Number 22 November 1992
A review of current Architectural and Environmental Issues and events in the Cambridge area produced by theCambridge Association ofArchitects. The views in this newsletter are those of the individual contributors and not of the Association. Newsletter co-edited by David Raven and Colen Lumley. ’Cambridge Architecture Trumpington Mews, Trumpington, Cambridge. CB2 2LS
The Eagle has Landed
The Eagle, one of Cambridge's most famous pubs, finally re-opened on1 October after being closed since 1988. The ground floor rooms of no 8 Bene't Street, previously Hockeys', have been reincorporated into the pub. It was a pleasant surprise to find the letters EAGLE inscribed above thedoor of no 8. Corpus Christi College, who own the pub, and had wanted this to be the only entrance. The 1989 scheme would haxe closed the galleried yard completely to the Corpus as owners had theright to close yard gates at any time, and there were long and difficult negotiations to secure the planning agreement which allows public access to the yard; the agreement allows the College to close theyard forup to 100 daysa year, but the hope is that this may be less in practice. The other sticking-point in negotiations was that both the college and Greene King wanted toremove the staircase up to the gallery to improve access from thefront to the back, strong objections led toan alternative solution, which has been achieved by removing brickwork at the rear to createa wider passage behind thechimney. It had been claimed that the staircase was c 19 (contemporary with the gallery) and Of comparatively little historic interest, but Oliver Rackham now considers that the stair-case is an original feature and suggests that there was a projecting stair-turret before the construction of
thegallery. He dates the rear range to 15921600, with much re-used timber (including smoke-blackened timbers which arethefirst clear evidence of medieval open hall houses in Cambridge). Two original windows canbe seen inthe framing of the west wall which hasbeen exposed. The ceilings in the middle and back bars have been repaired to match using reeds from Wicken Fen;c 17 wall paintings (with eVidence of several layers of paint) were found at ground and first floor levels. One of the2 fine clunch fireplaces uncovered in thelandlord's accommodation on thefirst floor has incised graffiti including (very neatly carved) “John Hope Ben Coll 1670” (Corpus was also known asBene't College). The famous RAF barceiling has been repaired from above, and is now more clearly visible following the removal ofa layer ofnicotine-stained varnish. The street range Which hasbeen reincorporated into the pub is later and grander than the rear; Rackham considers that this C17 building once had the most imposing brick facade in Cambridge apart form thecolleges, before being later covered in plaster and Ketton Stone. The pine panelling from theright hand ground floor room hasbeen reinstated, and in the left room you canseetherather puzzling evidence of arches (fora shopfront??) in the exposed
brickwork of the front wall. One newcomer is the elaborate Gothic screen to the entrance passage; this isa successor to the former more modest screen to the Hockeys Manager's office, which can now be seen in the first floor of the Architecture Centre at6 Kings Parade, where is separates the office from theexhibition room. John Preston.
What Recession? Speaking to someone from thenorthern half of England theother dayI was made torealise that what we arecurrently experiencing isa peculiarly southern phenomenon. In thenorth what we areall talking endlessly about is nothing new. It is simply part of daily life and has been forgenerations. There was really no reason to suppose that the post 50’s boom we have been experiencing in the south would last indefinitely. Remember the Hudson Report inthe 60’s which amongst many things drew attention to the enormous disparity in economic activity betweena range of English towns and cities. The structural weaknesses the report identified in the British establishment, institutions, infrastructures, etc etc at all levels have largely been ignored and so the country continues for the most part on its steady economic decline. Fortunately most ofthearts flourish in these circumstances, government money permitting. But building, as one of the most tangible expressions of economic activity and prosperity, is hit directly. Da vid Ra ven
TYPE—RII'E SECRETARIAL SERVICES Specifications• Reports• Articles. etc 6 BATEMAN ST.CAMBRIDGE. TEL6 153 I Drawingby Dr OliverRcie'kh‹iin (CA back issues on the Ex gle, April 91& April 89.)
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