19 June 2014
Building Stones of Cambridge: A walking tour around the historic city centre
Organised by:
SCI's Cambridge & Great Eastern Group and RSC
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Downing Street, Cambridge
Registration Closed
This event is no longer available for registration.
Share this event
Synopsis
Led by Dr Nigel Woodcock, Department of Earth Sciences, Cambridge
The buildings of Cambridge are world famous, both for their architectural splendour and for their historical record of university and town development over 750 years. Walking amongst the city-centre colleges, it is easy to imagine their mellow stone buildings as they were in the Middle Ages, and to visualise the human history that they witnessed. Yet this same stone records another, much longer, history. The common building materials in Cambridge originated in the geological Middle Ages, the Mesozoic Era of one or two hundred million years ago. Older, Late Palaeozoic, rocks are not uncommon, particularly as facing and paving materials. Yet older slates from the Early Palaeozoic, four or five hundred million years old, roof many Cambridge buildings. Viewed with some basic geological knowledge, all these can rocks reveal the natural events which formed them, provide snapshots in the long geological history of Britain, and enrich a purely architectural view of the fine buildings they form.
This walking tour takes in a wide variety of buildings and rock types in a compact area of the city centre. The route involves about a mile and a half of walking.
Programme
Accessibility Grants
SCI accessibility grants are available to support SCI members with disabilities, long term health conditions, those who require a carer, and members who are nursing parents to attend SCI events. Download an application form to apply for a grant.
Venue and Contact
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EQ.
John O’Toole
Email: john.otoole9@btopenworld.com
Fees
Tickets: £5 (very limited numbers)
Become an SCI Member and save on this and future events
See Membership OptionsSign up as an Event Member to join this event. SCI Full or Student Members receive discounts on event registrations
Booking Process/Deadlines
CPD Info
SCI Members attending this meeting are able to claim CPD points.
Additional Info
Exhibition and Sponsorship
An exhibition will take place alongside the conference for companies and related organisations who may wish to exhibit. Please email conferences@soci.org for further information and prices. Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.