Cambridge history

Settlements have existed around the Cambridge area since before the Roman Empire. The first major development of the area began with the Roman invasion of Britain in about AD 40. Castle Hill made Cambridge a useful place for a military outpost from which to defend the River Cam. The settlement remained a regional centre during the 350 years after the Roman occupation, until about AD 400.

After the Romans had left Saxons took over the land on and around Castle Hill and renamed it Grantabrycge – 'Bridge over Granta'. The arrival of the Vikings in Cambridge was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 875. Viking rule, the Danelaw, had been imposed by 878. The Vikings' vigorous trading habits caused Cambridge to grow rapidly.

In 1068, two years after his conquest of England, William of Normandy built a castle on Castle Hill. In 1209, students escaping from hostile townspeople in Oxford fled to Cambridge and formed a university there. The oldest college that still exists, Peterhouse, was founded in 1284. One of the most well-known buildings in Cambridge, King's College Chapel, was begun in 1446 by King Henry VI. The project was completed in 1515 during the reign of King Henry VIII.

During World War II Cambridge served as an evacuation centre for over 7,000 people from London, as well as for parts of the University of London. The town became a military centre, with an R.A.F. training centre and the regional headquarters for Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire established during the conflict.