Lists of possible project titles for school and college students that they could undertake and present new findings to local history societies in and around Cambridge (UK)

1. Cambridge Local History - Project Ideas
• Extended projects for further education students
• Dissertations for undergraduates
• Theses for postgraduates and early career
researchers
Antony Carpen – Local historian at Lost Cambridge - https://lostcambridge.com/

2. The women who made modern
Cambridge
• The individuals involved from 1880s to 1940s
• Covering:
• Cambridge Ladies Dining Club
• Cambridge Ladies Discussion Society
• National Union of Women Workers’ Cambridge Branch
• National Council of Women Cambridge Branch
• Cambridge Women Citizens’ Association
• Active members of Cambridge’s Conservative, Labour, and
Liberal Parties over that time period
• Suffragists vs Suffragettes & the distinction between
• Pre-war vs Interwar campaigning
• Legacy

3. Cambridge Women’s Citizens’
Association 1918-1984
• The individuals involved from 1918-1984
• Covering:
• Formation while WWI was still raging
• Changes in Cambridge and the work/roles of women
during the war
• Physical changes to the town during the war
• Changes to / creations of new institutions during the war
• Interwar successes
• Impact of WWII
• Post-war decline and reasons why
• Winding up in mid-1980s
• Assessment of their contribution to Cambridge’s herstory

4. The history of the trade union
movement in Cambridge
• The individuals involved from the mid-late 1800s to today
• Covering:
• Formation prior to the existence of the Labour Party
• Town/Gown relations between radical students and
working men in industry
• The formation of the Cambridge & District Trades Council
• The first Labour councillors – men and women
• Interwar industrial action
• First and second world wars – experiences of
• The first Labour MPs
• Industrial strife in the 1970s & 1980s
• Trade unions in the 21st Century

5. The history of transport in and
around Cambridge
• The individuals involved from the early 1800s to today
• Covering:
• Pre-railway transport – Cambridge’s place within the
regional economy
• The importance of the river trade
• Where to locate a new railway station
• Horse drawn trams
• The rise of the omnibus/Ortona bus company
• The rise of the motor car
• Conflict with cyclists
• Improving the road network and rising car demand
• Stagnation & failures to deal with congestion +decline of rail

6. The expansion of Cambridge from
market town to small global city
• The individuals involved from the early 1800s to today
• Covering:
• The growth of Cambridge’s population
• The changes to how Cambridge has been governed
• The building of new housing within the old boundaries of
the borough
• The building of new housing outside of the borough and
neighbouring villages
• The growth of local government and the vote – and
pressure to incorporate surrounding villages into the town
• Extending boundaries in 20thC
• Late 20thC growth & early 21st C growth.
• Future challenges and limits to growth

7. Newspaper and media coverage in
Cambridge
• The individuals involved in the local print press industry in the
19th & 20th centuries
• Covering:
• The establishment of newspapers
• The laws and cultures that the local media existed in –
including literacy / illiteracy of the population
• Party political preferences
• Newspapers as a forum for political exchange
• Newspapers as a sources of historical record/transcripts esp
public meetings, court cases, council meetings
• Attitudes of those writing into newspapers
• Particular controversies of note

8. Cambridge Antiquarian Society
• The individuals involved in founding and sustaining the society
from the start to its present day
• Covering:
• Who founded it, when and why?
• Who was key to continuing it and why
• What impact did its events and research have both on
historical and archaeological inquiry, and decisions taken
about the future of Cambridge
• High points and low points
• The role of the society today
• Future opportunities given the huge changes in
communications technologies since the 1990s

9. Cambridgeshire Association for
Local History
• The individuals involved in founding and sustaining the society
from the start to its present day
• Covering:
• Who founded it, when and why?
• Who was key to continuing it and why
• What impact did its events and research have both on local
historical inquiry, and decisions taken about the future of
Cambridge
• High points and low points
• The role of the society today
• Future opportunities given the huge changes in
communications technologies since the 1990s

10. Cambridge Preservation Society /
Cambridge PPF / Civic Society
• The individuals involved in founding and sustaining the society
from the start to its present day
• Covering:
• Who founded it, when and why?
• Who was key to continuing it and why
• What impact did its events and research have both on local
historical inquiry, and decisions taken about the future of
Cambridge
• High points and low points
• The role of the society today
• Future opportunities given the huge changes in
communications technologies since the 1990s