Look for a white, box-like building with black beams at the entrance, big red double doors in the center, and-just to make sure you can’t miss it-a bicycle mounted high on the front wall above the signs.
Right, you’ve found the St Mary's Street drill hall-though I bet you didn’t expect a military landmark to be sporting a bicycle on its roof! Back in the late 19th century, instead of antiques and collectibles, this place echoed with the stomp of army boots and the shouts of the 1st Huntingdonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps as they drilled and trained. Imagine young volunteers lining up outside, straightening their uniforms and trying to look brave, their breath fogging in the morning air. By 1900, the building became home to part of the Bedfordshire Regiment, and it wasn’t long before some clever folks decided bicycles could be a soldier’s best friend. The Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion was born here in 1914-yes, real soldiers on real bicycles! During World War I, men gathered anxiously at this very spot, their bicycles lined up and ready, but instead of heading to muddy trenches abroad, they stayed in the UK, guarding home and country. After the war, the hall’s days as a military hub ended, transforming into the more peaceful and quirky place you see today. So as you stand here, picture the clatter of boots, the excitement, the nerves-and maybe the odd squeaky bicycle wheel-echoing through a very different time.
