The photo on the left was taken from the junction with Sand Street looking towards the entrance to The Butts on the right.


The Butts runs from Sand Street to Cherry Tree Lane. It is marked on a map of 1656 in the same location as today but no street name is given but it is described as The way to Broad Lane the old name for Cherry Tree Lane. In 1902 its name is marked on a map as Red Row.
It is thought that its name came from the Cromwell period when there was supposed to have been a rifle range in this location being used for practise for the English Civil War, although the exact location for this range has not been found at present to prove this theory, but with the very close connection that Soham had with the Oliver Cromwell family, the story does seem to make sense that Soham would most certainly have had a rifle range at this time somewhere in Soham. We have also learned quite recently that Oliver Cromwells pay master lived in the North of Soham at a cottage that still stands.
So perhaps Soham was never a Royalist supporter at this time and history has got it wrong, only further investigation will tell.

These two photos are looking along The Butts travelling from Cherry Tree Lane.