King's Hedges is an
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
in the north of the city of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
History
The open land to the north of Cambridge that now comprises King's Hedges was known as ''Albrach'' from as early as the 13th century. In 1558 it was agreed that Richard Brakyn could
inclose all 34 acres of Albrach, following which it was renamed ''Kings Hedges''
(without an
apostrophe
The apostrophe ( or ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes:
* The marking of the omission of one o ...
, which was introduced into English in the sixteenth century in imitation of French practice.
[
]).
The name is believed to have derived from the fact that it is on the site of the ancient King's warren, or game preserve, where hedges were grown to direct the animals into areas where the hunters could easily catch or kill them.
Development
Development of the King's Hedges estate to the north west of Campkin Road began in 1967, and by 1986 a total of 1570 households had been built on the 125-acre site, largely in blocks of three and four storeys, and reaching the city limits. These council estates were occupied predominantly by families removed from older parts of the city, and there were initially numerous complaints of vandalism and about the lack of community facilities.
The estate was planned around cycling and walking routes which provide direct paths through the area. This encourages people to travel without cars within the estate. King's Hedges provides the best example of such development in Cambridge. The success of the King's Hedges design has not been replicated in newer developments which revert to car-centric design.
In 2005 the adjacent
Orchard Park – previously known as Arbury Park – was begun.
Arbury Park
/ref> Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, opened in 2011, now runs along the edge of the King's Hedges ward.
Local life
The ward has primary schools – King's Hedges Primary School (built 1967–1969) and The Grove Primary School (1963)[ and two public houses (The Ship and Golden Hind).
The area has bus and road connections to the centre of Cambridge as well as ready access to the outskirts and the A14 trunk road. It is home to the Cambridge Regional College further education college, as well as a number of local pubs and shops, and the ]Cambridge Science Park
The Cambridge Science Park, founded by Trinity College in 1970, is the oldest science park in the United Kingdom. It is a concentration of science and technology related businesses, and has strong links with the nearby University of Cambridge. ...
is adjacent to the ward.
References
External links
King's Hedges Primary School
{{Cambridge electoral wards
Wards of Cambridge