Click on the thumbnails to view information on landmarks along the Backs.
Constructed in the mid-17th century, Clare Bridge is the oldest surviving bridge on the
Cam. A particular feature of the Bridge is the row of decorative balls along the top
balustrade. One of them has a section missing, neatly sliced out like a piece of Edam
cheese. No one has conclusively accounted for the missing piece, although there are a
number of fanciful theories in circulation!
In the late 1950's a competition was held to design a new bridge to be built
between Trinity Hall and Trinity College. The competition was won by a student and his
design was built in 1960. The extremely light, strong and rigid structure is supposedly
modelled on a gull's wing.
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Trinity Bridge was built to replace a bridge destroyed by Cromwell's troops in 1643,
during the Civil War. Cromwell had been an undergraduate student at the University
(Sidney Sussex College) and was living in nearby Ely when the Civil War began. He used
Cambridge as his base during the war.
Unlike the other riverside colleges St. John's College has two bridges and both are
very fine. The Kitchen Bridge was built in the early 18th century, to a design based
on ideas suggested by Wren and Hawksmoor.
Historically the area around Magdalene Bridge was the most important bridging point in Cambridge.
The Romans build a ford through the river at this point and the town's first bridge was built here
in 731. This was called the "Great Bridge" and later "Cam Bridge", after which the town was named.
The present cast-iron bridge was built in 1823.
