The New Spring

Pubs and and pints... beer, wine and spirits by Lois

My dad, if not exactly born in a pub, was brought up in a pub, the Portland Arms Cambridge. His grandparents, also had a pub, the Fitzroy Arms in Fitzroy Street, Cambridge, but when we were children his regular pub was the New Spring, down near the river. It was further away than the Portland, which his parents had given up in 1950, but I guess that was where his rowing and fishing friends went.

In those days pubs opened for very restricted hours, children were not allowed in, and in some pubs (not necessarily the Portland or the Spring) women were not allowed either. I remember being allowed to walk through the pub with my sister to go to the back garden where we sat having Vimto and Smith’s crisps, just plain crisps, there were no flavoured crisps, and the salt was in a screw of blue waxed paper.

There was another pub not far away called The Old Spring, which was also very near the river, but as far as I know my dad did not go there – no doubt he had been there, but it was not his regular pub.  can’t find how old the Old Spring is, certainly it was licensed at the time of the 1881 census, but I’m sure it’s older than that!

The New Spring… It seems there was a brewery on the site called the Spring Brewery, dating back to the 1850’s and closing in the 1890’s. There is an intriguing 3 page pamphlet by C. Preston called The ‘Spring’ Brewery, Chesterton Road, Cambridge, but I can’t find anything about it.

So, I don’t know if the Old Spring and the New Spring were both named after a brewery, or whether the original Spring was named after a water source… I shall investigate! However, the reason I’ve been thinking about the New Spring is that an old cinema, now a pub, called the Tivoli, which was beside the pub, has caught on fire and seems to have been badly damaged. There is mention of a pub called ‘The Boathouse’ and I have a feeling that might be what was the Spring.

I have no photos of the Spring, Old or New, so my featured image is our family’s pub, the Portland which was just across the road from where the Spring Brewery was.

6 Comments

  1. Rachel Aucott
    Reply

    Hi Lois, I am doing some research on C Preston,mentioned in your post above, as he lived in a house called “The Hurst” of Hurst Park Avenue. Preston ran the brewery in the late 19th Century. I would be interested to see the pamphlet you mention and I wonder where you saw it? Any info gratefully received and am happy to share the info I have if you are interested. Thanks, Rachel

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      3. Rachel Aucott

        Thanks for that Lois. The flagon looks great – I shall keep my eyes peeled.

        James McCallan Preston lived in the Hurst, a house long gone, but is now merely remembered by its street name: Hurst Park Avenue. He and his family lived there from around the end of the 1890s to their death in 1927 (he and his wife died with a couple of months of each other). His father was a very successful hop merchant in London. Hence young James went into the brewing trade. He sold the Spring Brewery ,and I assume the Spring pub, to Lacons (a Yarmouth Brewery) in 1898 for £38k.

        However, it seems the Spring PH did not close and I have found a picture of it in the Cambridge Collection. The picture is taken after Preston sold it and before the cinema was built. I suspect it is pre WWI. At some point in its past the pub was called the Rutland Arms – and I have seen mention of it back to the 1850s.

        In other news you were right about the Old Spring also being older than late 19th C. In was in fact an Ale House run by Mrs Martha Norfield. She tried to get a full licence, ie to sell spirits, on several occasions but to no avail. At the moment I can get back to 1869 with her and the Old Spring

        Finally on the 1880 OS map if you look on the bank of the river by the brewery you can see the word “spring”…!

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      4. Lois

        How fascinating! The Spring was my dad’s local – I think it’s still there although now called the Boathouse. Although dad’s parents had the Portland Arms nearby, and he had lived there as a child, he didn’t go in there when we were living in Cambridge. The Tivoli was next door to it and was never open as a cinema as long as I knew it… I think that too became a pub or bar or restaurant.
        Although we lived near Hurst Park Avenue, and I had several friends who lived there, I had no idea about ‘The Hurst’ so thanks for telling me about that!

        Pub history is fascinating, isn’t it… I guess you’ve come across this site:

        http://www.closedpubs.co.uk

        – loads of lovely info here!

        Thanks again Rachel… lots of things for me to investigate!

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