Latest news with #Littleport
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Former ironmonger's store in Littleport is granted listed status
A former ironmonger's store dubbed a "time capsule of commercial history" has been granted Grade II listed status. The old J. H. Adams shop - now the Adams Heritage Centre - in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, served customers for more than a century, specialising in footwear for the local Fen shop is described as a "remarkable surviving example of a Victorian commercial building" and has been listed by the government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport, on the advice of Historic England."By listing this remarkable building, we're ensuring future generations can continue to learn about and be inspired by this wonderful heritage site," said Heritage Minister Baroness Twycross. Historic England was now urging people to add any photos, information and memories of the old shop to its Missing Pieces Project, so as much could be known about its past as possible. The former ironmonger's at 17 Main Street was built in 1893, initially for local ironmongers H. and J. Cutlack, before being bought by John Henry Adams in 1901. It continued trading as J. H. Adams and Sons until 2010, when it became a heritage features original folding wrought-iron gates from 1892, a recessed entrance with tiled floor, etched and painted glass with original business lettering - and mid-19th Century full-height wooden shelving, relocated from Lincolne's chemist in Ely. The one-time shop also boasts a steel-framed structure - technologically advanced for its well as recognising the building's architectural elements, the listing notes its social significance. Adams specialised in fitting and maintaining Hagan Norwegian ice skates – lightweight metal-bladed speed skates popular with fen skaters. Historic England said the shop was a hub for this distinctive local sport, importing skates from Oslo and developing a UK distribution also said it formed a cluster of historically important and listed buildings in Main Street. Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "It is extremely rare to find commercial buildings from the late 19th Century that retain such a high proportion of their original features."From the ornate shopfront to the historic shelving units, Adams Heritage Centre provides us with a vivid glimpse into shopping experiences of the past." Peter Audus, who owns Adams Heritage Centre, said preserving the building for the future had been a "long-term aim", while the Trustees of Adams Heritage Centre said the listing was national recognition of the market town's traditions and heritage. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Littleport man finds Sinclair C5 on Facebook and drives it on the road
An unusual mode of transport has been turning heads after it was restored to its "former glory". Mark Robinson from Littleport in Cambridgeshire said he had spent the last few years restoring a tiny, electrically powered tricycle-like vehicle. The Sinclair C5 was invented by British entrepreneur Clive Sinclair in 1985 and has a pedal-assisted electric Robinson, 49, takes his restored vehicle onto the roads and said the invention had been "ahead of its time," and was called "cool by the youth of today". Mr Robinson bought the vehicle - affectionately named Clive - on Facebook Marketplace in 2021 before he revamped said the tyres were ruined, it was black and he had to 3D print the rear indicators due to price and availability for the model. "In 1985, in my opinion, the world wasn't quite ready for electric vehicles," Mr Robinson said. "They looked like nothing else that was out there, and people weren't quite aware of that sort of genre of vehicle."He added that Clive moved at about 14 mph and could travel about 12 miles on a decent charge. Mr Robinson said he had been impressed with its range and drivability, adding it also received lots of smiles, waves and "looks of bafflement" from younger generations. He remembered the first time he saw the invention at a Cambridge electrical shop in January 1985."It was a demonstrator, you couldn't drive it or anything like that, but you could sit in and have your photo taken, and that was my first time in one. "I was impressed, it was a fun thing to see." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
