St Edward King and Martyr, Cambridge (exterior)

Peas Hill 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 ...

.Peas Hill
,

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 ...

. It runs between Wheeler Street to the south and Market Hill to the north.

King's Parade King's Parade is a street in central Cambridge, England.Guildhall Street runs parallel to the east. The area is not strictly speaking a

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...

, being lower in elevation than some surrounding areas, but was once a slope down to the river upon which the city's main fish market stood. It is likely that its name is a corruption of the Latin ''pisces'' (fish) as there is no evidence that peas were ever exclusively grown or sold on the site.Ronald D. Gray, Derek Stubbings, ''Cambridge street-names: their origins and associations''.

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 ...

, 2000. , . St Edward King and Martyr church is on the west side of the street. The church is dedicated to

Edward the Martyr Edward ( ang, Eadweard, ; 18 March 978), often called the Martyr, was King of the English from 975 until he was murdered in 978. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar, but was not his father's acknowledged heir. On Edgar's death, the leade ...

, who was

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

from 975 until his murder in 978. It was at St Edward's in 1525 that what is said to have been the first sermon of the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

took place. As such, the church is sometimes called the "Cradle of the Reformation". Also on Peas Hill is the

Cambridge Arts Theatre Cambridge Arts Theatre is a 666-seat theatre on Peas Hill and St Edward's Passage in central Cambridge, England. The theatre presents a varied mix of drama, dance, opera and pantomime. It attracts some of the highest-quality touring productions ...

. This venue is used by the

Cambridge Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

amongst others. The

Cambridge Guildhall Cambridge Guildhall is a civic building in the centre of the historic city of Cambridge, England. It includes two halls, ''The Large Hall'' and ''The Small Hall'', and is used for many disparate events such as comedy acts, conferences, craft fai ...

is to the east, on the corner with the

Market Square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Peas Hill: GuildhallCambridge 2000
The building is used by the

References

Streets in Cambridge {{England-road-stub

See also

References