The Francis Frith Collection.
You are here:

Dry Drayton

Dry Drayton maps

Historic maps of Dry Drayton and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis.   View all Dry Drayton maps

Dry Drayton photos

We have no photos of Dry Drayton, although we do have photos of these nearby places:

Madingley| Bourn| Swavesey| Histon| Impington| Fenstanton| Grantchester| Over| Hilton| Willingham| Holywell| Cambridge| Trumpington| Hemingford Grey| Hemingford Abbots| Great Shelford

Dry Drayton area books

Displaying 1 of 10 books about Dry Drayton and the local area.   View all books for this area

Memories of Dry Drayton

No memories of Dry Drayton have been shared yet - be the first!
Add your memory of Dry Drayton or of a photo of Dry Drayton.

Cambridgeshire memories

In The Footsteps of Dead Poets.

Byron's Pool c1946
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

Just out of Trumpington, on the road to Grantchester, was the entrance to an area known as Byron’s Pool, named after Lord Byron who apparently frequented the area whilst at Cambridge University. Probably hoping to find somewhere discrete to make his next sexual conquest from what I’ve read about him since. Once through the clapper gate you made your way through an area of rough woodland that was criss-crossed with footpaths; some major and well trod; others less so with the occasional hazard of stinging nettle or bramble. If you made your way to the river, then walked upstream on the adjacent path, your ears would guide you to the weir, where between the ages of eleven and thirteen, I used to indulge in probably the most foolhardy stunt of my entire life.
The weir was basically a submerged concrete dam, in those days only about ten inches in section at the top, and which spanned most of the entire width of the river;... Read more

Florence Pansy Muggleton

Florence Pansy Muggleton born in Grantchester 1920 can trace her family back to her great, great grandparents Joseph Muggleton and Mary Ann Boutle who married at Grantchester church on 17th January 1822.  Flo has many memories over the years of the village.  She moved from the village in 1945 but still kept in contact via her family.  If anyone has any queries about the village pre 1942 she will try and help you and can be contacted via her daughter Gill Casper at gillian.casper@ntlworld.com.

Grantchester School  1953-1955

Grantchester School 1953-1955: Mrs Alice Freeman was the Headmistress, in charge of the Juniors, whilst 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 school visit to Hatfield House (via the Roman Verulanium at St. Albans) which I hope to download to this site sometime.
I was actually a Trumpington lad, but was transferred to Grantchester School to avoid the bullying I was going through at Fawcett School, but it was a case of "Out of the frying pan - and into the fire!" because although Grantchester was an excellent school academically, I suffered two years of lunch-time torture there, as you had to eat up ALL your school... Read more

The Lanes

This photo shows me, my mother and two of my sisters walking home, in either 1967 or 1968. I am the small boy looking back towards the camera. We lived in a bungalow not visible in the photo, on the left hand side almost opposite the large house on the right. This house was owned by Mrs Turner, from whom we would buy our eggs and whenever we went round there, she would always give us a Nuttalls Mintoe.

Grandad Lack of The Black Bull

The Black Bull c1955
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

I remember staying in the Black Bull, run by my grandad, grandad Lack. In the back garden was a huge willow tree and in one of the outhouses all the metal tops from the beer bottles were discarded. I used to sit in the tap room and look though the net curtains smelling strongly of cigarette smoke at the main road. He gave me fizzy cherryade. Auntie Peggy and Uncle George lived with grandad and took over when he died. Up the road was the fruit orchard where we picked apples and plums. I was very young but remember it well. How wonderful to find this photograph.

The Lacks

The Black Bull c1955
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

My great great grandfather was born in Willingham, his name was Joseph Lack. Many of my family are buried in the churchyard. I have not been to Willingham yet but hope to do so in the near future. I feel that I know the place so well even though I haven't been there. I am researching my family history, and found that they come from Willingham. Quite a lot of my family were carpenters. It was nice to see someone relating to Lack. Maybe not a good memory but hopefuly it will be a good one when I go to Willingham. Pat Mason

Grandad Lack

The Black Bull c1955
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

Hello again. I don`t know when Grandad Lack was born. I have no contakt with any of the Lack family because my mother remarried after my father Eric Lack died. Let me know if you find a link between the Lacks
Anna Stearn

© Copyright 1998-2012 Frith Content Inc. All rights reserved.