The Kite - Early History

J. Burleigh was one of those who received an allotment under the 1811 Barnwell Inclosure Award. He sold a plot to Charles Humfrey for a mansion: much of this area is now bordered by Clarendon Street, Elm Street, Emmanuel Road and Parker Street. The mansion, Clarendon House, was designed by William Wilkins.

Humfrey, an architect, went on to acquire more property in the area. By 1845 he was in debt and he and his executors had to sell his bank and his Cambridge property over the next few years.

The mansion was demolished later in the century and its site is now Parkside Community College. However a gazebo still exists in the garden of no. 2 Emannuel Road and was restored in 1997 by the current owners, the City Council and English Heritage.

Jesus College was awarded most of the area of the Award. [New Square] In the 1830s it developed New Square. The three sides have been kept elegant and symmetrical though the centre is now owned by the City Council.

Another early occupant was John Grafton.

Cambridge : History The Kite - Early History