Covent Garden, Mill Road.

This Cambridge Street has a blue Plaque for every house, in recognition of notable and interesting people who have lived there, some from the late 1800's. Resident Ian Bent researched past histories of all 44 houses. Replica plaques have been displayed in each window. Some of the more interesting connections are as follows:-
Frederick Scrivener who lived at No.9 from 1872 for almost 50 years, was a tailor whose assistant was hanged for the murder of a 16 year old prostitute in 1876. Former soldier Robert Browning cut the throat of Emma Rolfe on Midsummer Common. She is buried in Mill Road cemetery, which several of us walked through recently on a blipmeet. Five cottages were tied for policemen. No.2 was the home of a Trinity College porter; No. 9 (after the tailor) was a hairdresser; No.16 a miller; N.18 a cycle maker; No. 20 an upholsterer; No.22 a blacksmith; No. 24 a baker, who allowed Archibald Frost to use a corner of the bakery for his trade as a barber. I wonder if any of the hair ended up in the bread. He ran the business until 1955 and was described as being more like a sheep shearer than a barber! No.26 was a postman; No. 29 a furniture dealer; The couple who lived at No. 58 in 1951- 60 were the well loved chidrens entertainers Auntie Jean and Uncle Dennis Collins. So many professions in one little street, including a pub and once also a dairy. I spent a very interesting afternoon peering into people's windows and reading the history of their homes, and getting a few pictures.

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