Dating from 1125 (Henry I), the Leper Chapel is one of a few sites that compete for the title of 'oldest building in Cambridge'. Originally outside the city boundaries, it is now surrounded by unattractive industrial estates and is right next door to the garage which is sorting out a fault in my car. Stourbridge Fair, which grew to be one of the largest and greatest Medieval fairs in Europe was originally started to raise money for the Leper Hospital. Apart from the chapel, the only other signs of the Fair in the area are the names of the streets - Oyster Row, Garlic Row, Mercers Row etc and the number of oyster shells that are still in the river bed. The Chapel is still used for worship and also other events such as the performance of Macbeth coming up in July - quite spooky at night I imagine!
Good gracious...1125. That's just remarkable. I guess our earliest architecture in the States dates back to maybe the late 1600's and most of that would be rubble or ruins. Marvelous how this chapel has stood through time.
I think Macbeth in that spooky chapel performed in candle light would be awesome if done in the traditional style.Especially done on a dank November night..Macbeth is my favourite of all Shakespeare's plays,it was in my O-level paper, back when i will not say...lol...and i have seen it a good few times both in traditional style and touches of modern twists with the old fart in me preferring traditional. Oh i nearly forgot nice picture also...
Wow, I'd love to see that performance!
What a wonderful piece of history, too bad the surroundings are so bland. But fortunately those can't be seen in the shot :)
Really interesting shot and commentary. I agree with Blue Gnu that poster adds a sinister undercurrent to the shot. Being a leper was no joke either...
May 29th, 2011
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
What a wonderful piece of history, too bad the surroundings are so bland. But fortunately those can't be seen in the shot :)