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Monday 9 February 2015

Backstreet Shuffle

When the railway companies wanted to come to Cambridge their proposal met with lots of opposition from the University who thought it would intrude upon their idyllic way of life. Exactly how direct their actions were has been debated ever since, but the upshot was that the railway swerved away from the town and the railway station was built out in open country.


The college dons weren't the only cunning operators however, both the local landowners and then the railway-builders themselves soon managed to manipulate things to their advantage. In order to build their tracks the railway companies were forced to buy up large parcels of land that they didn't really need; no one was going to sell them a strip just wide enough to lay their tracks.


So the railway companies decided to build houses on the spare land, initially for their workers, but then for the increased population which the railway attracted. Mills and factories were built in the area and their workers needed housing. As a result the construction of railways became a very lucrative enterprise.


If you look at a map you'll see that Cambridge is a very lop-sided city; its growth is nearly all eastwards towards the railway, while the "city centre" is, in fact, completely off-centre, over by the western edge.


These streets are not much visited, apart from by those who live there, and are not much photographed either. However something made me want to investigate and see what I could find to point my camera at. It involved a lot of walking for not many photos, but I hope that what I found is of some interest, particularly to those from other countries. 


Such high-density housing is common enough in Britain, particularly in the industrial towns built during the nineteenth century. It was before the advent of the motor car so everyone had to walk to work or to the shops. Nowadays in Cambridge almost everyone has a bicycle. But is this landscape ever....


....beautiful?

Probably not, though when we've lost most of these streets, in another century or so, they'll no doubt be a campaign to save them for posterity.  


You can see from the "Sold" signs in the photo above that these homes are still popular today, mainly perhaps because of their nearness to the city. In fact they are probably more sought-after than ever; I remember a time when people had mainly heard of these streets from the criminal court reports in the local paper!


Maybe there are some dodgy characters still lurking behind the curtains keeping an eye on passers-by!


* * *

Speaking of dodgy characters.... I never thought there'd be any "huge prizes" to give away because the mystery photo of my last post....

....the one on the left, started out as....the one on the right, which was moss on an old mobile home, which also had snail trails on it. So no wacky baccy was smoked to produce such a psychedelic image. Just what I was on to be photographing snail-trails is another matter.... 


Take care.



23 comments:

  1. Such an interesting history to those winding streets there. I love the cat shadow photo! And, funny to know no "wacky baccy" was inhaled to create that psychedelic image. Creativity is a high unto itself.

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  2. Wow, Cambridge is a fantastic town. The streets are lovely and charming. These streets and house are the journey to the past...

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  3. Such an interesting history! I love, love, love that second photo of the window with bikes & array of pretty glass! Perfect!

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  4. Love the cat and door photo! You are not surprised; I can tell. The door alone with the cat shadow on it would be a great shot too.

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  5. Not the image of Cambridge most people have - but I'll bet 'ordinary folk' are glad to have some modest homes in the area that perhaps they can just about afford to buy.

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  6. Yes, all those workers - what a problem they are. Why do they need houses, anyway? Poor people sure do bring down the tone of a place. I'm glad the railways thumbed their noses at the Cambridge elite and made housing and jobs for the working joes.

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  7. I agree with the two comments above - and in the 19th century it was much better to live in a railway cottage than in a big city slum where each floor of a terrace house, including the cellar, would house a large family.

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  8. A great series of images John. I like the splashes of blue - especially the blue bicycles against the blue window shutters and window display! Lovely shadows and reflections too. Thank you for sharing and wishing you a warm, enjoyable week.

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  9. I always find industrial history interesting. These houses do look pretty bland and monotonous.

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  10. In my town of Portland, Oregon, the local government has installed light rail and streetcar tracks over the past three decades. Once the tracks are in, they've rezoned the adjoining land as "high density residential" to encourage people to live close to public transportation. It's really transformed our city, especially certain downtown districts.

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  11. Super-interesting history. The area looks very photogenic to me.The rows of houses make for some great shots!

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  12. In pensive mood, John? It was a great post anyway. I'm impressed that no wacky baccy was used, by the way; but you do have a point about the snails...

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  13. Very beautifully photographed these interesting places. Love every moment you captured and fell in love with a wonderful cat!

    Best wishes to you,.

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  14. I would think a film company would like to use that street for some scenes. All those lovely old chimney pots ... accompanied by a small forest of television antennas!
    You should have offered a bicycle tour with John as guide for a prize. I would have worked harder to guess the answer then.

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  15. Yes they are of great interest. They remind me of some parts of The Rocks area in Sydney, near the bridge. I love the cat and his shadow. :)

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  16. I love posts like this. Taking us to places we wouldn't usually visit. Tring where my brother lives has a station far out of town too. Lord Rothschild wouldn't let the railways build in the town.

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  17. Some of the best and most interesting photos are taken "off the beaten path." If I ever visit your neck of the woods, I want to see the east side of town as well as the west.

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  18. I found these images very powerful. To me this is not about art but way more importantly it is about the stories of an area that some would like to not be known. I would very much like to talk to you about this area and its history.

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  19. Personally I couldn't live in this kind of environment but it doesn't stop me admiring the history and appreciating that for many young couples today everything old is new again :) I need a wee bit of space between myself and my neighbour :)

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  20. Another interesting and informative post. I find the photos interesting both as documentation of a more or less bygone age and as photos by themselves. The first one is perhaps my favourite.

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  21. Lovely light in these shots.

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  22. I love this kind of street with its houses that I have seen in old European cities. We do not have such blocks.
    Your photos are stunning.

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