Great St Mary's church would dominate the centre of Cambridge were it not for the stiff competition from a certain much grander college chapel over the road! As it is this is by far the largest of the medieval parish churches in the area and plays a role in the academic life of the city as the University Church.
The present building is a late medieval rebuilding and expansion of its predecessor, dating largely to between 1478 and 1519, though the west tower wasn't completed until as late as 1608. It is a classic example of the late medieval Perpendicular style with large mullioned and transomed windows and a high clerestorey over the nave.
The interior is equally grand, the nave arcades being particularly elegant while the aisles unusually retain their post-Reformation galleries (no doubt useful for greater capacity for University events). The interior isn't as light as it could be owing to the late Victorian glass in the nave clerestorey (thus something of a contradiction in terms!).
St Mary's is a vast and impressive building worth seeing and normally open and welcoming to visitors on a daily basis (the tower is also open to visitors for fine views over the city, though being pushed for time I haven't made the ascent in years).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_the_Great,_Cambridge
Tags: Cambridge church Cambridgeshire
© All Rights Reserved
Great St Mary's church would dominate the centre of Cambridge were it not for the stiff competition from a certain much grander college chapel over the road! As it is this is by far the largest of the medieval parish churches in the area and plays a role in the academic life of the city as the University Church.
The present building is a late medieval rebuilding and expansion of its predecessor, dating largely to between 1478 and 1519, though the west tower wasn't completed until as late as 1608. It is a classic example of the late medieval Perpendicular style with large mullioned and transomed windows and a high clerestorey over the nave.
The interior is equally grand, the nave arcades being particularly elegant while the aisles unusually retain their post-Reformation galleries (no doubt useful for greater capacity for University events). The interior isn't as light as it could be owing to the late Victorian glass in the nave clerestorey (thus something of a contradiction in terms!).
St Mary's is a vast and impressive building worth seeing and normally open and welcoming to visitors on a daily basis (the tower is also open to visitors for fine views over the city, though being pushed for time I haven't made the ascent in years).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_the_Great,_Cambridge
Tags: Cambridge church Cambridgeshire
© All Rights Reserved
Great St Mary's church would dominate the centre of Cambridge were it not for the stiff competition from a certain much grander college chapel over the road! As it is this is by far the largest of the medieval parish churches in the area and plays a role in the academic life of the city as the University Church.
The present building is a late medieval rebuilding and expansion of its predecessor, dating largely to between 1478 and 1519, though the west tower wasn't completed until as late as 1608. It is a classic example of the late medieval Perpendicular style with large mullioned and transomed windows and a high clerestorey over the nave.
The interior is equally grand, the nave arcades being particularly elegant while the aisles unusually retain their post-Reformation galleries (no doubt useful for greater capacity for University events). The interior isn't as light as it could be owing to the late Victorian glass in the nave clerestorey (thus something of a contradiction in terms!).
St Mary's is a vast and impressive building worth seeing and normally open and welcoming to visitors on a daily basis (the tower is also open to visitors for fine views over the city, though being pushed for time I haven't made the ascent in years).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_the_Great,_Cambridge
Tags: Cambridge church Cambridgeshire
© All Rights Reserved
Great St Mary's church would dominate the centre of Cambridge were it not for the stiff competition from a certain much grander college chapel over the road! As it is this is by far the largest of the medieval parish churches in the area and plays a role in the academic life of the city as the University Church.
The present building is a late medieval rebuilding and expansion of its predecessor, dating largely to between 1478 and 1519, though the west tower wasn't completed until as late as 1608. It is a classic example of the late medieval Perpendicular style with large mullioned and transomed windows and a high clerestorey over the nave.
The interior is equally grand, the nave arcades being particularly elegant while the aisles unusually retain their post-Reformation galleries (no doubt useful for greater capacity for University events). The interior isn't as light as it could be owing to the late Victorian glass in the nave clerestorey (thus something of a contradiction in terms!).
St Mary's is a vast and impressive building worth seeing and normally open and welcoming to visitors on a daily basis (the tower is also open to visitors for fine views over the city, though being pushed for time I haven't made the ascent in years).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_the_Great,_Cambridge
Tags: Cambridge church Cambridgeshire
© All Rights Reserved
Great St Mary's church would dominate the centre of Cambridge were it not for the stiff competition from a certain much grander college chapel over the road! As it is this is by far the largest of the medieval parish churches in the area and plays a role in the academic life of the city as the University Church.
The present building is a late medieval rebuilding and expansion of its predecessor, dating largely to between 1478 and 1519, though the west tower wasn't completed until as late as 1608. It is a classic example of the late medieval Perpendicular style with large mullioned and transomed windows and a high clerestorey over the nave.
The interior is equally grand, the nave arcades being particularly elegant while the aisles unusually retain their post-Reformation galleries (no doubt useful for greater capacity for University events). The interior isn't as light as it could be owing to the late Victorian glass in the nave clerestorey (thus something of a contradiction in terms!).
St Mary's is a vast and impressive building worth seeing and normally open and welcoming to visitors on a daily basis (the tower is also open to visitors for fine views over the city, though being pushed for time I haven't made the ascent in years).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_the_Great,_Cambridge
Tags: Cambridge church Cambridgeshire
© All Rights Reserved