King's Parade is a street in central
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
[King's Parade / Senate House Hill](_blank)
, Cambridge City Council
Cambridge City Council is a district council in the county of Cambridgeshire, which governs the City of Cambridge.
History
Cambridge was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1207, which permitted the appointment of a mayor. The first recorde ...
.[King's Parade](_blank)
, King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
. The street continues north as
Trinity Street and then
St John's Street, and south as
Trumpington Street
Trumpington Street is a major historic street in central Cambridge, England. At the north end it continues as King's Parade where King's College is located. To the south it continues as Trumpington Road (the A1134), an arterial route out of ...
. It is a major tourist area in Cambridge, commanding a central position in the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
area of the city. It is also a place frequented by many cyclists and by students travelling between lectures during term-time.
King's College is located on the west side of the street, hence the name, and dominates the scene with the east end of its large
Chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
on view. Also on the street, just to the north, is the University of Cambridge
Senate House, mainly used for degree ceremonies.
This area is known as Senate House Hill. Opposite the Senate House is
Great St Mary's
St Mary the Great is a Church of England parish and university church at the north end of King's Parade in central Cambridge, England. It is known locally as Great St Mary's or simply GSM to distinguish it from "Church of St Mary the Less, Cambri ...
, the historic
University
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
Church.
History
The
White Horse Tavern, on King's Lane to the west of King's Parade, was a 16th-century meeting place for
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
Protestant reformer
Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...
s to discuss
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
ideas, from as early as 1521. When the King's College screen was extended in 1870, the tavern was demolished. There is now a
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
in the college's Chetwynd Court to commemorate this.
Bowes & Bowes
Bowes & Bowes was a bookselling and publishing company based in Cambridge, England. It was established by Robert Bowes (1835–1919), a nephew of Daniel Macmillan (1813–1857) — the founder, with his brother Alexander, , of a firm which by 18 ...
was a bookseller and publishing company located at 1 Trinity Street (at the south end of the street), a corner position at the junction with King's Parade and
St Mary's Street to the east. It has a claim to be the oldest bookshop in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, with books having been sold on the site since 1581.
History of the Bookshop
', Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
. The shop closed in 1986 and subsequently
Sherratt & Hughes
Bowes & Bowes was a bookselling and publishing company based in Cambridge, England. It was established by Robert Bowes (1835–1919), a nephew of Daniel Macmillan (1813–1857) — the founder, with his brother Alexander, , of a firm which by 1 ...
closed in 1992, since when the site has become the
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
bookshop.
When the King's College Gatehouse (
porters' lodge
A porters' lodge or porter's lodge (colloquially, plodge) is a place near the entrance of a building where one or more porters can be found to respond to student enquiries as well as enquires from the public and direct them around the building ...
) and Screen were built in the 1830s, the previous west side of the street was completely demolished.
Opposite King's College is a row of now mainly touristic shops. For example, the
Primavera Gallery
Primavera is a fine arts and crafts gallery at 10 King's Parade in Cambridge, England. Henry Rothschild founded Primavera in 1945 in Sloane Street, London, in order to promote and retail contemporary British art and craft.Greg, Andrew.''Primaver ...
and gift store is located here. St Mary's Passage and
St Edward's Passage
St Edward's Passage, known in the 18th century as Chain Lane, is a Y-shaped alleyway in Cambridge, England, between King's Parade—opposite the main gate of King's College—and Peas Hill. It houses the entrance and churchyard of the Church o ...
lead away from King's Parade to the east.
No.1 King's Parade on the corner or King's Parade and Bene't Street was a milliner & dressmaker by the name of C.H. Lawrence in the early 20th century. In the 1950s and 1960s the building became Millers Wine Parlour. In ''Ted Hughes: The Life of A Poet'' by Elaine Feinstein, Sylvia Plath is described sitting in Millers Wine parlour in 1956, reading a review article.
Since then it has occupied various establishments including the wine bars ''Gough Bros'' (1972) and ''Shades'' (1972-1992), ''The English Teddy Bear Company'' (late 1990s - early 2000s) and a restaurant/bar by the name of ''No.1 King's Parade'' (until 2006). Today a restaurant calle
The Cambridge Chop Houseis located here.
In the 1970s,
Chris Curry rented offices at 6 King's Parade to establish
Sinclair Instrument
Sinclair Research Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Clive Sinclair in Cambridge. It was originally incorporated in 1973 as Westminster Mail Order Ltd, renamed Sinclair Instrument Ltd, then Science of Cambridge Ltd, the ...
Ltd with Sir
Clive Sinclair
Sir Clive Marles Sinclair (30 July 1940 – 16 September 2021) was an English entrepreneur and inventor, best known for being a pioneer in the computing industry, and also as the founder of several companies that developed consumer electronics ...
. In 1977, the company was renamed to
Science of Cambridge Ltd. The name
Sinclair Research
Sinclair Research Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Clive Sinclair in Cambridge. It was originally incorporated in 1973 as Westminster Mail Order Ltd, renamed Sinclair Instrument Ltd, then Science of Cambridge Ltd, the ...
Ltd was adopted in 1981. The company was important in the
home computer revolution of the early 1980s in the UK. The building is now occupied b
Inner Space Meditation Centre
At the southern end on the corner of
Corpus Christi College in
Trumpington Street
Trumpington Street is a major historic street in central Cambridge, England. At the north end it continues as King's Parade where King's College is located. To the south it continues as Trumpington Road (the A1134), an arterial route out of ...
is the
Corpus Clock
The Corpus Clock, also known as the Grasshopper clock, is a large sculptural clock at street level on the outside of the Taylor Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, in the United Kingdom, at the junction of Bene't Street ...
, a new piece of art installed in 2008 that has also become a significant tourist attraction.
Panoramic view
Image gallery
File:Kings College, Cambridge, Chapel (front).jpg, King's College Chapel
King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College, Cambridge, King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan ...
from King's Parade.
File:Cambridge King's.JPG, The King's College Gatehouse, built in the neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style, as seen from King's Parade.
File:Cambridge-University-Senate-House.jpg, The Senate House viewed from King's Parade.
File:Great St Mary.jpg, Great St Mary's
St Mary the Great is a Church of England parish and university church at the north end of King's Parade in central Cambridge, England. It is known locally as Great St Mary's or simply GSM to distinguish it from "Church of St Mary the Less, Cambri ...
, the University Church, opposite the Senate House on King's Parade.
File:Penfold post box on King's Parade, Cambridge.jpg, A Victorian pillar box
A pillar box is a type of free-standing post box. They are found in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories, and, less commonly, in many members of the Commonwealth of Nations such as Cyprus, India, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Malta, New Ze ...
by the main gate of King's College on King's Parade.
File:Kings Chapel from Senate House Hill in Snow.jpg, King's College Chapel
King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College, Cambridge, King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan ...
in the snow from the north of King's Parade.
File:Cambridge University, Chapel, King's College, King's Parade.jpg, Historical photograph of the same scene.
File:cmglee_Kings_Parade_panorama.jpg, View of King's Parade looking south from the Senate House.
References
{{reflist
Streets in Cambridge
Tourist attractions in Cambridge
History of Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge