Memories of Laundry Lane by Penelope (Penny) Jackson. The Pink Floyd Connection by D J (Nick) Nicholas.
Memories of Laundry Lane by Penelope (Penny) Jackson
My Early Life living in Cherry Hinton Road & Laundry Lane
Family
Ruby Gladys Jackson (Mum) William (Bill) Ernest Jackson (Dad)
Sisters Ellen Margaret, and me Penelope
*All photographs included here are Penny's, unless otherwise stated.
I was born on 28.04.1948 at 141 Cherry Hinton Road where my family lived in a downstairs flat. I was the youngest of three girls, Ellen was the eldest, she was born in North London in 1940, Margaret followed in 1946 and I came along later in 1948. Margaret and I were both born at 141 Cherry Hinton Road. My parents decided after the 2nd World War to move away from London and make Cambridge their home.
I believe that my dad's first job in Cambridge was at the Swiss Laundry on Cherry Hinton Road, which was not far from our home. My dad was an engineer, and he eventually left his job at the Swiss Laundry and worked for the Cambridge Steam Laundry which was at the end of Laundry Lane off of Cherry Hinton Road in Cambridge.
The job came with a cottage which was located at Laundry Lane, our cottage was number 1 Laundry Lane which was the cottage nearest the Laundry, there were 5 other cottages and as far as I can recall, all were occupied by other laundry workers.
I recall that there was a family called Arnold who lived at number 3 Laundry Lane, Cecelia Arnold was the eldest and I think Len was her son, there was a young lady called Ella and I remember a young man called Ricki. At some point, there was a baby boy living in the Arnold household and I guessed he was Len's son, his name was Kevin.
There was a family whose surname was Cramer. I think the dad was Polish. I cannot remember his wife's name, but I remember he had 2 daughters. I think one of the daughters was named Barbara, the other I think was Marisha but I am not sure.
There was a family called Inskip but I cannot remember what number they lived at, but they had two children Michael and Christine. At the end of the row of cottages was a couple who did not have any children, they were Tom and Ivy Cordon, and I can remember when Queen Elizabeth was Crowned (1953) they let us children watch the ceremony on their TV because none of the other residents had one! They were also the only ones who had a car.
There was another little cottage in Laundry Lane, it was nearer to Cherry Hinton Road. There was a little girl called Freda Mauer who lived there with her parents, her dad's name was Steve.
Post-war, money was tight, but as a child, it seemed to be a happy community. At the back of the row of cottages, we all had back gardens and to the side of the houses was a plot of land which was turned into allotments for growing vegetables. There was also a well on this piece of land.
Beyond our back gardens was a big field, where in the summer the children used to play during the school holidays. In early summer the field was covered with cowslips, which today are still my favourite flower. The boundary of the field had a row of trees and beyond the trees was Coe’s Farm. Mrs Coe ran a shop, the front of which was on Cherry Hinton Road. The shop was opposite where the TA is now.
* You can read more about the Coe's by clicking here: Lime Tree Farm and the Coe Family, Cherry Hinton
Ellen went to Morley School and when she left there she went to Coleridge School. With all the building that was going on in this area two new schools were built, Queen Edith School and Netherhall Secondary School. Margaret went to Morley School but when Queen Edith was built, she moved there and then went on to Netherhall. I went to Queen Edith and then to Netherhall, but we both hated school.
In the Early 1960s, I am not sure of the date, but I know I was at Netherhall School at the time, we learned that the field that was playing field, at the back of the cottages had been sold and houses were to be built, and Derwent Close was born, building proceeded and we were surrounded by a building site. At the time it seemed like a huge number of houses were being built, but worse was to come, the houses that we lived in were to be demolished to be part of the new build, I think there are garages where our houses used to be. The workers from the Laundry were given new homes on Derwent Close, wonderful we thought, brand new houses with a bathroom! I can remember our old cottage being demolished, Margaret and I watched out of our new bedroom window, and we could see all the pictures of pop stars still clinging to the walls of our old bedroom as they demolished the cottages.
I was 14, Margaret had left school and had a job and Ellen had been married for a couple of years and they lived in a flat in Station Road. Dad came home from work one night and he had to tell us he had been made redundant from his job, so he had to find us somewhere else to live. Margaret and I were really upset, we did not want to move!
But Dad sorted it out, he got another job, at the Cambridge pumping station (now the Museum of Technology) , and the council rented us a house, but the house was on the other side of town, Arbury Estate, it seemed miles away from our friends, but there was no other option. It was winter 1962 when we moved, Dad and Margaret had to go to work, so Mum and I had to sort out the moving, we had a removal company move us, and when they had finished, I had to take the key to the house back to the manager of the Laundry, I think his name was Mr Dorsey. We then ordered a taxi and together with the cat and Tinker the dog we arrived at our new home. It was freezing cold, the house was brand new, and I think it was colder inside than out. Dad eventually ended up working for the University in the Engineering Department, being in charge of the boilers in the teaching lab.
So, our new life began. The next morning it was freezing cold, but my sister had to go to work and I had to go to school. But to go to Netherhall school involved 2 buses each way, nightmare!
Christmas came and went and School Easter Holidays in 1963 were on the horizon, I knew I did not want to stay at school any longer, so I went to talk to the Head Teacher of Netherhall at the time, Miss Wilkinson, I told her I wanted to leave school, but she said I was only 14 and could not leave. She looked at the calendar and said, you will be fifteen in the Easter holidays, if you find a job that you can start when you are fifteen you can leave. That is what I did! Murketts Motor Vehicle Company had a repair workshop in Histon Road and I became a receptionist, telephonist and general office worker. It was a bit of a shock as I was very shy, and most of the staff were men.
Looking back, I had a very happy childhood, we did not have much money, but we had a good time, and we made the most of what we had. Looking at the recent pictures that my husband Nick took the other day of Laundry Lane, it made me sad to see how neglected it is now. But that is progress for you! After my marriage to Nick in 1968, our first home was at Swann’s Terrace (off Mill Road) before moving to Shepherds Close Cherry Hinton where we resided for 45 years bringing up our two boys before moving to Church End in 2015.
Penny Nicholas (Jackson)
18.09.2023
The Laundry Lane / Arnold Layne Pink Floyd Connection.
Added by D J (Nick) Nicholas
The story of the Pink Floyd song Arnold Layne has never been fully explained, and probably never will, the Lane although called Laundry Lane had so many Arnolds living there in the very early days, it was called (unofficially) Arnold Lane. If you listen to the lyrics of Arnold Lane by the Floyd, you will gather that it is pertinent to an individual (known to the police) as an alcoholic, and a thief who stole items of clothing from the washing lines in the area, it is believed he was an Arnold (one of the many that lived in the Laundry Lane cottages) and as the nearby Homerton Colleges had lots of ladies lodging in the area, it was a like a child in a sweet factory, with an abundance of quality undergarments to pilfer. He also had an illegal still in a shed at the back of the cottages where he brewed illegal hooch and sold it on.
The connection here is that Kevin Arnold was a friend of Roger (Syd) Barret and it was one of Kevin's relatives that was the perpetrator of these acts. Obviously he not only stole ladies' clothes, but men's attire as well, as it is rumoured that Syd Barret was one of his customers, (Syd being totally unaware of where the booty came from) He was eventually caught and served time for his misdemeanours. Hence it can be assumed that Syd used this knowledge to pen the song, Arnold Layne. Below I have written down an abridged version of the lyrics.
Arnold Layne had a strange hobby
Collecting clothes
Moonshine, washing line
They suit him fine
On the wall hung a tall mirror
Distorted view
See-through, baby blue
He dug it
Oh, Arnold Layne
It's not the same
Takes two to know
Two to know
Why can't you see?
Now he's caught
A nasty sort of person
They gave him time
Doors bang, chain gang
He hates it
Oh, Arnold Layne
It's not the same
Takes two to know
Two to know
Why can't you see?
The song was Pink Floyd's 1st Single and was recorded on Feb 8th & was released on the 11th March 1967.
DJN (Nick)
If you would like to download a PDF copy of Penny and Nick’s articles above, click on the button below:
If you would like to read more about the history of Laundry Lane and the Cambridge Steam Company that once stood there you can read more Here
Comments:
Felix Atagong
29/8/2024 04:27:46 pm
Interesting, with many details I wasn't aware of. The DJ (Nick) Nicholas part merely seems to echo Kevin Arnold's testimony that was published before. My blog also mentioned the Arnold Lane connection in 2021, after consulting the Capturing Cambridge website. Another Floydian enigma!
Roy
19/9/2024 10:59:22 pm
Re the connection with Arnold Lane/Pink Floyd. Sid's mother ran a hostel for Homerton students on Hill's Road. Sid was a regular visitor to their and would take his friends with him.