Cambridge: a Famous City

Summary

The city of Cambridge is famous for its university and magnificent college buildings along the Backs. It is also renowned for science, technology and innovation. The recent hi-tech boom has given the city its nickname ‘Silicon Fen. This book explains how a small medieval town on the edge of the fens developed into a city with leading university, science park and biomedical campus. Throughout, the author shows how the history of both Town and University are inextricably linked. When the first scholars arrived in 1209, Cambridge was already a thriving market town and inland port, which hosted Stourbridge Fair, one of the largest fairs in medieval Europe. This illustrated history looks at Cambridge from prehistoric to modern times. It traces the origins of the first iron-age settlement, the Roman fort, the growth of the Anglo-Saxon and Viking town, and how Cambridge gained status as a medieval town. The growth of the University is explored from the 13th century to the present day, and includes Cambridge figures such as Newton, Darwin, Turing, Crick, Watson, and Hawking. The story is brought up to the present, drawing on recent research and archaeological finds in the 21st century.