Arbury

Arbury is a district and electoral ward of the city of Cambridge, England. The ward borders the following other wards (from North, proceeding clockwise): Histon, King's Hedges, West Chesterton, Market and Castle.HistoryThe area has been occupied since at least Roman times. In the 1950s, stone coffins from the 2nd century were discovered, as well as the remains of a Roman villa and mausoleum. In medieval times, a decaying circular earthwork of unknown age was visible just to the north of where Arbury Road meets Histon Road (now part of Orchard Park) and was known as Hardburgh, Arborough or Arbury Camp. The earthwork was formerly around 100 metres in length, though its western half (extending into Impington) was no longer visible by the start of the 19th century. It is thought to have been an undefended Iron Age enclosure to protect animals from predators.In medieval times, the area was common land, and local peasants were permitted to graze their sheep on the meadow between Lammas and Lady Day. In the 17th and 18th centuries the meadows were dug for earth to make bricks.Arbury was historically part of the parish of Chesterton and the parish of Impington. The area was developed by Cambridge City Council from 1957 as a housing estate of around 100 acres.