Where is Great St Mary's?

Great St Mary's is at Great St Mary's, Cambridge.

Great St Mary's, Cambridge — University Church

Great St Mary's

The University Church on King's Parade: a late-medieval tower, two organs and the chimes later borrowed for Big Ben.

Great St Mary's, often shortened to GSM, closes the top of King's Parade opposite the Senate House. It is both a parish church and the University Church, which gives it a formal role: the university's own rules tie officers to living within 20 miles of it and undergraduates within three.

What to look for

The building. Construction of the present church ran from 1478 to 1519; the tower followed in 1608. It is listed Grade I and built in the Late Perpendicular style. The earliest recorded reference to a church here is a royal presentation of 1205.
Two organs. Unusually, the church holds a Parish Organ in the chancel, built in 1991, and a University Organ in the west gallery. The latter was bought in 1698 and is associated with the builder "Father" Smith.
The bells and chimes. A ring of 13 bells was installed in 2009. The University Clock chimes the Cambridge Quarters, a chime sequence later used by the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament.
Martin Bucer. The Reformation scholar is buried here. His body was burnt in the market place under Mary I, and the ashes were returned to the church under Elizabeth I; a brass plate in the south chancel marks the spot.
The tower climb. The church's website offers a tower climb for visitors; check it for current times and prices before you go.

Practical notes

Its churchmanship is Liberal Catholic within Anglican practice, and the website carries live-streamed services and the worship, music and visiting pages. Funerals held here have included that of the physicist Stephen Hawking in 2018. It stands a short walk from St Bene't's and King's College Chapel.

Key info