Little St Mary's Church

Little St Mary's is an Anglican parish church in the 'High' tradition - expect traditional liturgy, heavily-robed clergy and a fair bit of incense. While it's not as lively as some more charismatic churches, it is a friendly, welcoming place. The congregation is a good mixture of Cambridge residents, students and members from further afield. Sermons are generally engaging, intelligent, and have a strong basis in scripture. The main Sunday service - a Sung Eucharist - is at 10:30 AM. There are plenty of smaller weekday services, and the church is open for prayer and meditation during the day.

In the shadow of St Mary's Church, Little St Mary's can still hold her own. Worth a quick walk through.

Friendly, welcoming church in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. Daily Mass and morning and evening prayer. Wonderful stained glass windows.

Went there for a Railfuture branch meeting in the meeting room at the back of the church. Refurbishment has been very well done (photo shows Dr. Colin Harris, Chairman of Cambridge Connect, giving a presentation of proposals for a Light Rail, or tram, scheme for the Greater Cambridge area, as an alternative to the Cambridge Autonomous Metro rubber-tyred 'bus that thinks its a tram' project).

A church has been on this site since the 12th century. The current structure dates from the 1340s when it was rebuilt by the fellows of Peterhouse, the first Cambridge college.
During the medieval era, the church was tied to Peterhouse as the college chapel. Once Peterhouse built a separate college chapel in 1632, Little St Mary's was released to be a parish church again.
When priest and poet Richard Crashaw left the church in 1643, many of the ornaments and statues were damaged or destroyed by Puritan iconoclast William Dowsing. Some of the damage, including that to Lady Chapel and sedilia have never been repaired. Further work was undertaken in the 18th and 19th century installed much of the current woodwork.
The church features the crest of the Washington family as Rev. Godfrey Washington, great uncle of the first president of the USA is buried in Little St Mary's.

Hidden Gem
When walking down Trumpington Street, take time to walk down Little St Mary's Lane and visit the church and gardens they are beautiful. The garden is small, rustic and a hidden gem on a sunny spring day.
The church has a large impressive stained glass window.

My favorite chapel in town! Right in front of Stephen Hawking's former mid-terraced house.

Amazing history and links to Cambridge and beyond...Thank you for a lovely visit.