St Mary's Street is a historic street in the centre of the 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...

 area in 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 links with the junction of King's Parade

King's Parade

King's Parade is a historical street in central Cambridge, England. The street continues north as Trinity Street and then St John's Street, and south as Trumpington Street. It is a major tourist area in Cambridge, commanding a central position in the University of Cambridge area of the city...

 and 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....

 to the west, along which many of the University's oldest colleges are to be found. To the east is Market Hill

Market Hill, Cambridge

Market Hill is the location of the marketplace in central Cambridge, England. Operating as a marketplace since Saxon times, a daily outdoor market with stalls continues to run there....

, the location of the city's Market Square. The street continues as Market Street

Market Street, Cambridge

Market Street is a shopping street in central Cambridge, England. It runs between Market Hill, location of the city's central Market Square to the west and Sidney Street to the east. On the other side of the market square, the street continues west as St Mary's Street north of Great St Mary's, the...

.

The Church of St Mary the Great is immediately to the south, hence the name of the street. This acts as the church of the Cambridge University. Immediately to the west of St Mary's Street is the University's 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...

, where degree ceremonies are held. To the south of St Mary's church is the pedestrianised St Mary's Passage, also linking King's Parade and Market Hill.

The Old Schools Site, a University of Cambridge site, covers the Old Schools

Old Schools

The Old Schools are part of the University of Cambridge, in the centre of Cambridge, England. The Old Schools house the Cambridge University Offices, which form the main administration for the University....

, the Senate House, and Great St Mary's, including St Mary's Street and St Mary's Passage. The University Proctor's Office is located on the south side of St Mary's Passage (at No. 1).

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, a corner position at the junction with St Mary's Street. 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 it was taken over by Sherratt & Hughes, which itself closed in 1992. Since then, 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.