St Andrew the Great
A Grade II listed city-centre parish church of 1842-43, home to the memorial to Captain Cook's family.
In the middle of Cambridge, St Andrew the Great is an Anglican parish church. A church has stood on the site since at least 1200, when it is first named in a record, though the building you see is a 19th-century rebuild and it is Grade II listed. It is a working church with a conservative evangelical tradition, so the main reason to go in is a service rather than a sightseeing visit.
History
The first church was probably timber, and a stone one replaced it in the early 13th century. The church became a centre of Reformation preaching, and the theologian William Perkins was its lecturer from 1585 until he died in 1602. By 1650 the medieval fabric had decayed so badly that merging the parish with Holy Trinity was floated, but Christopher Rose, twice mayor of the town, paid for most of a rebuild instead.
The whole church was rebuilt again in 1842-43 to designs by Ambrose Poynter, in a 15th-century East Anglian manner. It has a five-bay nave with side aisles and a four-stage west tower, with the south porch and vestries added later in the century. A few earlier fragments survive, including early 12th-century double capitals, kept in the heating chamber.
The Cook memorial
The best-known object inside is a wall memorial commemorating Captain James Cook and his household, naming Elizabeth, his wife, along with six children. She outlived every one of them and died in 1835 aged 93. She is buried in the church with two of her sons.
Practical notes
The church was declared redundant in 1984. The congregation of the Round Church then raised the money to renovate it and moved in during 1994. Sunday services are held through the year, and visiting outside service times needs checking with the church first.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
