St Edward's Passage, known in the 18th century as Chain Lane,"Placeholder for BC 007 2" and "Leases of tenement in Chain Lane (now St Edwards Passage), in parish of St Edward, Cambridge", Janus, Cambridge University Library. is a Y-shaped alleyway in Cambridge, England, between King's Parade—opposite the main gate of King's College—and Peas Hill. It houses the entrance and churchyard of the Church of St Edward King and Martyr; the Cambridge Arts Theatre; several cottages; G. David, an independent bookshop run from the same building since 1896; a few businesses; and student accommodation. It is a narrow, dark lane, with riven-stone paving, which opens out onto the much wider and sunnier King's Parade.

Excavations on the southern side in 1995 suggested that the lane had been established by the 13th century. It is marked on Richard Lyne's map of the city from 1574, the earliest known map of Cambridge, and on John Hammond's from 1592.Clark, J. Willis (1921). Old Plans of Cambridge, 1574-1798, Bowes & Bowes, 1921."Unfolding landscapes", Cambridge University Library, 2003. According to Cambridge City Council, it "preserv[es] a sense of the cheek-by-jowl nature of the early town".

Buildings St Edward King and Martyr The entrance of St Edward King and Martyr, which dates to the early 13th century, is on St Edward's Passage, at the Peas Hill end. Its small churchyard lies between the two arms of the alley.

Calling itself the cradle of the English Reformation—a period of religious upheaval in the 16th century, when the English Church opposed the authority of the Roman Catholic Church—the church contains the original pulpit from which the Protestant reformers Robert Barnes (1495–1540), Thomas Bilney (1495–1531) and Hugh Latimer (1487–1555) preached.Dickens, Geoffrey (1991). English Reformation, Penn State Press, second edition, p. 91. During midnight mass in the church on 24 December 1525, Barnes, an Augustinian friar who became a Lutheran, gave the first sermon in which a reformer accused the Catholic Church of heresy."About St Edward's" , St Edward King and Martyr.Mass, Korey (2010). The Reformation and Robert Barnes: History, Theology and Polemic in Early Modern England, Boydell & Brewer, pp. 1, 14. Historian Alec Ryrie referred to it as "the first set-piece confrontation of the English Reformation".Ryrie, Alec (2003). The Gospel and Henry VIII: Evangelicals in the Early English Reformation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 170. Barnes, Bilney and Latimer were eventually burned at the stake.Boyd, Stephanie (2005). The Story of Cambridge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 36.

Other buildings Most of the buildings are brick fronted, date from the late 18th and early 19th century, and have vertically hung sash windows. Several (nos. 3, 4, 8–10, 12–15, 15a and 16) are Grade II-listed buildings."Listed Buildings in Cambridge – Market Ward, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire", British Listed Buildings.

The Cambridge Arts Theatre and the Venue (a restaurant) are at no. 6, the Indigo Coffee House at no. 8, and the Haunted Bookshop at no. 9. The building at no. 10 has Gothic detailing and was originally built for the Church of England's Young Men's Society; it now houses the Corpus Christi College Playroom (a theatre). The building at nos. 12–15, a lime-washed two-storey brick building dating to the late 18th and early 19th century, is used for student accommodation. G. David, established in 1896 by Gustave David (1860–1936) and known as David's bookshop, is at no. 16."David's bookshop, Cambridge", davidsbookshop.co.uk.Sims, Liam (20 November 2016). "Gustave David (1860–1936): the Cambridge bookseller", Cambridge University Library Special Collections. There is also a row of late 18th-century two-storey cottages.

Status, age and type Building Status Age Height Walls Roof Architect Notes St Edward King and Martyr Listed Grade II* 13th–15th C n/a "stone, rubble, cement rendered with some Barnack stone dressings" lead and tile restored 1858–1860 by G. G. Scott 1 and 2(Peas Hill) early 20th c. 4 + attic brown brick mansard/slate n/a 3 and 4 Listed Grade II early 19th c. 2 + attics brick parapet/tile n/a 6 and 7(Arts Theatre) 19th c., redeveloped in 1990s 3 + attics "buff brick with stone dressings" mansard/slate redevelopment by Bland, Brown & Cole, 1990s 8 Listed Grade II early 19th c. 2 + attics lime-washed brick tile n/a 9 Listed Grade II late 18th c. 2 lime-washed brick tile n/a 10(Corpus Christi Playroom) Listed Grade II early 19th C "G/F altered later" 3 grey gault brick parapet n/a originally the Church of England Young Men's Society 12–15 Listed Grade II late 18th, early 19th c. 2 + attics lime-washed brick mansard/tile n/a "12–15, St Edward's Passage", British Listed Buildings. 15A and 16 Listed Grade II late 18th c. 2 + attics white-washed brick mansard/tile n/a "15a and 16, St Edward's Passage", British Listed Buildings. No. 16 is David's bookshop.

Gallery

See also

Grade II* listed buildings in Cambridge Grade II* listed buildings in Cambridgeshire Marian persecutions White Horse Tavern, Cambridge

Notes

References

Further reading

Cargill Thompson, W. D. J. (1960). "The Sixteenth-Century Editions of A Supplication unto King Henry the Eighth by Robert Barnes", Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society , 3(2), pp. 133–142. Glover, T. R. (2015) . David of Cambridge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rex, Richard (December 1999). "The Early Impact of Reformation Theology at Cambridge University, 1521-1547". Reformation and Renaissance Review, 2(1), pp. 38–71.