Lion Yard
Encyclopedia
The Lion Yard Shopping Centre is a city centre undercover shopping centre in Cambridge
, England
. It predates and is significantly smaller than either the Grafton Centre
or the Grand Arcade
. The latter connects directly to the Lion Yard, which is in the city centre. The Grafton Centre is situated just outside the city centre, however it boasts key anchor stores such as Debenhams
which the Lion Yard does not have, due to its confined location.
Construction work on the centre, which is bounded by St Andrew's Street
, Corn Exchange Street
, and Petty Cury
, commenced in 1970 and the centre contained a library
, multi-storey car park
and magistrates' court
. For many years a central feature of the atrium was a large white pillar with the statue of a large very red lion on the top of it, safely out of easy reach. This recalled the Red Lion pub which had occupied the site until demolished in 1969.
The Lion Yard was significantly refurbished in the late 1990s/early 2000s. A recently constructed undercover mall, the Grand Arcade
, adjoins Lion Yard on its south side: the two are interconnected.
The main shopping mall is 'L' shaped, with an atrium in the centre. Apart from the Atrium, the mall itself is now all on one level.
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 predates and is significantly smaller than either the Grafton Centre
Grafton Centre
The Grafton Centre is a covered shopping centre in Cambridge, England. It is one of the three main shopping centres in Cambridge – the others are the Lion Yard and the Grand Arcade, the newest and largest of the three...
or the Grand Arcade
Grand Arcade (Cambridge)
The Grand Arcade is a large shopping centre in St Andrew's Street, Cambridge, England. It is anchored by the John Lewis Department Store, which is situated to the southeast of the site and which opened on 8 November 2007, prior to the rest of the development, which opened on 27 March 2008.It links...
. The latter connects directly to the Lion Yard, which is in the city centre. The Grafton Centre is situated just outside the city centre, however it boasts key anchor stores such as Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
which the Lion Yard does not have, due to its confined location.
Construction work on the centre, which is bounded by St Andrew's Street
St Andrew's Street, Cambridge
St Andrew's Street is a major street in central Cambridge, England. It runs between Sidney Street, at the junction with Hobson Street, to the northwest and Regent Street to the southeast...
, Corn Exchange Street
Corn Exchange Street
Corn Exchange Street is a street in central Cambridge, England. It runs between Wheeler Street to the northwest and Downing Street to the southeast...
, and Petty Cury
Petty Cury
Petty Cury is a pedestrianised shopping street in central Cambridge, England. It connects Market Hill, the location of Cambridge's central outdoor market, and Guildhall Street to the west with the shopping streets of Sidney Street and St Andrew's Street to the east...
, commenced in 1970 and the centre contained a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, multi-storey car park
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
and magistrates' court
Magistrates' Court
A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...
. For many years a central feature of the atrium was a large white pillar with the statue of a large very red lion on the top of it, safely out of easy reach. This recalled the Red Lion pub which had occupied the site until demolished in 1969.
The Lion Yard was significantly refurbished in the late 1990s/early 2000s. A recently constructed undercover mall, the Grand Arcade
Grand Arcade (Cambridge)
The Grand Arcade is a large shopping centre in St Andrew's Street, Cambridge, England. It is anchored by the John Lewis Department Store, which is situated to the southeast of the site and which opened on 8 November 2007, prior to the rest of the development, which opened on 27 March 2008.It links...
, adjoins Lion Yard on its south side: the two are interconnected.
The main shopping mall is 'L' shaped, with an atrium in the centre. Apart from the Atrium, the mall itself is now all on one level.