St Mary's Street is a historic street in the centre of the

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

area in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The street links with the junction of

King's Parade King's Parade is a street in central Cambridge, England.Trinity Street to the west, along which many of the University's oldest colleges are to be found. To the east is Market Hill, the location of the city's

Market Square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

. The street continues as Market Street. The Church of St Mary the Great is immediately to the south, hence the name of the street. This acts as the church of the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Immediately to the west of St Mary's Street is the University's Senate House, where degree ceremonies are held. To the south of St Mary's church is the pedestrianised St Mary's Passage, also linking King's Parade and Market Hill. The Old Schools Site, a University of Cambridge site, covers the

Old Schools The Old Schools are part of the University of Cambridge, in the centre of Cambridge, England. The Old Schools house the Cambridge University Offices, which form the main administration for the University. The building is Grade I listed.

, the Senate House, and Great St Mary's, including St Mary's Street and St Mary's Passage. The University

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...

's Office is located on the south side of St Mary's Passage (at No. 1).

Bowes & Bowes Bowes & Bowes was a bookselling and publishing company based in Cambridge, England. History The firm was established by Robert Bowes (publisher), Robert Bowes (1835–1919), a nephew of Daniel MacMillan, Daniel Macmillan (1813–1857) who, with ...

was a bookseller and publishing company located at 1 Trinity Street, a corner position at the junction with St Mary's Street. 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, with books having been sold on the site since 1581.
History of the Bookshop
',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

. The shop closed in 1986 and it was taken over by

Sherratt & Hughes Bowes & Bowes was a bookselling and publishing company based in Cambridge, England. History The firm was established by Robert Bowes (1835–1919), a nephew of Daniel Macmillan (1813–1857) who, with his brother Alexander, founded a firm whic ...

, which itself closed in 1992. Since then, the site has become the

bookshop.Cambridge, England: CUP bookshop, St Mary's Street: window grillCambridge 2000

References

{{coord, 52.20552, N, 0.11827, E, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Streets in Cambridge