St Bene't
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
St Bene't is the oldest church in Cambridge, dating from around 1020, the fine Saxon arch predates the Norman conquest.
It was consecrated on 8th October 1890 and continues to offer a place of rest, beauty and grandeur to all who pass through its doors.
The Church of Our Lady of The Assumption and The English Martyrs is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker.
It was on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption that she promised to build the church, and Monsignor Christopher Scott, the first rector, also wished to commemorate the Catholic martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the university.
The church is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. It is a traditional cruciform structure in the early Decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65 metre spire, a landmark visible for miles around Cambridge.
