White Horse Tavern
A medieval inn beside King's Parade, said to have hosted Cambridge's first readers of Luther, demolished in 1870.
The White Horse stood just off King's Parade, on the site of what is now King's Lane. The inn was already in existence by 1455 and was pulled down in 1870 to make room for Scott's Building, put up for King's College. A blue plaque, on a wall by the junction with Trumpington Street, records the original location.
The Reformation legend
The White Horse is remembered because of a tradition that university men gathered there from 1521 to discuss the ideas of Martin Luther. Historian Geoffrey Elton recorded that the group was nicknamed "Little Germany". John Foxe's Book of Martyrs is the origin of the story, and names Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer, Miles Coverdale, Matthew Parker, William Tyndale and others among those who came.
How much of it is true
Historians are cautious. Foxe's account is the only source for the meetings, and several scholars have questioned whether the meetings took place, one describing the picture as unsubstantiated and another calling it "the stubborn legend of the White Horse Inn". A biographer of Tyndale has pointed out that not all of the supposed members were in Cambridge at the same time. What is not in doubt is that the inn existed, and that Cambridge was an early centre for debate on Luther's teaching on justification by faith.
Visiting the site
Nothing of the tavern survives. The plaque on the street frontage is the thing to look for.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
