Cambridge Venues

While the International Conference of National Trusts is based in 2015 at Cambridge University the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be spent in the field using National Trust properties as the meeting venues.

We thought it would help you to have a map and links to background information about all of the venues.

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These field visits will add greatly to the overall experience. In addition we provide some suggestions for nearby NT properties that you may want to visit.

CONFERENCE VENUES:
West Road Concert Hall
West Road Concert Hall is one of Cambridge’s premiere music venues. Ideally situated only minutes’ walk from the famous Cambridge Backs and King’s College, it is renowned for its superb acoustic qualities.

Kings College
King’s College was founded in 1441 by Henry VI (1421-71) and is one of the 31 colleges in the University of Cambridge. King’s has an outstanding academic record and is also world-famous for its Chapel and choir. The Christmas Eve service from King’s (A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols) is broadcast to millions around the world.

Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill
Jacobean-style house with gardens and a working watermill
A passion for tradition and impressing guests inspired one man to transform a run-down country house and desolate landscape.

At the age of 30, the future Lord Fairhaven began to create his first home. Wanting to inspire and surprise visitors, he created a spectacular garden with planting for all seasons and a cosy house in which to entertain. Life revolved around horse racing and shooting, and guests enjoyed 1930s luxury.

Inside: fine furnishings, books, paintings, silver and rare clocks give a feeling of opulence.

Outside: 46 hectares (114 acres) offer vibrant colour, delicious scents and the simple pleasures of nature.

Ickworth
A Georgian Italianate palace in an idyllic English landscape
A grand place for a truly entertaining day out.

Ickworth’s impressive Rotunda – a magnificent showcase commmissioned by the 4th Earl of Bristol to house his priceless treasures collected on tours around Europe in the 18th-century – is an architectural marvel. For 200 years, the eccentric, and sometimes infamous, Hervey family added to the treasures inside and out, also creating the earliest Italianate garden in England. The exquisite craftmanship of the finest Hugenot silversmiths is breathtaking, and you can follow the family’s history through outstanding portraits by Gainsborough, Hogarth and Reynolds.

After walking in the tranquil parkland, experience 1930s domestic service in the restored servants’ basement, sharing the real stories and memories of former staff who kept this country estate running.

Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds
The only surviving Regency playhouse in Britain
Theatre Royal is one of Britain’s most significant theatre buildings and the only surviving Regency playhouse in the country.

The recently restored Grade I listed theatre offers you an authentic 19th century theatre-going experience, combined with contemporary bar and restaurant for the 21st century theatre-goer.

The theatre presents a vibrant, year-round programme of drama, music, dance and light entertainment, featuring many of this country’s leading companies and performers. It also offers a wide-ranging educational and community-based programme of actvities, tours and heritage teas.

You will find regular productions and rehearsed readings of plays written at the time when the theatre first opened its doors – the only theatre in the world capable of presenting this repertoire in an authentic and appropriate setting.

Please come and visit us and we look forward to welcoming you to Bury St Edmunds and its Regency jewel.

Wimpole Estate
A working estate still guided by the seasons, with an impressive mansion and Home Farm
The mansion, at the heart of this estate, is evidence of Elsie Bambridge’s success in creating a home.

Intimate rooms contrast with beautiful and unexpected Georgian interiors, including Soane’s breathtaking Yellow Drawing Room and wonderful plunge bath. The fascinating basement corridor offers a glimpse into life below stairs.

Stroll around the colourful parterre garden and wander through the Pleasure Grounds to the walled garden, abundant with fruit, vegetables and herbaceous borders.

Home Farm contrasts the traditional farmyard with the noisy modern piggery and cattle sheds.

Stride out across the landscape park, among the rare-breed cattle, and imagine the previous owners planning their visions of grand avenues and spectacular vistas.

Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve
The National Trust’s oldest nature reserve, and England’s most famous fen
Wicken Fen, one of Europe’s most important wetlands, supports an abundance of wildlife. There are more than 8,500 species, including a spectacular array of plants, birds and dragonflies.

The raised boardwalk and lush grass droves allow easy access to a lost landscape of flowering meadows, sedge and reedbeds, where you can encounter rarities such as hen harriers, water voles and bitterns.

Wicken Fen Vision, an ambitious landscape-scale conservation project, is opening up new areas of land to explore. Our grazing herds of Highland cattle and Konik ponies are helping to create a diverse range of new habitats.

OTHER PLACES TO VISIT AROUND CAMBRIDGE:
Of course we highly recommend that you plan to stay longer in England to really get the most benefit from your travels.
Sutton Hoo
Awe-inspiring Anglo-Saxon royal burial site
This hauntingly beautiful 255 acre estate, with far-reaching views over the river Deben, is home to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time.

Walk around the ancient burial mounds and discover the incredible story of the ship burial of an Anglo-Saxon king and his treasured possessions.

Come face to face with your ancestors and explore our award-winning exhibition, the full-size reconstruction of the burial chamber, stunning replica treasures and original finds from one of the mounds, including a prince’s sword.

Look inside the Edwardian house or enjoy the beautiful seasonal colours on our estate walks.

Lavenham Guildhall
Intriguing stories
Set in the lovely village of Lavenham, the Guildhall of Corpus Christi tells the story of one of the best-preserved and wealthiest towns in Tudor England.

When you step inside this fine timber-framed building, you’ll feel the centuries melt away. You can discover the stories of the people who have used the Guildhall through its almost-500 years at the heart of its community, and learn about the men and women who have shaped the fortunes of this unique village.

We have a wonderful array of gifts and local produce in our gift shop and a varierty of homemade tasty treats in our beamed tea-room for you to enjoy.

After, you can explore the picturesque streets of Lavenham, lined with shops, galleries and more than 320 buildings of historic interest.

Dunwich Heath and Beach
A precious landscape on the Suffolk coast
Tucked away on the Suffolk coast, Dunwich Heath offers you peace and quiet and a true sense of being at one with nature.

A rare and precious habitat, the Heath is home to special species such as the Dartford warbler, nightjar, woodlark, ant-lion, adders and much more.

Quiet and serene, wild and dramatic, this is an inspiring visit, whatever the time of year. From July to September, the Heath is alive with colour; a patchwork of pink and purple heather and coconut-scented yellow gorse is an unmissable experience.

See also our two posts: What to do after Cambridge and Don’t Forget National Trust’s London.