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December 29, 2021

Orwell, Cambridgeshire – St Andrew

St Andrew’s church is at TL 362504. We used to come to this village to have an explore of the old chalk pit, now a nature reserve, and I remember watching two steam engines ploughing a field – engine at each end and plough being dragged across. I don’t remember visiting the church, but in those days I hadn’t discovered the windows of Leonard Evetts. A group of five parishes, all of which have open churches (I’ll be back), and a good website at https://www.beneficeorwell.co.uk/ The church is on a steep rise on the north side of the village....
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December 28, 2021

Barton, Cambridgeshire – St Peter

Our 38th wedding anniversary, 3 December 2021. We drove to Barton and parked by the school so I could have an explore of St Peter’s – TL 408557. The village of my childhood. We moved here when I was 9. Lovely that St Peter’s church was open – indeed church, chapel, school and Vicarage, still seemed the same as they were half a century ago. But Mr Law no longer lives in the Vicarage and Miss Mason no longer lives in the School House. Looking at the church website – https://www.bartonstpeters.org.uk/ – I did not remember that there is...
Categories Cambridgeshire/Personal Comment: 1
December 28, 2021

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire – St Bene’t

St Bene’t’s church is the oldest in Cambridge. A classic Anglo-Saxon tower, each stage a little narrower than the one below. There are six bells in the tower. In 1273 there was one, and the Rector, Alan, disputed the new University’s assumed right to ring it to summon the gownsmen to lectures. It was agreed that they would make an annual payment for the use of said bell. The most recent work done has been to install a ramp down through the churchyard, and there are still some nice memorials in place. This was a 2019 project with Freeland...
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December 27, 2021

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire – St Andrew’s Street Baptist Church

We are in Cambridge for a Wedding Anniversary break and on 2 December 2021 (37 years and 364 days since that Fateful Day) we walked along to St Andrew’s Street Baptist Church. I realised that, although we worshipped here for three years and were married here, I know nothing about the history of the church. The website helps – https://www.stasbaptist.org/Groups/239182/Our_History.aspx – and I hope they don’t mind if I use a couple of their photos. On 16 April 1721 a group of Christians took over the stable and granary that was on this site, and started a new church....
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December 27, 2021

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire – Great Saint Mary’s

Great Saint Mary’s is the main church in the centre of Cambridge – the University Church. In my youth their Director of Music also conducted Cambridge Youth Orchestra, so we did various concerts here. In our undergraduate days we came to various events here – I remember Michael Flanders and Donald Swann leading a packed church in “Mud, mud, glorious mud” with the Vicar, Michael Mayne, conducting from the pulpit. I used to bring the Confirmation kids over from Bury every year and we used to climb the tower. Leaving Julie in Heffers bookshop, I headed up the 123...
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December 4, 2020

northernvicarwalks November 2020

We were running a safe service in each church every Sunday, but were told on the evening of Saturday 31 October that Sunday 1 November would be the last service for several weeks. Apparently the announcement came as a surprise to the Archbishops as well. Good to know that State still talks to Church. Remembrance Sunday was difficult – clear instructions from the City and the Director of Public Health that we must not meet at War Memorials. The Government gave one message about standing on our doorsteps, but also issued instructions that small groups could meet together and...
Categories 1,000 mile walking/Cambridgeshire/Derbyshire/Personal Comments: 0
October 23, 2018

Cherry Hinton, Cambridge – St Andrew

Rob and I continued on a bus to St Andrew’s church in Cherry Hinton, which is at TL 490571, and has a website. At 3 pm we had an appointment with Karin the Vicar and a lady called Isobel. We were to look at Evetts glass. For those who haven’t followed my blog for years, Leonard Evetts was an artist who lived in Newcastle for many years. I had some of his stained glass windows in Ponteland, and found others as I travelled round the North East (you can search for them all on this blog by using the category...
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October 21, 2018

Cambridge – photos of Robinson and Selwyn Colleges

We had a day in Cambridge (Monday 17 September). Julie and Anne did Heffer’s and other bookshops. Rob and I had a walk. We called in at Robinson and Selwyn Colleges, both of which have been blogged before. Rob takes better photos than me, so we’ll add some of his photos to this blog (with my thanks). Let’s start with the Piper window in the chapel at Robinson. Selwyn remains very special – it is frightening to think it is 38 years since I met my beloved in this very chapel … We continued our walk down Church Rate...
Categories 1,000 mile walking/Cambridgeshire/Personal Comment: 1
July 18, 2018

Cambridge – Selwyn College

In Cambridge for the day. I left northernreader in Heffers bookshop and walked across to Selwyn College. Some of my earliest memories are of staying with Granny and Granddad – Joan and Len Hoskison  – who kept 23 Grange Road as a College hostel. I remember the noise as undergrads returned from hall. You can read more about those days in my mum’s book – Backstairs Cambridge, by Jane Barham (long out of print, but copies are available). Here is 23 Grange Road.15 years later I started at Selwyn, and my room was I15. A few weeks later I...
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March 2, 2018

Cambridge – American Military Cemetery

We drove out of Cambridge, past my old home in Barton,  then up to Comberton, Madingley Road and the American Cemetery. Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial is place which I have never visited, despite all my years living less than ten miles away. The website is here – and you can see it is run by the American Battle Monuments Commission. You might want to ponder why they have a “Battle Monuments Commission” and we have the “Commonwealth War Graves Commission”. It is just beside the old A45, the A1303, west of Cambridge, grid reference TL 405595. The first...
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