76 Ainsworth Street, Cambridge

Now Demolished

This is one of the three properties in front of the Virgin Media building that are now demolished, along with the Claremont Arms and no. 78.

1881 census

Joseph A. Gardiner, head, 32, zoographer, b. Durham
Emma Gardiner, wife,  22, b. Cambridgeshire

A zoographer was a specialist who classified animals and records their habitats and behaviours – a somewhat unusual occupation in Sturton Town.

1891 census

Samuel Edwards, head, 34, gardener, b. Somersham, Huntingdonshire
Emma E Edwards, wife, 34, b. Norwich
Fredk F Edwards, son, 11, scholar, b. Cambridge
Alice M Edwards, daughter, 9, scholar, b. Cambridge
Lilian M Edwards, daughter, 8, scholar, b. Cambridge
Miriam C Edwards, daughter, 1, scholar, b. Cambridge
Ebenezer Impson, brother, 23, baker, b. Norwich
Amelia A Pilson, boarder, 53, living on her means, b. Cambridge

The boarder, Amelia Pilson, would have provided extra income to help feed and clothe a large family.

1901 census

Samuel Edwards, head, 45, gardener, b. Somersham, Huntingdonshire
Emma Edwards, wife, 45, b. Norwich, Norfolk
Lilley Edwards, daughter, 17, b. Cambridge
Miney Edwards, daughter, 11, b. Cambridge
Louis Edwards, son, 3, b. Cambridge
Fred Lofts Edwards, boarder, 49, general porter, b. Cambridge

By 1911 the Edwards family had moved across the road to 79 Ainsworth Street.

1911 census

Fred Samuel Newman, head, 43, carpenter, Great Eastern Railway, b. Cambridge
Alice Newman, wife, 42, b. Chatham
Frederick Newman, son, 20, bricklayer’s labourer, b. Clerkenwell, London
Albert Newman, son, 17, builder’s carter b. Holborn, London
Frank Newman, son, 14, grocer’s errand boy, b. Cambridge
Joseph Newman, son, 10, at school, b. Cambridge
Harry Newman, son, 8, at school, b. Cambridge
Harry Cleaver, boarder, single, 38, clay pipe maker, b. Cambridge

Fred and Alice Newman had been married for 20 years, and had had eight children, of which three had died.

The boarder, Harry Cleaver, was self-employed as a clay pipe maker, working from home.

1921 census

Frederick G Canham, head, 60, carpenter’s labourer, b. Cambridge
Ruth A Canham, wife, 52, home duties, b. Cambridge
Edwin Canham, son, 25, general labourer, Cambridge Corporation, b. Cambridge
Nellie Canham, daughter, 21, laundry hand, Welbrook Laundry, b. Cambridge
Edith Canham, daughter, 18, laundry hand, Coldham Model Laundry, b. Cambridge
Elizabeth Canham, daughter, 12, b. Cambridge
Jessie Canham, daughter, 9, b. Cambridge

Frederick Canham was a carpenter’s labourer for W Sindall Builders on Newmarket Road.

Source: 1881–1921 Census.