Elizabethan extravaganza - Great St. Mary's Church

Sat 13 September 2014

Great St. Mary's Church

Great St Mary’s is organising a unique Elizabethan extravaganza as part of the Open Cambridge weekend, to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Elizabeth I’s royal visit to Cambridge.

On Saturday 13 September, visitors can enjoy Tudor music, food and craft activities and a Tudor market in Great St Mary’s church yard in the morning. At 1.30pm the Virgin Queen will arrive and invite her loyal subjects to join the parade of time-travelling Elizabethans as they walk through the centre of Cambridge. The royal procession will visit historic colleges and enjoy music, dance and the day will end with a special evensong in King’s College Chapel.

The whole pageant is free and has been supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is one of the highlights of this year’s Open Cambridge, a special weekend in September when Cambridge unlocks its secrets and welcomes you through the doors of some of its most beautiful and intriguing places.

Elizabethan Pageant – Saturday 13 September
• 11am-1.30pm: Tudor crafts, baking and market traders at Great St Mary’s.
• 1.30pm: Meet the Queen as she emerges from Great St Mary’s with a fanfare and visits the Tudor market. Follow the parade to St John’s College along Trinity Street.
• 2pm: Follow the parade to St John’s College along Trinity Street.
• 2.30pm: The procession arrives at St John’s to hear about Elizabeth’s great-grandmother in the chapel, or visit the Old Library to see the exhibition of Tudor treasures.
• 3.15pm: Fanfare and speech about Elizabeth’s illustrious father, Henry VIII, at Trinity Great Gate. The procession returns to Great St Mary’s and market square.
• 3.45pm: Elizabeth meets the mayor, Cllr Gerri Bird at the Guildhall.
• 4pm: The royal party arrives at King’s College gates and walks to the Chapel, where visitors can enter this magnificent building free of charge with the Queen as she is greeted by organ music and a special sung evensong.
• 5.15pm: The Queen departs to her lodgings and says goodbye to her subjects at King’s College Chapel.
Feel free to drop in for part of the day or follow the royal procession all afternoon. All timings are approximate.

September when Cambridge unlocks its secrets and welcomes you through the doors of some of its most beautiful and intriguing places.

Cost: free