Editing Cambridge (section)

== History ==
{{for timeline}}

=== Prehistory ===
{{See also|Prehistoric Britain|British Iron Age}}
Settlements have existed around the Cambridge area since [[Prehistoric Britain|prehistoric times]]. The earliest clear evidence of occupation is the remains of a {{nowrap|3,500-}}year-old farmstead discovered at the site of [[Fitzwilliam College]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/7194650.stm |title=Bronze Age site is found in city |work=BBC News |date=17 January 2008 |access-date=5 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111121528/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/7194650.stm |archive-date=11 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> Archaeological evidence of occupation through the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] is a settlement on [[Castle Hill, Cambridge|Castle Hill]] from the [[1st century BC]], perhaps relating to wider cultural changes occurring in southeastern Britain linked to the arrival of the [[Belgae]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visitcambridge.org/VisitCambridge/Factsheets.aspx |title=A brief history of Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge City Council |year=2010 |access-date=27 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522090533/http://www.visitcambridge.org/VisitCambridge/Factsheets.aspx |archive-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Roman ===
{{Main|Duroliponte}}
The principal [[Roman Britain|Roman]] site is a small fort (''{{lang|la|[[castrum]]}}'') '''[[Duroliponte]]''' on [[Castle Hill, Cambridge|Castle Hill]], just northwest of the city centre around the location of the earlier [[Britons (Celtic people)|British]] village. The fort was bounded on two sides by the lines formed by the present [[Mount Pleasant, Cambridge|Mount Pleasant]], continuing across [[Huntingdon Road]] into Clare Street. The eastern side followed Magrath Avenue, with the southern side running near to [[Chesterton Lane, Cambridge|Chesterton Lane]] and [[Kettle's Yard]] before turning northwest at Honey Hill.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gray |first=Ronald D |author2=Stubbings, Derek |title=Cambridge Street-Names: Their Origins and Associations |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgestreetn00gray |url-access=limited |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=2000 |location=Cambridge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgestreetn00gray/page/n23 2]–3 |isbn=978-0-521-78956-1}}</ref> It was constructed around AD&nbsp;70 and converted to civilian use around 50 years later. Evidence of more widespread Roman settlement has been discovered, including numerous farmsteads<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/aug/28/archaeology-cambridge-university-girton-roman |title=The Roman foundations of Cambridge |first=John |last=Henley |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=28 August 2009 |quote='What's interesting about Cambridge is that with these tracts of land bequeathed to the university, you have a lot of preserved green space coming in close to the city centre,' says Chris Evans, head of the Cambridge unit. 'It hasn't been developed in the intervening centuries. There are iron-age and Roman farmsteads literally every 200–300 metres.' |access-date=26 February 2012 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219235450/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/aug/28/archaeology-cambridge-university-girton-roman |archive-date=19 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> and a village in the Cambridge district of [[Newnham, Cambridgeshire|Newnham]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/schoolgirls-unearth-roman-village-under-college-garden |title=Schoolgirls unearth Roman village under College garden |publisher=University of Cambridge |date=22 September 2010 |quote=Large amounts of Roman pottery convinced both Dr Hills and Dr Lewis that they had dug through to the remains of a 2,000-year-old settlement, significant because it suggests that the Roman presence at Newnham was far more considerable than previously thought. |access-date=26 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016055235/http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/schoolgirls-unearth-roman-village-under-college-garden |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Medieval ===
[[File:Trinity Street, Cambridge.jpg|thumb|[[Trinity Street, Cambridge|Trinity Street]] in 2008 with [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]] on the left and [[St John's College, Cambridge|St John's College]] in the background]]
[[File:cmglee St Benets exterior.jpg|thumb|[[St Bene't's Church]], the oldest standing building in [[Cambridgeshire]], next to [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge|Corpus Christi College]]]]
[[File:Peterhouse Chapel.jpg|thumb|[[Peterhouse, Cambridge|Peterhouse]] was the first college to be founded at the [[University of Cambridge]].]]
[[File:President's Lodge, Queens' College, Cambridge.jpg|thumb|The President's Lodge, [[Queens' College, Cambridge|Queens' College]]]]
Following the [[Roman withdrawal from Britain]] around 410, the location may have been abandoned by the [[Romano-Britons|Britons]], although the site is usually identified as {{nowrap|'''Cair Grauth'''}},<ref>[[Nennius]] ({{abbr|attrib.|Traditional attribution}}). [[Theodor Mommsen]] ({{abbr|ed.|Editor}}). [[s:la:Historia Brittonum#VI. CIVITATES BRITANNIAE|''Historia Brittonum'', VI.]] Composed after AD&nbsp;830. {{in lang|la}} Hosted at [[s:la:Main Page|Latin Wikisource]].</ref> as listed among the 28 [[civitas|cities]] of [[Sub-Roman Britain|Britain]] in the ''[[Historia Brittonum|History of the Britons]]'' attributed to [[Nennius]].{{refn|[[Bishop Ussher]] believed the listing to refer to the [[Cambridge, Gloucestershire|Cambridge]] in [[Gloucestershire]].<ref>Newman, John Henry &&nbsp;al. [http://www.mocavo.co.uk/Lives-of-the-English-Saints-St-Gilbert-Prior-of-Sempringham-Volume-3/527392/459 ''Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre'', Ch.&nbsp;X: "Britain in 429, A.&nbsp;D.",<!--sic--> p.&nbsp;92.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321234154/http://www.mocavo.co.uk/Lives-of-the-English-Saints-St-Gilbert-Prior-of-Sempringham-Volume-3/527392/459 |date=21 March 2016}} James Toovey (London), 1844.</ref>}} Evidence exists that the [[Saxon invasion of Britain|invading Anglo-Saxons]] had begun occupying the area by the end of the century.<ref>{{cite book | last = Burnham | first = Barry C |author2=Wacher, John | title = The Small Towns of Roman Britain | publisher = B T Batsford | date = 1990 | location = London}}</ref> Their settlement – also on and around Castle Hill – became known as '''Grantebrycge'''{{refn|In the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]], cited by Roach.<ref name="Roach2-15" />}} ("[[River Cam|Granta]]-bridge". By [[Middle English]], the settlement's name had changed to "Cambridg koe", deriving from the word 'Camboricum', meaning 'passage' or 'ford' of stream in a town or settlement,<ref>A Dictionary, english-latin, and latin-english containing all things necessary for the translating of either language into the other
By Elisha Coles · 1679</ref><ref>A Restoration of the Ancient Modes of Bestowing Names on the Rivers, Hills, Vallies, Plains, and Settlements of Britain by Gilbert Dyer Publication date 1805 (page 242)</ref> and the [[River Cam|lower stretches]] of the [[Granta (river)|Granta]] changed their name to match.)<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PUsAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA403 |journal=Notes and Queries |first=F. |last=Chance |date=13 November 1869 |volume=4 |location=London |title=Cambridge. |pages=401–404 |access-date=25 February 2012 |publisher=Bell & Daldy |oclc=644126889 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203053122/https://books.google.com/books?id=PUsAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA403 |archive-date=3 February 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>) [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] grave goods have been found in the area. During this period, Cambridge benefited from good trade links across the hard-to-travel fenlands. By the 7th century, the town was less significant and described by [[Bede]] as a "little ruined city" containing the burial site of [[Æthelthryth]] (Etheldreda).<ref name="Roach2-15">{{cite book|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66604 |chapter=The city of Cambridge: Medieval History |editor-last=Roach |editor-first=J.P.C. |publisher=Victoria County History |via=Institute of Historical Research |year=1959 |title=A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3: The City and University of Cambridge |access-date=18 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612160918/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66604 |archive-date=12 June 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Cambridge sat on the border between the [[East Anglia|East]] and [[Middle Anglia]]n kingdoms, and the settlement slowly expanded on both sides of the river.<ref name="Roach2-15" />

The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' reports that [[Vikings]] arrived in 875; they imposed Viking rule, the [[Danelaw]], by 878.<ref name="Brooke">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7T0uIfkPn28C&q=danelaw%20cambridge%20878&pg=PA7 |title=A History of the University of Cambridge |volume=1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1988 |pages=9–10 [10] |first=Christopher Nugent Lawrence |last=Brooke |author2=Riehl Leader, Damien |isbn=0-521-32882-9 |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528155914/https://books.google.com/books?id=7T0uIfkPn28C&q=danelaw+cambridge+878&pg=PA7 |url-status=live }}</ref> Their vigorous trading habits resulted in rapid growth of the town. During this period, the town's centre shifted from Castle Hill on the left bank of the river to the area now known as the Quayside on the right bank.<ref name="Brooke" /> After the Viking period, the Saxons enjoyed a return to power, building churches, such as [[St Bene't's Church]], as well as wharves, merchant houses, and a [[Mint (coin)|mint]] which produced coins with the town's name abbreviated to "Grant".<ref name="Brooke" />

In 1068, two years after the [[Norman Conquest]] of England, [[William the Conqueror]] erected a [[Cambridge Castle|castle]] on Castle Hill, the [[motte]] of which survives.<ref name="Roach2-15" /> Like the rest of the newly conquered kingdom, Cambridge fell under the control of the King and his deputies.

Cambridge's first town charter was granted by [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] between 1120 and 1131. It granted the town monopoly of waterborne traffic and hithe tolls and recognised the [[borough]] court.<ref name="british-history-66606">{{cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66606 |chapter=The City of Cambridge: Constitutional History |editor-last=Roach |editor-first=J.P.C. |publisher=Victoria County History |via=Institute of Historical Research |year=1959 |title=A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3: The City and University of Cambridge |access-date=26 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612161056/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66606 |archive-date=12 June 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The distinctive [[The Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge|Round Church]] dates from this period.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Roach |editor1-first=J.P.C. |chapter=The City of Cambridge: Churches |title=A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3, the City and University of Cambridge |date=1959 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |pages=123–132 |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol3/pp123-132 |access-date=23 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913130648/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol3/pp123-132 |archive-date=13 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1209, Cambridge University was founded by Oxford students fleeing from hostility.<ref>{{cite web|date=18 December 2009 |publisher=BBC News |title=The Hanging of the Clerks in 1209 |first=Simon |last=Bailey |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/oxford/low/people_and_places/history/newsid_8405000/8405640.stm |access-date=24 September 2020 |archive-date=7 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107223547/http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/oxford/low/people_and_places/history/newsid_8405000/8405640.stm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/history/records.html |title=University and Colleges: A Brief History |publisher=University of Cambridge |date=7 February 2008 |access-date=13 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902111945/http://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/history/records.html |archive-date=2 September 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The oldest existing college, [[Peterhouse, Cambridge|Peterhouse]], was founded in 1284.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.pet.cam.ac.uk/welcome-peterhouse/about-college |title= About the College |publisher= Peterhouse College |access-date= 13 January 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100125020618/http://www.pet.cam.ac.uk/welcome-peterhouse/about-college |archive-date= 25 January 2010 |url-status= live}}</ref>

Cambridge had a significant [[History of the Jews in England (1066–1290)|Jewish community in the middle ages]], centred on what is now known as All Saints Passage, then known as the Jewry. A synagogue stood nearby. In January 1275, [[Eleanor of Provence]] expelled Jews from all of the towns within her dower lands, and the Jews of Cambridge were ordered to relocate to [[Norwich]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hillaby |first1=Joe |last2=Hillaby |first2=Caroline |title=The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History |year=2013 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Basingstoke |isbn=978-0-230-27816-5 |ol= OL28086241M |pages=141–43, 73–9}}</ref>

In 1349, Cambridge was affected by the [[Black Death]]. Few records survive but 16 of 40 scholars at [[King's Hall, Cambridge|King's Hall]] died.<ref name="Ziegler">{{cite book| title=The Black Death |author1-first=Philip |author1-last=Ziegler |isbn=978-0-14-027524-7 |publisher=Penguin |location=London |author2-last=Platt |author2-first=Colin |year=1998 |edition=2nd |page=178}}</ref> The town north of the river was severely impacted, being almost wiped out.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Cambridge, Described and Illustrated: Being a Short History of the Town and University |first=Thomas |last=Atkinson |year=1897 |page=41 |location=London |publisher=Macmillan |oclc=1663499 |url=https://archive.org/stream/cambridgedescrib00atkiuoft/cambridgedescrib00atkiuoft_djvu.txt |quote=The Ward beyond the Bridge, that is, all the town on the Castle side of the river, appears to have been almost entirely destroyed. Most of the people in the parish of All Saints' in Castro died and those that escaped left the neighbourhood for other parishes. |access-date=8 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405075301/https://archive.org/stream/cambridgedescrib00atkiuoft/cambridgedescrib00atkiuoft_djvu.txt |archive-date=5 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Following further depopulation after a second national epidemic in 1361, a letter from the Bishop of Ely suggested that two parishes in Cambridge be merged as there were not enough people to fill even one church.<ref name="Ziegler" /> With more than a third of English clergy dying in the Black Death, four new colleges were established at the university over the following years to train new clergymen, namely [[Gonville Hall]], [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge|Trinity Hall]], [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge|Corpus Christi]], and [[Clare College, Cambridge|Clare]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5XeBQwrjLwC&pg=PA70 |title=The Black Death and the Transformation of the West |series=European History |first=David |last=Herlihy |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-674-07613-6 |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=70 |access-date=25 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203053122/https://books.google.com/books?id=J5XeBQwrjLwC&pg=PA70 |archive-date=3 February 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1382, a revised town charter effected a "diminution of the liberties that the community had enjoyed", due to Cambridge's participation in the [[Peasants' Revolt]]. This charter transferred supervision of baking and brewing, weights and measures, and [[Engrossing (law)|forestalling and regrating]], from the town to the university.<ref name="british-history-66606" />

[[King's College Chapel, Cambridge|King's College Chapel]] was begun in 1446 by [[Henry VI of England|King Henry VI]].<ref name="Kings Chapel">{{cite web | url=http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/history.html | title=History of the Chapel | publisher=King's College, Cambridge | access-date=19 July 2011 | date=13 March 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717025057/http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/history.html | archive-date=17 July 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref> Built in phases by a succession of kings of England from 1446 to 1515 — its history intertwined with the [[Wars of the Roses]] — the chapel was completed during the reign of [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]].<ref name="Kings Chapel" /> The building would become synonymous with Cambridge, and currently is used in the logo for the [[Cambridge City Council]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pennick|first1=Nigel|title=Secrets of King's College Chapel|date=9 January 2012|publisher=Karnac Books|page=3}}</ref>

=== Early modern ===
[[File:Cambridge 1575 colour.jpg|thumb|Cambridge in 1575]]
Following repeated outbreaks of pestilence throughout the 16th century,<ref>{{cite book|chapter=The city of Cambridge: Public health |title=A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3, the City and University of Cambridge|date=1959 |editor1-last=Roach|editor1-first=J. P. C. |publisher=Victoria County History|location=London|pages=101–108|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol3/pp101-108|access-date=23 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923181342/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol3/pp101-108|archive-date=23 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> sanitation and fresh water were brought to Cambridge by the construction of [[Hobson's Conduit]] in the early 1600s. Water was brought from Nine Wells, at the foot of the [[Gog Magog Hills]] to the southeast of Cambridge, into the centre of the town.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cambridgeshire/natural_history/walk_through_time/07.shtml | title=Cambridgeshire > Natural History > Cam Valley Walk > Stage 7 | publisher=BBC Cambridgeshire | access-date=23 July 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501094802/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cambridgeshire/natural_history/walk_through_time/07.shtml | archive-date=1 May 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Cambridge played a significant role in the early part of the [[English Civil War]] as it was the headquarters of the [[Eastern Association|Eastern Counties Association]], an organisation administering a regional [[East Anglian]] army, which became the mainstay of the Parliamentarian military effort before the formation of the [[New Model Army]].<ref name="british-history-66605">{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66605 |title=The city of Cambridge&nbsp;– Modern history &#124; A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3: The City and University of Cambridge (1959) |pages=15–29 |year=1959 |access-date=26 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612160851/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66605 |archive-date=12 June 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1643 control of the town was given by Parliament to [[Oliver Cromwell]], who had been educated at [[Sidney Sussex College]] in Cambridge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol3/pp15-29|title=The city of Cambridge: Modern history {{!}} British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=6 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706163721/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol3/pp15-29|archive-date=6 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The town's castle was fortified and garrisoned with troops and some bridges were destroyed to aid its defence. Although [[Royalist]] forces came within {{convert|2|mi|0|abbr=out}} of the town in 1644, the defences were never used, and the garrison was stood down the following year.<ref name="british-history-66605" />

=== Early-industrial era ===
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Cambridge Inclosure Act 1807
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act for inclosing Lands in the Parish of Saint Andrew the Less, otherwise called Barnwell, in the Town of Cambridge, in the County of Cambridge, and certain Lands in the Parishes of Saint Andrew the Great, Saint Mary the Great, and Saint Mary the Less, or some or one of them, in the said Town of Cambridge, lying intermixed with the Lands in the said Parish of Saint Andrew the Less, otherwise called Barnwell.
| year                  = 1807
| citation              = [[47 Geo. 3 Sess. 2]]. c. ''60'' {{small|Pr.}}
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 13 August 1807
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
In the 19th century, in common with many other English towns, Cambridge expanded rapidly, due in part to increased life expectancy and improved agricultural production leading to increased trade in town markets.<ref name="british-history-66609">{{cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66609 |chapter=The city of Cambridge: Economic history |editor-first=J. P. C. |editor-last=Roach |publisher=Victoria County History |via=Institute of Historical Research |year=1959 |title=A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3: The City and University of Cambridge |access-date=1 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612161044/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66609 |archive-date=12 June 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Histon and Impington Inclosure Act 1801]] ([[41 Geo. 3. (U.K.)]] c. ''112'' {{small|Pr.}}), the [[Trumpington Inclosure Act 1801]] ([[41 Geo. 3. (U.K.)]] c. ''128'' {{small|Pr.}}), and the '''{{visible anchor|Cambridge Inclosure Act 1807}}''' ([[47 Geo. 3 Sess. 2]]. c. ''60'' {{small|Pr.}}) enabled the town to expand over surrounding open fields.<ref name=VCHgrowth>{{cite book |editor1-last=Roach |editor1-first=J. P. C. |title=A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3 |date=1959 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |pages=109–111 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol3/pp109-111 |access-date=23 December 2024}}</ref>

The railway came to Cambridge in 1845 after initial resistance, with the opening of the [[Great Eastern Railway]]'s London to Norwich line. The station was outside the town centre following pressure from the university to restrict travel by undergraduates.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol3/pp1-2 |editor-first=J. P. C. |editor-last=Roach |publisher=Victoria Couinty History |via=Institute of Historical Research |year=1959 |chapter=The city of Cambridge |title=A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3: The City and University of Cambridge |pages=1–2}}</ref> With the arrival of the railway and associated employment came development of areas around the station, such as [[Mill Road, Cambridge|Romsey Town]].<ref>{{citation|title=Bringing it all back home: Changes in Housing and Society 1966–2006|first1=Allan|last1=Brigham|first2=Colin|last2=Wiles|publisher=Chartered Institute of Housing, Eastern Branch|year=2006|url=http://www.colc.co.uk/cambridge/tours/article3.htm|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220174731/http://www.colc.co.uk/cambridge/tours/article3.htm|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The rail link to London stimulated heavier industries, such as the production of brick, cement and [[malt]].<ref name="british-history-66609" />

=== 20th and 21st centuries ===
From the 1930s to the 1980s, the size of the city was increased by several large [[council estate]]s.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=15307 |chapter=Chesterton: Introduction |pages=5–13 |editor1-last=Wright |editor1-first=A. P. M. |editor2-last=Lewis |editor2-first=C.P. |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |year=1989 |title=A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 9: Chesterton, Northstowe, and Papworth Hundreds  |series=Victoria History of the Counties of England |access-date=6 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305141125/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=15307 |archive-date=5 March 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The biggest impact has been on the area north of the river, which are now the estates of [[East Chesterton]], [[King's Hedges]], and [[Arbury]] where [[Archbishop of Canterbury|Archbishop]] [[Rowan Williams]] lived and worked as an assistant priest in the early 1980s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rowan's Rule: the biography of the Archbishop |first=Rupert |last=Shott |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-340-95433-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3kJbJ7ldSJsC&pg=PT83 |page=83 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |location=London |access-date=8 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622030201/https://books.google.com/books?id=3kJbJ7ldSJsC&pg=PT83 |archive-date=22 June 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During [[World War II]], Cambridge was an important centre for defence of the east coast. The town became a military centre, with an [[RAF]] training centre and the regional headquarters for [[Norfolk]], [[Suffolk]], [[Essex]], [[Cambridgeshire]], [[Huntingdonshire]], [[Hertfordshire]], and [[Bedfordshire]] established during the conflict.<ref name="british-history-66605" /> The town itself escaped relatively lightly from German bombing raids, which were mainly targeted at the railway. 29 people were killed and no historic buildings were damaged. In 1944, a secret meeting of military leaders held in Trinity College laid the foundation for the allied invasion of Europe.<ref name="british-history-66609" /> During the war Cambridge served as an [[Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuation centre]] for over 7,000 people from London, as well as for parts of the [[University of London]].<ref name="british-history-66605" />

Cambridge was granted its [[city status in the United Kingdom|city charter]] in 1951 in recognition of its history, administrative importance and economic success.<ref name="british-history-66605" /> Cambridge does not have a cathedral, traditionally a prerequisite for city status, instead falling within the Church of England [[Diocese of Ely]]. In 1962, Cambridge's first shopping arcade, Bradwell's Court, opened on Drummer Street, though this was demolished in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christslane.co.uk/about/timeline.htm |title=Christ's Lane |publisher=Land Securities |date=n.d. |access-date=13 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907115715/http://www.christslane.co.uk/about/timeline.htm |archive-date=7 September 2008 }}</ref> Other shopping arcades followed at Lion Yard, which housed a relocated Central Library for the city, and the [[Grafton Centre]] which replaced Victorian housing stock which had fallen into disrepair in [[The Kite, Cambridge|the Kite]] area of the city. This latter project was controversial at the time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1467625/Derek-Taunt.html|title=Derek Taunt&nbsp;– Obituary|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=23 July 2004|access-date=26 February 2012|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830224507/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1467625/Derek-Taunt.html|archive-date=30 August 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

The city gained its second university in 1992 when Anglia Polytechnic became Anglia Polytechnic University. Renamed [[Anglia Ruskin University]] in 2005, the institution has its origins in the Cambridge School of Art opened in 1858 by [[John Ruskin]].