Cherry Hinton: Outline

Cambridge District Scout Archive

Cherry Hinton village is one location, Cherry Hinton parish another – the two are now rarely synonymous.  The Parish extends to Hills Road and towards the end of the 19^th century the new developments between Cherry Hinton Road and Hills Road were known as New Cherry Hinton.  Cherry Hinton Free Church is located on the road to Cherry Hinton, in the parish but not in the village.  The earliest Scout Troops located in the parish took the name Cherry Hinton although they are 1.8 miles from the village centre.

Cherry Hinton Parish

• 1^st Cambridge District (Cherry Hinton)           1910 – 1912
• 28^th Cambridge (Cherry Hinton)                     1919 – 1920
• 27^th Cambridge (Cherry Hinton Free Church)1928 – 1929
• 28^th Cambridge (St John’s)                              1928 – date

The two naming systems, Cambridge (inside the town boundaries) and Cambridge District (outside the town boundaries) ended around 1930.  The town boundaries moved between the foundation of the 1^st Cambridge District (Cherry Hinton) 1910 and the foundation of 28^th Cambridge (Cherry Hinton) 1919, both based in the same Church, St John’s Hills Road, and meeting in the same Parish Rooms.

Cherry Hinton Village

• 27^th Cambridge (Cherry Hinton Hall)                   1944 – 1945
• 27^th Cambridge (Cherry Hinton School)               1948 – 1966
• 27^th Cambridge (Cherry Hinton)                           1966 – date

The lack of a village based Scout Group before 1944, indeed 1948 may be considered the first, is interesting but unexplained.  Previous troops and groups labelled Cherry Hinton were formed within the parish but not the village.

The Parish

Cherry Hinton Parish extends to Hills Road and towards the end of the 19^th century the new developments between Cherry Hinton Road and Hills Road were known as New Cherry Hinton

The earliest Cherry Hinton Scout Troop, 1^st Cambridge District, was based at St John’s Church on Hills Road. The 1919 – 1920 troop, 28^th Cambridge (Cherry Hinton), was also based at St John’s Church Hills Road.  Cherry Hinton Free Church was located at the junction of Cherry Hinton Road and Hartington Grove, not in the village. 

The identification of the current 28^th Cambridge (St John’s) (1928 – date) as being Cherry Hinton, it too being based at St John’s, has continued into this century – despite being as far from the core village.

The Village

27^th Cambridge (Cherry Hinton Hall) was registered 10^th May 1944.  This Group registered Cubs in their one year of census figures 1945.  On closure it was described as an evacuee Group and it was at the return of children to their homes and the Scouter leaving that the pack closed.

It was of this group that in 1944 the ‘QM asked if there was any control of Group Scarves.  The DC said he had been consulted about the colour of the 27^th.  Miss long said she understood the pack had chosen red as its colour owing to the reference to the first syllable of its name CHERRYhinton.’

Cherry Hinton Hall had become Council owned in 1937 and a Youth Hostel.  With the coming of WW2 it became a home for young evacuees from London.  The catchment of the Cherry Hinton Hall troop is unknown.  It may have been purely evacuees; it may have contained some local boys.

27^th Cambridge (Cherry Hinton School) was the first unequivocal village based Scout Group.  It was initially sponsored by the Church and called Cherry Hinton School (a CoE school) but met in a number of locations.  The Group changed its name in 1966 to 27^th Cambridge (Cherry Hinton).  The name change did not alter the HQ number but did also signify a change from ‘Sponsored’ to ‘Open’. 

See also 27^th Cambridge: Outline History

JWR Archivist Aug 2022