The Round Church
A c.1130 church modelled on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, now a visitor centre with an exhibition and guided walks.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, known to everyone as the Round Church, stands on the corner of Bridge Street and Round Church Street. Its circular nave is the clue to its origin: around 1130 the Fraternity of the Holy Sepulchre built it in imitation of the rotunda in the Holy Sepulchre church in Jerusalem. Only four round churches of this kind remain in use in England.
From wayfarers' chapel to visitor centre
At first it served travellers on the Roman road later called Bridge Street. By the mid-13th century it was a parish church under Barnwell Priory. When part of the ambulatory fell in 1841, repairs were offered by the Cambridge Camden Society, which chose Anthony Salvin to carry them out. Their work swapped Gothic windows for Norman-style ones, and the bill came to nearly £4,000 against an estimate of £1,000. A 1845 court ruling forced the removal of a new stone altar. The Cambridge Union built its premises in the former graveyard in 1866. In 1994 the congregation, by then too large for the building, moved to St Andrew the Great.
Visiting
The church is now managed by Christian Heritage, and a visitor centre inside offers an exhibition and a short film that its own site pitches as an introduction to Cambridge before you explore. Two-hour guided walking tours leave from here. Opening hours on the website run Monday to Saturday, with last entry at 4.45pm and the church closed on Sundays. It is close to Bridge Street and St Bene't's.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
