27th February 2021 - Stapleford, Great Shelford, Little Shelford, Hauxton and Harston

 Stapleford

Symbol of blue circle with 12 stars and V and S letters. Church, windmill, stone contraption with metal harness - punishment?, horse, wheat, flowers.

Plaques: "The new sign was donated by Hill Residential and marks the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II 2012."

"Erected on commemoration of Queen Elizabeth's silver jubilee 1977" - presumably relating to the previous sign on this site.

Great Shelford

Church, wagon with hay, water mill on the river, house and tower.

Plaques: "The village of Great Shelford to commemorate the silver jubilee of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II J une 1977"

"Near this spot in 1701 Joseph Austin erected the earliest domestic building in England constructed of  clay bat"

Clay lumps: "The use of clay lump in England is traced back to an earlier form, the thinner (but otherwise similar) 'clay bats', which were used to construct the nest-boxes of dovecotes in the late eighteenth century. From 1791 clay bats were used to build cottages in Cambridgeshire. By 1821 the blocks were being made deeper, and were called 'clay lumps'."

Little Shelford

Dated 2014. Modern design - sun, church, buildings, rocket, silhouette of a man.

Hauxton

Viking, church, wheat, river and duck or goose. Dated 2000. 

Plaque: "In Memory of Meyrick Arnold 1923-1996"

Newton

Just the post in Newton - hopefully the sign has been removed for refurbishment.

Plaque on post: "Presented by C Harry Short to mark the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 1952-1977"

Harston

Double sided. Beehive, rook in trees, water seeping into aquifiers.

Plaque: "This sign was erected by the people of Harston to commemorate the silver jubilee in 1977 of Queen Elizabeth II."

31 in seven days

25th February 2021 - Girton, Impington, Histon, Cottenham and Landbeach

Girton

Plaque on pole: " TOP Design on a Roman belt discovered in a burial ground near Girton College.

CENTRE Based on the coat of arms of the Cotton family, Anna-Maria Cotton endowed the first Girton village school.

BELOW Corn marigolds once common in the village.

The Cross of St. Andrew."

Second plaque dates the sign as 1985, the design by Denis Cheason and made by Barry Sharman.

Impington

This time I had checked on the location the junction of New Road and Bridge Road

Tree, church, monk with book, sheep, goose or swan on a stream, village college and a family. Two crests. Dates from 1979. Designed by Ray Malmstrom. Burgoyne and Pepys crests. Tree of life, the past on the left and the future on the right. For full information see  Village Society page..  

Histon

Dates from 1990. "The design includes ducks, strawberries, the church, a Percheron horse and Moses Carter the Histon Giant. The first three are fairly obvious, though Chivers Strawberry Jam may already be fading into history. Percheron Horses were first brought to this country from France by J.Stanley Chivers after the first World War. They were of national importance in the dissemination of the breed. Moses Carter lived from 1801 to 1860, was nearly seven feet tall, weighed over 23 stone and was strong as he was big." from Village Society page which has further details.

Cottenham

 

Picture divided into four quarters depicting agriculture and a woman working at a trade indoors.  WI on the back. A plaque on the pole says "Cottenham WI In memory of past members 1995". 

Landbeach 

Church with crest and bishop's mitre. On the reverse the mitre becomes a tree. Plaque on base says "This sign was erected by the people of Landbeach to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II June 1977.

26 so far in six days

24th February 2021 - Haslingfield, Harlton, Eversdens, Hardwick

 Haslingfield

A lady riding a horse

Harlton

Triangular base with stone carved images. The top of the base has a metal sign. The text on the sign says: "HARLTON MILLENIUM SIGN. 

The last maypole in Cambridgeshire at the crossing of Mares Way and the Roman Road was dismantled in 1870.

Wheat has been grown and stock raised here during at least the last thousand years as recorded first in the Domesday Book in 1086.

a

There are still some remnants of the old greengage orchards.

Instruments in the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory were used by Martin Ryle and Anthony Hewish to gain the Nobel prize for Physics in 1974 for 'Aperture Synthesis and the Discovery of Pulsars'. They were assisted in the discovery of pulsars by Jocelyn Bell. The 5km radio telescope was built in 1971 along the line of the former Cambridge to Bedford railway line."

The image shows a map of the village highlighting, clunch pit,  millennium oak trees, parish church and village hall.

Little and Great Eversden

On the side of the road between the two villages. Church and boar

Kingston

We didn't see a village sign in Kingston.

Hardwick

Double sided with the same on both sides. Church, tree, family walking, sheep and lambs with shepherds crook. Plaque with WI 1915-2015. 

21 so far in five days.

21st February 2021 - Milton, Oakington and Westwick, Dry Drayton, Madingley, Trumpington

Milton

Two sided with pictures of Baits Bite Lock

Histon and Impington

We cycled from Milton to Impington, the Impington sign was not by the church or at the crossroads with the B1409. Over the crossraods, we cycled straight past the Histon sign on the left while we looked right at the village green with a pump on a stand which seemed a likely location.

Oakington and Westwick 

Avro Lancaster, church and famer ploughing. 

Plaque on the post: "This village sign was erected in 1988 using funds raised from a Village Day. Oakington, referred to in the Doomsday Book as Hoccas Farm has close ties with the R.A.F. during World War II. The keystone was recovered from the ruins of the local mill, built in 1863."

Dry Drayton

No village name on the sign. Crest inside wooden wheel.

Madingley

.

Double sided, same on both sides. Crest

Coton and Grantchester

We didn't spot one in Coton or Grantchester on the roads that we took through the villages

Trumpington

Knight on charger and crest. Plaque says: "Erected in 2010 by the People of Trumpington replacing teh sign erected in 1987."

17 signs so far in four days

20th February 2021 - Stow cum Quy, Lode with Longmeadow, Swaffham Prior, Reach, Burwell, Fen Ditton

 Stow cum Quy

Church, jackdaw with silver show and gold chain

Lode with Longmeadow

Lode Mill. Crest, crest with anvil?, head of ape, praying mantis. Same on reverse.  

Swaffham Prior

The two churches, water tower, windmill, wagoner with bags of flour

Reach 

Looks like a ruined arch with tree, houses, cows, horse and waggon

On the post sleeves with buttons, roundabout horse representing Reach Fair, boat representing the lode when goods would come to Reach via the river.

Post has man with scroll and crest. The other side of the post has a bishop's mace

The reverse of the sign has the name Reche (Old English or French?) with the arch and trees

Burwell

Church, ruin of castle and windmill. Industrial building with chimney and a man working with industrial product. Woman with baskets of red fruit (apples?). Symbol of WI who presumably sponsored the sign. Symbol at the bottom of a flower in a circle.

Reverse side shows that that Burwell was connected by a lode to the river system for the transport of goods. Same ruined castle, church and windmill.

Fen Ditton

Church with plough and basket

Church and wooden building. Rowing boat on the river - an eight.

12

19th February 2021 - Boxworth, Bourn, Toft, Comberton, Barton

 Boxworth

Crest of the village

Knapwell

Bridge dated 1893 with a badger - dated 1981 carved into the other side

Bourn

Avro Lancaster, church, windmill, large house with pheasant

Toft (double sided)

Viking ?

Travelling preacher (John Wesley? [no John Bunyan])

Plaque on post. "EIIR" and wreath

"This sign was erected by the people of Toft village to celebrate the 

SILVER JUBILEE

of Her Majesty

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

1952-1977

THE NORSEMAN

A thousand years ago a man such as he was the true founder of our village. Leaving aside his weapons he cleared land of scrub and trees and built himself a homestead -  a TOFT.

JOHN BUNYAN

In the year 1659, when England was torn by political and religious strife, the author of THE PILGRIMS PROGRESS came to preach to a meeting in a barn in TOFT."

Comberton (double sided)

Looks like a nun giving food (fish) to the poor

Farming and a windmill

Barton (double sided)

Church and duck pond, horse, barrel and hoops, WI 

Farmer with a scythe, not sure what the round things are in the background. Ancient drawing of two headed animal. Roman soldier.

16th February 2021 - Lolworth

 Introduction

We cycled from Cambridge much more during 2020 due to COVID-19 visiting a lot of villages and towns most of which were within 16 kilometres of Cambridge. This year on the 16th February I suggested that we collect photographs of village signs.

 Lolworth

The church, farming and a family with dogs