Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cambridge, 60 miles north of London, is world-famous for its prestigious university.
Wordsworth, Isaac Newton, Tennyson, Darwin, and Prince Charles are a few of its illustri-
ous alumni. The university dominates—and owns—most of Cambridge, a historic town of
100,000 people. Cambridge is the epitome of a university town, with busy bikers, stately
residence halls, plenty of bookshops, and proud locals who can point out where DNA was
originally modeled, the atom first split, and electrons discovered.
In medieval Europe, higher education was the domain of the Church and was limited
to ecclesiastical schools. Scholars lived in “halls” on campus. This academic community
of residential halls, chapels, and lecture halls connected by peaceful garden courtyards
survives today in the colleges that make up the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
By 1350 (Oxford is roughly 100 years older), Cambridge had eight colleges, each with a
monastic-type courtyard, chapel, library, and lodgings. Today, Cambridge has 31 colleges,
each with its own facilities. In the town center, these grand old halls date back centur-
