81a Mill Road Cambridge

[suey]

Can SKS help me please - 81a Mill Road Cambridge.
I have this address on a birth certificate dated 1919.  Was this a private residence or was it as I suspect  the location of the Parish Workhouse?  The mother of the child was described as 'of no fixed abode'.  The birth was registered in the Sub District of St.Andrew the Less if thats any help.
Thanks in advance
Suey

[Keith Sherwood]

Hi, Suey,
This is just round the corner from where I live, and off the top of my head I'm not exactly sure.  I know that the old maternity hospital is along there somewhere, but I'm not certain when it was functioning in that capacity.  I'll have a stroll along there tomorrow as I've got to buy some printer ink in a shop almost opposite - I'll also have a look through my books on Cambridge.
Sorry to be so vague at this stage, but I'm on your case...!
Keith

[Keith Sherwood]

Yes, Suey,
I've just cheated a bit and had a look on the internet.  83, Mill Rd. is a pub called "Chariots of Fire" (derelict after a fire a couple of years ago), and next to it is Ditchburn Place, which was built originally as a Workhouse in 1836-8, and subsequently (not exactly sure when, but will find out) became the Rosie Maternity Hospital.  Now with the Rosie transferred to the New Adddenbrokes's Hospital on the outskirts of the City, it has become a sheltered housing scheme amongst other things.  I believe it is the oldest building in the Mill Road area.
Hope this helps,
Keith

[suey]

Keith - Many, many, thanks for the reply and information. This is realy helpful.

This could turn out to be a sad story - The lady who gave birth at this address was originally from Hertfordshire.  We have a record from Cambs Union asking Bishops Stortford Union if they would take her back as she had arrived pregnant and of 'no fixed abode'. 
We have no further record of the lady in Herts or indeed of her child - I think I now need to ask Cambs Records and Archives to have a look and see if either or both remained at Cambs workhouse, it's possible that the child was abandoned
Suey

[Keith Sherwood]

Hi again, Suey,
Glad to be of assistance - actually it would have been unforgivable, as a fully fledged Rootschatter, NOT to have responded to a query about somewhere only half a mile away from my home and this very laptop...
These are the stories that bring family history truly to life, and I'm sure the Cambs Record Office in Cambridge, Shire Hall, Castle Hill would be able to help you now. (Not at this moment certain of their exact address/telephone/ e-mail - I'm sure it's on the internet somewhere).
Now I'm off to buy that printer ink, with many a sideways glance across the road at number 81a. (If you put in Ditchburn Place on Google, there's a nice picture and info about the place, so no need to take my camera this time...!)
Best wishes,
Keith

[AndrewMartin]

not exactly sure when, but will find out) became the Rosie Maternity Hospital. [/i]

The Rosie opened in the 1980s.  I was born in the Mill Road Maternity Hospital in 1978 and it continued for a few years until moving to the Addenbrookes site under a new name.

[Keith Sherwood]

I've just been to get that colour cartridge, and as Ditchburn Place is exactly opposite, I managed to bore the man there with a brief history of the place.  (The shop is called "Smart Cartridge", but when I was directed to it for the first time, I was told it was called "Intelligent Ink" - some kind of twisted word-association).
Anyway, as plain as day is the date of 1838 on the outside, and the number 81a on a black sidegate.  The pub next door used to be called "The Durham Ox" until recently changed to "Chariots of Fire", before its ironic blaze.
More importantly, Suey, if you Google "Cambridge Workhouses", the top choice is "Poor Law Unions in England", and if you click on Cambs - Cambridge, you get an excellent page on it.  Apparently the site had separate boys and girls school, male and female infirmaries, and there's a good plan of it.  Near the bottom of the page is a reference to the Cambridge County Record Office which has several holdings on Ditchburn Place, including, I notice, deaths for 1877-1938.
Maybe the person you are researching died in the infirmary.
And yes, Andrew, you like many hundreds, possibly thousands of Cambridge people were born here when it was the Mill Rd. Maternity Hospital - it had a wonderful reputation.
Keith

[suey]

Hello Keith and Andrew - Rootschat never ceases to surprise me - the generosity of folk with local knowledge of places and things, I can't thank you enough...
I'm off to have a 'Google'
Suey

[PaulWilks]

How fantastic! I was born at the Maternity Hospital in 1977, so it's interesting to know more information about it. I did find a link - http://wikimapia.org/#lat=52.201505&lon=0.1378441&z=16&l=0&m=s&v=9 This shows the site of the old hospital (centre). Coincidentally, I am studying at Anglia Ruskin University now, I had no idea it was so close!