Gonville Place
Encyclopedia
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It forms part of the city's inner ring road
Ring road
A ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city...
. At the southwest end is the junction of Regent Street
Regent Street, Cambridge
Regent Street is an arterial street in southeast central Cambridge, England. It runs between St Andrew's Street, at the junction with Park Terrace, to the northwest and Hills Road at the junction with the A603 to the southeast. Regent Terrace runs in parallel immediately to the northeast...
and Hills Road
Hills Road, Cambridge
This article is about the street. For the Sixth Form College commonly known as "Hills Road", see Hills Road Sixth Form CollegeHills Road is an arterial road in southeast Cambridge, England...
, where the road continues as Lensfield Road
Lensfield Road
Lensfield Road is a road in southeast central Cambridge, England. It runs between the junction of Trumpington Street and Trumpington Road to the west and the junction of Regent Street and Hills Road to the west...
. At the northeast end is the junction of Parkside and Mill Road
Mill Road, Cambridge
Mill Road is a street in southeast Cambridge, England. It runs southeast from near to Parker's Piece, at the junction with Gonville Place, East Road, and Parkside. It crosses the main railway line and links to the city's ring road . It passes through the wards of Petersfield and Romsey, which are...
, where the road continues as East Road
East Road, Cambridge
East Road is a dual-carriageway road in the east of Cambridge, England. It is designated the A603 and forms part of Cambridge's inner ring road. The southwest end of East Road is next to Parker's Piece, at the junction with Parkside, Mill Road, and Gonville Place...
, a dual carriageway
Dual carriageway
A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...
.
To the northwest is Parker's Piece
Parker's Piece
Parker's Piece is a flat and very roughly square green common located near the centre of Cambridge, England. The two main walking and cycling paths across it run diagonally, and the single lamp-post at the junction is commonly known as Reality Checkpoint...
, a large grassed area with footpaths. There are panoramic views of Parker's Piece from Gonville Place.
The distinctive Parkside Pools indoor swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
building with a wavy roof was built 1998–99, with support from the United Kingdom National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
.
There is a YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
on the southeast side of the road opposite Parker's Piece.
Behind the YMCA is Fenner's
Fenner's
Fenner's is the University of Cambridge's cricket ground.-History:Fenner's has hosted first-class cricket since 1848, and many of the world's great players have graced the wicket. The ground was established on land leased for the purpose by Francis Fenner, after whom the ground is named.Playing for...
, the cricket ground of the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, which has hosted first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
since 1848.
The Best Western
Best Western
Best Western International, Inc. is the third largest hotel chain, with over 4,195 hotels in nearly 80 countries. The chain, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, operates more than 2,000 hotels in North America alone. Best Western has a marketing program involving placement of free...
Gonville Hotel is also located on the southeast side of Gonville Place, near the south corner of Parker's Piece.
There was little development around Gonville Place until the 19th century. The most important building along it in the early 19th century was the Cambridge Town Gaol. However, by the late 19th century, the construction of large houses with landscaped gardens meant that the street became a fashionable residential area. Some of these houses were replaced during the 1960s and 1970s. The street now forms part of the busy ring road, with the associated traffic problems that brings, especially for the many cyclists in the city.