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Great St Mary’s, Cambridge

Address

 Great St MaryGreat St Mary’s,
The University Church,
Senate House Hill,
Cambridge, CB2 3PQ

Travel information

 Getting to Cambridge is possible by car, train, bus or airplane.

Main road routes:
From East and West - A14 Ipswich and Birmingham
From North and South - A1 then A14 at Huntingdon and M11 from London. Also A10 from Ely and Royston south of Cambridge.

Main rail routes:
From London King’s Cross and Liverpool Street in the south and Ipswich in the South East.
From Peterborough via Ely in the North and Norwich in the North East of Norfolk.

Main bus routes:
National Express into Drummer Street station in the town centre or local routes from Peterborough, Huntingdon, Ely, Haverhill, or Royston.

Main air routes:
Generally these are small operators into Cambridge Marshall’s airport in Newmarket road from Oxford, Birmingham, London and Holland. Marshall’s airport is about two miles from the town centre but is served by taxis and buses.

Parking

 There is no general parking anywhere in the town centre. There is limited parking for disabled visitors in King’s Parade. There is no access to vehicles between 10am and 4pm to any town centre street within the pedestrianised area (e.g. Trinity Street).

By car:
Head for the town centre and park either at Lion Yard car park in Corn Exchange Street (200 yards walk to the church via the market) or Park Street car park (200 yards walk to the church along Trinity Street). Both these are multi-storey car parks.

Park and Ride:
Cambridge has 5 park and ride access points, all of which deliver you to the town centre in Drummer Street; at Milton Road on the A10, Newmarket Road on the A1134, Madingley Road on the A1303, Babraham Road on the A1307 and Hauxton Road on the A1309. Services depart every 10 minutes during the day.

By Coach:
There is coach parking for about five coaches at a time in Queen’s Road, overlooking the Cambridge College Backs. Simply deposit passengers who then walk across the river into the town centre (approx 300 yards). There is no coach access to King’s Parade.

By Train:
The train station is located in Station Road approximately half a mile from the town centre. There is a variety of bus route that leave the station about every 7 to 10 minutes. Taxis are available too.

By bus:
If you arrive by bus you will be deposited at the bus station in Drummer Street. Either walk along Emmanuel Street or Christ’s Lane and cross over the road into Petty Cury, or The Lion Yard shopping arcade (next to John Lewis’). From here walk through to the market. In all, about 200 yards.

Visitor Hours

 Church opening times:
The church is open to visitors at the following times:
Between May and August
Monday to Saturday 9am to 5 pm
Sunday 12.30 pm to 5 pm
Between September and April
Monday to Saturday 9 am to 4 pm
Sunday 12.30 pm to 4 pm

Tower opening times:
The tower is open on Mondays from 10 am
and from 09.45 am on Tuesday to Saturday.

On Sunday the tower opens at 12.45 pm.

The tower closes 20 minutes before published visitor closing times.

Admission

 Entry is charged for the tower, only (entry to the church is free). You can book visits as a group on 01223 747272.

Arranged visits

Guided Tours

Guided Tours of the church including tower and places not normally open to visitors are not provided at Great St Mary’s. We do have a virtual tour though, which should give you a good idea of what you can see: http://www.gsm.cam.ac.uk/church/virtual-tour/

Additionally, we offer interactive touch screens on site to fill you in on the church’s ich history.

Groups

Visiting the tower Adult: £4.00p Child: £2.50p (U18) Family: £12.00p (Group of 4 related people including at least 1 adult). Concessions for students and senior citizens: £3.50p

Group rate for parties of 8 minimum - Adult: £1.70p Child: £0.90p. A maximum of 20 people + up to 2 guides are allowed on the tower at any one time. Telephone 01223 747272 to book a group in or book through the Cambridge Visitor Centre at http://www.visitcambridge.org/ or telephone 0871 226 8006. Also, you can call in and book your visit with the Visit Cambridge Office either as an individual or party in Corn Exchange Street.

School Visits

School visits attract the group rate, so often benefit from the general charge for U16s; however, we can also do educational trips for school parties of up to 30 at a time. Groups are generally split into two so that one half can visit the tower while the other gets a class on some aspect of the church or its history. We can offer to schools church history, furnishings and fabric, bell ringing educational tour or demonstration.

To discuss specific needs and prices telephone the Parish Office on 01223 747273.

Worship

Times

8.00 a.m. Holy Communion A traditional form of service using the Book of Common Prayer.
9.30 a.m. Parish Communion, with sermon
11.15 a.m. Choral Mattins (On two Sundays each term this is replaced by the University Sermon.)

Link

Worship page

Events

 Events page

Amenities
    The church has a gift shop and offers access to the tower. There are no public toilets in the church, but there are nearby in the town centre. Great St Mary’s also controls its sister church 50-yards away in Trinity Street, known as St Michael’s. It has a modern cafe with all facilities offering superb food all day. Visitors to Great St Mary’s tower can receive a 10% discount on food purchases in Michaelhouse on production of a tower entry ticket.

Facilities for disabled
    There is no assisted facility for access to the tower, since this is only accessible by means of a single 123-step stone spiral staircase. The rest of the church has a level floor to the street, suitable for wheelchairs via the West and South doors.

Further information

Contact

 The Parish Office

Telephone number

 (01223) 747273

Email address

 office@gsm.cam.ac.uk

Facsimile number

 not available

Website address

 Great St Mary's, Cambridge