History (Since the 1700s to the present day). There has been a pub on the site since at least the 1700s. In 1797 it was described as being "old & well established". In April 1844 the building was destroyed by fire together with its barns, stables and furniture. Suspicion rested on a travelling salesman of Lucifer matches who had been turned away by the landlord. Coincidentally much of the village of Stretham was also devastated by a fire on May Day that year.		THE LAZY OTTER (Stretham Ferry) The Lazy Otter stands midway between Cambridge and Ely on the A10, the Roman Akemen Street. This old road had fallen into disuse by the 11th century when the main route was along the Aldreth Causeway. But some travellers still came this way, crossing the Old West River by a ferry until 1763 when a Turnpike Road was opened with a bridge at which tolls were paid. The original bridge was narrow and very steep, farmers needed to put extra horses on their carts to pull them over. Motor cars too found it difficult to negotiate so it was replaced in 1925 by the existing structure, which was tested by placing four traction engines on it. It carried all the traffic along the A10 until the road was realigned in 1976. The Pub has changed its name over the years. In 1797 it was known as the 'Charles in the Oak' - a reference to the story of how King Charles hid in an oak tree to escape Cromwell's soldiers. But for a while King Charles actually lived at the pub. (In Victorian times one landlord had the surname of Charles and King was his Christian name). The old pub closed in 1986 after which it was redeveloped and reopened as the Lazy Otter in April 1987.
Website Design by CreativeScience Consultants © 2007