A Visit To Cambridge: Photo Essay

Last weekend we visited Cambridge, a city in Cambridgeshire, about 2 hours drive away from where we live.  Cambridge stands on the river Cam, and is the seat of the university.of Cambridge. It was founded in 1317 by Edward II, and re-founded in 1337 by Edward III.  The university is made up of 31 colleges, each one independently organized.

It was very busy while we were there, as it was graduation time.  Here are some pictures of the colleges we saw.

First is Kings Chapel, with Kings college to the left of the picture. This is taken from the 'Backs', which is where the college gardens back onto the river.

Coming round to the front of Kings college, this is the Great Gate, on Kings Parade.

As you can see it was bustling with students and their families, here for graduation.

Here the graduating students are in their gowns, outside the Senate House, where the graduating ceremony takes place.

Another college that we saw was Gonville and Caius (pronounced keys). Gonville Hall was founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, after 200 years it was struggling, and running out of funds, then was re-founded in 1557 by John Caius, as Gonville and Caius, but is more commonly known as Caius college today.

This is the Tree Court, in Caius college, so called because when it was built John Caius had an avenue of trees planted across the court.

The next photo is Caius Chapel. all the different colleges have their own chapel.

Then we have the Gate of Honour, most of the time it is kept locked, but it is opened on graduation day, for the students of Caius to pass through to the Senate House,behind, to recieve their degrees.

We were lucky enough to visit Trinity college, which was founded by Henry VIII, when he combined Kings Hall and Michaelhouse, in 1546.

The entrance to the college is through the Great Gate. In a niche above the gate is a statue of Henry VIII.

The Great Court of Trinity college is the largest court in any of the colleges. Here is the Great Court, with the fountainin the centre.

It is here that the great court run is held. Students would try to run around the perimeter, a distance of about 367m, in the 43 seconds it takes for the clock to strike twelve. The clock at Trinity strikes the hour twice, which is why it takes so long to strike twelve! Even so it is vrey difficult to do the run in that time.

This was the setting for the film Charoits Of Fire, although it was not actually filmed here.

Also in the Great Court is Trinity Chapel, famous for it's choir.

The wren library makes up one side of Neville's Court. The library is named after Christopher Wren, the architect who designed it. It houses many original manuscripts, including the ones for Whinnie The Pooh!

Here is the magnificent dining hall, with a portrait of Henry VIII watching over the diners!

The river Cam flows behind the college, and one of the pastimes the students enjoy is punting on the river.

A punt is a flat bottomed boat, propelled by a long pole, which is used to push the boat along, it is quite a skill, not to be attempted by amatuers!

We had a wonderful weekend here in Cambridge, and it is a privilage for me to be able to share it with you.