Online Encyclopedia
Cambridge
- This article is about Cambridge, England; see also other places called Cambridge.
| City of Cambridge | |
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 Shown within Cambridgeshire |
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| Geography | |
| Status: | City (1951) |
| Region: | East of England |
| Admin. County: | Cambridgeshire |
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Area: - Total |
Ranked 316th 40.70 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Cambridge |
| ONS code: | 12UB |
| Coordinates | 52°12' N 0°7' E |
| Demographics | |
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Population: - Total (2002 est.) - Density |
Ranked 183rd 110,656 2,719 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 89.4% White 3.8% S.Asian 1.3% Afro-Carib. 2.1% Chinese |
| Politics | |
 Cambridge City Council http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/cambridge.htm |
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| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Liberal Democrats |
| MPs: | Anne Campbell, Andrew Lansley |
The city of Cambridge is an old English University town and the regional centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. It lies approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of London and is surrounded by a number of smaller towns and villages. It is also at the heart of Silicon Fen, the high-tech capital of Britain.
Cambridge is best known for its University, including the world-renowned Cavendish Laboratory (named after Henry Cavendish), King's College chapel, and the University Library. The Cambridge skyline is dominated by the last two.
According to the 2001 census, the population was 108,863 (including 22,153 students).
Latitude 52°12'N, Longitude 0°07'E.
| Contents |
History
Settlements have existed around the area since before the Roman Empire. The earliest clear evidence of occupation, a collection of hunting weapons, is from the Late Bronze Age, starting around 1000 BC. There is further archaeological evidence through the Iron Age, a Belgic tribe having settled on Castle Hill in the 1st century BC.
The first major development of the area began with the Roman invasion of Britain in about AD 40. Castle Hill made Cambridge a useful place for a military outpost from which to defend the River Cam. It was also the crossing point for the Via Devana which linked Colchester in Censored page with the garrisons at Lincoln and the north. This Roman settlement may have been called Durolipons.
The settlement remained a regional centre during the 350 years after the Roman occupation, until about AD 400. Roman roads and walled enclosures can still be seen in the area.
After the Romans had left, Saxons took over the land on and around Castle Hill. Their grave goods have been found in the area. During Anglo-Saxon times Cambridge benefitted from good trade links across the otherwise hard-to-travel fenlands. By the 7th century, however, visitors from nearby Ely reported that Cambridge had declined severely. Cambridge is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Grantebrycge. This is the earliest known reference to a bridge at Cambridge.
The arrival of the Vikings in Cambridge was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 875. Viking rule, the Danelaw, had been imposed by 878. The Vikings' vigorous trading habits caused Cambridge to grow rapidly. During this period the centre of the town shifted from Castle Hill on the left bank of the river to the area now known as the Quayside on the right bank. After the end of the Viking period the Saxons enjoyed a brief return to power, building St. Benet's church in 1025. It still stands in Bene't Street.
Two years after his conquest of England, William of Normandy built a castle on Castle Hill. Like the rest of the new kingdom, Cambridge fell under the control of the King and his deputies. The distinctive Round Church dates from this period. By Norman times the name of the town had mutated to Grentabrige or Cantebrigge, while the river that flowed through it was called the Granta. Over time the name of the town changed to Cambridge, while the river Cam was still known as the Granta - indeed the river is still often known as the Granta to this day. It was only later that the river became known as the Cam, by analogy with the name Cambridge. The University use a pseudo-Latin adjective cantabrigiensis (often contracted to "Cantab") to mean "of Cambridge", but this is obviously a back-formation from the English name.
One of the first educational establishments in Cambridge was the School of Pythagoras, founded in 1200, whose building still stands in the grounds of St. John's College, Cambridge.
Beginnings of the University
In 1209, students escaping from violence in Oxford fled to Cambridge and formed a University here. The first college, Peterhouse, was founded in 1284. One of the most impressive buildings in Cambridge, King's College Chapel, was begun in 1446 by King Henry VI. The project was completed in 1515 during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Cambridge University Press originated with a printing licence issued in 1534. Hobson's Conduit, the first project to bring clean drinking water to the town centre, was built in 1610. Parts of it survive today. Addenbrooke's Hospital was founded in 1719. The railway and station were built in 1845. According to legend, the University dictated their location: well away from the centre of town, so that the possibility of quick access to London would not distract students from their work.
Despite having a University, Cambridge was not granted its city charter until 1951. Cambridge does not have a cathedral, which was traditionally a pre-requisite for city status.
Cambridge Today
Drawing on its links with the University, the Cambridge area today is known as Silicon Fen, due to the growth of high tech businesses and technology incubators that have sprung up in the series of science parks and other developments in and around the city. The University was joined by the larger part of Anglia Polytechnic University, and the educational reputation has led to other bodies (such as the Open University in East Anglia) basing themselves in the city.
A study by CACI http://w3.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/story.asp?StoryID=56273 in 2004 named the postcode area CB2 1, part of Cambridge city centre, as the "smoking capital" of the UK, as the average resident in this area apparently spent more money on cigarettes than those of any other region in the country, over 2 thousand pounds per annum. The area is home to several of the university's colleges, including Clare, King's and Trinity.
Government
Local Government
Cambridge is a local government district, with a City Council. It is the only district in England to be entirely surrounded by one other district - South Cambridgeshire.
It is also served by Cambridgeshire county council. The city council's headquarters are in the Guildhall, an imposing building in the market square.
For electoral purposes the city is divided into the following wards:
Abbey, Arbury, Castle, Cherry Hinton, Coleridge, East Chesterton, Kings Hedges, Market, Newnham, Petersfield, Queen Edith's, Romsey, Trumpington, West Chesterton
The current political composition of the City Council after the June 2004 elections is:
- 28 Liberal Democrat Councillors
- 13 Labour Councillors
- 1 Conservative Councillor
The Liberal Democrats have had control of the council since 2000.
Since 1957, Cambridge has been twinned with Heidelberg, an old university town in Germany. It was also twinned with Szeged in Hungary in 1987.
MPs
Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons. Anne Campbell (Labour) has been MP for the city since 1992.
The Queen Edith's and Trumpington wards are in the South Cambridgeshire constituency (MP Andrew Lansley, Conservative, first elected 1997).
The University used to have a seat in the House of Commons, Sir Isaac Newton being one of the most notable holders. The university seats were abolished in 1948 and ceased at the dissolution of Parliament in 1950.
Transport
Road
Because of its rapid growth since the 20th century, Cambridge has a congested road network. Several major roads intersect at Cambridge. The M11 motorway from east London terminates here. The A14 (formerly A604) east-west trunk route skirts the northern edge of the city. This is a major freight route connecting the port of Felixstowe on the east coast with the Midlands, North Wales, the west coast and Ireland. The A14 is considered by many local people to be dangerous, and unnecessarily congested. The road suffers from numerous accidents, which just adds to the jams. The A10, a former Roman road from north London, passes round the city on its way to Ely and King's Lynn. Other roads connect the city with Bedford, St Neots, Newmarket and Colchester.
The city has a ring road about 2km in diameter, inside which there are traffic restrictions intended to improve conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and bus users and to reduce congestion. It has a well developed park and ride bus service encouraging motorists to park near the city's edge.
Rail
Cambridge station was built in 1845 with a platform designed to take two full-length trains. Cambridge has direct rail links to King's Cross and Liverpool Street stations in London, and to the cities of Liverpool, Birmingham, Kings Lynn, Ely and Norwich as well as London Stansted Airport . The important UK rail hub of Peterborough is also within reach of Cambridge.
Air
Cambridge City Airport is owned by Marshall Aerospace, who are capable of adapting and fitting out military transports, airliners and corporate jets. The runway can accommodate an unladen Boeing 747 or MD-11, but there is no regular scheduled service and it is mostly used by business and leisure flights. In Summer 2004 a charter service to Jersey was operated by Aurigny Air Services using Saab 340 turboprop aircraft. A dealer in fibreglass-moulded light monoplanes is also based here. Removal of Marshalls to a site away from the city, with development of the airport site for housing, is a possibility over 5-10 years.
Cycling
As a university town lying on fairly flat ground and with traffic congestion, Cambridge has a large number of cyclists. Many residents also prefer cycling to driving in the narrow, busy streets, giving the city the highest level of cycle use in the UK. The main organisation campaigning to improve conditions for cyclists in Cambridge is Cambridge Cycling Campaign http://www.camcycle.org.uk . The city will also soon be linked to the growing National Cycle Network.
Sport
Cambridge is home to Cambridge United F.C., who play in the Football League at the Abbey Stadium, and also to non-league Cambridge City F.C., who play at Milton Road in Chesterton.
The town is also known for the University sporting events against Oxford, especially the rugby union varsity match and the Boat Race. These are followed by people across the globe, many of whom have no connection to the institutions themselves.
In the 1950s the English children's writer Philippa Pearce created a fictionalised version of Cambridge known as "Castleford" (not connected to the real town of the same name in West Yorkshire). It appears in several of her books, most notably "Tom's Midnight Garden" and "Minnow on the Say". The main distinguishing point between "Castleford" and the real Cambridge is that this "Castleford" does not have a university, apparently because the author wanted the readers to think of the town in itself, and she felt that Cambridge was too closely associated with its university in the public imagination for this to be possible.
See also
External links
- Cambridge City Council official site http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/
- The Cambridge Evening News http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk
- Cambridge Area Guide http://www.cambridge.co.uk/ - large collection of resources relating to Cambridge.
- Cambridge 2000 http://www.cambridge2000.com/cambridge2000/ - a large collection of photographs of Cambridge architecture
- Cambridge Search Engine http://www.camcity.co.uk/ - a comprehensive city guide and directory with thousands of pages of local information contributed by Cambridge residents
- Cambridge (UK) Web Guide http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/cambridgeuk/ - Cambridge (UK) Web Sites
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