The lost Cambridge pub that once stood in city centre where students now graduate

Graduating students take photos outside Senate House at Cambridge University
-Credit: (Image: Joe Giddens/PA)


Cambridge is renowned for its historic city centre, where many of the buildings that tourists pose in front of belong to the university. One of the most iconic buildings on King's Parade is the Senate House, where university students graduate in special ceremonies throughout the year.

The building is imposing, with its neo-classical design towering over people walking and cycling past. Although its doors are opened throughout the year to graduating students, their guests, and academics, most of the time they are locked shut.

Before the Senate House was built, the site in central Cambridge served a very different purpose. In the 17th century, it was occupied by a now-lost pub, as well as houses, according to Capturing Cambridge.

The pub had an unusual name: The Devil's Tavern. As well as the usual food, drink, and lodgings that it offered to people, it also served an important transport function.

In the days long before railways or cars, the main means people had to get around the country was by horse and carriage. For the rich, this often meant their own luxurious carriages – for those less well-off, there were coaches.

The Devil's Tavern was a posting house for coaches that ran between Cambridge and London. It may also have served as a post office, since coaches were loaded up with letters and parcels as well as people.

However, the site was bought by an act of Parliament in June 1720, bringing an end to the days of the Devil's Tavern. The first stone for the Senate House was ceremonially laid in June 1722, and the building was completed by 1730.

Although the appearance and function of the Senate House initially appears to be drastically different from the Devil's Tavern, perhaps the two buildings were not so dissimilar. Both were places where people could finish one journey – graduating from university or getting off the coach in Cambridge – and start another – entering the world of work, or taking the coach to London.