A Brief History of Cherry Hinton Allotments - Wenvoe Allotments, Cherry Hinton.
Wenvoe Close Meadow, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge - M. Bullivant July 2025
A Brief History of Wenvoe Allotments, Cherry Hinton
The Wenvoe Close Allotments, located just off Fishers Lane in Cherry Hinton, have a long and evolving history tied to the development of the village itself. The land was originally part of open fields shown on the 1806 Enclosure Map, owned by local figures including Mrs Stevens and the college of Peterhouse, Cambridge. Over time, this land was shaped by changing ownership and expanding settlement.
By the early 20th century, allotment gardening had taken root across Cherry Hinton, with maps from 1901 onwards showing allotments just north of the railway line. It wasn’t until after WWII, around the late 1940s, that plots on the south side, where Wenvoe Allotments exist today, began to appear on record.
The post-war years saw major changes: prefab housing, then the creation of Wenvoe Close and Arran Close in the 1970s, reshaped the area. Much of the original allotment land was lost to housing, leaving the smaller but still active Wenvoe Allotments we know today.
Throughout their history, these allotments have reflected wider social and agricultural trends, from glebe land leases under the 1908 Small Holdings Act, to wartime gardening efforts and parish council management records from 1916 to the 1970s.
The Wenvoe Allotments remain a living link to Cherry Hinton’s rural past, an enduring green space in a growing city.
Below you will find my working document, a free downloadable PDF, which covers some notes on the History of Allotments in Cherry Hinton, focusing in the first instance on the Wenvoe Allotments. This is a ‘working notes’ document, from which you are most welcome to use it to continue and expand the research.
If and when I get time, I may add more information - if I do so, I will note where, so any changes are easily tracked.
Click on the big blue button below to download the PDF
If you would like to find out more about Wenvoe Close Allotments, Cherry Hinton, please visit their website HERE
Example from the PDF:
By 1927 we have several areas of Allotment Gardens in the parish of Cherry Hinton and these can be seen altogether on the 1927 OS map below, which I’ve circled in green:
Wenvoe Close Meadow, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge - M. Bullivant July 2025