Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge is located at Market Square, almost in the very centre of the city, at the northern end of King’s Parade. It is one of the more picturesque and well-known buildings in Cambridge, dating back to the 13th century.
Due to its age and rich history, this church is classified as one of the so-called “Great Churches” and currently holds the status of a Grade I Listed Building of Historic England. Cambridge is home to many important monuments, and the University Church of Great St Mary’s is one of them.
Great St Mary’s University Church in Cambridge and its extraordinary history
The Church of Great St Mary (The Blessed Virgin Mary the Great) in Cambridge has dominated the central part of the city for over 800 years. Today, it serves the residents as a parish church and also functions as an academic church for university students and professors.
The Great St Mary’s Church building was the first official headquarters of the University of Cambridge in 1209 when some scholars from Oxford moved to the city intending to establish a new, competing university. For several years, lectures were held within the church walls, university ceremonies were celebrated, and academic titles were conferred.
The first historical mentions of Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge date back to 1205, recounting how King John of England granted land with the foundations of an earlier church, destroyed in 1010, to the rector Thomas de Chimeleye.
In 1209, the new church building was completed and began its pastoral activities. Unfortunately, just sixty years later, the building was almost destroyed by fire, for which English Jews were blamed. This event was used as a pretext to close all synagogues in that part of the country.
Until 1342, the church was under the patronage of the crown. Then, King Henry VIII transferred the patronage of the church to the founding college of the University of Cambridge.
The church was plundered in 1381 during the Peasants’ Revolt. Peasants and townspeople fighting for their rights broke into the building and destroyed all documents, statutes, and deeds to land and properties belonging to the church.
The Great St Mary’s Church building in Cambridge served various functions for many years, but eventually became too small and inconvenient for the increasingly popular university. Therefore, in 1478, its reconstruction began, enlarging the interior. In 1491, work began on a new, taller church tower and bell tower. The church was completed in 1536 after the last stained-glass windows were installed in the west wall and the roof was thatched. The tower reached its current height in 1608 after the bell tower was rebuilt.
The church has been repeatedly rebuilt and modernized. The most important renovations were carried out in 1766, 1850, and 1888, rebuilding the porches, roof, and the elements of the church most damaged by time.
The church played a very significant role during the bloody English Reformation. Within its walls, great philosophers, scientists, and representatives of the crown met, responsible for creating the philosophical and dogmatic foundations of the new faith. It is said that it was in the cool interior of Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge that the ten famous articles reforming the religious system in England were drafted.
The Organ at Great St Mary’s Church, Cambridge
The Church of Great St Mary has a unique set of pipe organs, consisting of two independent systems. The first organ is located in the chancel and belongs to the church congregation, while the second, known as the University Organ, is in the west gallery and is owned by the University of Cambridge.
The University Organ was purchased and installed in the church in 1698, and it was built by the famous organist Bernard Smith. The instrument was maintained by the university, but the church was allowed to use it during all services. Unfortunately, in the mid-19th century, the organ ceased to function and was sealed off because the university refused to allocate funds for its repair.
The silence in the church must have been unbearable because, in 1869, the congregation installed their organ in the chancel, which remained in use for exactly one hundred years. The instrument currently used in the church replaced the previous one in 1991.
The bells from the tower of Great St Mary’s Church, Cambridge
The bells currently located in the bell tower of the Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge were previously hung on a special wooden structure standing in the local cemetery. They were moved to the tower in 1515, after which the structure was dismantled. Unfortunately, the bells you see when climbing to the top of the tower are not the original ones; the first set was destroyed under unexplained circumstances and replaced with new ones in 1722.
To formalize the responsibility for ringing the bells, the Cambridge Youths Society was established and entrusted with their use. The association still operates today and consists of students from the University of Cambridge. The bell ringers of Cambridge are very proud of their role and claim to be the oldest bell ringers’ association in the United Kingdom and the second oldest in history.
In 2009, some elements of the bell tower were replaced, including the rings on which the bells hang, and the mechanism used to operate them. Additionally, some of the most worn-out bells were replaced, and others were retired from daily concerts but left in place so they could play the original Cambridge Christmas piece on Christmas Eve.
The bells of Cambridge have been ringing their music every day for hundreds of years.
Viewpoint on the tower of Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge
The tower of Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge serves yet another purpose today: from its top, you can admire a panoramic view of the city and its surrounding areas.
To reach the top of the tower, you must climb 123 steps in a very narrow passage. While drinking coffee in a café near the church, we heard an anecdote about an overweight lady who got stuck in the tower for hours. Some say the fire brigade helped the unfortunate tourist, while others claim everyone waited until she lost a few pounds from the stress. Either way, the woman eventually got out of the trap.
Access to the tower is organized in timed slots. Every 15 minutes, a new group of tourists is allowed up the stairs. After another 10 minutes at the top of the tower, a voice from the speaker announces that the people there should start descending or wait for the next call. This system works well, and since there is no time limit, you can admire the panorama of Cambridge for as long as you like.
Unfortunately, this attraction is not free and to climb the church towers you have to pay £6 per person.
Remember to look through the windows into the rooms you pass as you climb. There is a room with bells, and below it, a small chamber resembling an old classroom, with ropes hanging from the ceiling ending in loops, much like nooses. This is the room where the bell ringers move the bells in a precise and perfectly synchronized manner.
It is worth climbing the tower before starting your tour of Cambridge, as the view from the top allows you to get a sense of the layout of the city’s attractions, which can be very helpful for later explorations.
Great St Mary’s Church, Cambridge Facts, Information, and Curiosities
Great St Mary Church Cambridge address: The University Church, Senate House Hill, Cambridge CB2 3PQ.
Oficjalna strona kościoła Great St Mary w Cambridge.
- The towers are open from 10:00 to 17:30 (last entry at 17:00).
- There is a café in the church during the hours when the tower is open.
- To enter the towers, you need to buy a ticket, which costs £6 for adults and £4 for children.
- The towers are accessed via 123 steps in a very narrow corridor.
- The tower of Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge is just under 35 metres high.
- According to the oldest regulations of the University of Cambridge, university officials and professors must live no more than 20 miles (ca. 32 km) from Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge, and students no more than 3 miles (ca. 5 km) from it.
- In 2018, over 500 invited guests said goodbye to the famous British physicist and populariser of science Stephen Hawking at Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge. On this sad occasion, the church bells tolled 76 times.
- The famous Big Ben clock tower in London has several bells modelled on those in the Church of St Mary in Cambridge.
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