Skip to content
  • home
  • map
  • search
Capturing Cambridge
  • search
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Home
  • /
  • Projects
  • /
  • Centre Cambridge
  • /
  • Bridge Street
  • Back Forward
Gabled red brick buildings with tiled roofs surround a green courtyard with wooden picnic tables and stone paved paths.

Cambridge Union Building

Cambridge Union Society

History of the Union Society Cambridge

General information about the Cambridge Union can be found on Wikipedia.

Listed building 1331810

A brick Victorian building with gables and bay windows, partly covered in ivy, seen behind a tall iron railing and fence.

Cambridge Union

A sepia photograph of a vaulted writing room containing several octagonal tables and wooden chairs under large windows.

Cambridge Union

A black and white ink drawing depicting a chaotic scene of men in formal evening wear shouting and brawling at a committee.

A Debate at the Union, Harry A Moden


1942

On the night of 27th July 1942  a 50kg HE bomb penetrated a wall of the Union Debating Society’s first floor writing room causing much damage. Another HE bomb demolished a shed in the garden. (See Michael Bowyer Air Raid! pub. 1986)


1943

In 2020 Marinna recalled that as a little girl, when an evacuee living in Park Street, she would go to the corner of the street behind the Union on Saturday evenings where dances were held. The local children called it ‘Pennies From Heaven’ Corner because people would come out onto the balcony and throw coins.

Tags

  • bombing
  • Cambridge University
  • Listed building
  • world war two

Projects

  • Bridge Street

Share this article

Share onFacebook Share onBluesky

Contribute

Do you have any information about the people or places in this article? If so, then please let us know using the Contact page or by emailing capturingcambridge@museumofcambridge.org.uk.

Licence

The text on this page is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Listed Building data contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Bridge Street

14 Dolphin Lane, Melbourn

33 High Street, Berry House, Waterbeach

Icehouse, Old Rectory Drive, Dry Drayton

12 Bridge Street, The George Inn, Cambridge

5 Bridge Street

62 Bridge Street

29 Bridge Street / the Crow / the Tawbert

Site of Finch / Swann Hurrell Iron Foundry

15 – 16 Bridge Street

Warren’s Yard, Bridge Street

44 Bridge Street, Hobb’s Passage

36 Bridge Street (The Tabbard / The Marquis of Granby)

Master’s Lodge, St John’s College