A trip to Cambridge.

On Saturday, March 7th, I went on a Broomfield Coach trip to Cambridge.  I've been there before but stayed on the outskirts as I was on a willow weaving course over two day and before then not for decades.  It's really not that far away, less than an hour in the car, but even so . . . I just haven't.  SO I was really looking forward to this trip.

Rather than bombard you with loads of history stuff, I will post links that you can follow up, if you're interested.

It wasn't the nicest day - very dull and a bit chilly, but it didn't rain so no complaints and it certainly didn't deter the visitors - us and thousands of others!

The bus dropped us off behind The Backs - a really pretty part of several universities and we should have been able to cut through onto King's Parade but it was blocked in preparation for the Cambridge Half Marathon on Sunday.
I'm quite pleased because I might have missed this if I'd cut through (I don't know, it's possible).

The very famous and attractive Mathematical Bridge, supposedly designed by Sir Isaac Newton (it wasn't, that is a myth)

https://history.queens.cam.ac.uk/college/mathematical-bridge

Even on a dull day, it was very attractive.

I had booked a ticket to go into Kings for twelve o'clock so first I stopped off here:

A very attractive little cafe where I intended to have a coffee but also fell for some avocado on toast which was so delicious.

Once satisfied and with a visit to the loo before leaving, I wandered up and down, finding things to tick off my list.

Here's the Corpus Clock, a modern and intriguing timepiece that one could just walk past without really noticing.

Here's a link to a YouTube video about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARes4M5OLxU

I walked past Great St Mary's on the way to look round the market.  You can climb the stairs to the top for some wonderful views but I didn't.  Maybe it's on the list for next time.  

https://www.cam.ac.uk/public-engagement/news/spotlight-on-great-st-marys-church

The market was . . . OK.  Not as proper-market as the St Albans one was, more touristy, I think, with loads of street food stalls which all looked and smelled pretty delicious!

This was right in the centre and the stall to the back-left was where I later bought a Cypriot chicken and lamb wrap, which I thoroughly enjoyed while sitting on one of the fountain steps.

The market goes right back to the Middle Ages and here's a YouTube video about it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OF4mAs2l2U

One thing I really loved was how you can glance down a side alley and go from modern to historical in twenty paces!

Just look at those chimneys!

When it was time, I walked into the King's College grounds.  I took so many photos but, fear not, I will pick and choose carefully.

History of the College.

History of the Chapel

The chapel is a reverse Tardis - it seems so much bigger on the outside but when you walk in, apart from the height which is most impressive, it feels smaller and almost intimate.

A poor photo of the absolutely amazing fan vaulted ceiling.

Evidence of the Tudor dynasty is everywhere you look.  Tudor roses, the Beaufort portcullis (Henry VII's mother was Margaret Beaufort, the don't-know-how-many-great granddaughter of John of Gaunt and his mistress, then wife, Katherine Swynford, one of my favourite ladies of history) and coats of arms galore!

R A - Regina Anna - or Anne Boleyn, carved during the brief time she was queen and lucky to still be there.  Most were defaced/removed shortly after her death.  A really good bit of dating evidence!

There's also just one memory of Kathryn Howard's brief reign too - in a stained glass window, I believe but I couldn't see it.

Where the world famous choir sits - one side of it anyway!

There's a number of side chapels, all of which are interesting.  This particular one memorialises those from the College that dies in both World Wars - in the photo is the wall for WW1.

From the looks on people's faces, we were all finding it a very sombre place as we teeter on the brink of a third world war . . .

Another bit of Anne Boleyn.  H A - Henry Anne

View from the bridge over a wild flower meadow towards the chapel.  

No, I didn't!

I loved this little market - lots of hand crafted stuff, not cheap but not shockingly costly either.  This was where I bought some nice earrings and a little coffee mug.

So many lovely old dwellings.

And my final destination, the Round Church.  Absolutely lovely, not the least bit fancy, built around 1130 and only one of four round churches still in use in England.  Another is Little Maplestead, here in Essex.  Must look it up as I go pretty much past it on the way to Center Parcs.

https://roundchurchcambridge.org/

The columns and arches

It was an active church until the congregation grew too large, proving very popular with students

There's a lovely 'social' area to one side.

Standing in the middle of the round bit with the church history of Cambridge displayed around the outside.  It was very interesting.

These stone faces were added by renovators in the 1840s.  Some were the stonemasons' faces but, somehow, I think someone was playing a joke with this one.

That's all I had time for - I had to walk back to the coach with so many things still on my list.  I hope they do another trip next year - I'd love to go again.

Coming up - Stratford Upon Avon this next Saturday!