THE GATEWAY OF BATTLE ABBEY.
The high altar of Battle Abbey was placed exactly over the spot where the body of Harold II. was discovered after the battle of Senlac Hill.]
CAMBRIDGE
=How to get there.=—Train from St. Pancras or Liverpool Street.
Great Eastern Railway.
=Nearest Station.=—Cambridge.
=Distance from London.=—55-3/4 miles.
=Average Time.=—Varies between 1-1/4 and 2-1/2 hours. Quickest train,
1 h. 13 m.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=—Single 8s. 9d. … 4s. 7-1/2d.
Return 15s. 10d. … 9s. 3d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=—"Bull Hotel," "Lion Hotel,"
"University Arms Hotel," "Hoop Hotel," "Bath Hotel," etc.
=Alternative Routes=.—From Euston by L. and N.W. Railway.
From King's Cross, Great Northern Railway. From St.
Pancras, Midland Railway.
Cambridge shares with its sister university, Oxford, the honour of being one of the two most ancient seats of learning in Great Britain. The town itself is of very remote origin, and stands on the site of the Roman station Camboricum, on the Via Devana. By the Saxons, Cambridge appears to have been known as Grantabrycge, which was probably later abbreviated into Cantbrigge. The true history of the town as a university began at the opening of the twelfth century, when Joffred, Abbot of Crowland, sent over to Cottenham, near Cambridge, four monks, who, in a hired barn, started their teachings, which soon became excessively popular. The first regular society of students was founded in 1257.
Cambridge abounds in features of interest and contains a large number of old churches, perhaps the most interesting being that of St. Sepulchre, one of the four circular churches remaining in England. This church, which is in Bridge Street, was erected in the reign of Henry I., and founded, like the one at Northampton, by the Knights Templars in imitation of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.
The colleges are, of course, the glory of Cambridge, and one is almost bewildered by the beauty and variety of their architecture. King's College Chapel is one of the most magnificent examples in the town, but nearly all the more important collegiate buildings are beautiful types of mediaeval work. The visitor should on no account omit to walk through the "Backs," which is the 'varsity term for the backs of the colleges, with the "Fellows' Gardens" reaching down to the quiet Cam. The Great Court, Trinity College, is one of the most imposing of the numerous quadrangles, and is the largest of any at either Oxford or Cambridge. The Master's Lodge here is the residence of the sovereign on all royal visits.
[Illustration: Photochrom Co., Ltd.