in London, a doctor testified. But people had to live somewhere.

Credit: Mike Petty Archive, Cambridge Chesterton Scrapbook, reference 07 10 17.