Sights in Cambridge
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Queens' College
The gorgeous Queens' College sits elegantly astride the river and takes its name from two queens who founded it in the 15th century. For visitors, the college's main entrance is off Queens' Lane and this is where its two most enchanting medieval courtyards are found: Old Court and especially Cloister Court, unmistakable for its intimate cloisters and matchbox lawn that irresistibly call to mind images of distracted academics in slippers and poets draped in the corners.
Here too is the beautiful half-timbered President's Lodge and the tower in which famous Dutch scholar and reformer Erasmus lodged from 1510 to 1514. Old Ras wasn't particularly enamoured of Cambridge: he th…
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Emmanuel College
Neither too big nor too small and surprisingly tranquil, the 16th-century Emmanuel College is particularly famous for two things. The first is facing you as you enter its Front Court: the 1677 Wren chapel, cloister and gallery is an architectural gem. And there's a plaque nearby commemorating its other oft-repeated claim to fame, which is that it educated one of America's most famous educators. John Harvard (BA 1632) was a scholar here before he settled in New England and left his money to found his namesake university in the Massachusetts town of Cambridge. His portrait also graces one of the chapel's stained-glass windows - but, as the artist had no likeness of Harvard …
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Gonville & Caius College
Known locally as Caius (pronounced keys), this fascinating old college was founded twice, first by a priest called Gonville, in 1348, and then again in 1557 by Dr Caius, a brilliant physician who supposedly spoilt his legacy by insisting the college admit no 'deaf, dumb, deformed, lame, chronic invalids, or Welshmen'! Given his attitude to the disabled, it's a darn good thing he wasn't around to deny wheelchair-bound megastar of astrophysics, Stephen Hawking, who is a fellow here.
Of special interest are its three gates: Virtue, Humility and Honour. They symbolise the progress of the good student, since the third gate (the Porta Honoris,a fabulous domed and sundial sided …
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Christ's College
Grand old institution Christ's celebrated its 500th birthday in 2005 and is worth visiting if only for its gleaming Great Gate emblazoned with heraldic carving of spotty Beaufort yale (antelope-like creatures), Tudor roses and portcullis. Its founder Lady Margaret Beaufort hovers above like a guiding spirit. A stout oak door leads into First Court, which has an unusual circular lawn, magnolias and wisteria creepers.
Pressing on through the Second Court there is a gate to the fellows' garden, which contains a mulberry tree under which 17th-century poet John Milton reputedly wrote Lycidas. Naturalist Charles Darwin also studied here.
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Trinity College
Trinity College is one of the largest, wealthiest and most attractive colleges. It was established in 1546 by Henry VIII, whose statue peers out from the top niche of the great gateway (he’s holding a chair leg instead of the royal sceptre, the result of a student prank). Check the website for frequent free entry periods. The Great Court, the largest in either Cambridge or Oxford, incorporates some fine 15th-century buildings. Beyond the Great Court are the cloisters of Nevile’s Court and the dignified Wren Library, built by Sir Christopher in the 1680s.
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Great St Mary's Church
This university church, built between 1478 and 1519 in the late-Gothic perpendicular style, has a feeling of space and light inside thanks to its clerestory, wide arch and woodcarving. The traditional termly university sermons are preached here. To get your bearings, climb the 123 steps of the tower for a good view of the city.
The building across King's Pde, on the right-hand side of the square, is the Senate House, designed in 1730 by James Gibbs. It's the most beautiful example of pure classical architecture in the city; graduations are held here.
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King’s College
King’s College is one of the most sublime buildings in Europe and Cambridge’s foremost tourist attraction. The chapel was begun in 1446 by Henry VI and completed around 1516. Henry VI’s successors, notably Henry VIII, added the intricate fan vaulting and elaborate wood-and-stone carvings of the interior. The chapel comes alive when the choir sings and there are services during term and in July (phone for performance times).
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Church of St Bene't
The oldest structure in the county, the Saxon tower of this Franciscan church was built around 1025. The round holes above the belfry windows were designed to offer owls nesting privileges; they were valued as mouse killers. The church also has a Bible that belonged to Thomas Hobson, owner of a nearby livery stable, who told customers they could hire any horse they liked as long as it was the one nearest the door - hence the term 'Hobson's choice', meaning no choice at all.
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Little St Mary's Church
Little St Mary's The church's unwieldy original name was St Peter's-without-Trumpington-Gate, which gave the college its name. Inside is a memorial to student Godfrey Washington, great-uncle of George. His family coat of arms was the stars and stripes, the inspiration for the US flag. Henry Cavendish, the first person to measure the density of water, also studied here. He also calculated the planet's weight: about six billion trillion metric tonnes if you must know.
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Magdalene College
Magdalene College Originally a Benedictine hostel, this appealing riverside college was refounded in 1542 by Lord Audley. It has the dubious honour of being the last college to allow women students; when they were finally admitted in 1988, male students wore black armbands and flew the college flag at half-mast. Its greatest asset is the Pepys Library, housing the magnificent collection of books the famous mid-17th-century diarist bequeathed to his old college.
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Cambridge University
Five of the university colleges - King's, Queens', Clare, Trinity and St John's - charge tourist admission. Some other colleges deem visitors too disruptive and often deny them entry. Most colleges close to visitors for the Easter term and all are closed for exams from mid-May to mid-June. Opening hours vary year to year, so contact the colleges, the tourist office or the university's central information service for updates.
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Peterhouse College
The oldest and smallest college, Peterhouse College will leave you wanting to slip it in your handbag to take home. Founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, later Bishop of Ely, it stands just south of the Little St Mary's Church. Much of Peterhouse has been rebuilt or added over the years, including the exceptional little chapel built in 1632, but the main hall is bona fide 13th century and beautifully restored.
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Wren Library
Trinity College's vast hall has a dramatic hammer-beam roof and lantern, and beyond this are the dignified cloisters of Nevile's Court and the renowned Wren Library . It contains 55,000 books dated before 1820 and more than 2500 manuscripts, including AA Milne's original Winnie the Pooh. Both he (Milne that is, not Winnie) and his son, Christopher Robin, were graduates.
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Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum, otherwise known as ‘The Fitz’, was one of the first art museums in the UK. It houses Egyptian sarcophagi, Greek and Roman art, Chinese ceramics and English glass in the lower galleries, while the upper galleries have paintings by Titian, Leonardo, Rubens, Rembrandt and Picasso, among others.
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St John’s College
St John’s College has a 16th-century gatehouse and three beautiful courtyards, two of which date from the 17th century. From the third court, the picturesque Bridge of Sighs spans the Cam. Stand in the centre and watch the punts float by.
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Round Church
The Round Church was built in 1130 to commemorate its namesake in Jerusalem.
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