n, London & North-Western and Midland lines. Pop. (1901) 38,379.
It lies in a flat plain at the southern border of the low Fen country,
at an elevation of only 30 to 50 ft. above sea-level. The greater part
of the town is situated on the east (right) bank of the Cam, a tributary
of the Ouse, but suburbs extend across the river. To the south and west
the slight hills bordering the fenland rise gently. The parliamentary
borough of Cambridge returns one member. The municipal borough is under
a mayor, 12 aldermen, and 36 councillors. Area, 3233 acres.

History

Cambridge University[1] shares with that of Oxford the first place among
such institutions in the British empire. It is the dominating factor in
the modern importance of the town, and it is therefore necessary to
outline the historical conditions which led to its establishment. The
geographical situation of Cambridge, in its present appearance
possessing little attraction or advantage, calls nevertheless for first
consideration. Cambridge, in fact, owed its growth to its position on a
natural line of communication between the east and the midlands of
England, flanked on the one hand by the deep forests which covered the
uplands, on the other by the unreclaimed fens, then desolate and in
great part impenetrable. The importance of this highway may be judged
from the number of early earthworks in the vicinity of Cambridge; and
the Castle Hill, at the north side of the present town (near the west
bank of the river), is perhaps a British work. Roman remains discovered
in the same locality give evidence of the existence of a small town or
village at the junction of roads; the name of _Camboritum_ is usually
attached to it, but without certainty. The modern name of Cambridge has
no connexion with this. The present form of the name has usually been
derived from a corruption of the original name Grantebrycge or
Grantabridge (Skeat); but Mr Arthur Gray points out that there is no
documentary evidence for this corruption in the shape of such probable
intermediate forms as Grantebrig or Crantebrig. On the other hand, he
brings evidence to show that the name Cantebrig, though not applied to
the whole town, was very early given to that quarter of it near the
Cante brig, i.e. the bridge over the Cante (the ward beyond the Great
Bridge was called "Parcelle of Cambridge" as late as 1340); in this
quarter, close to the bridge, Cambridge castle was built by the
Conqueror, and from