Who Remembers Cambridge Cable ?

Cambridge Cable LTD was formed in 1988, by three businessmen from Cambridge, as a cable television and communication company. The company was granted the cable television franchise for Cambridge and the surrounding areas in June 1989, and in July 1990 it was awarded a public telecommunications service licence to distribute television channels by its cable network. Cambridge Cable's inaugural service began in July 1991 with the telephone service being launched in September 1992.

In the years that followed Cambridge Cable gained backing from the Comcast Corporation, a major cable network which operates in the United States and Singapore Telecom.

The company later managed to obtain Stort Valley Cable LTD and was awarded the franchise for Harlow, Bishop Stortford and Sawbridgeworth in November 1992. They provided the service under the name Anglia Cable Communications.

During 1993 the company expanded with services by their East Coast Cable franchise covering Colchester to later be followed by Ipswich and Felixstowe.

In 1999, the Cambridge Cable Group, which it was now known and had operating franchises under the names Cambridge Cable, Anglia Cable, East Coast Cable and Southern East Anglia Cable became part of NTL Incorporated. The company is now part of Virgin Media.

Henry Cable - Sturton Street Baker

Henry Cable - 1900s

One of the first trades found in Sturton Street was Cable's the bakers, which was found at No.9 and was opened by Mr Henry Cable in 1888. Henry himself had originally been born in Halstead in 1840 and moved to Cambridge and to James Street in particular to be the first Co-op Master Baker at premises not far from his home. Henry left the services of Co-op because, it is thought, they not only wanted him to bake the bread, but also to push it around the streets, selling it from a hand-cart. He refused to do this and the Co-op had no choice but to bow to his demands and buy him a horse-drawn cart, but this didn't last long and he left to set up his own baking business in Sturton Street.

Henry had to be up at five every morning to make the bread from dough because all of his baking would have been done by hand. He baked two and half oven-loads of bread a day, which would be, according to the sizes of his ovens, about 500 loaves.
Once Henry had baked all his bread his family would mind the shop while he went out with his horse and cart selling it.