England > Cambridgeshire > Historic Buildings

Historic Buildings in Cambridgeshire

You'll find many of the university colleges of Cambridge here. You might also want to check our gazetteer of historic houses (stately homes) in Cambridgeshire.

American War Cemetary    This simple and moving cemetary is the final resting place for Americans killed in World War II while serving in the UK. The site of 30 acres was donated by the University of Cambridge. Over 3800 Americans are buried here, and the Wall of the Missing at the entrance lists the names of over 5000 more whose bodies were never recovered or identified. There is a small chapel on the site. Madingley, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England Attraction Type: Historic Property Location: 3 miles W of the University of Cambridge on the A1303 Website: American War Cemetary Details of American War Cemetary OS TL403 597 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Bishop's Palace    The Bishop's Palace in Ely was built in the late 15th century. The building consists of two wings joined by a central hall. In the early 16th century a 100 foot long gallery was added. Look for the coat of arms of the A family above the second story canopy. This was added as a tribute to Bishop Alcock, who had the palace built. In the garden is the oldest plane tree in England, planted by Bishop Gunning more than 300 years ago. The Gallery, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England Attraction Type: Historic Property Location: Across from the West end of the Cathedral. Details of Bishop's Palace OS TL541802 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Christ's College, University of Cambridge    Christ's College was originally established in 1437 by William Byngham, who called his establishment God's House. In 1448 the college moved to its present location after Henry VI decided that he needed the original site for his new King's College. St Andrew's Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 3BU Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Christ's College, University of Cambridge Phone: 01223 334 900 Fax: 01223 334 973 Location map Details of Christ's College, University of Cambridge OS TL451 586 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Clare College   Clare College is the second oldest among Cambridge Colleges, having been founded in 1326, with the later aid of an endowment by Lady Elizabeth de Clare. In the 17th century and for a century following, Clare underwent a major rebuilding, with the present Old Court taking shape. Unsupported Clare tradition holds that it was the early classical pioneer architect Inigo Jones who was responsible for making Old Court the harmonious composition it is today. Trinity Lane, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 1TL Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Clare College Phone: 01223 333 200 Location map Details of Clare College OS TL446584 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Corpus Christi College    Corpus Christi is one of the smallest Cambridge colleges, with an enrollement of only 75 undergraduates, but it is also one of the oldest colleges, using the same buildings since about 1380. Trumpington Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 1RH Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Corpus Christi College Email: info@corpus.cam.ac.uk Phone: 01223 338 000 Fax: 01223 338 061 Location map Details of Corpus Christi College OS TL448581 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Duxford Chapel    Remains of a simple 14th century chantry chapel. The chapel is unfurnished within, but offers a god example of a complete medieval building with little alteration. It may originally have been established as part of a hospital dedicated to St John the Baptist, occupied by a prior and brethern adhering to the Austin rule. Whittlesford Station, Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England Attraction Type: Historic Property Location: On the A505 at Duxford. The chapel is immediately beside Whittlesford Station. Website: Duxford Chapel English Heritage OS TL486473 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Emmanuel College    Emmanuel College was founded in 1584, but the most striking and attractive building is the college chapel, built in 1677 by Sir Christopher Wren. The main entrance is from St. Andrew's Street, past a versy small garden space. The front is a neo-classical addition of 1769-75, built by James Essex. St Andrew's Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 3AP Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Emmanuel College Phone: 01223 334 200 Fax: 01223 334 426 Location map Details of Emmanuel College OS TL452582 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Gonville and Caius College    Gonville Court is the oldest part of the college, its buildings were erected in the 14th century, but were refaced with and partly rebuilt in the 18th. The Master's Hall has at its core a small 15th century house, which has been much extended over time. Trinity Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 1TA Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Gonville and Caius College Phone: 01223 332 400 Fax: 01223 332 456 Location map Details of Gonville and Caius College OS TL448 585 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Houghton Mill    A restored 17th century water mill on an island in the River Ouse. Houghton Mill is now the only remaining water mill in the old county of Huntingdonshire, and, indeed, the last surviving mill on the Great Ouse. The mill is five stories high and built of timber framing, clad with weatherboard. Though built in the 17th century, it was enlarged and remodelled in the 19th century. Houghton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England, PE28 2AZ Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Houghton Mill Email: houghtonmill@nationaltrust.org.uk Phone: 01480 301494 National Trust Location map OS TL281721 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Jesus College    Jesus College is off the beaten tourist track, yet only 5 minutes walk from the city centre. It was founded in 1496 by John Alcock, Bishop of Ely. Unlike several other Cambridge colleges, Jesus College posesses spacious grounds, and does not seem hemmed in by the city at its gates. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB5 8BL Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Jesus College Phone: 01223 339 339 Fax: 01223 339 313 Location map Details of Jesus College OS TL453 589 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

King's College    King's College, founded by Henry VI in 1441, now occupies a lovely riverside location in the centre of Cambridge, but its first site was between the Chapel and Senate House Passage. No sooner had Henry established his college than he purchased new lands where the present Back Lawns and Front Court are now and began building on a much grander scale. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 1ST Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: King's College Email: tourism@kings.cam.ac.uk Phone: 01223 331 212 Fax: 01223 331 315 Location map Details of King's College OS TL448 584 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Magdalene College    The history of the college goes back to 1428, when Crowland Abbey established a hostel for monks north of the river (further from the temptations of the town than the existing colleges). In the 1470s the abbeys of Ely, Ramsey and Walden joined Crowland in adding to the hostel and creating a chapel and communal buildings. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB3 0AG Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Magdalene College Phone: 01223 332 100 Location map Details of Magdalene College OS TL447 590 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Oliver Cromwell's House    Home of Oliver Cromwell and his family from 1636, and now restored to present the life and times of the Lord Protector. The building is now also home to the Ely TIC. 29 St Mary's Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, CB7 4HF Attraction Type: Historic Property Location: quarter mile west of Ely Cathedral Email: tic@eastcambs.gov.uk Phone: 01353 662 062 Fax: 01353 668 518 Location map Details of Oliver Cromwell's House OS TL537 802 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Pembroke College    Pemboke is the 3rd oldest among Cambridge colleges. It was founded in 1347 (on Christmas Eve to be exact) by Marie de St. Pol, Countess of Pembroke. The college is composed of courts linked by attractive gardens and lawns. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 1RF Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Pembroke College Phone: 01223 338 100 Fax: 01223 338 163 Location map Details of Pembroke College OS TL450 582 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Peterhouse College    Peterhouse is the oldest of the Cambridge colleges; it was founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, later Bishop of Ely. It stands near Little St. Mary's Church, whose original dedication to St. Peter gave the college its name. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 1RD Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Peterhouse College Phone: 01223 338 200 Fax: 01223 337 578 Location map Details of Peterhouse College OS TL449 580 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Queens College    The queens commemorated in the name of Queen's College are Queen Margaret and Queen Elizabeth Woodville. Old Court is the original medieval core of the college, with the centrepiece being Old Hall, erected in 1449 by Reginald Ely. That medieval building was drastically remodelled in 1732 in the present ornate classical style. Queens Lane, Silver Street Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB3 9ET Attraction Type: Historic Property Location: The regular entrance to Queens is in Silver Street, through a medieval brick gatehouse, but visitors to the college enter through the appropriately named Visitors' Gate, in Queens' Lane. Website: Queens College Phone: 01223 335 511 Location map Details of Queens College OS TL446 581 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Sidney Sussex College    Sidney Sussex College was founded in 1594 by Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex, who had been dead for 5 years! The story goes that the Countess left £5000 in her will for the founding of a new college at Cambridge. In the event that the funds were not sufficient to found a college, the money was to go to Clare College. The money did indeed prove insufficient, but the Countess's executors went ahead with a new college, making up the shortfall out of their own pockets. The original aim of the college was to prepare clergy for Church of England service. Sidney Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 3HU Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Sidney Sussex College Phone: 01223 338 800 Fax: 01223 338 884 Location map Details of Sidney Sussex College OS TL451 587 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

St Catherines College    St. Catherine's was founded as St. Catherine's Hall in 1473 by Robert Wodelarke, Provost of King's College. The college underwent a major rebuilding program in the late 17th century, and the current chapel was only completed in 1704. Trumpington Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 1RL Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: St Catherines College Phone: 01223 338 300 Fax: 01223 338 340 Location map Details of St Catherines College OS TL447 582 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

St Johns College    St. John's was founded in 1511, and several buildings of that vintage still form part of the college. The oldest part of the college is the oddly named School of Pythagoras, which actually predates the college, having been built around 1200. It is now used by the college dramatic society. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 1TP Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: St Johns College Location map Details of St Johns College OS TL448 589 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Trinity College    Henry VIII founded Trinity College in 1546 by joining together two existing colleges, King's Hall and Michaelhouse. Henry VIII made sure that Trinity was well endowed, with gifts of land and former monastic estates. Trinity became one of the richest and most prestigious of Cambridge colleges, drawing to it the sons of many leading families. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 1TQ Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Trinity College Phone: 01223 338 400 Fax: 01223 338 564 Location map Details of Trinity College OS TL448 587 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts

Trinity Hall    Trinity Hall (not be confused with its larger cousin Trinity College) is a delightful and largely overlooked gem among Cambridge colleges It was founded in 1350 by Bishop Bateman of Norwich. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, CB2 1TJ Attraction Type: Historic Property Website: Trinity Hall Phone: 01223 332 500 Location map Details of Trinity Hall OS TL447 586 Heritage Rating:   ? Nearest attractions and accommodation     Nearest: hotels - cottages - Bed and Breakfasts