History of Cambridge Blue

History of Cambridge Blue (formerly the Dewdrop Inn)

The Cambridge Blue pub was formerly known as the Dewdrop Inn (a Victorian pun!). It is at no. 85 Gwydir Street. However, its hisory is a little confused. The publicans in the early directories seem to have lived at no. 87, and given that as their address, and not referred to the Dewdrop Inn, at all - rather stupid as this was passing up free publicity! It definitely existed at this time, as the 1881 census shows the pub name.

In the 1879 Kelly directory, there is Sidney Strange, beer retailer, house number unspecified. This directory has few house numbers for Gwydir Street. We think the street was being renumbered at the time, from continuous to the current odds and evens.

In the 1881 census, there is the following record for 87 Gwydir St. "Dewdrop Inn".

Name	Relation	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Joseph STRANGE	Head	32	Dorset, England	Dairyman
Maria STRANGE	Wife	31	Cambridge, England
Ellen STRANGE	Daur.	11	New York, America	Scholar
Sidney STRANGE	Son	8	America	Scholar

In the 1883 Kelly directory, at number 87, there is Joseph Strange, beer retailer. Sidney Strange, beer retailer, lives at number 79. (This can't be the son, who would only be 10).

In the 1892 Kelly directory, at number 87, there is Sidney Strange, beer retailer and Joseph Strange, who has changed trade back to cow keeper. We don't know if this is the older Sidney, or the son, who would be 19 by now. Obviously Joseph has returned to his first love, cows!

In the 1904 Spaldings directory, at number 87, Mrs. Mary Strange is now the publican, and Sidney Strange, a milkman. Has the son taken over his father's cows? At number 85 (which is the current Cambridge Blue), there is Robert Alderson, plasterer. Perhaps he is living in a flat over the pub.

In the 1913 Spaldings directory, at number 87, for the first time in the street directories, there is a mention of the Dewdrop Inn (although the number is wrong - it should be 85). Richard Sutcliffe is publican. Robert Alderson, plasterer, is still at 85.

In the 1916 Kelly directory, at number 87, there is Richard Sutcliffe, beer retailer.

Mary Young, who was raised in Gwydir Street but now lives in America, says "I remember the Peck family (former owners of The Dew Drop Inn) and I am in touch with Jill Peck who now lives in St. Louis. Jill, like myself married a US Service man and came to the USA."

The photograph on the right is of Leslie Peck, in 1963. The current licensees think that the photograph has been reversed!

This record was made by Mary Young in 2005.

Sandra who used to live at 102, Gwydir Street says the following:

I remember the Dewdrop Inn when I lived at 102 Gwydir St, across the street. Leslie and Maidie Peck were the licensees at the time, 1956, and my parents, Dorothy and Arthur Hewitt were good friends with them. The Pecks had a son John, hairdresser in Cambridge, and daughters, Janet and Gill. I know the house/Pub well as at age 12 yrs I was called upon to baby-sit Gill's 2 little girls, Vicky and Debbie, when she brought them home from St Louis, Missouri, USA, for a visit to her parents. I used to give them tea parties at the far end of the garden where there was a wall to the cemetery, is it still the same? There was a big barrel round the outside of the kitchen where there was always a dart board soaking. I've had many teas in the kitchen and watched much TV in the living room as well as bathing the girls in the big old bathroom upstairs at the back of the house. I'm still in touch with Gill.

After Leslie Peck gave it up their daughter, Janet and husband, Pete Plumb, along with their little daughter, Susan, took it over. Sadly, it didn't last long, Pete died young. Janet is still in Cambridge and only recently did her mother, Maidie, pass on.

The next licensee was my Uncle Ernie Stanley and Aunt Joyce . I don't remember how long they had it as I got married in 1967 and came to America. They moved back to East Rd to the flats across from where they had previously run the Pelican Pub (on the corner of East Rd and Nelson St) in the 50's.

The Dewdrop has probably changed a lot since those days but I loved going there, they also had a bigger TV than we did, ha, ha.

This record was made by Sandra in 2005.

Memories from Jo Edkins (made in 2007):

I remember the Cambridge Blue when it was 'The Dewdrop'. This was a terrible Victorian pun - the Dewdrop Inn meaning 'Do drop in'. There was no garden. There were two bars, and we used to go to the right-hand bar, which had a jukebox. It served Tolly Cobold beer. Tolly wasn't a particularly popular beer at the time - there was a rumour that it was made with potato flour. In fact, when CAMRA visited the Tolly brewery, we asked about that, and Tolly said "No, not since potatoes went up in price". They may have been pulling our legs, of course. Anyway, in the 1970's, if you wanted Real Ale, it was Greene King, apart from a few pubs selling Charles Wells or Tolly Cobold, and it was pleasant to have a change from time to time.

Cambridge Blue inn sign

Lately, of course, Chris and Debbie took over the Cambridge Blue. It was decorated with rowing memorabilia because their interest in rowing. There was a tiny bar at the front of the pub, which would take about 6 people round a table, if they were good friends. This had a low ceiling, and above it was suspended the forlorn remains of a wrecked Cambridge Eight (rowing boat). This was the famous boat wrecked on the way down to an Oxford and Cambridge boatrace. The boat was signed by the crew, with many acerbic comments on the navigational abilities of the cox! The sign of the Blue represented the nationalities of the landlords - the dragon for Chris (Welsh) and the eagle for Debbie (American). The pub used to be one of the few smoke-free pubs in Cambridge, before a certain recent change in the law.

Click here for a description for the current pub.

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