Sunday 4 December 2011

The Round Church

One of the most distinctive and memorable landmarks, in a city full of distinctive and memorable landmarks, is Cambridge's Round Church, or Church of the Holy Sepulchre as it is more correctly known. It's thought to be the second oldest church in the city dating from about 1130 AD.


There are four "round churches" in England - at Northampton (c. 1100-1125), the Temple Church in London (1185) and at Little Maplestead in Essex (c. 1300). They are all thought to be associated with fraternities such as The Knights Templar, who took part in the Crusades. There is in the chronicles of Ramsey Abbey, twenty miles north-west of Cambridge, a document granting the land to build the church  to the Fraternity of the Holy Sepulchre who included in their number the splendidly named "Randolph with the Beard".


The church retains many of its Norman features including the magnificent doorway above. Much later the parish was probably unique in that the vicar was elected by the church wardens and parishioners rather than being appointed by the Bishops of Ely; a state of affairs which irritated the bishops greatly. Vicars were often Fellows of the colleges and, since they lived in the colleges there was no need for a vicarage in the parish.

The church suffered greatly at the hands of Cromwell's men. A diary from 1644 states, "in Pulcher's or Round parish we brake down fourteen superstitious pictures, and divers idolatrous inscriptions, and one of God the Father, and of Christ, and of the apostles".


By 1841 the church was in a state of near-collapse and plans were drawn up for a restoration project. The whole scheme was the subject of much heated debate and at one point the vicar and his opponents were involved in a race to Ely to persuade the Chancellor to their cause.

At present there is a display charting the history of the church and the development of Christianity in Britain which is depicted on several display boards situated around the building. It gives a fascinating insight into Cambridge's part in that development, though, in my opinion, rather detracts from the atmosphere of this unusual building.

Take care.

12 comments:

  1. My friend lives in one of Pontypridd's famous round houses. It's murder getting the right furniture!

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  2. Beautifully shot, John... wow that is really an old church... the interior shot, the lighting is perfect!

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  3. Lovely little church.
    Your last paragraph is interesting John. I often think that using cathedrals for exhibitions (they have an annual art exh. in Ripon cathedral) detracts greatly from the beauty of the architecture. But I suppose they all need funds these days and having an exhibition gets people in and people make donations.

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  4. As always John, thanks for the wonderful little bit of historical insight into your local landmarks.

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  5. Dating from 1130 and only the second oldest! You have such treasures. Jim

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  6. I can't imagine anything being that old!! the architecture is beautiful topped off by the patina on the roof tiles -or is it moss?

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  7. I'm always amazed at how old many of the structures are in England. I think it's wonderful that so many are being maintained.

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  8. My goodness, John! I totally love visiting your blog, so much history! I love the round church!

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  9. I love to see old churches or castles of different architectural styles. The church looks massive, and elegant as well, due to many round arches. Hope such old structures be passed on to future as many as possible though restoration and maintenance would be a hard work.

    You’re so creative and productive that I can’t catch up with you. When I visit you from time to time, I scroll down and down to enjoy your superb photography and thoughts.

    Yoko

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  10. Hi John,
    Dad was fascinated by this church. When Judy and I were in Cambridge, we wanted to see it. As we tried to figure out where to get off the bus, we got so confused. So we decided to just get off and walk to the church. And guess what? We exited the bus right in front of the church! Literally, the bus pulled off, and we looked across the road and started laughing! Judy was pretty sure it was Dad guiding us...thanks for the reminder of a lovely trip. Love and hugs Theresa

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  11. I remember seeing this, never went inside though, silly me.

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  12. Thanks for everyone's interesting comments. Must visit the oldest church, St Bene't's, (c. 1000-1050 AD) with you some time.

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