The Backs is a
picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...
area to the east of
Queen's Road in the city of
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 ...
, where several colleges of 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 ...
back on to the
River Cam
The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...
, their grounds covering both banks of the river.
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
chairman
Simon Jenkins
Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992.
Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...
has rated the view of The Backs and King's College as one of the top ten in England.
The name
The name "the Backs" refers to the backs of the colleges. The area consists of the rear grounds of the following colleges (north to south):
*
St John's — buildings on both sides of the river, spanned by the St John's kitchen bridge and the
Bridge of Sighs
*
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
— buildings on the east bank, spanned by Trinity bridge.
*
Trinity Hall — buildings on the east bank but with no rear grounds on the west bank.
*
Clare Clare may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land
Australia
* Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley
* Clare Valley, South Australia
Canada
* Clare (electoral district), an electoral district
* Cl ...
— buildings on the east bank, spanned by Clare bridge.
*
King's — buildings on the east bank, spanned by King's bridge.
*
Queens' — buildings on both sides of the river, spanned by the
Mathematical Bridge
The Mathematical Bridge is the popular name of a wooden footbridge in the southwest of central Cambridge, England.
It bridges the River Cam about one hundred feet northwest of Silver Street Bridge and connects two parts of Queens' College. I ...
.
Also, sometimes included are the following colleges:
*
Magdalene — grounds on the west bank just south of the
Magdalene Street Bridge.
*
Darwin — just beyond
Silver Street at the southern end of The Backs.
Historically, much of the land was used by the colleges for
grazing
In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and ot ...
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...
or growing fruit. Cattle can still be found grazing behind King's College. The river was also an important commercial thoroughfare to the mill at Silver Street.
History
In the 16th century, the area consisted of pasture, gardens and orchards owned by colleges of the University, with wooden bridges across the Cam. Over time, the colleges planted avenues of trees and built sturdier bridges. In 1772, St John's College consulted English
landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...
Lancelot ("Capability") Brown (1716–1783), who laid out a "wilderness" on the college side of Queen's Road which still exists today.
In 1779, Brown presented a plan to the University of Cambridge to create
country-house style parkland with its focus on King's College's Gibbs Building. The plan would have involved removing avenues, transforming the river into a lake, and planting clumps of trees to screen the other colleges. It was never implemented, possibly because it would have removed historic college boundaries and three important bridges.
In response to many
elm trees succumbing to
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into America, Europe ...
, a Backs Committee was formed in 1979 so that a joint approach could be taken to the problem facing The Backs. As a result of the committee's work, trees were cut down and new ones planted in their place. However, the committee stopped meeting in 1994.
In 1995,
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
listed The Backs as a
Grade 1 Historic Park.
Present-day and future development
In the 2000s, six University colleges on The Backs commissioned Robert Myers, a landscape architect who had studied at
Girton College
Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...
, to prepare a new landscape management plan for the area. The report, entitled ''The Backs Cambridge Landscape Strategy'',
was completed in November 2007
and released on 1 December 2007. It sets out proposals for the evolution of The Backs over the next 50 years. Myers' proposal is to improve the "legibility, coherence and visual quality of the landscape as a whole"
[''The Backs Cambridge Landscape Strategy'', above, para 5.8 on page 19.] by retaining and enhancing the existing structure of the landscape and sight lines, while screening off the traffic on Queens Road. Over-mature and inappropriately-sited trees will be removed and new ones planted. In addition, there will be a phased replacement of avenues, an extension of the "wilderness" planting behind St John's and along the edge of Queens Road, and the creation of a "
wildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...
". In particular, as regards Queens' Green at the southern end of The Backs, which is owned by
Cambridge City Council, there is a proposal to extend an existing avenue of
beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...
trees to the Queens Road to create an additional "rung" to the "ladder effect" created by other tree avenues, and to plant more trees and wilderness to partly enclose a stretch of grass.
The colleges are currently in consultation with the City Council and English Heritage regarding the report,
and if it is approved will carry out the suggested work in their own time using their own funds.
In December 2007, ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' reported that "there has been a remarkable degree of consensus between institutions
'i.e.'', the colleges of the University owning parts of The Backswell known for prizing their autonomy".
Gallery
Image:King's College Chapel from The Backs, Cambridge, UK.jpg, King's College Chapel
King's College Chapel is the chapel of 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 vault. The Chapel was bui ...
from The Backs
File:ClareCollegeAndKingsChapel.jpg, Clare College
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...
and King's College Chapel
King's College Chapel is the chapel of 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 vault. The Chapel was bui ...
from The Backs
Image:TheBacks-Cambridge-WilliamCustance-1798.jpg, Detail of a 1798 map surveyed by William Custance and engraved by J. Russell showing The Backs
Image:TheBacks-Cambridge-SpendloweLamborn-late18C.jpg, Spendlowe Lamborn's late-18th-century engravings of the Old Bridge at King's College and Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
Bridge
Image:Clare Bridge 2003.jpg, Clare Clare may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land
Australia
* Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley
* Clare Valley, South Australia
Canada
* Clare (electoral district), an electoral district
* Cl ...
Bridge
Image:River Cam green.JPG, A view of the River Cam
The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...
near Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
Image:Jerwood Library Trinity Hall Cambridge.jpg, Trinity Hall's Jerwood Library on the bank of the Cam
Image:CambridgeSunset.jpg, Sunset over the River Cam
Image:Kings College Chapel and the Gibbs Building from the Backs.JPG, King's College Chapel and the Gibbs Building (King's College) from the Backs
Image:cmglee_Cambridge_Trinity_College_avenue.jpg, Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
's avenue and gate to Queen's Road viewed from the Backs
Image:cmglee_Cambridge_Wren_Library_University_Library.jpg, View of the northern end, with the Wren Library
The Wren Library is the library of Trinity College in Cambridge. It was designed by Christopher Wren in 1676 and completed in 1695.
Description
The library is a single large room built over an open colonnade on the ground floor of Nevile' ...
and University Library
An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic libra ...
, from St John's College tower
Image:King's_College_Cambridge_from_the_Backs.jpg, King's College Chapel viewed from the Backs.
See also
*
List of bridges in Cambridge
The following is a list and brief history of the bridges in Cambridge, England, principally those over the River Cam of which there are 25, soon to be 26.
The River Cam enters Cambridge from the south west of the city and heads north past many ...
*
Punt (boat)
A punt is a flat-bottomed boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
...
Notes
References
*
Further reading
Articles
*.
*
Books and papers
*
*
*
Some of the references in this section were obtained from .
External links
* Map of the University of Cambridg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backs, The
University of Cambridge sites
Geography of Cambridge
History of Cambridge
Parks and open spaces in Cambridge
Gardens by Capability Brown
River Cam