The Round Church, Cambridge, England

The Round Church, Cambridge, England. Photo: BabelStone/Wikimedia Commons

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, generally known as The Round Church, is an Anglican church in the city of Cambridge, England. Dating back to 1130, this is one of only four medieval round churches in England, and one of the most visited buildings in Cambridge.

The church is built in stone. Its plan consists of a circular nave surrounded by an ambulatory, a chancel with north and south aisles and a north vestry. Over the nave is an upper storey surmounted by a conical spire. To the north of the church is an octagonal bell-turret containing two bells.

The church is entered by a Norman west doorway with three orders of colonnettes, decorated with scalloped capitals and zigzags, and crenellations in the voussoirs. Between the ambulatory and the nave are eight massive Norman columns and round arches. Each of the capitals of the columns is carved with a different design. Part of the vault of the ambulatory has dog-tooth ornamentation.

In the ambulatory and nave are carved human heads dating from the 19th century. Above the nave is a triforium containing double Norman arches. To the east are the chancel and aisles. In the chancel and the north aisle are carved angels dating from the 15th century which are attached to the corbels supporting the roof; some of the angels are holding or playing musical instruments.

The communion table dates from 1843 and was made by Joseph Wentworth. The chancel is floored between the choir stalls with tiles laid in 1842. They depict the Royal coat of arms, and the arms of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. At the corners are animals representing the Four Evangelists.

There are two bells in the bell-turret. One of these is dated 1663 and was cast by Robard Gurney; the other is a priest's bell possibly cast by J. Sturdy of London between 1440 and 1458.

Most of the stained glass in the church was introduced during the 19th-century restoration and was designed and made by Thomas Willement and William Wailes. The glass in the east window was destroyed by a bomb in 1942 and was replaced by a new window in 1946 depicting Christ in Majesty.

Holy Sepulchre is open for visitors and contains an exhibition entitled The Impact of Christianity in England, and a study centre knows as a scriptorium. The church hosts concerts, recitals and plays, and arranges courses, summer schools, and lectures

Bridge Street, CB2 1UB. Open daily from 10:00 to 17:00. Sunday from 13:30 to 17:00. Admission £3.50 adults, children under 12 free.

Sources

• www.wikivoyage.org
• www.wikipedia.org
• www.visitcambridge.org

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