Description
Cambridge, a university town, municipal and parliamentary borough, and the county town of Cambridgeshire. It is in itself one of the hundreds of the county, and is in the archdeaconry and diocese of Ely. It stands on the Via Devana, the river Cam, and the G.E.R., 51 miles by road and 57 1/2 by railway N by E of London. The G.E.R. has a large station here, which is used also by the G.N., L. & N.W., and M.R., thus placing the town in connection with every part of Great Britain.

History.—Cambridge is the Granta, perhaps also the Camboricum of the Romans, and most probably the Granta-ccaster of the Saxons. It was burnt by the Danes in 870 and 1010. A military station seems to have been at it in the times of the Saxons, certainly in those of the Romans, and a castle was built at it, probably on the site of the previous station, by William the Conqueror to overawe the Isle of Ely. In the castle was received Sir Osborn, whose legendary conflict with a demon knight on Gogmagog Hill was used by Sir Walter Scott for an episode in "Marmion." The town was injured by both parties in the wars of the Barons and the Roses, especially in 1216 and 1267, suffered from insurrection of the townsmen against the university in 1249, 1322, and 1381, was occupied on behalf of Queen Mary after the attempt to place Lady Jane Gray on the throne, and was seized and occupied under Cromwell for the Parliamentarians.

Site and Streets.—The town stands amid a great flat tract, is not clearly seen on any approach to it till near, and even then by only the tower of St Mary, the spire of the Roman Catholic church, and the four turrets of King's College over a line of trees. Tradition alleges it to have anciently extended 3 miles along the Cam from Gramchester to Chesterton, but this is not to be believed. The present borough limits indeed include a space about 3 1/8 miles long with a mean breadth of 1 1/2 mile, comprising 3278 acres; but the town itself, exclusive of the suburb of Chesterton, which is not in the borough, covers only about one-fifth of the space. Regent Street is a fine street, Trumpington and St Andrew's Streets also are broad, airy, and pleasant, and many new streets of small houses have recently been formed; but the other streets generally are narrow, winding, and irregularly edificed. The town has of late years been much improved by extension or renovation of public buildings, by removal of old private houses, and by erection of new ones; and, as the seat of a great university, it necessarily possesses much wealth of structure and ornament, yet it fails to impress a stranger with a fair idea of either beauty or dignity. It suffers severely from dearth of stone, and has betaken itself largely to brick and stucco; and, owing to the recent rebuilding of some of its colleges, and to the Grecian or Italian character of large portions of others, its university looks almost modem.

Antiquities.—Dr Stukeley notes that the site of the Roman Granta is very traceable on the site of Cambridge towards the castle, that the Roman agger is identical with a fine terrace walk in the garden of Magdalene College, that the gateway of the castle and the churches of St Giles and St Peter are marked antiquities, that many Roman bricks have been found in the latter church's walls, and many small Roman relics in the adjoining fields, and that remains exist of three bastions raised by Cromwell. Other antiquities will be noticed in connection with the churches and the colleges.

Public Buildings.—The Guild Hall, which stands on the Market Hill, has been erected at various periods, and includes within its suite of buildings the municipal offices, a fine assembly hall, 120 by 52 feet, which is admirably adapted for concerts and public meetings, a suite of rooms occupied by the Cambridge School of Art, and a reading-room and library established by the borough under the Free Libraries Act. H. M. Prison and House of Correction was erected in 1804 on Castle Hill, in the parish of Chesterton. Since it was taken over from the county by Her Majesty's Government it has been greatly improved and enlarged, and now receives prisoners from several of the surrounding counties. The Shire Hall, in which are held the assizes and sessions for the county, is a building of brick and stone in the Italian style, standing on Castle Hill adjoining the prison. There is a police station, erected in 1879, in the immediate vicinity. The Market Place, in the centre of the town, was greatly enlarged and improved about 1857, and it now forms one of the most spacious market squares in the kingdom. A fine Cattle Market, formed by the Corporation at a cost of about £15,000, on land situated between the station and the town, was opened in 1885. The Corn Exchange is a large but plain structure at the back of the Guild Hall. The Theatre Royal, in St Andrew's Street, is a small but neat building, and will seat about 900 persons. The "Spinning House," originally founded in 1628 as a workhouse and house of correction, is a structure of brick situated in St Andrew Street, and is now used as a place of confinement for lewd and disorderly females. The workhouse, in Mill Road, was erected in 1838, and has accommodation for 376 inmates.

Parishes.—There are 13 parishes comprised within the borough and union of Cambridge. These are: All Saints, St Andrew the Great, St Andrew the Less, St Benedict, St Botolph, St Clement, St Edward, St Giles, St Mary the Great, St Mary the Less, St Michael, St Sepulchre, and Holy Trinity. St Peter's parish was amalgamated with St Giles' parish in 1885. There are also three ecclesiastical parishes, viz.:—St Matthew's, formed in 1870 out of the parish of St Andrew the Less; St Paul's, formed out of the parishes of St Andrew the Great and Less in 1845; and St Barnabas', formed in 1889 from the parishes of St Andrew the Less, St Paul, and St Matthew. The living of All Saints is a vicarage; gross yearly value, £147, in the gift of the Master and Fellows of Jesus College. The living of St Andrew the Great is a vicarage; gross yearly value, £250, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Ely. St Andrew the Less, formerly a separate vicarage, is now amalgamated with the living of Christ Church, the latter being now the parish church. The living of Christ Church is a vicarage; net yearly value, £395, in the gift of Trustees. St Benedict is a vicarage; gross yearly value about £180, in the gift of Corpus Christi College. The living of St Botolph is a rectory; net yearly value, £150, in the gift of Queen's College. St Clement is a vicarage; yearly value, £45, in the gift of the Master and Fellows of Jesus College. The living of St Edward is a donative; net yearly value about £38, in the gift of the Master and Fellows of Trinity Hall. The living of St Giles is a vicarage with that of St Peter annexed; gross yearly value, £300, in the gift of the Bishop of Ely. St Mary the Great is a vicarage; yearly value, £60, in the gift of Trinity College. The living of St Mary the Less is a vicarage; net yearly value, £100, in the gift of St Peter's College. The living of St Michael is a vicarage; gross yearly value, £46, in the gift of Trinity College. St Sepulchre is a vicarage; net yearly value, £100, in the gift of the Parishioners; and Holy Trinity is a vicarage; net yearly value, £200 with residence, in the gift of a private patron. . The living of the ecclesiastical parish of St Matthew is a vicarage; gross yearly value, £333 with residence, in the gift of the vicar of St Andrew the Less; that of St Paul is a vicarage; gross yearly value, £300 with residence, in the gift of Trustees; and that of St Barnabas is, with St Philip, a perpetual curacy; net yearly value, £148, in the gift of the vicar of St Paul's, Cambridge, and others.

Churches.—The church of All Saints was reconstructed on a new site in 1864, is an ornamental edifice, and contains a monument by Chantrey to Henry Kirk White. The church of St Andrew the Great was rebuilt in 1643 and again in 1845, and contains a cenotaph to Cook the navigator. The church of St Andrew the Less or Barnwell was partly built out of Bamwell Priory, and is a small building of stone in the Lancet style. The church of St Benedict has a Saxon tower, was repaired and enlarged in 1856 and 1873, contains some interesting monuments, and was sometime served by Thomas Fuller. The church of St Botolph is an ancient structure, originally Norman, but now chiefly in the Perpendicular style, and has many monuments. The church of St Clement has an Early English door, and a fine tower and spire of 1821, was restored in 1855, and contains an octagonal font, and a monument of 1329. The church of St Edward is Early English, has a good font, and was served by Latimer. The church of St Giles was rebuilt near the site of the old church in 1875-1876. The church of St Peter, now disused, includes Roman bricks, and has a Norman door. The church of St Mary the Great is the university church, was built in 1478-1519, has a conspicuous tower of 1593-1608, surmounted by octagonal turrets, shows the architectural features of the age in which it was erected, measures within walls 120 feet by 68, and contains the grave of Martin Bucer. The church of St Mary the Less is Later English, has a rich east window, and contains a Norman font. The church of St Michael was built in 1337, and restored in 1849, is pure Decorated English, possesses the old stalls of Trinity College Chapel, and had the grave of Fagius. The church of St Sepulchre was built by the Templars in 1101, and restored by the Camden Society in 1843, is a round Norman edifice, with short massive piers, and includes restored windows, south aisle, domical ribbed vault, and campanile. The church of Holy Trinity was built in the 15th century, has a good tower and spire, contains an altar tomb to Sir Robert Taber the physician, and a monument to Henry Martyn the missionary, and was served by Charles Simeon. The churches of St Paul, St Barnabas, St John the Evangelist, Christ Church, St Philip, and St James, are all modern erections. There are two Roman Catholic churches,. one of which was built in 1890, and is a very beautiful edifice, with a spire 215 feet in height. It has some fine stained glass windows, and a magnificent baldachino over the high altar. There are—a Presbyterian chapel, five Baptist chapels, a Catholic Apostolic church, a Congregational chapel, a Friends' Meeting House, five Primitive Methodist and two Wesleyan Methodist chapels, and a place of meeting for the Plymouth Brethren.

Schools, &c.—A grammar school was founded in 1615 by bequest of Dr Perse; was rebuilt in 1842, and again in 1889-90, and is now conducted under a scheme approved by an Order in Council issued in 1873. The Leys School is an institution established in 1874 by the Wesleyan Methodists for the purpose of affording a high-class education to the sons of their ministers and laymen. It is under the management of twenty-five governors, of whom the President of the Wesleyan Conference is (ex officio) Chairman. The Cambridge School of Art is conducted in the Guildhall. There are about twenty-five day schools in the town, which afford ample accommodation for elementary and higher-grade education. Addenbrooke's Hospital or Infirmary was founded in 1766 by bequest of Dr John Addenbrooke, and further endowed in 1813 by bequest of John Bowtell; it has now, from endowment and subscriptions, an income of about £6700. It was greatly enlarged and almost rebuilt in 1864-65, and further improved in 1878 and 1883. A smallpox hospital was erected in the SE outskirts of the borough in 1884, and a sanatorium at Mill Road, Romsey Town, in 1893. The borough is unusually rich in almshouses, many of which are of very ancient foundation, and has many private charities, supported by voluntary contributions.

Trade, &c.—The town is maintained chiefly by supplying the wants of the University, but it is also the centre of a large agricultural district, and it carries on a considerable trade in corn. It possesses some extensive flour-mills, breweries, and maltings, some brick and tile works, a tobacco manufactory, and some brass and iron foundries. There is a daily market,. but the chief market-day is on Saturday, and the corn market is held on the same day. There are also fairs on June 24 and three following days, and on September 25 and the week following. There are also cattle fairs three times in the year. The town is a head post office, and the head of a petty sessional division, county court district, and union. It has four banks and publishes six newspapers.

The Borough.—Cambridge is a borough by prescription, and was incorporated by Henry I. It sent two members to parliament from the time of Edward I. until the passing of the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, when the number was reduced to one. The town is governed by a mayor, high steward, recorder, ten aldermen, thirty councillors, town-clerk, treasurer, coroner, and the usual officers representing the city. There are also two aldermen and six councillors,. who represent the university. It is well paved, and has an excellent and abundant supply of water, obtained from springs in the parishes of Cherry, Hinton, and Fulbourn. The municipal borough is divided into five wards, viz. —East and West Barnwell, Market, Trinity, and St Andrews. In the parliamentary borough the greater portion of the parish of Chesterton is included. The area of the parliamentary borough is 3975 acres, and the population 44,330; the population of the municipal borough is 36,983. The town gives the title of Duke to a prince of the blood royal. Sir J. Cheke, tutor of Edward VI.; Gibbons, the organist; Bishops Thirlby, Goldsborough, Rust, Townson, and Musgrave; Bennet the martyr, Dean Duport, Jeremy Taylor, Lady D. Masham, Essex the antiquary, Drake the translator of Herodotus, and Cumberland the dramatist, were natives.

The University.—Cambridge University is an incorporated society of students in all the liberal arts and sciences. It originated with or was restored by Sigebert, king of East Anglia, and was revived by Edward the Elder, but first acquired consequence about 1209, under the abbot of Croyland. The students lived for some time in inns and hostels built for their reception, but were afterwards provided with seventeen colleges. The colleges possess equal privile