Cherry Hinton Festival and the Cambridgeshire History Fair (2009-2011)
Cambridgeshire History Fair 2011
For several years, the Cherry Hinton Festival and Cambridgeshire History Fair brought together local history groups, community organisations, researchers, performers, and residents in one of the village’s biggest annual community events.
The Cherry Hinton Festival (not to be confused with the annual Cambridge Folk Festival held in the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall) has traditionally been an ‘open air’ annual event held in the village in September – a real old fashioned village fete, with arena events, stalls, music and activities, and for many years a parade.
But by 2005 the festival had dwindled down to all but a few small stalls at the entrance to the recreation ground and it was feared the whole event would not return.
Two determined Cherry Hinton ladies, Sharon Murray and Tracy Saunders set about trying to save the festival and began gathering people to join in and support their plans to bring back the festival to its former glory.
As I live in Cherry Hinton and was at the time Chair of Cherry Hinton Local History Society, I met with Sharon and Tracy, heard about their plans tried to think of ways that I could help and be involved. Over the next three years the festival grew back in size with the determined push and organisation from Tracy and Sharon, so that by 2009 the festival was one of the biggest and most successful yet.
For my part I set about planning and organising the 1st ever Cambridgeshire History Fair, which was held in association with Cherry Hinton Festival & Cambridgeshire Association for Local History (which at the time I was also committee member), it was to be held within the Cherry Hinton Festival on the recreation ground on 19th September 2009, the aim was to draw together as many of the Cambridgeshire local history groups and associated groups to have a community history fair where the groups would be able to showcase what they do to the public and for everyone to be able to network with each other.
The history fair covered history, archaeology, local history, archives, family history, architecture, natural environment, museums, re-enactment and brought together many of the various history related groups from across the county.
We then had a break for 1 year before returning again in September 2011 for the next Cherry Hinton Festival and the 2ndCambridgeshire History Fair both of which were even bigger!
You will find below lots of photographs of the 2009 and 2011 Cherry Hinton Festival and the Cambridgeshire History Fair, along with a selection of ephemera and reviews from the events.
At the very bottom of this page, you will find the comments box, if you have any memories to share of these events or past Cherry Hinton Festivals, please do feel free to send over a comment to be added to this historical record.
A history of the Cherry Hinton Festival from its early beginnings to date is being written and will be added here when it is complete.
*All photographs below are taken by different people and it’s no longer possible to trace who took what. Some I took, some are by Norman Daniels, some are the official festival photographer, and others I’m just not sure. Rather than be lost, I have decided to share them all here - if you do see any you wish to comment on, please do use the ‘Comments’ box at the bottom of this page.
The Cambridgeshire History Festival held within the Cherry Hinton Festival 2009 & 2011 Photo Gallery
Visitors exploring displays at the Cambridgeshire History Fair during the Cherry Hinton Festival.
The Cherry Hinton Festival 2009 & 2011 Photo Gallery
Festival ephemera
Cambridge History Fair Stall holders from 2009 and 2011 included:
University of Cambridge - 800 years
British Association for Local History
Hardwick Local History Group
March Branch Cambridgeshire Family History Society
West Wickham & District Local History Club
Cambridge Family History Centre
Beautiful Memories
Linton Community Archives Network
Linton and District Historical Society
Cambridgeshire Association for Local History
Cherry Hinton Local History Society
Cherry Hinton Community Archives Group
Friends of St Andrew Cherry Hinton
Helpful Genealogy
St Neots Museum
Cambridge Archaeology
Friends of Histon Road Cemetery
Cambridge Antiquarian Society
Cambridge Time Traveller Group
Historical Association
Creative Memories
2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles Living History Group
Cottenham Village Society
Cambridgeshire Archives
James Dilley Britannia Ancient Craft
Cambridge Archaeology Field Group
Prebendal Manor & Mike Brown - Early Gardener
Cambridge Geology Club
Friends of Sedgwick Museum
Knights of St Jude
Black Knight Historical
Cambridge and County Folk Museum
Cambridge Records Society
Cambridge Film Archive
Oxford Archaeology East
David Curry - Ancient Artifacts Display
Wildlife Trust/East Pit
Cambridge Preservation Society
Landscape and Local History Group
Friends of Cherry Hinton Hall
Cambridge Super 8
Sun Jester
Active8 Archaeology
Beth Saunders - Titanic Exhibit
Honor Ridout - Stourbridge
Cambridge Museum of Technology
Denny Abbey Farmland Museum
and others……..
Some of the reviews:
Well done you - history was fave part of my day - was fabulous - in Cambridge Eve News this eve
Dear Michelle,
I do congratulate you on organising this event. Gillian and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This was demonstrated by the length of time that we spent there.
I only hope that you had as many visitors as you deserved. It is an enormous lot of work. Success on these occasions can be best judged by whether the exhibitors want to come to the next one. This implies that I hope that there will be another!
Dear Michelle
Thank you for all your hard work in organising the History Fair so efficiently (even down to the weather). It was a great day especially for networking!
Janet
Dear Michelle,
I am writing on behalf of Sun Jester to say thank you very much for your most efficient management of the first History Fair. The organisation was excellent, your level of communication brilliant and, despite your reservations the car parking and entry and exit from the site worked like clockwork.
We have some experience of similar events and do understand all the hard work and stress that goes on behind the scenes. So thank you. And thank you too to the gentleman from the local history society who made a point of coming over to see us to say thank you for supporting the event.
Dear Michelle
Thank you for a lovely day. It really went very well and was very well organised.
I hope that the lady that fainted and was taken to hospital is OK
Regards
Barbara
Very well done - it was a great event!
It obviously took a great deal of hard work but it was appreciated by
everybody I spoke to.
Mike
You did an amazing job putting it all together and the variety of participants covered a good range of interests…
Thank you for inviting us to the event this year.
With best wishes
Michael French
Dear Michelle,
On behalf of the Cambridgeshire Geology Club and The Friends of the Sedgwick Museum I would like to thank you and the organisers of the 1st Cambridgeshire Historical Fair for making the day such a huge success. From the time of arrival at the Cherry Hinton Park to the time of departure during the early evening everything went so smoothly and everyone was so helpful and friendly. We had so many interested visitors to our stall that the day went by so quickly. I have attached a picture of the geology stall together with Alex Coleman one of the volunteers that helped on the day.
Well done and thanks to everyone involved. I would be interested to know the official attendance for the day!
Best wishes
Ken
Hi All
.. I just wanted to say what a fantastic event you organised this year and what a success it was. I know you have all worked really hard and I have to say it couldn't have been done any better….. Once again well done ladies and thank you on behalf of Chinton folk for a fabulous day.
Regards
Jonathan
'It was a really great festival-the girl did good!' Andrew Westwood-Bate Cambridgeshire Association for Local History
St Neots Museum 'Dear Michelle, Thankyou for a wonderful day on 19th Sept. We enjoyed the event immensely and thought it extremely well organised!'
Tom Doig - Cambridgeshire Association for Local History - 'Brilliant event at Cherry Hinton - fantastic organisation'
Denny Abbey Farmland Museum - Many thanks for organising [The 2011 Cambridgeshire History Fair] Michelle. It was a very good opportunity for networking and meeting potential visitors, and very smoothly organised
Cambridge Museum of Technology and Cambridge and County Folk Museum - Dear Michelle, Thank you so much for organising it! [The 2011 Cambridgeshire History Fair] It was great. We really enjoyed the day. So lucky with the weather...Thanks so much again and best wishes
St Neots Musuem - Dear Michelle, It was good to be involved on Saturday [The 2011 Cambridgeshire History Fair]. Thank you for inviting us again. I think that we always benefit from 'showing the flag' at events such as yours as people seem really interested in coming to our Museum for a follow up visit. I shall keep in touch.
Peter Filby - Dear Michelle,Thanks for organising such an interesting local history fair [The 2011 Cambridgeshire History Fair]. It was a lovely mix of groups and people and artefacts of various kinds. These provoked much interaction between the helpers and visitors.
Re-enacting Ancient Times Society - Hello Michelle, Thank you for allowing us to come along and be part of your event [The 2011 Cambridgeshire History Fair]. ..We all had a really great time, especially those who got to do the fighting and displays in the small arena...It really was an unexpected pleasure to be asked to do a display in the main arena. All of our 'combat trained' re-enactors were delighted to be able to make a small presentation for the public...Thank you again for a great opportunity and a big thank you to all of your helpers who were on site especially the ladies providing cakes and making sandwiches for those taking part.
Eliza Gore - Cambridge Archaeology Office - 'It was good to be there and we both felt it was a very worthwhile and enjoyable day. I'm glad so many people were able to attend the day.' - Cherry Hinton Festival & History Fair