Cambridge in June: Grads, punting chaos, Native Americans & a giant locust!
Corpus Christi College, founded in 1352 by the local guilds. Inside the New Court facing the chapel. Christopher Marlowe is one of the famous alumni of the College.
The King's Parade (formerly the High Street) showing King's College. Half the buildings were destroyed in the 1820s for the building of the neo-Gothic Gatehouse and Screen.
Henry VI founded the college in 1441; it took 70 years for completion by Henry VIII. The King's Chapel is a perfect example of Tudor Perpendicular style, 289 feet long--the longest single span central aisle in Europe--40 feet wide and 94 feet high.
The Chapel is the product of three distinct periods of construction because of interruptions during the War of the Roses, 1455-1485.
The Screen joining the Gatehouse to the Chapel, along the King's Parade.
The rose-lined neo-Gothic Screen, with a partial view of an ancient horse-chestnut tree.
A detail of a section of the Screen, looking into the Front Court.
Down a small alley and around to the tourist entrance to the King's Chapel, Clare College to the right.
Just inside the antechapel, from the west, looking towards the dark oak screen housing the great organ. The screen has the initials of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, from 1533-1536.
The fan vaulted ceiling is the largest ever created and is supported by 22 buttresses, created in 1515.
The 16th-century stained-glass windows all depict Biblical scenes; commissioned by Henry VIII, the 26 sets took 30 years to install.
The massive 17th-Century organ is decorated with two trumpet-playing angels.
The Adoration of the Magi, by Rubens, painted in 1634 for the Convent of the White Nuns at Louvain in Belgium, was donated to the College in 1961.
The Great East Window above the altar depicts the passion and crucifixion of Christ.
From the Choir, the organ case and screen.
The West Window was installed in the late 19th century, in the antechapel.
Heraldic carvings--these on the west wall--include the Greyhound, symbol of Lady Margaret Beaufort (mother of Henry VII) and the Dragon of Cadwallader (Wales) representing the Tudor family of Henry VII's father.
Situated on the Front Lawn is a fountain surmounted by a statue of Henry VI, the boy king.
Looking at King's College's Great Lawn, which edges the River Cam and leads to The Backs, is Clare College.
Another view of the entrance to Clare College, near the North Entrance to King's College Chapel. Most of the Colleges are not open to the public today, maybe because of Graduation.
Porters at the gate of the Old Schools University Offices, opposite Clare College.
In front of The Senate House, refreshment tents have been set up for today's graduation. I enjoy watching the scene from the tables of Aunties' Tea Room. I am uncertain who is getting Honourary Degrees, but the police presence around the building's perimeter is heavy and includes plainclothes, uniformed, and auxiliary police.
Soon, the wrought-iron fence will be lined with dozens of people trying to get a view of the graduates moving about on the grounds.
Looking up the pedestrianised Trinity Street, Conville and Caius College, left.
Conville and Caius College, the Senate House just left, in front. Many of the buildings in Cambridge, in the area of the Old Schools, are remarkably close together. Conville and Caius ("keys") was founded in 1348.
St John's College, the St John's Street Gatehouse entry of 1516, featuring the arms of foundress Lady Margaret Beaufort. We also see her ensigns, the Portcullis and the Lancaster Red Rose. "Holding" the College Arms are creatures called "Yales."
Trinity is the richest of Cambridge's colleges, created with the combination of King's Hall and Michaelhouse (1317). Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, who stands above the entry, Trinity has some of Cambridge's most famous graduates, including Francis Bacon, John Dryden, Byron, Thackeray, Tennyson and Nabokov. My scientific friends will know of Isaac Newton, and political friends will know that six UK Prime Ministers have attended Trinity, and the first Indian PM, Nehru.
A detail of the Great Gate, showing Henry VIII .
Even ordinary Trinity Street buildings have interesting carvings. Whoever this is, he is a fascinating observer of the crowds below.
The clock on Great St Mary's Church, the official church of Cambridge University. The guidebooks recommend the excellent views from the top of the church tower, but I take one look at the narrow, circular staircase, and decide that today is not a good day to die of a heart attack in a church tower with graduation going on across the street!
Punters, with Clare College, left, and Clare Bridge in the background.
Punters on the River Cam, Trinity Bridge in the background.
This has to be a perfect summer job for students: outdoors, lots of physical activity, and probably good tips from tourists. I listen to this young woman as she steers her punt under the Kitchen Bridge, telling her passengers the history of what they can see from the river. 
Not everyone is skilled at steering these boats. The rental operator is shouting instructions from the shore, but these young ladies can't figure it out. Still, I bet they are having great fun, so who cares! I didn't get to see anyone tumble into the murky water.
Punters on the River Cam, with a Clare College garden party on the banks of the river, the turrets of King's College Chapel in the background.
Apparently, I have passed through a private gate marked for members of St John's College only, but no one notices a bearded old man wandering about, looking for the Bridge of Sighs.
Signs everywhere in Cambridge tell visitors not to walk on the grass, but there are some exceptions: In King's College, Senior Members and their guests are permitted on the grass. It isn't for me to question the status of these students. Workers are setting up for the May Ball, held in each college in June.
I find the Kitchen Bridge, with its perfect view of St John's famous Bridge of Sighs. Built in 1831 and modelled (at least in name) after the Venetian counterpart, the Bridge is not accessible by the public, as it is a direct connection for the two halves of St John's, each on the banks of the River Cam.
Queen Victoria said she thought the Bridge of Sighs was "so pretty and picturesque."
Punters enjoy punting tourists up and down the Cam. I was approached on the streets a dozen times by hawkers trying to persuade me to pay a huge price to go for a ride on the river. I declined, mostly because I am so cheap. It looks like great fun!
A view of the Great Gate from inside the First Court.
The St John's College Chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and built 1866-1869.
The 12th-Century Round Church, formally the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on Bridge Street, opposite St. John's College.
Newmarket, Bridge Street.
The juxtaposition of traditional architecture with the requirements of modern storefronts is handled well here. (Although I must ask Prince Charles if he agrees, as he has a reputation for having many opinions of modern buildings!)
I walk past Magdalene ("maudlin") College, having hoped to see Samuel Pepys' Library, but the College is closed. I continue up the hill to the site of Cambridge Castle, all that remains being the Castle Mound. Not much of a view from this height.
Cambridge Castle site, Castle Mound in the back.
The 1092 Church of St Giles, on Castle Hill.
Queen's Lane, from Silver Street. Queen's College is on the left. It lost its front view when St Catharine's College, right, was built.
A view of punting chaos, including one steered by a saffron-robed monk! I view the scene from the Silver Street Bridge, where I meet a souvenir salesman who tells me about his visit to British Columbia. When I tell him I am from Nova Scotia, on the Atlantic coast, he asks me if Alaska is nearby. "Sure," I say, "but only 3000 miles to the West!" He also thought Toronto was on the East coast.
The wooden Mathematical Bridge, from Queen's College. Apparently, it was once rumoured that the original bridge was made without nuts and bolts. Another rumour had it designed by Isaac Newton, but he died in 1727 and the bridge was not built until 1749. It had badly decayed by 1866 and was rebuilt, and in 1905 it was completely replaced using the original plans, but with bolts instead of screws as originally.
More punts awaiting tourists, these at the Magdalene Bridge.
I have no idea what these Native musicians are doing in the middle of Cambridge, but the music is quite good, fully amplified, but nothing like any North American Indian music I have ever heard.
At this end of Corpus Christi is the new (2008) Chronophage Clock, unveiled by Stephen Hawking.
They call it the time-eater. It does not use hands or digital numerals to show the time. Instead, it relies on a mechanical monster – part demonic grasshopper, part locust – that rocks back and forth along a golden disc, edged like a lizard’s spine. By a complex feat of engineering, its movement triggers blue flashing lights that dart across the clockface, letting students know if they are late for a lecture.
About two metres in diameter, the clock is made from discs of stainless steel and plated with 24-carat gold. With each slackening of the monster’s jaw, and release of its claws, another second is devoured. Each new hour is signalled by the rattle of a chain on an unseen coffin to remind passers-by of their mortality. The clock is the brainchild of John Taylor, an inventor who made his fortune developing the kettle thermostat after graduating from Corpus Christi in the 1950s.The £1 million invention is a tribute to John Harrison, the world’s greatest clockmaker, who solved the problem of longitude in the 18th century.
Dr. Taylor, 72, said that he wanted to make a clock that would revolutionise the art of timekeeping. So he took the so-called “grasshopper escapement,” a tiny device invented by Harrison hidden away inside 18th-century clocks, and turned it into the time-eating insect that can be seen today on the college wall.
St Botolph's Church, from 1350, on Trumpington Street.
Inside St Botolph's Church, with its medieval Rood Screen. (I wonder how many people attend Sunday services; I think the dankness would overcome me.)
I stop to listen to a student orchestra set up at St Catharine's College, on Trumpington Street. What a pleasant treat!
Looking down Trumpington, Corpus Christi left, Pitt Building in the distance. While a hot day, it is not too crowded; in fact, Oxford, with its wider streets, seems to have more tourists.
The Pitt Building, named for William Pitt. Once it served the Cambridge University Press, but now it's used as a conference centre.
I return to Parker's Piece, the 25-acre green space sided by the bus bays on Parkside Street. Today it is being prepared for some major public event, with gigantic inflated slides being set up. Traditionally, Parker's Piece is an historical football and cricket field, made famous by the great cricketer, Jack Hobbs. (It was also the site of a Coronation Feast for Queen Victoria's crowning, at which event 15,000 people celebrated with a huge meal.)
Corpus Christi College, founded in 1352 by the local guilds. Inside the New Court facing the chapel. Christopher Marlowe is one of the famous alumni of the College. 
The King's Parade (formerly the High Street) showing King's College. Half the buildings were destroyed in the 1820s for the building of the neo-Gothic Gatehouse and Screen.
Henry VI founded the college in 1441; it took 70 years for completion by Henry VIII. The King's Chapel is a perfect example of Tudor Perpendicular style, 289 feet long--the longest single span central aisle in Europe--40 feet wide and 94 feet high.
The Chapel is the product of three distinct periods of construction because of interruptions during the War of the Roses, 1455-1485.
The Screen joining the Gatehouse to the Chapel, along the King's Parade.
The rose-lined neo-Gothic Screen, with a partial view of an ancient horse-chestnut tree.
A detail of a section of the Screen, looking into the Front Court.
Down a small alley and around to the tourist entrance to the King's Chapel, Clare College to the right.
Just inside the antechapel, from the west, looking towards the dark oak screen housing the great organ. The screen has the initials of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, from 1533-1536.
The fan vaulted ceiling is the largest ever created and is supported by 22 buttresses, created in 1515.
The 16th-century stained-glass windows all depict Biblical scenes; commissioned by Henry VIII, the 26 sets took 30 years to install.
The massive 17th-Century organ is decorated with two trumpet-playing angels.
The Adoration of the Magi, by Rubens, painted in 1634 for the Convent of the White Nuns at Louvain in Belgium, was donated to the College in 1961.
The Great East Window above the altar depicts the passion and crucifixion of Christ.
From the Choir, the organ case and screen.
The West Window was installed in the late 19th century, in the antechapel.
Heraldic carvings--these on the west wall--include the Greyhound, symbol of Lady Margaret Beaufort (mother of Henry VII) and the Dragon of Cadwallader (Wales) representing the Tudor family of Henry VII's father.
Situated on the Front Lawn is a fountain surmounted by a statue of Henry VI, the boy king.
Looking at King's College's Great Lawn, which edges the River Cam and leads to The Backs, is Clare College.
Another view of the entrance to Clare College, near the North Entrance to King's College Chapel. Most of the Colleges are not open to the public today, maybe because of Graduation.
Porters at the gate of the Old Schools University Offices, opposite Clare College.
In front of The Senate House, refreshment tents have been set up for today's graduation. I enjoy watching the scene from the tables of Aunties' Tea Room. I am uncertain who is getting Honourary Degrees, but the police presence around the building's perimeter is heavy and includes plainclothes, uniformed, and auxiliary police.
Soon, the wrought-iron fence will be lined with dozens of people trying to get a view of the graduates moving about on the grounds.
Looking up the pedestrianised Trinity Street, Conville and Caius College, left.
Conville and Caius College, the Senate House just left, in front. Many of the buildings in Cambridge, in the area of the Old Schools, are remarkably close together. Conville and Caius ("keys") was founded in 1348.
St John's College, the St John's Street Gatehouse entry of 1516, featuring the arms of foundress Lady Margaret Beaufort. We also see her ensigns, the Portcullis and the Lancaster Red Rose. "Holding" the College Arms are creatures called "Yales."
Trinity is the richest of Cambridge's colleges, created with the combination of King's Hall and Michaelhouse (1317). Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, who stands above the entry, Trinity has some of Cambridge's most famous graduates, including Francis Bacon, John Dryden, Byron, Thackeray, Tennyson and Nabokov. My scientific friends will know of Isaac Newton, and political friends will know that six UK Prime Ministers have attended Trinity, and the first Indian PM, Nehru.
A detail of the Great Gate, showing Henry VIII .
Even ordinary Trinity Street buildings have interesting carvings. Whoever this is, he is a fascinating observer of the crowds below.
The clock on Great St Mary's Church, the official church of Cambridge University. The guidebooks recommend the excellent views from the top of the church tower, but I take one look at the narrow, circular staircase, and decide that today is not a good day to die of a heart attack in a church tower with graduation going on across the street!
Punters, with Clare College, left, and Clare Bridge in the background.
Punters on the River Cam, Trinity Bridge in the background.
This has to be a perfect summer job for students: outdoors, lots of physical activity, and probably good tips from tourists. I listen to this young woman as she steers her punt under the Kitchen Bridge, telling her passengers the history of what they can see from the river. Not everyone is skilled at steering these boats. The rental operator is shouting instructions from the shore, but these young ladies can't figure it out. Still, I bet they are having great fun, so who cares! I didn't get to see anyone tumble into the murky water.
Punters on the River Cam, with a Clare College garden party on the banks of the river, the turrets of King's College Chapel in the background.
Apparently, I have passed through a private gate marked for members of St John's College only, but no one notices a bearded old man wandering about, looking for the Bridge of Sighs.
Signs everywhere in Cambridge tell visitors not to walk on the grass, but there are some exceptions: In King's College, Senior Members and their guests are permitted on the grass. It isn't for me to question the status of these students. Workers are setting up for the May Ball, held in each college in June.
I find the Kitchen Bridge, with its perfect view of St John's famous Bridge of Sighs. Built in 1831 and modelled (at least in name) after the Venetian counterpart, the Bridge is not accessible by the public, as it is a direct connection for the two halves of St John's, each on the banks of the River Cam.Queen Victoria said she thought the Bridge of Sighs was "so pretty and picturesque."
Punters enjoy punting tourists up and down the Cam. I was approached on the streets a dozen times by hawkers trying to persuade me to pay a huge price to go for a ride on the river. I declined, mostly because I am so cheap. It looks like great fun!
A view of the Great Gate from inside the First Court.
The St John's College Chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and built 1866-1869.
The 12th-Century Round Church, formally the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on Bridge Street, opposite St. John's College.
Newmarket, Bridge Street.
The juxtaposition of traditional architecture with the requirements of modern storefronts is handled well here. (Although I must ask Prince Charles if he agrees, as he has a reputation for having many opinions of modern buildings!)
I walk past Magdalene ("maudlin") College, having hoped to see Samuel Pepys' Library, but the College is closed. I continue up the hill to the site of Cambridge Castle, all that remains being the Castle Mound. Not much of a view from this height.
Cambridge Castle site, Castle Mound in the back.
The 1092 Church of St Giles, on Castle Hill.
Queen's Lane, from Silver Street. Queen's College is on the left. It lost its front view when St Catharine's College, right, was built.
A view of punting chaos, including one steered by a saffron-robed monk! I view the scene from the Silver Street Bridge, where I meet a souvenir salesman who tells me about his visit to British Columbia. When I tell him I am from Nova Scotia, on the Atlantic coast, he asks me if Alaska is nearby. "Sure," I say, "but only 3000 miles to the West!" He also thought Toronto was on the East coast.
The wooden Mathematical Bridge, from Queen's College. Apparently, it was once rumoured that the original bridge was made without nuts and bolts. Another rumour had it designed by Isaac Newton, but he died in 1727 and the bridge was not built until 1749. It had badly decayed by 1866 and was rebuilt, and in 1905 it was completely replaced using the original plans, but with bolts instead of screws as originally.
More punts awaiting tourists, these at the Magdalene Bridge.
I have no idea what these Native musicians are doing in the middle of Cambridge, but the music is quite good, fully amplified, but nothing like any North American Indian music I have ever heard.
At this end of Corpus Christi is the new (2008) Chronophage Clock, unveiled by Stephen Hawking.
They call it the time-eater. It does not use hands or digital numerals to show the time. Instead, it relies on a mechanical monster – part demonic grasshopper, part locust – that rocks back and forth along a golden disc, edged like a lizard’s spine. By a complex feat of engineering, its movement triggers blue flashing lights that dart across the clockface, letting students know if they are late for a lecture.About two metres in diameter, the clock is made from discs of stainless steel and plated with 24-carat gold. With each slackening of the monster’s jaw, and release of its claws, another second is devoured. Each new hour is signalled by the rattle of a chain on an unseen coffin to remind passers-by of their mortality. The clock is the brainchild of John Taylor, an inventor who made his fortune developing the kettle thermostat after graduating from Corpus Christi in the 1950s.The £1 million invention is a tribute to John Harrison, the world’s greatest clockmaker, who solved the problem of longitude in the 18th century.
Dr. Taylor, 72, said that he wanted to make a clock that would revolutionise the art of timekeeping. So he took the so-called “grasshopper escapement,” a tiny device invented by Harrison hidden away inside 18th-century clocks, and turned it into the time-eating insect that can be seen today on the college wall.
St Botolph's Church, from 1350, on Trumpington Street.
Inside St Botolph's Church, with its medieval Rood Screen. (I wonder how many people attend Sunday services; I think the dankness would overcome me.)I stop to listen to a student orchestra set up at St Catharine's College, on Trumpington Street. What a pleasant treat!Looking down Trumpington, Corpus Christi left, Pitt Building in the distance. While a hot day, it is not too crowded; in fact, Oxford, with its wider streets, seems to have more tourists.The Pitt Building, named for William Pitt. Once it served the Cambridge University Press, but now it's used as a conference centre.
I return to Parker's Piece, the 25-acre green space sided by the bus bays on Parkside Street. Today it is being prepared for some major public event, with gigantic inflated slides being set up. Traditionally, Parker's Piece is an historical football and cricket field, made famous by the great cricketer, Jack Hobbs. (It was also the site of a Coronation Feast for Queen Victoria's crowning, at which event 15,000 people celebrated with a huge meal.)I have had a good day here in Cambridge. There are many Colleges to see more closely and things to do. The shops are better than those in Oxford, and I would like to see the Cambridge Botanical Gardens. Perhaps I can come back another day---if I can stand the nearly three-hour bus ride up and back!
