Cambridge

The city of Cambridge (i/ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ/ KAYM-brij) is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia, on the River Cam, about 50 miles (80 km) north of London. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, its population was 108,863 (including 22,153 students), and was estimated to be 130,000 in mid-2010. There is archaeological evidence of settlement in the area in bronze age and Roman times, and under Viking rule Cambridge became an important trading centre. The first town charters were granted in the 12th century, although city status was not conferred until 1951.

Cambridge is most widely known as the home of the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209 and consistently ranked one of the top five universities in the world. The university includes the renowned Cavendish Laboratory, King's College Chapel, and the Cambridge University Library. The Cambridge skyline is dominated by the last two buildings, along with the chimney of Addenbrooke's Hospital in the far south of the city and St John's College Chapel tower.

Today, Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the city. Its economic strengths lie in industries such as software and bioscience, many start-up companies having been spun out of the university. Over 40% of the workforce have a higher education qualification, more than twice the national average.

The green space of Parker's Piece hosted the first ever game of association football, and the Strawberry Fair music and arts festival is held on Midsummer Common. Cambridge is adjacent to the M11 and A14 roads, and is around 49 minutes from London Kings Cross by non-stop train, with other rail links to Norwich, Birmingham and elsewhere.

Read more about Cambridge:  Geography, Demography, Economy, Transport, Education, Public Services, Religion, Twinned Cities

Famous quotes containing the word cambridge:

    the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls
    are unbeautiful and have comfortable minds
    —E.E. (Edward Estlin)

    If we help an educated man’s daughter to go to Cambridge are we not forcing her to think not about education but about war?—not how she can learn, but how she can fight in order that she might win the same advantages as her brothers?
    Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)

    For Cambridge people rarely smile,
    Being urban, squat, and packed with guile.
    Rupert Brooke (1887–1915)