Clay Farm Centre
The Clay Farm Centre is in the south of Cambridge. It hosts a community centre and a café on the ground floor and first floor. There is also a branch of Cambridgeshire library.
The community centre has five rooms that you can book for events and activities. It has an accessible Changing Places facility, and free wifi throughout.
The café is managed and run by the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS). It provides affordable simple refreshments and has indoor and outdoor seating.
Trumpington Medical Centre is on the second floor of the building. The top two floors are residential accommodation.
Opening hours
The centre and library are open to the public at the following times:
- Monday: 9.30am to 1pm
- Library self-service kiosks available until 5pm
- Tuesday: 9.30am to 5pm
- Wednesday: 9.30am to 3pm
- Library self-service kiosks available until 5pm, but no access to the adult fiction shelves
- Thursday: 9.30am to 7pm
- Friday: Closed
- Library self-service kiosks available from 9.30am to 1pm
- Saturday: 9.30am to 1pm
- Sunday and bank holidays: Closed
Café
The café is usually open at the following times:
- Monday: 9.30am to 2.30pm
- Tuesday: 9.30am to 2.30pm
- Wednesday: 9.30am to 2.30pm
- Thursday: 10am to 4.30pm
- Friday: Closed
- Saturday: 9.30am to midday (during school terms only)
- Sunday: Closed
RVS are trying different opening times to establish a pattern that works for visitors to the centre as well as staff and volunteers.
Public transport and parking
The centre is a short walk from the Trumpington Park & Ride and from the guided bus stop on Foster Road.
There are covered racks for 30 bikes. There are uncovered racks around the centre and square for a further 50 bikes.
The centre has five disabled parking spaces. There are 18 parking spaces on Hobson Square – these are free to use but have a two-hour maximum stay. The area is patrolled by parking enforcement officers.
Library
The Clay Farm library is spread across the ground floor and first floor. There is space to browse the shelves and read or work quietly.
The library has eight computers available for public use. You can reserve a library computer if you want to use one, or drop in and use one if it is free.
One of the computers has a scanner, and there is also a printer and photocopier.
Some of the facilities will not be available during self-service hours.
Events and activities
The centre hosts many groups and activities every week. The programme of events includes contact details for each activity.
You can hire a room for your event – find out more below about the available spaces and how to book.
Public-use rooms
As well as the library and café, the centre has an array of spaces available for hire in normal circumstances.
The rooms and public-use areas are available at the following times:
- Monday to Thursday: 9am to 9pm
- Friday: 9am to 8pm
- Saturday: 9am to 1pm
Email us if you want to hire a room outside of these times.
The Eva Hartree Hall (204m²) on the ground floor can be split into two smaller sections of 135m² and 68m². It is ideal for large groups, exercise classes, performances and conferences. The hall is equipped with tiered seating if required.
The Tillie Cuthbert Room (56m²) on the ground floor is a multi-use room with an enclosed patio space. It has an enclosed patio area so is ideal for children’s activities, as well as for classes and meetings of all kinds. The room has tea-making facilities.
The Baker Studio (72m²) on the first-floor is a flexible space that can be used for classes and meetings of any kind. The room has tea-making facilities.
The Byron Room (30m²) and Chaplen Room (27m²) are first-floor meeting rooms. The dividing wall between them can be rolled back to create a single, larger room. The Byron Room has tea-making facilities.
We also have circulation areas with seating, which are ideal for informal meetings.
- Booking form [PDF, 0.4MB]
- Venue hire: Regular and commercial bookings [PDF, 0.6MB]
- Venue hire: Private bookings [PDF, 0.3MB]
- Conditions of hire [PDF, 0.2MB]
Communities and people
Our ‘communities and people’ video features the centre.
Centre management
The Clay Farm Centre is a joint venture between us and the county council. It is overseen through a partnering agreement.
We manage the community facility, library and café on behalf of the partnership. This includes employing the staff and providing all the services.
