House where Polonia is located at 231, Chesterton Road was built in 1914.

First purchased as “Cambrai” for around £2,460 as a family home by a Cambridge accountant Harry Slater and his wife Emma Louisa, the house became a hub of the Cambridge community as the Slaters were heavily involved in charity and civic work in Cambridge. By 1945, after the Slater’s deaths, “Cambrai” was auctioned. Only returning to its position as a community hub later in 1976 the house was purchased by the Polish expatriates that had settled in Cambridge. Since the 1920s Polish had been setting up homes in Cambridge steadily and had brought a strong sense of community with them. Forming a strong and welcoming community from the outset by creating sporting teams, photography clubs and becoming involved in civic life.

231, Chesterton Rd. gave that very community a heart

Offering space for religious worship, language lessons, support for integration and much more. Most of all, the house allowed Cambridge’s Polish community to keep strong traditions alive. The house offered a space for folk dancing and a Polish choir, just to name some of the activities. This has with no doubt kept our Polish community tight-knit and welcoming for nearing a century, there is still today a Polish mass held at the world-renowned Church ‘Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs’. So, from 1976 the house had once more become the center of a Cambridge community.

In 2007, Klub Polonia opened its doors even further, offering traditional and contemporary Polish cuisine to the whole community at first, then extend its services to the general public later on, opening its doors to accommodate meetings, events, celebrations and cultural gatherings.

It’s what we’ve been doing (rather well we like to think…) ever since!