(England Twitter)-Cambridge, is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about 50 miles (80 km) north-by-east of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the city.
Cambridge is well known as the home of the University of Cambridge. The university includes the renowned Cavendish Laboratory, King's College Chapel, and the Cambridge University Library. The Cambridge skyline is dominated by the last two buildings, along with the chimney of Addenbrooke's Hospital in the far south of the city and St John's College Chapel tower in the north.
According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the city's population was 108,863 (including 22,153 students), and the population of the urban area (which includes parts of the neighbouring South Cambridgeshire district) is estimated to be 130,000.
History
Prehistory
Settlements have existed around the Cambridge area since before the Roman Empire. The earliest clear evidence of occupation is the remains of a 3,500-year-old farmstead discovered at the site of Fitzwilliam College. There is further archaeological evidence through the Iron Age, a Belgic tribe having settled on Castle Hill in the 1st century BC.
Saxon and Viking age
After the Romans had left Saxons took over the land on and around Castle Hill and renamed it Grantabrycge - 'Bridge over Granta'. Their grave goods have been found in the area. During Anglo-Saxon times Cambridge benefited from good trade links across the hard-to-travel fenlands. By the 7th century, however, visitors from nearby Ely reported that Cambridge had declined severely. Cambridge is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as "Grantebrycge.
Norman times
In 1068, two years after his conquest of England, William of Normandy built a castle on Castle Hill. Like the rest of the newly conquered kingdom, Cambridge fell under the control of the King and his deputies. The distinctive Round Church dates from this period. By Norman times the name of the town had mutated to Grentabrige or Cantebrigge (Grantbridge), while the river that flowed through it was called the Granta.
Beginnings of the university
In 1209, students escaping from hostile townspeople in Oxford fled to Cambridge and formed a university there. The oldest college that still exists, Peterhouse, was founded in 1284. One of the most well-known buildings in Cambridge, King's College Chapel, was begun in 1446 by King Henry VI. The project was completed in 1515 during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Twentieth century
From the 1930s to the 1980s the size of the city was greatly increased by several large council estates planned to hold London overspill.[citation needed] The biggest impact has been on the area north of the river, which are now the estates of Arbury, East Chesterton and King's Hedges, and there are many smaller estates to the south of the city.
In 1962 Cambridge's first shopping arcade, Bradwell's Court, opened on Drummer Street, though this was demolished in 2006. Other shopping arcades followed at Lion Yard, which housed a relocated Central Library for the city, and the Grafton Centre which replaced Victorian housing stock which had fallen into disrepair in the Kite area of the city. Both of these projects met strong opposition at the time.
Governance
Local government
Cambridge is a non-metropolitan district served by Cambridge City Council. The City of Cambridge is one of five districts within the county of Cambridgeshire, and is bordered on all sides by the mainly rural South Cambridgeshire district. Indeed, it is the only district in England to be entirely surrounded by another.The city council's headquarters are in the Guildhall,a large building in the market square. City councillors elect a mayor annually. Cambridge was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1207, which permitted the appointment of a Mayor,although the first recorded Mayor, Harvey FitzEustace, served in 1213. Cambridge is also served by Cambridgeshire County Council.
Westminster
The parliamentary constituency of Cambridge covers most of the city. Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat) was elected Member of Parliament (MP) at the 2010 general election, succeeding David Howarth. One area of the city, Queen Edith's ward, lies in the South Cambridgeshire constituency, whose MP is Andrew Lansley (Conservative), elected in 1997. The city had previously elected a Labour MP from 1992 to 2005 and prior to this, usually elected a Conservative after the Second World War. However, the Conservatives have seen their share of the vote fall over the past 20 years.
The University used to have a seat in the House of Commons, Sir Isaac Newton being one of the most notable holders. The Cambridge University constituency was abolished under 1948 legislation, and ceased at the dissolution of Parliament for the 1950 general election, along with the other university constituencies.
Geography
Cambridge is about 50 miles (80 km) north-by-east of London. The city is located in an area of level and relatively low-lying terrain just south of the Fens, which varies between 6 metres (20 ft) and 24 metres (79 ft) above sea level. The River Cam flows through the city north from the village of Grantchester. The name 'Cambridge' is derived from the river.
Like most cities, modern-day Cambridge has many suburbs and areas of high-density housing. The city centre of Cambridge is mostly commercial, historic buildings, and large green areas such as Jesus Green, Parker's Piece and Midsummer Common. Many of the roads in the centre are pedestrianised.
Climate
Cambridge currently has two official weather observing stations, the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), about 2 miles north of the city centre, and the Botanical Gardens, about 1 mile south of the city centre. The city, like most of the UK, has a maritime climate highly influenced by the gulf stream. This is moderated to some extent by its low lying, inland, and easterly position within the British Isles, meaning summer temperatures in particular tend to be somewhat higher than areas further west, and often rival or even exceed those recorded in the London area. July 2006 for example recorded the highest official mean monthly maximum (i.e. averaged over the entire month) of any month at any location in the UK since records began; 28.3c (82.9f) ,at both the NIAB and Botanical Gardens observing stations - Cambridge also often records the annual highest national temperature in any given year - 30.2c (86.4f) in July 2008 at NIAB and 30.1c (86.2f) in August 2007 at the Botanical Gardens are two recent examples. The absolute maximum stands at 36.9c (98.4f) set on the 10th August 2003, although a temperature of 37.5c (99.5f) was recorded on the same day at the Guildhall rooftop weather station in the city centre and is acknowledged by the Met Office. Before this, the absolute maximum was 36.5c (97.7f) set at the Botanical Gardens in August 1990. The last time the temperature exceeded 35c (95f) was July 2006 when the maximum reached 35.6c (96.1f) at the Botanical Gardens and 35.8c (96.4f) at NIAB. Typically the temperature will reach 25.1c (77.2f) or higher on 20.5 days of the year over the 1971-00 period, with the annual highest temperature averaging 30.2c (86.4f) over the same period.
Demography
The demography in Cambridge changes considerably in and out of University term times, so can be hard to measure.
In the 2001 Census held during University term, 89.44% of Cambridge residents identified themselves as white, compared with a national average of 92.12%. Within the University, 84% of undergraduates and 80% of post-graduates identify as white (including overseas students).
Economy
Cambridge and its surrounds are sometimes referred to as Silicon Fen, an allusion to Silicon Valley, because of the density of high-tech businesses and technology incubators that have developed on science parks around the city. Many of these parks and buildings are owned or leased by university colleges, and the companies often have been spun out of the university.Such companies include Abcam, CSR, ARM Limited, CamSemi, Jagex and Sinclair. Microsoft chose to locate its Microsoft Research UK offices in a University of Cambridge technology park, separate from the main Microsoft UK campus in Reading.
Cambridge was also the home of Pye Ltd., who made radios and televisions and also defence equipment. In later years Pye evolved into several other companies including TETRA radio equipment manufacturer Pye Telecommunications. Another major business is Marshall Aerospace located on the eastern edge of the city. The Cambridge Network keeps businesses in touch with each other. The FTSE100 software company Autonomy Corporation is located at the Business Park on Cowley Road.
Transport
Main article: Transport in Cambridge
Cambridge is a city with many transport connections as well as being one of the UK's eleven "Cycling Cities", a status given in 2008. There are regular trains to King's Cross and Liverpool Street stations in London as well as to Peterborough, Leicester, King's Lynn, Norwich, Ipswich and Stansted Airport. Two major roads pass by the outskirts of the city, the M11 motorway and the A14. Cambridge also has its own airport, Marshall's Airport. The future Cambridgeshire Guided Busway will run through Cambridge city centre. Cambridgeshire County Council has also submitted a bid for £500 million from the Transport Innovation Fund.
Education
Schools in Cambridgeshire
Cambridge's two universities, the collegiate University of Cambridge and the local campus of Anglia Ruskin University, serve around 30,000 students, by some estimates. Cambridge University estimated its 2007/08 student population at 17,662, and Anglia Ruskin reports 24,000 students across its two campuses (one of which is outside Cambridge, in Chelmsford) for the same period. State provision in the further education sector includes Hills Road Sixth Form College, Long Road Sixth Form College, and Cambridge Regional College.
Both state and independent schools serve Cambridge pupils from nursery to secondary school age. State schools are administered by Cambridgeshire County Council, which maintains 251 schools in total, 35 of them in Cambridge city. Netherhall School, Chesterton Community College, the Parkside Federation (comprising Parkside Community College and Coleridge Community College), Manor Community College and the Christian inter-denominational St. Bede's School provide comprehensive secondary education. Many other pupils from the Cambridge area attend village colleges, an educational institution unique to Cambridgeshire, which serve as secondary schools during the day and adult education centres outside of school hours.Private schools in the city include The Perse School, The Perse School for Girls, St. Mary's School and The Leys School.
Culture
Sport
Football
Cambridge played a unique role in the invention of modern football: the game's first set of rules were drawn up by members of the University in 1848. The Cambridge Rules were first played on Parker's Piece and had a "defining influence on the 1863 Football Association rules.
The city is home to Cambridge United F.C., who played in the Football League at the Abbey Stadium from 1970 to 2005, when they were relegated to Conference National, the division in which they currently compete. When relegation became inevitable the club was placed in administration with substantial debts, but it emerged from administration in time for the 2005–06 season.
Rugby
The city is represented in both codes of Rugby football. Rugby Union club Cambridge R.U.F.C. play in National Division One at their home ground, West Renault Park on Grantchester Road in the southwest corner of the city. Cambridge Eagles Rugby League team play in the National Conference League East Section during the summer months.
Watersports
The River Cam running through the city centre is used for boating. The University has its own rowing club, Cambridge University Boat Club, and most of the individual colleges have boathouses on the river. The main focus of university rowing life are the two bumps races held in the Lent and Summer terms. Cambridgeshire Rowing Association was formed in 1868 and organises competitive rowing on the river outside of the University. Shallower parts of the Cam are used for recreational punting, a type of boating in which the craft is propelled by pushing against the river bed with a quant pole.
Other sports
As well as being the home of the Cambridge Rules in football, Parker's Piece was used for first-class cricket matches from 1817 to 1864.The University of Cambridge's Cricket ground, Fenner's, is located in the city and is one of the home grounds for minor counties team Cambridgeshire CCC.Cambridge is also home to two Real Tennis courts out of just 42 in the world at Cambridge University Real Tennis Club.British American Football League club Cambridgeshire Cats play at Coldham's Common. After a 10 year hiatus, the resurrected Cambridge Royals Baseball Club will also be once again competing in the British Baseball Federation in 2011. Cambridge has two cycling clubs Team Cambridge and Cambridge Cycling Club.Cambridge & Coleridge Athletic Club is the city's track and field club, based at the University of Cambridge's Wilberforce Road track.
Motorcycle speedway racing took place at the Greyhound Stadium in Newmarket Road in 1939 and the contemporary local press carried meeting reports and photographs of racing. It is not known if this venue operated in other years. The team raced as Newmarket as the meetings were organised by the Newmarket Motorcycle Club.
Varsity sports
Cambridge is also known for its university sporting events against Oxford, especially the rugby union Varsity Match and the Boat Race. These are followed by people across the globe, many of whom have no connection to the institutions themselves.
Theatre
Cambridge's main traditional theatre is the Arts Theatre, a venue with 666 seats in the town centre. The theatre often has touring shows, as well as those by local companies. The largest venue in the city to regular hold theatrical performances is the Cambridge Corn Exchange - capacity 1800 standing or 1200 seated. Housed within the city's 19th century former corn exchange building the venue was used for a variety of additional functions throughout the 20th century including tea parties, motor shows, sports matches and a music venue with temporary stage. The City Council renovated the building in the 1980s, turning it into a full-time arts venue, hosting theatre, dance and music performances.
Literature and film
The city has been the setting for all or part of several novels, including Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Rose Macaulay's They Were Defeated, Kate Atkinson's Case Histories, Rebecca Stott's Ghostwalk[citation needed] and Robert Harris's Enigma,whilst Susanna Gregory wrote a series of novels set in 14th century Cambridge[citation needed] and Sylvia Plath wrote a number of short stories with a Cambridge setting published in the collection Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams. Gwen Raverat, the granddaughter of Charles Darwin, talked about her late Victorian Cambridge childhood in her memoir Period Piece and The Night Climbers of Cambridge is a book written by Noel Symington under the pseudonym "Whipplesnaith" about nocturnal climbing on the Colleges and town buildings of Cambridge in the 1930s.
Music
Popular music
Pink Floyd are the most notable band from Cambridge. The band's former songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Syd Barrett was born and lived in the city, and he and another founding member, Roger Waters, went to school together at Cambridgeshire High School for Boys. David Gilmour, the guitarist who replaced Barrett, was also a Cambridge resident and attended the nearby Perse School. Other bands who were formed in Cambridge include Henry Cow, Katrina and the Waves, The Soft Boys, Ezio, Horace X The Broken Family Band, and the pop-classical group King's Singers, who were formed at the University. Solo artists Boo Hewerdine and Robyn Hitchcock are from Cambridge, as are Drum and bass artists (and brothers) Nu:Tone and Logistics. Singer Olivia Newton-John and Matthew Bellamy, lead singer of rock band Muse, were born in the city.Singer-songwriter Nick Drake and Manchester music mogul Tony Wilson, the founder of Factory Records, were both educated at the University of Cambridge.
Festivals and events
Several fairs and festivals take place in Cambridge, mostly during the British summer. Midsummer Fair dates back to 1211, when it was granted a charter by King John.Today it exists primarily as an annual funfair with the vestige of a market attached and is held over several days around or close to midsummers day. On the first Saturday in June Midsummer Common is also the site for Strawberry Fair, a free music and children's fair, with a series of market stalls. For one week in May, on nearby Jesus Green, the annual Cambridge Beer Festival is held. Started in 1974, it is Britain's second largest beer festival outside London. 90,000 pints of beer and a tonne of cheese were served in 2009.
Public services
Cambridge is served by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with several smaller medical centres around the city and a general hospital at Addenbrookes. Addenbrookes is a learning and teaching hospital, one of the largest in the United Kingdom, and functions as a centre for medical research.
Religion
Cambridge has a number of churches, some of which form a significant part of the city's architectural landscape. Like the rest of Cambridgeshire it is part of the Anglican Diocese of Ely.A Cambridge-based family and youth organisation, Romsey Mill, had its centre re-dedicated in 2007 by the Archbishop of York, and is quoted as an example of best practice in a study into social inclusion by the East of England Regional Assembly.
Cambridge is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia, and the city is served by the large Gothic Revival Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church at the junction of Hills Road and Lensfield Road. There is a Russian Orthodox church under the Archdiocese of Great Britain and Sourozh, and a Greek Orthodox church under the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain.
University
Mathematical Bridge connects Queens' College with the President's Lodge.
Great St Mary's Church has the status of being the "University Church. Many of the University colleges contain chapels that hold services according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, while the chapel of St Edmund's College is Roman Catholic. The city also has a number of theological colleges for training clergy for ordination into a number of denominations, with affiliations to both the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University. The University of Cambridge is also home to the evangelical Christian organisation Cambridge Intercollegiate Christian Union.
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Prince William Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
Tags:
Prince William Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
