History of Cambridge Blue (85 Gwydir St) - formerly the Dewdrop InnRobert Alderson, plasterer, lived in 85 Gwydir St in 1904 (see Spalding's Directory) and 1913 (see Spalding's Directory). Number 85 Gwydir Street is now the Cambridge Blue. It used to be the Dewdrop Inn. 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. Number 87 has a cellar, which number 85 didn't, which explains why the publicans needed both houses. Number 85 is a large house, and I would have thought that it was always a pub. See number 87 for more information about the landlords of the Dewdrop Inn. |
|
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. We suspect 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.
Click here for a description for the current pub. |
Lately, of course, Chris and Debbie took over the Cambridge Blue. The pub was renamed and 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 was the area which had been the off-licence in the old days, where drink was sold to take away. This little bar 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.