|
In the north-east of Cambridge, on the way to Fen Ditton and the A14, there is an odd little survival sitting in a churchyard down a slope on the north side of the Newmarket Road. It is variously called 'Barnwell Chapel', 'Stourbridge Chapel', 'The Chapel of St Mary Magdalene' or - most commonly 'The Leper Chapel', because it belonged to a hospital for lepers established here some time before the end of the 12 th century. At that point, King John gave the hospital the right to hold an annual fair on Stourbridge Common nearby, and it quickly grew into the largest and richest trade fair in Europe, helped by Cambridge's enviable position at the southernmost navigable point on the Cam and on the northernmost easy land route between East Anglia and the Midlands.
The Leper Hospital itself did not long enjoy this prosperity, since it closed in the late 14 th century. There remained a priest - who had the enviable combination of a lucrative living with no parish to minister to - until 1546, when it was closed and transferred to the Crown. From that point on it was used as a storage space for market stalls and, intermittently, as a pub during the fair. The fair declined in the 18 th century, as new methods of transport (canals, and better roads), but it survived into living memory, with the final fair being held in 1933.
It's a bit of an oddity. Indeed, since it's never been a parish church it doesn't really belong on this site at all! But it is an interesting little structure. There is just a small nave and chancel, and some elements have been restored, either earlier (e.g. the 14 th century wooden roof that replaced the chancel's stone vaulting) or later (e.g. the Victorian east window). But it's surprising just how much remains of the original Norman decoration, especially around the south doorway, and it's worth a visit.
The Chapel is sometimes open, sometimes not...