This ancient parish church is an Anglo-Saxon foundation dating from around 1020, when Canute was King of England. It is dedicated to St Benedict and has been a place of Christian worship for nearly a thousand years. Michael Ramsey, who was to become Archbishop of Canterbury, was vicar here in 1938. The church was staffed from 1945 and 2005 by the society of St Francis, who established the pattern of daily worship following monastic practice.*
For many years St Bene’t’s has been firmly linked with the history of change-ringing, as the famous 17th-century campanologist, Fabian Stedman, is believed to have been the parish clerk here. However, this has been somewhat shaken by the discovery that Stedman appears to have been in London at the same time, suggesting that St Bene’t’s Stedman might be a coincidence rather than the same man**
*From a church leaflet
**From 111 Places in Cambridge that you shouldn’t miss
Tags: Cambridge, Church, St Bene't's Church, Weekend away
The largest Oxbridge college, Trinity was founded by Henry VIII just weeks before he died. His Statue on the Great Gate clutches a chair leg, which he has held for more than 100 years, since students swapped it for the original sceptre. *
*From the Pitkin City guide to Cambridge
Snowy Farr lived in Oakington and was a well known fundraiser for blind charities.
When Snowy retired he decided he wanted to help raise money for charity, so he stood on Market Hill collecting with his flowing white beard and dressed himself in a antique military uniform with an eccentric looking stripped top hat.
He became a instant success and decided to carry on doing more fundraising, but started to bring some friends with him which included a cat and some white mice.
As the years went by his companions grew to include a cockerel, a duck, pigeons, rabbits, guinea pigs and a goat.
Snowy trained his cat to sit on the top of his hat and the mice would run around the rim.
Tags: Cambridge, Snowy Farr Statue, weekend Break
One of the most recognisable structures on the Cam, Queens’ College bridge was originally built in 1749 by James Essex the Younger. Since then it has been rebuilt twice to the original design of William Etheridge, once in 1866 and again in 1905. In 1866 the bridge deck was changed from a stepped design to the current sloped deck. In 1905 a complete rebuild of the bridge was required due to weathering of the original oak structure.
William Etheridge’s design was based on work by James King on what has become known as tangent and radial trussing. Originally used to create the temporary formwork used in the construction of London Bridge, the arch describes an arc of a circle. The main members lie tangent to this circle and their arrangement is designed to ensure they are in compression only with very little bending moment. The connections between these main members transfer compressive stresses. The radial members are fixed normal to the circle of the arch and they support the top rail as well as making the bridge lattice into a more rigid structure. The bridge deck is then attached to the bottom of the radials near the intersection of two tangents.
A much admired footbridge across the River Cam, connecting the old and new parts of Queens’ College in Cambridge. Constructed of timbers bolted together, it appears to be an arched bridge but is composed of straight segments. It was rebuilt most-recently in 1905 and remains in use.
The Mathematical Bridge is a rare survivor of 18th century tangent and radial trussing techniques. It became a Grade II listed structure in April 1950, despite only being a replica.
Tags: Cambridge, Mathematical Bridge, Queens' College, River Cam, Weekend away
Known as ‘Little Germany’ where Cambridge scholars debated the works of Martin Luther in the Early sixteenth century.
A birthplace of the reformation in England.
Tags: Cambridge, Christianity, Reformation, Weekend away
You might recall that I used to make an annual trip to London that was organised by one of my former work colleagues. Sadly last year’s trip was the final one but another excuse to travel to London at the same time of year arose. We were meeting up for an evening meal with family members to celebrate a young lady’s qualification for her degree as an accountant. We drove to Wolverhampton and caught a train to London. We had hoped to have tea and a bacon sandwich but they had sold out of bacon sandwiches because the train had come from Edinburgh.
During the journey we looked up things to and decided to visit Apsley House which was the home of the 1st Duke of Wellington and currently houses his collections. Due to the lack of food on the train we planned to stop for lunch on the way to Apsley House. The first place we tried had about an hours delay for food. This didn’t fit with our plans so we carried on walking and arrived at Apsley House without finding anywhere else that sold food. This led to a long walk before we found any food outlets. As we were walking it had started to rain quite heavily so I was unable to take photographs because of juggling my handbag and umbrella. By now it was getting past lunchtime and nearer to the evening meal so I elected to have a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
After eating we made our way back to Apsley House where we enjoyed the picture galleries and collections. By the time we had finished it was time to make our way to the restaurant; Madison. This venue had been chosen for its roof top views over St Paul’s Cathedral and the city. We arrived at the appointed time and found that all the other guests apart from the main party had arrived. We waited and waited and some of us began to wonder if we would be able to dine there because it is a restaurant that books time slots rather than allowing you to have a table for the night. Eventually the missing people arrived and a good evening was had by all.
All too soon it was time for us to leave in order to catch our train back. The train was waiting on the platform when we arrived, allowing us to get straight on. It was a good job we had pre booked and reserved seats because the train was packed. Once the train had set off Mr C went to the buffet carriage to get drinks. When he returned he paused briefly by his seat before walking off into the next carriage, much to my amusement and also of the people who were sitting opposite. One gentleman jokingly asked if I had done something to upset him to which I replied, ‘I don’t think so’. A little later the same gentleman said, ‘He’s back’ as Mr C re-emerged into our carriage and made his way back to his seat. The rest of the journey ran smoothly without any further incident.
Tags: Day Trip, Family, Friends, Graduation, London, Love, Madison London, Qualification, Rooftop Restaurant, St Paul's Cathedral
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:12-13
Tags: 2006, Bruges, Cherie's Place Thought
