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Newnham, Cambridge

Newnham

A river-edge suburb of colleges, meadows and mill pools just south-west of the centre.

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Newnham lies along the western side of the Cam, close to the centre but quieter: tree-lined streets, college gardens and open water meadow. Before Cambridge reached it, Newnham was a hamlet on a patch of dry ground among flood-prone fields, and its watermill is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. A Carmelite convent stood here from 1256 until the friars moved into Cambridge in 1292, partly because winter floods kept cutting them off.

What's here

The modern suburb began as Newnham Croft in the late nineteenth century, after the town fields were enclosed. Today the area holds several colleges: Newnham College, Selwyn, Robinson and Wolfson, plus Darwin College, whose home at Newnham Grange (built in 1793) was once the house of George Darwin, son of Charles Darwin.

Green space is the other draw. Sheep's Green and Coe Fen run along the river, and Lammas Land offers a recreation ground and playground. Riverside pubs including the Mill, the Anchor and the Granta cluster around the water, and Silver Street Bridge ties this bank back to the centre.

Getting around

From the centre, the walk across the river via Silver Street brings you into the suburb in a few minutes. Beyond Newnham, a footpath along the meadows continues toward Grantchester, about two miles from Cambridge; it is the classic walk out of town. Barton Road (the A603) is the main road westward, and St Mark's Church on it was built in 1870 as a daughter church of Grantchester.

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Walks & Runs
5 routes around Cambridge
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Guides
Bridges, chapels, commons and Mill Road
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Itineraries
Suggested routes through the centre
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Collections
Free, historic and lost Cambridge

Other areas

City Centre Castle Chesterton Petersfield & Mill Road Romsey Trumpington Cherry Hinton Grantchester Fen Ditton West Cambridge

Places in Newnham