Cambridge University is not a university per se (as we in Canada understand a university to be). But rather it is a loose collection of independent colleges, each with its own history, regulations, finances, and governing practices. The official term is Cambridge is a collegiate university. There are currently 31 colleges that are a part of the Cambridge conglomerate, and Sidney Sussex College is one of these.
I happened to really like wandering this particular college. There was something very eclectic and mysterious about how the college presented itself. It has secrets, but you can find them if you are looking. Their own website doesn’t hold back when describing its history:
It [the college] has also found time to produce soldiers, political cartoonists, alchemists, spies, murderers, ghosts and arsonists as well as media personalities, film and opera directors, a Premiership football club chairman, best-selling authors, the man who introduced soccer to Hungary, the 1928 Grand National winner and, so they say, Sherlock Holmes. – From Sidney Sussex History [link removed]
In the realm of urban myth/fact, as I wandered, I speculated on where the heck Oliver Cromwell’s head was buried. And, how did the students of Sidney Sussex manage to create a pond deep enough for everyone to punt to the May ball… without damaging the grounds. Where did the water go after? Hopefully they didn’t accidentally damage “the head,” wherever it may be buried.
