Petty Cury
Encyclopedia
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. Hobson Street leads off north on the opposite side of the street at the eastern end, on the corner of Christ's College
, one of the historic University of Cambridge
colleges.
s' stalls here. The derivation is mentioned in the Diary of Samuel Pepys. Pepys was formerly a student at Magdalene College, Cambridge
.
From the 15th century, there were inn
s on this street, with yards behind. These became some of Cambridge's worst slums in the 19th century. For example, up to 300 people may have inhabited the Falcon Yard, which was demolished on the order of the Medical Officer of Health in 1903.
In the 1960s, the entire south side was demolished to make way for the building of the Lion Yard shopping centre.
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 connects Market Hill
Market Hill, Cambridge
Market Hill is the location of the marketplace in central Cambridge, England. Operating as a marketplace since Saxon times, a daily outdoor market with stalls continues to run there....
, the location of Cambridge's central outdoor market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
, and Guildhall Street
Guildhall Street, Cambridge
Guildhall Street is a street in central Cambridge, England. To the north is the southeast corner of Market Hill at the junction with the pedestrianised shopping street Petty Cury...
to the west with the shopping streets of Sidney Street
Sidney Street, Cambridge
Sidney Street is a major street in central Cambridge, England. It runs between Bridge Street at the junction with Jesus Lane to the northwest and St Andrew's Street at the junction with Hobson Street to the southeast....
and 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...
to the east. Hobson Street leads off north on the opposite side of the street at the eastern end, on the corner of Christ's College
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, one of the historic 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...
colleges.
History
Petty Cury is an old street that first appeared in documents around 1330. The unusual name most likely derives from petit (meaning "little") and cury (meaning "cooks' row"). Originally there were a number of bakerBaker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
s' stalls here. The derivation is mentioned in the Diary of Samuel Pepys. Pepys was formerly a student at Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
.
From the 15th century, there were inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
s on this street, with yards behind. These became some of Cambridge's worst slums in the 19th century. For example, up to 300 people may have inhabited the Falcon Yard, which was demolished on the order of the Medical Officer of Health in 1903.
In the 1960s, the entire south side was demolished to make way for the building of the Lion Yard shopping centre.