The Francis Frith Collection.
You are here: Home > Explore your past > England > Cambridgeshire > Great Shelford
2008 Christmas Gift Guide - great gifts for your family and friends

Great Shelford

Great Shelford photos (12 available)

Old photo of Great Shelford

Great Shelford maps (2 available)

Old map of Great Shelford

Great Shelford books (10 available)

Great Shelford memories

Be the first to add a memory of Great Shelford.

You can also read memories of nearby places in Cambridgeshire below.

Cambridgeshire memories

Milestone Cottage

Little Shelford, the Village c1955

My name is Jacqueline Erickson Morgan.  I lived in Milestone Cottage from August 1968 - January 1971.  I know this thatched cottage as Milestone Cottage; the name was due to the Milestone in front of the cottage that indicated the number of miles to Cambridge and to London.  

The house number of the cottage was,  I believe, 14 Whittlesford Rd.
This thatched cottage was absolutely delightful.   My ex husband was doing post doctoral research at the MRC lab in Cambridge and Milestone Cottage was home.
It was tiny, 4 tiny rooms, 2 up and 2 down, brick floors downstairs.  No hot water in the kitchen, no heat except for a fireplace in the living room and a storage heater ...read more here
A memory of Little Shelford contributed by jacqueline morgan

I lived in those cottages! 1948 - 1957-ish

Trumpington, Grantchester Road c1960

In 1946 my late father, Ron Goodliffe, got a job as a tractor driver for the Pembertons, and we moved into one of their tied-cottages in Swans Yard, that used to be off the High Street. Then, in 1948, we moved into 18 Grantchester Road which is the white cottage that's set back in the photo. In those days it was known as Dated Cottage, as it had the year 1654 on the front in big metal numerals; plus a plaque depicting the rays of the sun with a smiley face in the middle. Many years ago these plaques, I found out much later, used to be affixed to properties covered by The Sun Fire Insurance Company. ...read more here
A memory of Trumpington contributed by Brian Goodliffe

To Ron Goodliffe - A Trumpington Ploughman 1946 - 1958

My late father worked for the Pemberton Estate as a tractor driver from 1946 to around 1958.
I offer below, in his memory, an extract from the tribute I composed for his funeral in March 2005.

But, there was another love in your life,
by the name of Allis-Chalmers.
And you spent many hours alone in her company
as she ploughed each field with furrows.

As a child I’d sometimes join you on her ample bench type seat.
The constant roar of the engine and the screaming of the gulls
made conversation difficult
and I often fell asleep.

So you’d put your strong arm round me,
to stop me falling and getting crushed,
and we’d plough ...read more here
A memory of Trumpington contributed by Brian Goodliffe

Grantchester School  1953-1955

Grantchester School 1953-1955: Mrs Alice Freeman was the Head Teacher, in charge of the Juniors. Miss Chatterton took the Infants class.
We had regular visits from a lady from the British Red Cross who taught us how to dress any wound, anywhere on the body, with nothing more than a triangular bandage.  A kind of applied Origami - in linen!
We also used to visit an archaeologist in the village and admire his collection of flint artifacts.
I still have a photo of a 1954 visit to Hatfield House (via the Roman Verulanium at St. Albans).
I was transferred to Grantchester School to avoid the bullying I was going through at Fawcett School, but it was a case of "Out of ...read more here
A memory of Grantchester contributed by Brian Goodliffe

Extracts From Great Shelford & Cambridgeshire books

Great Shelford, the Village 1914

There are some obvious posers in this photograph. Peering over the thatched roof is the battlemented octagon of the village church, rebuilt after two collapses in the 18th century.
An extract from from"Cambridge Photographic Memories".

Great Shelford, the Village 1914

This and 66914 were taken on a hot summer’s day. The parish church with its octagonal tower and spire rises over the roofs. A small girl waits by the picket fence, and women watch the boy delivering a sack of coal on a trolley -the photographer has asked them to pose.
An extract from from"Cambridgeshire Villages Photographic Memories".

Great Shelford, Village 1914

Some boys are on their way home from school, wearing caps, plus-fours and jackets with stiffened white collars to their shirts. This must be their school uniform.
An extract from from"Cambridgeshire Villages Photographic Memories".

Great Shelford, High Street c1955

In the late 1980s the Black Swan public house (left) was demolished; the land became a used car lot, attached to a garage (just out of the picture on the left). At about the same time the Peacock Inn beyond became a private house, and the telephone box (left) was moved across the street.
An extract from from"Cambridgeshire Living Memories".

Great Shelford, Woollards Lane c1955

The cyclists here obviously felt sufficiently safe not to worry too much about hugging the kerb and avoiding brushes with the traffic. The practice of parking a bicycle by leaning it on one pedal against the kerb is rarely seen these days.
An extract from from"Cambridgeshire Photographic Memories".