Formerly one farm the council purchased the property early in the 20th Century and the property was split into 2 holdings. Now separated by a track to Fishponds – Old Farm is home to Margaret and Stan Shephard whilst Striplands Farm is home to Christine and Dick Shephard. Most of the land is now ear-marked for future development but the site has been proved by archaeologists to be an ancient one. Situated on the gravel seam which crosses under the High Street at this point this site was highly active during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The coppice at Fishponds was reputedly visited by the Hatton family on their walks around the village as was the pond at Ladywalk.
Below are some photographs kindly supplied by Margaret and Christine Shephard showing Old Farm and Striplands Farm as working farms. The first photograph is from the Cambridgeshire Collection and shows the original farm before it was sold to the local authority. The last photograph shows an old cottage that used to be at Fishponds – by the time the photograph was taken the cottage was being demolished.
An enormous amount of archaeology has been carried out on Old Farm and Striplands Farm as they formed part of the Home Farm development scheme. Photographs of archaeological digs were taken by Margaret Shephard and Hilary Stroude in 2006 and some of these can be seen below. The ladder that can be seen in the well is Bronze Age c 3000 years old!
