The Other Place
University of Cambridge
The Mathematical Bridge looks like an arch but is built entirely of straight timbers, and the University Library's tower stands taller than the peak of King's College Chapel.
- 6Buildings
- 5Traditions
- 1515Oldest · King's College Chapel
- 1934Newest · Cambridge University Library
Campus map and Look Around
Tap a numbered pin to see that building from the street with Apple Look Around.
Planning the visit
- Fly intoLondon Stansted Airport (STN)
Stansted is the closest major airport to Cambridge, with direct trains to Cambridge station. Many international visitors also arrive via Heathrow or Gatwick and travel up through London.
- Getting aroundWalking / Bike / Punt
Central Cambridge is small and flat, so most people walk or cycle. Punting along the River Cam past the Backs is the classic way to see the colleges from the water.
- Colors and teams
Cambridge students speak of 'the Backs' (the college lawns along the river), 'supervisions' (small-group teaching) and 'the UL' for the University Library.
6 buildings to stamp
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Photo: Christian Richardt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons King's College Chapel
King's Parade, Cambridge CB2 1ST
Built in phases from 1448 to 1515 by a succession of English kings, the chapel is one of the finest works of Perpendicular Gothic and has the world's largest fan vault. Its great windows of Flemish stained glass date from 1515 to 1531.
- Built
- 1515
- Architect
- Reginald Ely, Simon Clerk and John Wastell
- Style
- Perpendicular Gothic
- Height
- 29 m (95 ft)
- Today
- College chapel
-
Photo: Cmglee, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Wren Library
Trinity College, Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1TQ
Christopher Wren raised Trinity College's library on an open colonnade above Nevile's Court, with tall windows to flood the reading room with light. Limewood carvings by Grinling Gibbons crown the bookcases, and the shelves hold treasures from Newton's own Principia to the manuscript of Winnie-the-Pooh.
- Built
- 1695
- Architect
- Christopher Wren
- Style
- Classical
- Today
- College library
-
Photo: Rafa Esteve, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Mathematical Bridge
Queens' College, Silver Street, Cambridge CB3 9ET
This wooden footbridge at Queens' College looks like a curved arch but is made entirely of straight timbers in a clever engineering design. It has been rebuilt twice, in 1866 and 1905, always to the same plan.
- Built
- 1749
- Architect
- William Etheridge (design), James Essex (builder)
- Style
- Timber truss bridge
- Today
- College footbridge
-
Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Bridge of Sighs
St John's College, St John's Street, Cambridge CB2 1TP
Henry Hutchinson's covered Gothic Revival bridge carries St John's College across the Cam between Third Court and New Court. Despite the name, it has little in common with its Venetian namesake beyond being covered and arched.
- Built
- 1831
- Architect
- Henry Hutchinson
- Style
- Gothic Revival
- Today
- College bridge
-
Photo: Cmglee at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Senate House
King's Parade, Cambridge CB2 1TN
James Gibbs's Portland stone hall on King's Parade was meant as one side of a grand quadrangle that was never finished. It is where Cambridge students formally receive their degrees.
- Built
- 1730
- Architect
- James Gibbs
- Style
- Neoclassical
- Today
- Graduation ceremonies
-
Photo: Cambridge University Library, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Cambridge University Library
West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DR
Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed Bankside Power Station (now Tate Modern), gave the library a strong industrial character and a 157-foot tower. Opened in 1934, it holds around nine million items.
- Built
- 1934
- Architect
- Giles Gilbert Scott
- Style
- Modern
- Height
- 48 m (157 ft)
- Today
- University library
5 traditions to check off
Stamped! keeps these as a checklist, so you can tick each one off on the visit.
Nine Lessons and Carols at King's
On Christmas Eve the King's College Choir sings the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in King's College Chapel. Tickets come from a public ballot, with a standby queue for people who applied.
Corpus Clock
The Corpus Clock, or Chronophage, is a gold-plated clock with no hands, set at street level on Corpus Christi College's Taylor Library at the corner of Bene't Street and Trumpington Street. Stop to watch its grasshopper-like figure as the clock runs.
Mathematical Bridge Myth
A popular fable says Isaac Newton built Queens' College's Mathematical Bridge without nuts or bolts, and that nobody could put it back together after taking it apart. View the bridge from the river or Silver Street and judge the story yourself.
Newton's Apple Tree
Outside Trinity College's Great Gate, below the rooms where Newton lived, grows an apple tree planted in 1954 and descended from the Woolsthorpe Manor tree linked to his story of gravity. Visitors stop on Trinity Street to see it.
Henry VIII's Chair Leg
The statue of Henry VIII on Trinity's Great Gate is famous because students swapped his sceptre for a chair leg in the 19th century. Look up from Trinity Street to see what he is holding.
Know University of Cambridge well?
Students and alumni know the traditions best. Suggest one we're missing, a building worth a stamp, or a fix. Every suggestion is checked against a source before it goes into the app.
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Stamp all 6 on your visit.
Tour University of Cambridge in 3D before you go, add it to a college road trip and earn a passport stamp at every building. Free on iPhone and iPad.
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