Swavesey & District History Society – An Introduction
Swavesey & District History Society (The outstanding group to join).
In the autumn of 1975 John Shepperson, BEM, of Boxworth End Farm, who had a very keen interest in the history of Swavesey and the surrounding area, formed Swavesey & District History Society. Fifty years later this well-established, popular and lively group continues to meet monthly. A full year’s membership costs £15, with a relaxed attitude to charging casual visitors. The season of meetings lasts from September to June with each subject and speaker listed in the Calendar section of Over Village News.
At least half of our members live in Over, including our Secretary. The History Society meets at 7.30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month in The Carol Shaw Room at Swavesey Village College – through the main entrance then 20 metres along the corridor to the right. No need to book so you are welcome to just walk in. If you want further information, contact our Secretary, Carolyn on carolyn.redmayne@ntlworld.com or on 01954 230037.
Year after year our programme contains a wide variety of expert speakers and interesting subjects. Within the past year the topics included –
- The History of Marshalls of Cambridge.
- The Great Stink (Houses of Parliament, summer 1858).
- Cambridgeshire Customs and Folklore.
- Bastardy, Bigamy, Brawling and Brothels.
The last four meetings of the 2025 season will be on:-
18 March. The History of Toys. Ken Sneath. The earliest toys were made from natural materials, such as sticks and clay. They became more widespread with changing attitudes towards children and childhood and in the nineteenth century those with an educational purpose, such as puzzles, books and board games were prioritised. In 1903 Beatrix Poter created the first Peter Rabbit soft toy and registered him at the Patent Office, making Peter the oldest licensed character. Lego, Barbie Doll and Action Man were once popular and the Rubik’s Cube became an enormous seller in the 1980s.
22 April. The Workhouse and Poorhouse – 700 years of old and new Poor Laws. Colin Chapman. The Poor Law of 1601 levied a mandatory poor rate on every parish. Those who were too ill, old, destitute, or who were orphaned children were put into a local ‘workhouse’ or ‘poorhouse’. These were tax-supported residential institutions started as a method of providing a less expensive (to the taxpayers) alternative to what we would nowadays call “welfare”. Poor housing conditions included leaking pipes or roofs, inadequate heating and, in due course, dangerous electrical wiring. In November of 1845 the diet of the inmates consisted primarily of bread, meat, potatoes, sweet milk, sour milk, oatmeal and tea.
20 May. The Spinning House. How Cambridge University locked up women in their private prison. Caroline Biggs. In 1561 the university was granted legal powers to deny the townswomen of Cambridge basic rights. Josephine Butler (1828–1906) became famous for highlighting the iniquity of the Contagious Diseases Acts (CDAs) of the 1860s, based on the 1561 powers, whereby any woman suspected of being a prostitute or even being seen anywhere near a student could be spirited away by a university “bulldog” and imprisoned in the notoriously filthy Spinning House jail, with no right to appeal or to a trial by jury. Emma Kemp was sentenced to fourteen days after being “found in the company of members of the university”. Jane Elsden was given two weeks for “not coming quietly” when hauled off the streets. Victorian hypocrisy is everywhere in this story.
17 June. Richard Bentley and Over Rectory. Richard Hewlings. Richard Bentley (1662 – 1742), was a brilliant classical scholar and theologian and became Master of Trinity College, Cambridge in 1700. His contemptuous treatment of many eminent colleagues led to extensive controversy and litigation. A Fellow of the Royal Society, Bentley was interested in natural theology and the new physical sciences, subjects on which he corresponded with Isaac Newton – another difficult person. History Society’s main interest in him is that he built Over Rectory.
