Lion Yard
A compact covered shopping centre in the middle of town, named for the pub it replaced.
Lion Yard sits in the middle of Cambridge as an indoor shopping arcade, with St Andrew's Street on one flank, Corn Exchange Street on another and Petty Cury on a third. Work started on site in 1970, and the scheme was never just retail: a library, a multi-storey car park and a magistrates' court were part of it from the outset. It predates both Grand Arcade and the Grafton Centre, and is much smaller than either.
The name and the missing lion
The name recalls the Red Lion, a pub that stood on the site until it was pulled down in 1969. For years a statue of a large red lion stood on a white pillar in the atrium as a reminder. The figure was removed in 1999 and has since moved to Grange Road, to the ground used by the university's rugby club, whose crest and the university's own emblems both feature a red lion.
Layout and neighbours
A central atrium has four entrances. Most shops are on the ground floor; the Central Library is reached from the first floor, which also has a few shops. The centre was refurbished around the turn of the millennium. Grand Arcade, a newer covered centre, joins it directly on the south side, so the two can be walked as a single indoor route. Outside, a colonnade covers one side of Petty Cury, and a row of shops faces the church of St Andrew the Great. Market Hill and its daily market are on the doorstep.
Opening times vary by shop; check individual retailers before making a special trip.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
