King's Parade is a historical street in central Cambridge

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The street continues north as Trinity Street

Trinity Street, Cambridge

Trinity Street is a historical street in central Cambridge, England. The street continues north as St John's Street and south as King's Parade and then Trumpington Street....

 and then St John's Street

St John's Street, Cambridge

St John's Street is a historical street in central Cambridge, England. The street links with Bridge Street, Round Church Street, and Sidney Street to the north. It continues to the south as Trinity Street, then King's Parade and Trumpington Street...

, and south as Trumpington Street

Trumpington Street

Trumpington Street is a major historic street in central Cambridge, England. At the north end it continues as King's Parade where King's College is located...

. It is a major tourist area in Cambridge, commanding a central position in the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 area of the city. It is also a place frequented by many cyclists, many students travelling between lectures during term-time.

King's College

King's College, Cambridge

King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....

 is located on the west side of the street, hence the name, and dominates the scene with the east end of its large Chapel on view. Also on the street, just to the north, is the University of Cambridge Senate House

Senate House (University of Cambridge)

The Senate House of the University of Cambridge is now used mainly for degree ceremonies. It was formerly also used for meetings of the Council of the Senate...

, mainly used for degree ceremonies. This area is known as Senate House Hill. Opposite the Senate House is Great St Mary's, the historic University

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 Church.

History

The White Horse Tavern, on King's Lane to the west of King's Parade, was in a 16th century the meeting place for English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 Protestant reformers to discuss Lutheran ideas, from as early as 1521. When the King's College screen was extended in 1870, the tavern was demolished. There is now a blue plaque

Blue plaque

A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....

 in the college's Chetwynd Court to commemorate this.

Bowes & Bowes

Bowes & Bowes

Bowes & Bowes was a bookselling and publishing company based in Cambridge, England. It was established by Robert Bowes , a nephew of Daniel Macmillan...

 was a bookseller and publishing company located at 1 Trinity Street (at the south end of the street), a corner position at the junction with King's Parade and St Mary's Street

St Mary's Street, Cambridge

St Mary's Street is a historic street in the centre of the University area in Cambridge, England. The street links with the junction of King's Parade and Trinity Street to the west, along which many of the University's oldest colleges are to be found. To the east is Market Hill, the location of...

 to the east. It has a claim to be the oldest bookshop in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, with books having been sold on the site since 1581. The shop closed in 1986 and subsequently Sherratt & Hughes closed in 1992, since when the site has become the Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...

 bookshop.

When the King's College Gatehouse (porters' lodge

Porters' lodge

A porters' lodge is a place near the entrance of a building where one or more porters can be found to respond to enquiries from the public and direct them around the building. It is particularly associated with university accommodation in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada...

) and Screen were built in the 1830s, the previous west side of the street was completely demolished.
Opposite King's College is a row of now mainly touristic shops. For example, the Primavera Gallery

Primavera Gallery

Primavera is a fine arts and crafts gallery of historical significance at 10 King's Parade in Cambridge, England. Henry Rothschild of the Rothschild family founded Primavera in 1945 in Sloane Street, London, in order to promote and retail contemporary British art and craft...

 and gift store is located here. St Mary's Passage and St Edward's Passage lead away from King's Parade to the east.

In the 1970s, Chris Curry

Chris Curry

Christopher Curry is the co-founder of Acorn Computers, with Hermann Hauser and Andy Hopper.-Early life:...

 rented offices at 6 King's Parade to establish Sinclair Instrument Ltd with Sir Clive Sinclair

Clive Sinclair

Sir Clive Marles Sinclair is a British entrepreneur and inventor, most commonly known for his work in consumer electronics in the late 1970s and early 1980s....

. In 1977, the company was renamed to Science of Cambridge Ltd. The name Sinclair Research Ltd was adopted in 1981. The company was important in the home computer

Home computer

Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...

 revolution of the early 1980s in the UK.

At the southern end on the corner of Corpus Christi College

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...

 in Trumpington Street is the Corpus Clock

Corpus Clock

The Corpus Clock is a large sculptural clock at street level on the outside of the Taylor Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, at the junction of Bene't Street and Trumpington Street, looking out over King's Parade. It was conceived and funded by John C...

, a new tourist attraction installed in 2008.

Also formerly known as the Poubelle Booms