Cambridge (UK) Open-air Art

In Cambridge there's been a recent increase of open-air art which when added to the art within University/College grounds provides a quite a collection. However, not all of the pieces are well-known or easy to find (hidden in foliage, for example) and details about the work and the artist aren't always well displayed. Several of the UK's best known artists are represented (one omission being Sir Anthony Caro, who read engineering at Christ's College, 1942-44).

This page aims to show a selection of what's available and how to visit it. See

• A map (Google Maps)
• Details of individual sites
• List of Categories
• Pictures of the works
• Notes about the list, access to the works, artists, and acknowledgements

n.b. In March 2009 Cambridge Sculpture Trails was launched, which supercedes much of the information here.

Details of individual sites

Categories

• Murals/Mosaics
• University-related
• Corporate
• Memorials
• Public/Residential
• Hobson's Conduit
• Retail
• Cherry Hinton Park
• Addenbrooke's
• Scott Polar Research Institute

Murals/Mosaics

East Road/Newmarket Road roundabout subway. By John Wilcox 2000. 4 themed subways. More pictures are on a Cambridge Online page.	The underpass under Barnwell Road	The path under Northfield Ave near The Ship.
Mill Road Bridge, 2006. By Gemma Crabtree, painted by The Castle Project and Cambridge Youth Foyer. It replaced a mural by Gallacher, McPhee, and Pearson from 1997	Park Street Cycle Park, June 2002. By Estheranna Stäuble assisted by Simon Nuttall and Dana Burghelea	Bacchanalia, Mill Road
Kingston Street: An ex-recordshop	Kingston Street: A house	Arbury Court, 1997

PACT millennium garden (corner of St Matthew's Street and Norfolk Street), 2002	PACT millennium garden (corner of St Matthew's Street and Norfolk Street), 2004	Parkside pool

Genome stripes. By Katy Hallett. 2006. Each of the 10,000+ stripes represent the different genetic letters that make up the human gene BRCA2. Addenbrooke's to Great Shelford cycleway	You're in there Somewhere. By Chris Dorley-Brown. 1995-8. Made of 3567 ceramic tiles. On the side of The Junction at Cambridge Leisure Park	Mosaic. On the side of Hobbs Pavillion, Parker's Piece. CamLets, sustainable city

University-related

The Engineering Department: The Lady Baker Memorial Fountain. By Peter Lyon, engraving by David Kindersley, 1981. You can see it from reception.	At the entrance to the Engineering Department in Trumpington Street: By Kenneth Martin, 1967. Made in the Department's workshops!.	Churchill college. They also have Flight by Peter Lyon and Spiral by Michael Gillespie
In front of the Senate House: Warwick Urn. By Edward Thomason with engraving by Eric Gill, c.1830. Bronze copy of a marble urn once owned by Hadrian.	New Hall: Ascending Form (Gloria). By Dame Barbara Hepworth, 1958. Part of the New Hall Art Collection, whose main areas are available daily for viewing by the public from 10am to 6pm. See New Hall's visiting page for details. (photo)	New Museums Site: Cavendish crocodile. By Eric Gill, 1933. Visible through the Old Cavendish arch on Free School Lane. "Crocodile" was colleague Kipitza's nickname for Rutherford.
Isaac Newton Institute: Genesis. By John Robinson. Nearby are Intuition and Creation. Details are on the Institute's art page - "For GENESIS I used three rhombuses. The rhombus is thought to be the Celtic symbil of fertility. Each rhombus is giving birth to another one, as it is being born itself. I think, of the three sculptures, it represents the most harmonious concept of Gestalt. It is also a three-dimensional Star of David."	Clare Hall (Herschel Road): Flame. By Helene Blumenfeld. According to the college magazine: "In 'Flame', says Helene, 'I wanted to simplify the human form to its absolute essence and to create a sense of the merging of physical and spiritual presence. 'Flame' is about reaching upwards, about aspiration, about the existence of a higher realm of being." (quote found by Theo Markettos)	Jesus college: Bronze Horse by Barry Flanagan, 1983. The courts of Jesus have several sculptures (by Paolozzi etc) in their permanent collection and yearly exhibitions
Clare college (memorial court, Queens Road): Fallen Warrior. By Henry Moore, 1956-1957 (photo)	Clare college. By Charles Jencks, 2005. Aluminium.	Clare college (visible from Queens Road)
Astronomy Department: Pulse. By John Robinson, 2001. On the site where the UK's biggest telescope once was	Astronomy Department: Prometheus. By James Atkinson, 2002. Cut and painted aluminium	Chemistry Department: By MS Watson, 1958

Outside the Fitzwilliam Museum: Large Reclining Figure. By Henry Moore, 1984. Fibreglass (since removed)	Outside the Fitzwilliam Museum: Lions. Maybe designed by Landseer, of Trafalgar Square fame. Stone	Sedgwick site: Span by Philip King, 1976. Painted Steel

Corporate

On the corner of Hills Road and Brooklands Avenue, outside City House: Chauvinist. Norwegian Blue Granite. By Helaine Blumenfeld, 1990.	Kett House (Station Road): Oak Tree in brick. Kett's Oak (Norfolk) is where Robert Kett met with his mob to capture Norwich castle in 1549	Lloyds/TSB bank (corner of Hills Rd and Gonville Place): The black horse. By Tessa Pullan, 1977

Vision Park in Histon: Shadow Figures. By Helaine Blumenfeld	Spillars (Station Road): Ceres, 1930s. Currently obscured by hoardings, but you can see it on the Beacon Project page.

Memorials

Hills Road War memorial. By Robert Tait McKenzie, 1922. A soldier returns home. Descendents of the model still live in Cambridge	Trumpington War memorial. By Eric Gill, 1921, with 8 names added by David Kindersley

Retail

Grafton Centre bus stop: Moonstone, Arrows and Obelisk by Peter Logan, 1996	Cambridge Retail Park, Newmarket road	Beehive centre: The iron honeycomb

Public/Residential

Parkside swimming pool (inside): The Diver. By Esther Joseph	Parkside swimming pool (outside): The Swimmers. Designed by Lady Betty Rea, made by John Mills. 1966	Fisher Hall: Talos. By Michael Ayrton. 1950s. Erected on the completion of Lion Yard and Fisher House
Magdalen Street /Chesterton Road junction. By Michael Fairfax, 2001. Bronze engraved column carving of archaeological layers	Bridge Street: Bronze flower path. By Michael Fairfax, 2001. Embedded in pavement	Law court, East Road. By Colin Rose, 2005.
Newmarket Road Park and Ride: Cambridge Jubilee Cycleway, 2002	All Saints Garden cross, 1882. The Church of All Saints was demolished in 1865 (rebuilt on Jesus Lane)	Perne Road, Cambridge Districts Scout Headquarters: Baden Powell. The building was opened in 1957

Eastbrook: The Cambridge Sculpture. By Michael Dan Archer, 2003. "The cast iron represents the ancient Neolithic standing stones and legends such as Gog and Magog. The granite comes from Quanzhou in Fujian province, China. It is called Tiger skin because of its patterning."	Sussex Street: A lamp standard added in 1932 when the street was widened. The inscription reads "Sidney Sussex college and Cambridge City Council Pedestrianisation 1992"	Cambridge Regional College, Kings Hedges Road

Gt St Mary's: Cambridge: historic core. By Vernon McElroy, 2002. With braille.	Gt St Mary's: Cambridge: tourist centre. By Vernon McElroy, 2002. With braille.	Queens Road Cambridge: historic core. By Vernon McElroy, 2005.

The Greshams (Parkers Piece): Grasshopper. By Matthew Lane Sanderson, 2006. Thomas Gresham (1500s) adopted the grasshopper motif as a reminder of his humble beginnings. Steel. 10ft high.	St Faith's school gate. By Matthew Lane Sanderson, 2006. Rainforest theme.	Cows. Beside 29 Trumpington Rd.

Madingley Rd/Bulstrode Gardens	DNA cycle path, 2007	DNA cycle path, 2007

the Orangery (Long Road), 2007	Between the Lines (Fisher Square). By Peter Randall-Page, 2007. Made from a granite glacial boulder.

Hobson's Conduit

Nine Wells: Hobson's Conduit monument, 1861. In 1614, Thomas Hobson and others provided the money to pay for a new water supply. The water came from Nine Wells	Trumpington Road: Hobson's Conduit fountain. 1610. Named after Thomas Hobson of "Hobson's Choice" fame. The Market fountain, also known as Hobson's Conduit, was moved to the Lensfield Road conduit head in 1855/6	Market Square: Fountain. Installed in 1855/6. It weathered so badly much of it had to be pulled down in 1953 (see ref).

Cherry Hinton Park

Tumblers	A metal sculpture in foliage.	The Picnic. By Tina Carter and Peter Landbeater, 2000. In the car park.

In the car park.

Addenbrooke's

Mother and Child. By Christopher Marvell, 1987. Just inside Rosie Maternity department	Family Group. By Daphne Hardy Henrion, 1994. Between A&E and the main entrance.	Futurian. By Michael Kenny, 1989

The Taichi Arch - Gate of Health. By Ju Ming. Installed in 2007

Scott Polar Research Institute

Youth. By Lady Kathleen Scott (Captain Scott's widow) in 1920. The model was A.W. Lawrence, younger brother of Lawrence of Arabia and later Cambridge Professor of Classical Archaeology. (information from SPRI)	Robert Falcon Scott. By Lady Scott.	try-put. A relic of the Antarctic seal industry

Inukshuk meaning "Cairn in the shape of a man", built by Inuits to guide Caribou. From Baffin Island. Installed in 1979

Notes

Access

• University/College - Some pieces are visible from public thoroughfares (though you may need to peep through archways). Many of the colleges are open to the public, although access may not be free. Opening hours vary greatly so do check in advance. There are further restrictions during exam time.
• Addenbrooke's Hospital - Some Art within Addenbrooke's is only visible from certain wards. Note that it is a working hospital, and looking too long at Art might be viewed as suspicious by the security guards.

Exclusions

• Cambridge sundials and Cambridgeshire dovecots - publications exist devoted to them. The shape WALKS page has a tour of clocks and sundials.
• pub signs
• dustbins
• most logos/trademarks
• most memorials and milestones
• decorative masonry - gargoyles, balustrades, fascades
• topiary, graffiti
• private gardens - there's Jeffrey Archer's garden, but in general garden gnomes etc should remain private

Other lists

• Cambridge Public Art Audit
• National Inventory of War Memorials
• Public Monuments and Sculpture Association
• Ancient Monuments Society
• Cambridge Preservation Society
• Cambridge Sculpture Trails

Selected Artists

• Helaine Blumenfeld (1938-) - currently lives near Cambridge. See her site
• Eric Gill (1882-1940) - a famous and controversial sculptor, expert in letter cutting. He designed the Gill Sans font.
• Michael Fairfax (1953-) - see his site.
• David Kindersley (1915-1995) - started as an apprentice to Eric Gill in 1934. In 1945 he moved to Cambridge, establishing his first fully-fledged lettercutting workshop. The Cardozo Kindersley Workshop is located in Cambridge.
• John Robinson - in the early 1970s Robinson began the UNIVERSE SERIES of SYMBOLIC SCULPTURE, which now comprises over one hundred works. See his site.
• Matthew Lane Sanderson - Lives near Cambridge. See his site.

Acknowledgements