St Clement's Church
A Grade II* medieval parish church on Bridge Street, with a mayor's tombstone of 1329 and an Anglo-Catholic past.
St Clement's serves the parish on Bridge Street, in the middle of the city, and sits inside the central conservation area. It is Anglican and carries a Grade II* listing. A small churchyard gives the street a patch of green, with the Old Vicarage alongside.
What the building shows
The fabric is mostly from the early 1200s, probably replacing something older on the same spot. The nave arcades and the south door are the surviving parts of that first phase, built of rubble with some brick and freestone trim. The easternmost bays were rebuilt in the 14th century, and in 1538 both aisles were rebuilt wider, with a clerestory and fresh windows. The chancel is brick and dates from 1726; its east wall carries an 1872 painting of Christ in Glory by Frederick Leach. Charles Humfrey designed the cement-rendered tower, built in 1821-22 with a legacy from William Cole. The spire was taken down in 1928.
A mayor's tombstone
The church is reckoned to hold the oldest memorial to a Cambridge mayor: a stone for Eudo of Helpringham, who held the mayoralty six times and died in 1329. Its French inscription spells the town 'Caunbrege', an early version of the modern name. Parish registers start in 1560.
An Anglo-Catholic tradition
Canon Edmund Gough de Salis Wood was vicar from 1885 to 1930. He favoured ritual worship while sticking closely to the Book of Common Prayer. A chapel made in the south aisle in 1933 commemorates him.
Practical notes
The sources used here give no visiting hours, so check with the parish before planning a visit inside.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
