See, I needed to have something to write about for travel writing tomorrow, and not just the kind of personal perspectives I'm giving here on this blog, but rather an experience that has meaning but can be well researched at the same time. And since the past two days have been wonderful but highly anecdotal, I needed to go out and have an encounter with Cambridge's rich history and not just their lovely clothing stores and book shops.
So after breakfast (another round of Frosted Flakes and OJ, I thank you) I got on my computer and looked up some of the places that I absolutely cannot miss in Cambridge. That list is about a mile long now, but I hope that in six weeks I can cover most of it. In particular I'm excited about the number I found for a local ghost tour. I'll have to see who I can con into going on that little adventure. I have a feeling it will be Michaela and that there won't be any conning necessary.
Michaela is a UNH student who actually is living right next door. She's delightfully quirky. Michaela is also the one who accompanied me on today's adventure. In truth there wasn't much venturing. I was determined to explore the Michaelhouse Centre which is actually right across the street from Gonville and Caius. The Michaelhouse Centre is this glorious little building that is half cafe, half church. Originally the St. Michael's parish church was the chapel for Michaelhouse College and it was built in 1324. It's gone through various remodelings and seen quite a bit of drama. Here's the brief rundown, the bulk of which made it into my paper for travel writing (sweet Lord was there a lot of research to be done in one day!)
So after breakfast (another round of Frosted Flakes and OJ, I thank you) I got on my computer and looked up some of the places that I absolutely cannot miss in Cambridge. That list is about a mile long now, but I hope that in six weeks I can cover most of it. In particular I'm excited about the number I found for a local ghost tour. I'll have to see who I can con into going on that little adventure. I have a feeling it will be Michaela and that there won't be any conning necessary.
Michaela is a UNH student who actually is living right next door. She's delightfully quirky. Michaela is also the one who accompanied me on today's adventure. In truth there wasn't much venturing. I was determined to explore the Michaelhouse Centre which is actually right across the street from Gonville and Caius. The Michaelhouse Centre is this glorious little building that is half cafe, half church. Originally the St. Michael's parish church was the chapel for Michaelhouse College and it was built in 1324. It's gone through various remodelings and seen quite a bit of drama. Here's the brief rundown, the bulk of which made it into my paper for travel writing (sweet Lord was there a lot of research to be done in one day!)
· It's the first college chapel in Cambridge and inspired the other colleges to follow its design where the nave is smaller than the Chancel (I know to many of you those words mean nothing but just go with it; one part is bigger than the other).
· In 1546 Then Chancellor and Master of Michaelhouse, John Fisher, opposed the reforms of Henry VIII, which we all know is a bad idea because Henry liked to chop people's heads off. After Fisher was executed the church was seized by the crown. Go figure.
· In 1546 Then Chancellor and Master of Michaelhouse, John Fisher, opposed the reforms of Henry VIII, which we all know is a bad idea because Henry liked to chop people's heads off. After Fisher was executed the church was seized by the crown. Go figure.
· In 1643 Puritans destroyed all of the original stained glass. Boo, Puritans!
· In 1849 the original roof caught fire while parishioners were still in church.
· The 1960's brought about some very unpopular remodelings that were then fixed. i.e. they hid the stained glass with lower ceilings. Bad architect, no cookie.
· And then finally in early 2000 they converted the nave into a cafe and left the Chancel a functioning church.
I can't even begin to describe how beautiful Michaelhouse Centre is. It's a complete study in duality; light and dark, past and present. You come in and these beautiful stained glass windows, both vastly different, bookend the place. The window near the entrance is made of pastel diamond panes, each with their own little design in the center, that stack up towards pieces of marbled glass that look like oak leaves. Light absolutely pours in. The whole thing reminds me of the background of an Alphonse Mucha picture. Then on the other side, where the church is, is a more traditional rich, jewel toned stained glass window depicting biblical stories of St. Michael and The Angels. Equally gorgeous but in a different way. The light is more filtered and gives the chapel space a more dark secluded air.
Top photo: Window in the nave
Bottom photo: Window in the Chancel
So this is the place that Michaela and I explored and had tea in. Yes, that's right, I had my first official (not program sponsored) English tea time. We split a pot of Earl Grey and two sugar scones, what can be more English than that? The whole bit cost us about £6.10 for the both of us, not bad really. I took my first sip of the Earl Grey and found it to be a bit bitter, so I poured some milk and sugar in and found it much more to my liking. I had never had a proper scone before either. This one was just a tad sweet and had a dense cake-like texture. Overall very delicious. It was also good to bond with someone in the program.
We lingered over tea but eventually got up to explore the church. Again, I cannot stress enough the contrasts of these places! Even though there is a doorway between cafe and church there is nothing to block the sound; everything is open. The cafe is bright and people are chattering, china is clinking, and silverware is being dropped. Stepping into the church might as well be stepping into another world. It's almost instantaneously quieter, darker, and more serene. St. Michael's parish is certainly not the grandest church I've ever visited, but it's soft beauty certainly had an impact on me. I was looking for an experience and I got one!
Michaela and I essentially had the church to ourselves. We sat in the choir stalls, which I later found out date back to about the time of King Edward the IV. We read the stone markers of graves that surround the altar, some of which date back as far as the churches origin (some were in Latin and boy am I rusty!). We also took a bunch of pictures. Michaela was blessedly patient with me as I wrote down my thoughts and opinions about every little detail, peppered with the few facts I could find within the church. Between tea and exploration we spent about two-and-a-half-hours at the Michaelhouse Centre. I will definitely be going back again!
Note: Though this is posted on Thursday this is meant to be my Wednesday post. I wrote it late last night and didn't have wireless so I had to post it this afternoon. I'll try to get a Thursday post later tonight. Forgive me for being off!
We lingered over tea but eventually got up to explore the church. Again, I cannot stress enough the contrasts of these places! Even though there is a doorway between cafe and church there is nothing to block the sound; everything is open. The cafe is bright and people are chattering, china is clinking, and silverware is being dropped. Stepping into the church might as well be stepping into another world. It's almost instantaneously quieter, darker, and more serene. St. Michael's parish is certainly not the grandest church I've ever visited, but it's soft beauty certainly had an impact on me. I was looking for an experience and I got one!
Michaela and I essentially had the church to ourselves. We sat in the choir stalls, which I later found out date back to about the time of King Edward the IV. We read the stone markers of graves that surround the altar, some of which date back as far as the churches origin (some were in Latin and boy am I rusty!). We also took a bunch of pictures. Michaela was blessedly patient with me as I wrote down my thoughts and opinions about every little detail, peppered with the few facts I could find within the church. Between tea and exploration we spent about two-and-a-half-hours at the Michaelhouse Centre. I will definitely be going back again!
Note: Though this is posted on Thursday this is meant to be my Wednesday post. I wrote it late last night and didn't have wireless so I had to post it this afternoon. I'll try to get a Thursday post later tonight. Forgive me for being off!
No comments:
Post a Comment