Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge

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On the right, the Church of St Mary the Great marks the centre of Cambridge.

The Cambridge University Clock, set above the West door of Great St Mary's

St Mary the Great is a Church of England church in Cambridge, known locally as Great St Mary's or simply 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, and undergraduates within three. 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").

[edit] History

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 north and south galleries, but that to the west still stands.

A plaque at the base of the west tower marks the datum point for distances from Cambridge, which were originally marked with the first milestones erected in Britain since the Romans left.