England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Cambridge St Andrew the Great

The Parish

The city of Cambridge lies in the south central area of its county about 50 miles north of the city of London. Cambridge sits at the junction of the A14 (east coast ports to the Midlands) and A10 (London to King's Lynn) roads. As its name suggests Cambridge grew up at the crossing of the River Cam. Cambridge undoubtedly has a Saxon origin but was repeated sacked by invading Danes, it wasn't until post Norman conquest that the city became established, this was further enhanced by the establishment of the University in the 13th century. It is, of course, famous as one of the highest quality universities in the world today. Besides the university and associated infrastructure Cambridge flourished as a market for the rich agricultural lands of the east of England and in particular the Fens to its north. Today Cambridge is still relatively small but rapidly growing as high-tech industries spin-off and move to the city to be close to its academic facilities. There are excellent communications by road (M11) and rail to the capital less then an hour to the south. The mediaeval centre of Cambridge is divided into 14 parishes each covering no ore than a few acres, St Andrew the Great is third most populous and occupies the southeastern quarter of the city. The River Cam, scene of punting and parties, drains the city to the north, reaching the North Sea through the Great Ouse and the port of King's Lynn. Cambridge is low lying, much of the centre sits below 10 metres above the sea and St Andrew the Great parish is no exception, the surrounding area is also flat and low lying for many miles. Despite its relatively small area St Andrew the Great parish would have supported a population of around 1,600 parishioners. In Domesday times the majority of Cambridge was held by the King with a small parcel in the hands of Count Alan of Brittany, it was a wealthy place but not specifically enumerated.

The Church

St Andrew the Great stands, appropriately enough on St Andrew's Street, one of Cambridge's busiest thoroughfares. Regrettably the church is a Victorian replacement for its mediaeval predecessor having been built in the 1840s. The church is clearly of little architectural merit as Pevsner dismisses it in a handful of lines merely commenting that it is an "eminently characteristic example of its date". The church sits rather flush to the street, separated by only some iron railings. Given the urban setting it is quite tricky to get adequate photographic angles.