1893 text
The Petty Cury. The derivation of the name of this street, so well known to all Cambridge men, is a matter of much dispute among antiquaries. (See “Notes and Queries.”) The most probable meaning of it is the Parva Cokeria, or little cury, where the cooks of the town lived, just as “The Poultry,” where the Poulters (now Poulterers) had their shops. “The Forme of Cury,” a Roll of Antient English Cookery, was compiled by the principal cooks of that “best and royalest viander of all Christian Kings,” Richard the Second, and edited with a copious Index and Glossary by Dr. Samuel Pegge, 1780.—M. B.
This text comes from a footnote on a diary entry in the 1893 edition edited by Henry B. Wheatley.
2 Annotations
First Reading
Alison Scott • Link
Many of the buildings in Petty Cury and the surrounding streets were demolished in the 1960s to build a typically ugly shopping centre.
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
Petty Cury is an old street that first appeared in documents around 1330.[2] and appears as Petycure, the residence of Thomas Furbisshour and his wife Agnes, in 1396. The unusual name most likely derives from petit (meaning "little") and cury (meaning "cooks' row"). Originally there were a number of bakers' stalls here. The derivation is mentioned in the Diary of Samuel Pepys, who had been a student at Magdalene College, Cambridge. From the 15th century, there were inns on this street, with yards behind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet…