Cottages, Longstanton, 1929 (photo L Cobbett) (Cambridgeshire Collection)

Longstanton data

Longstanton data

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8 August 1898 – “Klondike” gold hunt
Mike Petty’s summary

Detective Sergeant Marsh searched for buried gold at Longstanton while curious residents of King Street followed the story of the supposed “Klondike”. Gold coins hidden in a garden were eventually recovered from matchboxes, a cigarette case and a purse.

In August 1898 King Street briefly became associated with one of the stranger episodes reported in the Cambridge press. Following rumours of buried gold connected with a local court case, Detective Sergeant Marsh spent hours digging in a garden at Longstanton while curious crowds from King Street and the surrounding streets eagerly followed the search. The detective eventually recovered gold coins concealed in matchboxes, a cigarette case and a purse. The episode reflected the widespread fascination with the contemporary Klondike gold rush and demonstrates how sensational news stories could attract large crowds in late Victorian Cambridge.

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Longstanton:

http://www.ldhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/LONGSTANTON-A-BRIEF-HISTORY.pdf

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Mike Petty:

https://archive.org/details/LongstantonScrapbook18971990/mode/2up