Cambridge University

Cambridge University is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world (after Oxford) and the world’s fourth-oldest surviving university.

Modern Cambridge has been described as “perhaps the only true university town in England.” University and college buildings provide nearly all the outstanding architectural features.

King’s College Chapel is the chapel of King’s College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture. The Chapel was built in phases by a succession of kings of England from 1446 to 1515, a period which spanned the Wars of the Roses and three subsequent decades. The Chapel’s large stained glass windows were not completed until 1531, and its early Renaissance rood screen was erected in 1532–36. The Chapel is an active house of worship, and home of the King’s College Choir. The Chapel is a significant landmark and a commonly used symbol of the city of Cambridge.

The Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge is a covered bridge at Cambridge University. It was built in 1831 and crosses the River Cam between the college’s Third Court and New Court. The architect was Henry Hutchinson. It is named after the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, although they have little architecturally in common beyond the fact that they are both covered. The bridge is one of Cambridge’s main tourist attractions and Queen Victoria is said to have loved it more than any other spot in the city.

The Mathematical Bridge is the popular name of a wooden footbridge in Cambridge. Its official name is simply the Wooden Bridge. The bridge was designed by William Etheridge, and built by James Essex in 1749. It has been rebuilt on two occasions, in 1866 and in 1905, but has kept the same overall design. Although it appears to be an arch, it is composed entirely of straight timbers built to an unusually sophisticated engineering design, hence the name.