Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
St Mary the Great with St Michael, Cambridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St Mary the Great with St Michael is a Church of England church in Cambridge, UK. It is locally also known as Great St Mary's or GSM.
In addition to being a parish church in the Diocese of Ely, it is the University Church for the University of Cambridge. As such it has a minor role in the University's legislation: for example, University Officers must live within 20 miles of Great St Mary's. The church also hosts University Sermons, and houses the University Organ and the University Clock. The latter chimes the Cambridge Chimes which were later used by the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament ("Big Ben").
The first church on the site of the current one was built in 1205, but this was mostly destroyed by fire in 1290 and then rebuilt. In the Middle Ages it became an official gathering place for meetings and debates for Cambridge University, but this ceased in 1730 when the University's Senate House was built across the street.
Various leading philosophers of the English Reformation preached there, notably Erasmus. Martin Bucer, who influenced Cranmer's writing of the Book of Common Prayer, was buried there. Under Queen Mary, his corpse was burnt in the marketplace, but under Elizabeth I, the dust from the place of burning was replaced in the church. The Tractarian movement in the 19th century prompted the removal of the east and west galleries, and the north and south still stand.
 |
This article about a United Kingdom building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 This article about a church or other Christian place of worship in the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |