After a reviving pint and one a sultry evening of the hottest day of the year we had a wander around the city as it slightly cooled. Cambridge has many obviously attractive buildings etc, so I thought I would show some less obvious pictures.
This is the Old Divinity School built in 1879, but is on the site of the original Divinity School of 1400. It was the centre of the University then, but is now part of St. John's College. The statues in the niches are of theologians associated with the University.
I am always a sucker for the terracotta work on buildings and this building in St. John's Street had some fine examples. It was built in the mid to late 1800's as a tailors, but from this distance I couldn't see any of the work associated with that.
This gateway makes a very classy umbrella for Helen in a shower. It was built in 1575 and is the Gate of Honour for Gonville and Caius (Keys) College. It is only used following Graduation Day.
This is known as Mathematical Bridge, but its actual name is 'Wooden Bridge'! It was erected in 1747 and has been rebuilt in 1866 and 1905 and is Grade II Listed. It looks arched but is built entirely of straight timbers.
This is Trinity Lane. Gonville College on the left and on the right student rooms, built between 1592 and 1615.
On the way to and from the boat we walked down Portugal Place between Jesus Green and Bridge Street. It is thought that it is named for the wharf nearby that received port wine for the high tabkes of the colleges in the past.
We called in at the Eagle Pub as one of Helen's friends Aunt's was landlady here in the 60's or 70's and she had visited it before. It turns out it is said to be the oldest pub in Cambridge, gifted to Corpus Christi College in 1525. It seems to have become a pub around 1667 and called the Eagle and Child. It was a very busy coaching inn with stage coaches running to and from London, Lynn, Ely, Oxford, Northampton and Birmingham. When the railway arrived in 1845 the business died off. The last one left in 1849. John Mortlock, banker, (see No.88 also), and 13 times Mayor started a dinner club at the Eagle and Child in 1782 and called it the Rutland Club. It remained the HQ for the local Conservatives until mid 19th Century.
With the heat of the day we sort out a pub. One of Helen's friends used to play at her aunt's pub in Cambridge, called the Eagle, so we went to find it. It is a nice old coaching in with a courtyard. The writing you can see on the ceiling was burned on by candles, cigarette lighters and lipstick during WWII by RAF and USAF crew. It is also the place where Francis Crick and James Watson, who were working at the Cavendish Institue nearby, used to work on their ideas about the Double Helix of DNA, and in 1953 their discovery was announced to the world from here. Quite a nice pub for a drink, despite the prices!!
In WWII it was frequented by airmen from the local bases both Commonwealth and American. In the back room, now known as the RAF Room they used candles and lighters to write their Squadron numbers, names and messages on the ceiling and this has now become a place of pilgrimage in itself.In 1953 it was also where the scientists from the nearby Caavendish Labratories hung out. Consequently on 28th February 1953 it was where Francis Crick and James Watson announced their discovery of how DNA carries the genetic code in the double helix.
The pub was accessed via the yard at the rear of the street frontage buildings. The balustraded gallery wing seen here was added around 1800. In 1988 the pub closed, and it took four years for it to reopen as it had been completely reorganised with an entrance now through the buildings on the road. There are several large rooms around three sides of the courtyard and is a very busy Greene King Pub with their usual food supply menu. On the beer front for me there were around four guest beers on top of their usual supply
I tried a pint from the Mauldon Brewery. As you can see there has been a Mauldon Brewery since 1795 when it was set up by the Mauldon family in Sudbury at the Bull Hotel. By the early 1800's they had separated the brewery from the pub by building a purpose built one in Ballington Street, Sudbury. The continued being a local supplier and owned around 30 pubs until 1960 when bought by Greene King and eventually closed. In 1981 Peter Mauldon, the great great grandson decided to restart the name after a career with Watney's and the beer started flowing in 1982. By 2000 Peter wanted to retire and sold the business to Alison and Stephen Sims who continued the growth and in 2005 moved into the present industrial estate sited 30bls brewery. By last year, 2019, they were ready to move on and the business was purchased by local farmer and pub owner Charlie Buckle. The plan is to use the farms malting barley and hops at the brewery, and continue the traditional brewing methods and high quality products.
I had a pint of the Mole Trap, 3.8%. The beer had a nice amber hue but the head was thin. I suspect there was no sparkler on the pump at the time. This session ale had a nice sweet aroma but there was a balance of tastes across the tongue finishing with a nice bitter taste. I will certainly look out for beers from this brewery again.
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