History
The church was built around 1130, its shape being inspired by the rotunda in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. It was built by the Fraternity of the Holy Sepulchre, who were probably a group of Austin canons. It consisted of a round nave and an ambulatory, with a short chancel, probably in the shape of an apse. Initially it was a wayfarers' chapel on the Roman road known as via devana (this is now Bridge Street). By the middle of the 13th century it had become a parish church under the patronage of Barnwell Priory. Around this time structural alterations were made to the church, with the rebuilding of the chancel and the addition of a north aisle, the aisle being shorter than the chancel. During the 15th century the Norman style windows in the nave were replaced by larger Gothic style windows. The carvings of angels in the roofs of the chancel and aisle were added. A polygonal bell-storey was built over the nave. In 1643, during the Civil War, many of the "idolatrous" images were destroyed. By the 19th century the church was in a poor state of repair. Part of the ambulatory collapsed in 1841, and the Cambridge Camden Society offered to carry out repairs. They appointed Anthony Salvin for the purpose.
" We break down 14 superstitious Pictures, divers Idolatrous Inscriptions, one of God the Father, one of Christ and of the Apostles." The Journal of William Dowsing
Salvin replaced the bell-storey by a roof similar to the original roof. This was made necessary because the weight of the bell-story was too much for the walls to support. The 15th-century Gothic windows were replaced by windows in Norman style, and a formerly-inserted gallery was removed, together with the external staircase leading to it. To compensate for this, a new south aisle was added. It was found that the east wall of the chancel was unstable and this was replaced. Then the north aisle, by that time in poor condition, was also rebuilt, extending it to the same length as the chancel. The original estimate for the cost of the restoration was £1,000 (£70,000 as of 2013), with the parish paying £300 (£20,000 as of 2013); in the event it cost nearly £4,000 (£290,000 as of 2013), with the parish providing only £50 (£4,000 as of 2013). In 1899 a vestry was added to the north of the north aisle; this was extended in 1980. The Victorian stained glass in the east window was destroyed by a bomb in the Second World War and was replaced in 1946. By 1994 the congregation had become too large for the church, and they moved their gatherings to the nearby Church of St Andrew the Great.
Read more about this topic: Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge
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