Chesterton Tower

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I grew up in Cambridge and have lived here permanently since 2006. I thought I knew it well. I was wrong. One of my most interesting lockdown activities has been discovering new parts of the city and new buildings.It started with a walk. Or rather, a Sunday lunch in a pub (on one of the few occasions in 2020 when that was possible), followed by a longer loop along the river to get home.

We walked along Riverside, intending to cut through Chesterton to our house in Arbury. For some reason, instead of going down Church Street as we usually would, my partner Chris suggested cutting down Chapel Street instead. There was no real reason for this, other than it was a Sunday afternoon and we had nowhere particular to be.

Halfway down Chapel Street, amid some unremarkable flats, was a building neither of us had seen before – what looked like an old miniature castle, nestled in the depths of Chesterton. It looked like it was on private land, but we had a look around and took some photos anyway. We saw the arrow slits and noted it was now a language school called Blue Bridge Education. When we got home, I put the photo on Facebook, asking if anyone knew what it was. It turned out it was the Chesterton Tower. The building dates from the mid-14th Century, when Chesterton was a royal manor.

Following the death of King John, the Barons, who had been in constant conflict with the King, invited a French prince to be king, in place of the then-7-year-old Prince Henry. Keen to avoid civil war, a papal legate Cardinal Guala came to England to arbitrate. Guala appointed Henry III to the throne. To show gratitude for this Henry gave the royal manor of Chesterton to Guala, with the Church of St Andrew. Guala then passed the gift to the Abbey of Vercilli. The abbot appointed a proctor, who was to live in Chesterton. This was the proctor’s house, and at the time it occupied the grounds of St Andrew’s church, though it is now a housing estate. A copy of Cardinal Guala’s portrait hangs on the wall of the south aisle of St Andrew’s Church.

In 1440, the pope agreed to transfer the church and the tower to King’s Hall, which became Trinity College. The 1959 Royal Commission Survey of Cambridge said of the building:
“The tower is a rare survival of a dwelling for the representative of England of a foreign appropriator and of much architectural interest despite the recent restoration.”

I’ve lived in Cambridge for 35 years. All these facts were completely new to me. Chesterton Tower is certainly not on any tourist trail that I’m aware of, and I can’t imagine it appears on many punt tours either. It struck me that if there can be a 14th Century palace hiding away in Chesterton, owned by Trinity College but largely ignored, there could be more such places …

About The Author
Caroline Mead was born and grew up in Cambridge, and works as a copywriter for the RSPB. Covid-permitting, she also enjoys choral singing, flute playing, bellydancing, ballet, running, walking, and discovering little-known parts of Cambridge. She has BAs from the Open University and the University of Birmingham, and an MA in Sociology from the University of York. She is also a qualified massage therapist.

If only I had time to read…..

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Contributor: Heather Relf

If only I had time to read…..How many times have I said this? Well, as a result of lockdown, I now have plenty of time on my hands. At the beginning of the first lockdown, the enforced “free” time was a novelty – a frenzy of decorating, crafting, music – even baking, filled my days. My grand plan to work my way through the pile of accumulated unread books and untouched classics was top of my cultural to do list. However, as the weeks have worn on, the continued uncertainty and wide-ranging social changes have had a huge impact on my ability to concentrate – even dampening my motivation to pick up a book. Without a doubt, I have read far fewer books than I could ever have predicted or imagined. Several wonderful novels have been started but remain unfinished – and my pile is still relatively untouched!

So, what have I been reading and why? Reading has been an important means of escape and distraction. Factual reports or articles of shared interest have been digested in the form of brief online commentaries, or the ‘i’ newspaper – quality but undemanding in length! Comfort reading has played its part. In much the same way I’ve craved childhood comfort foods, such as jelly and Angel Delight, I have revisited some children’s classics, much-loved poetry and novels that could be described as “heartwarming” without being laced with saccharin-powered optimism! Nostalgic for happier, more secure times? Comfort reading for me has also embraced good “page turners”, such as British crime novels. (Rankin, Griffiths, Galbraith, May, Booth) The plot of a good thriller has been total escapism, carrying me along with the unfolding events and demanding little from me, generally secure in the knowledge that there will be a satisfying resolution! I’m unable to deal with classics, gritty realism, dystopian novels or contemporary social themes (my usual diet) and I’m glad I read The Testaments and Girl, Woman, Other just before lockdown! Having said that, I did come across a 2005 book by Peter May entitled ‘Lockdown’! Unnervingly resonant but with a preposterous ending! To be brutally honest, at the moment, I can only attempt fairly short novels (unless it’s a crime novel!) and could not pick up one of my older Penguin classics that has a dense type face!

One of the most positive things that has aided my struggling access to books has been my introduction to Audible, thanks to a dear friend! I am hooked! As a lover of storytelling, live performance and radio all my life, this has been an absolute godsend. Audio books have enabled me to access a wide and varied range of literature that my impaired concentration and feeble mental state would otherwise not have allowed! I have been completely drawn into the performance and the way in which this has enhanced my experience of the novel. I have discovered new elements in books that are well known to me and it has also inspired me to read some of the books I have listened to.

Further inspiration has been our WI book discussion group on Zoom – not a traditional book group, where the same book is read by all- but a forum for sharing and discussing books, poetry, articles etc. that have been enjoyed by members. In addition, it has been comforting to share our collective views on the way in which the current climate has impacted on our reading habits and experiences. Along with reviews online and in print, these recommendations have been most helpful.

 

Personal recommendations:

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Honeyman

Anything is Possible – Strout

Lethal White – Galbraith

Big Sky – Atkinson

A Song for the Dark Times – Rankin

 

Contributor: Heather

I read thirty books last year

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Contributor: Trish

I read thirty books last year, a mixture of fiction and non fiction, and some of those I had read before. I keep a list of what I read, but there are no dates attached; however, I think the first book I read last March was Corduroy by Adrian Bell, a fictionalised memoir of life on a Suffolk farm in the 1920s and the last book I finished was The Dillen, Memories of a Man of Stratford-upon-Avon. This is an old favourite, a comfort read if you like, but I didn’t need a pandemic to prompt me to pick it up.

I haven’t read any more or less since the pandemic started; I always have a book “on the go” and plenty of unread volumes around the house that I’m now getting round to. I have also bought books online and received them as gifts. Usually, I’m inspired to buy after reading a review in the Saturday edition of the Guardian or hearing an interesting interview on Radio 4. Friends, too, have passed on books and recommendations during this year. I don’t listen to audio books, although just this week I heard and enjoyed a podcast of Babette’s Feast by Karen Blixen. Does that count?

I really can’t say the pandemic has much affected my reading, except in one respect: I decided last March that I was going to read two poems every day for the duration (fourteen weeks as I recall) and have done so. I have two large anthologies and every day read one from each volume. The collections span several centuries, include classics and the less familiar, and many poems in translation. I have enjoyed that quiet time every day.

Five books I have read this year and would recommend:

Middlemarch by George Eliot. A book to live your life by.

The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester. Very funny and very clever.

Golden Hill by Francis Spufford. Wonderful, entertaining pastiche of a picaresque novel.

The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell. Inspired by the siege of Lucknow, comic and scathing by turns.

A Life of My Own – the autobiography of Claire Tomalin.

Contributor: Trish