Bene't Street

Bene't Street

Looking east along Bene't Street
Length 350 ft (110 m)
Postal code CB2 3
Coordinates 52°12′14″N 0°07′06″E / 52.204°N 0.1183°E / 52.204; 0.1183Coordinates: 52°12′14″N 0°07′06″E / 52.204°N 0.1183°E / 52.204; 0.1183
east end Wheeler Street
west end Trumpington Street

Bene't Street is a short but historic street in central Cambridge, England,[1] the name being derived from St Benedict. There is a junction with King's Parade to the north and Trumpington Street to the south at the western end of the street. Free School Lane leads off to the south. To the east, the street continues as Wheeler Street.

History

The street is named after St Bene't's Church.[2] Bene't is a contraction of Benedict, hence the unusual apostrophe in the name. The Anglo-Saxon tower of St Bene't's, built sometime between 1000–1050AD, is the oldest standing building in Cambridgeshire.[3][4]

The Eagle pub is on the north side of the street.[5] In this pub, Francis Crick interrupted lunchtime patrons on 28 February 1953 to announce that he and James Watson had discovered the structure of DNA.[6][7] There is a blue plaque on the outside wall of the pub to commemorate the event.

The main site of Corpus Christi College is located on the south side of the street. It also has accommodation on the north side of the street.[8] On the corner of the College with Trumpington Street is the Corpus Clock, installed in 2008. The main entrance of the college is in Trumpington Street.

References

  1. Bene't Street, Cambridge City Council
  2. St Bene't's Church website.
  3. Cambridge St Bene't, Cambridgeshire Churches.
  4. The city of Cambridge: Churches, A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3: The City and University of Cambridge (1959), pp. 123-132
  5. Bene't Street: The Eagle pub, Cambridge 2000.
  6. "'Secret of life' discovery turns 50". BBC. 27 February 2003.
  7. Ed Regis, What Is Life?: Investigating the Nature of Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology, Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN 0-19-538341-9, p.52
  8. Bene't Street, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
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