Follow the brown signs

Saxon mermen in the smallest church in Cambridge

The tiny, tall-spired St Peter’s is tucked away in a quiet corner of Cambridge with ancient trees in the churchyard.

This simple building is a haven of tranquillity from the busy streets around it. It was originally built in the 11th-century, and traces of its Saxon past survive in the form of two lovely carved doorways and the stone font, decorated with four mermen grasping their split tails. Mermen may have an ancient link to St Peter, patron saint of fishermen.

The church was rebuilt in Georgian times, and is a simple, elegant gem of a building. There is a charming weathervane outside with the initials AP on it; these are said to be those of Andrew Perne, an 18th-century Dean of Ely.

With the homely domestic architecture of the neighbouring houses, including Kettle’s Yard Museum next door, and the quaint buildings of the Cambridge Folk Museum nearby, this corner of Cambridge has an almost rural feel, in contrast to the grandeur of the city’s more famous sights.

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