Capturing Cambridge
  • search
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Fisher's Lane c1917

Fisher’s Lane, (Rea Lane) Magdalene Street

History of Fisher's Lane, Magdalene Street

The alternative name for the River Cam had been the Rea, the Celtic for water.

Custance map of Cambridge 1798


1861

(1) Elizabeth Faudham, 51, laundress, b Chesterton

(2) Mary Fletcher, 69, laundress, b Cambridge

(3) George Amos, 43, weaver, b Norwich

(4) Isaac Strange, 30, boat builder, b Linton

(5) Lydia Ison, 40, dressmaker, b Longstanton

(6) Rebecca Coulson, 51, nurse, b Hilton

Bullen’s boatyard & Fisher Lane c.1880. Bargees lodged in these houses. (J Palmer Clarke)


1871

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

John Fry, 37, general smith, b Somerset

Ann, 37, b Cambridge

Alfred, 11, b Cambridge

Henry, 7, b Cambridge

Elizabeth, 3, b Cambridge

Anne, 1, b Cambridge

In 1861 the Fry Family were at 29 Prospect Row

(6) Alfred Smith, 27, cabinet maker, b Bedford

(7) Rebecca Coulson, 63, nurse, b Hilton


Fisher’s Lane, R Farren 1881

1881

(7)

John Fry, 47, general smith,

Ann, 46,

Albert, 22, college servant,

Harry, 17,  general smith,

Elizabeth, 12,

Frank, 8, b Cambridge


1891

(7)

John Fry, 56, whitesmith

Annie, 57,

Elizabeth, 22, dressmaker

Frank, 18, broker’s porter, b Cambridge

Gertrude E, granddaughter, 9, b Cambridge


1901

(7)

John Fry, 68, whitesmith, b Cambridge

Elizabeth, daughter, 32, dressmaker

Frank, son, 29, packer of fish

Ellen, daughter in law, widow, 41, college …?

John E, grandson, 17, apprentice whitesmith

Harry, 15, apprentice whitesmith

Emily, 13,

Nellie, 8, b Cambridge

Florence, 4, b Cambridge

John Fry the elder died in 1906.


1913

(Life Buoy No. 6)

1. Frederick W Bullen, Bullen & Co’s Boatyard

7. William Charles, shoeing smith

See Enid Porter: Boat Building

Fisher’s Lane, date unknown (photo F J Allen)

W F Turner, Old Cambridge – Cambridge Chronicle 19.11.1929: The wharf down Fisher’s Lane was at one time a very busy place when barges came filled with merchandise and in the cottages lived the bargees. At the Pickerel Inn there still existed a room called the Cock Pit where the men who plied the ferry which existed before the first bridge was built used ton spend their spare time in cock fighting. He was given to understand that at one time the  Binn Brook was a waterway up which coal and merchandise was taken to Barton and Coton. One of the old inhabitants well remembered the state of affairs when there were very elementary sanitary arrangements, and the river was the source of water supply. When he was a boy, the old man said, there lived an old woman who used to get her water every evening in a bucket attached to a pole with a metal clip at the end. One evening when she was filling her bucket he noticed a dead dog in the water near the bucket and called to her, ‘Oh! look there’s a dead dog’ to which she calmly replied, ‘I always boils my water before I drinks it.’

Fisher’s Lane from Bridge of Sighs (MoC 144/54)

Bullen’s boatyard, 1954 (MoC 197/54)

Bullen’s Boatyard (MoC 75/55) drawing by J H Delbos

Contribute

Do you have any information about the people or places in this article? If so, then please let us know using the Contact page or by emailing capturingcambridge@museumofcambridge.org.uk.

License

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Dear Visitor,

 

Thank you for exploring historical Cambridgeshire! We hope you enjoy your visit.

 

Did you know that we are a small, independent Museum and that we rely on donations from people like you to survive?

 

If you love Capturing Cambridge, and you are able to, we’d appreciate your support today.

 

Every donation makes a world of difference.

 

Thank you,

The Museum of Cambridge