The tailor’s shop at address “1 Silver Street”, on the corner of Silver Street and Trumpington Street, was at one time owned by Queens’ College. On 1868 September 29, the site was leased for 99 years to the architect William Milner Fawcett (1832–1908), who demolished the buildings on the site, and in 1869 erected a new building providing a home for his family and offices for his practice on the upper floors, with a shop on the ground floor. The shop frontage was decorated with emblems of Queens’ College, the owners of the freehold.
The most obvious reference to Queens’ College are the college arms beside the former main door to the shop, on the corner.
These arms share the same error as the arms in Old Court: the red and white horizontal bars in the first quarter have their colours reversed compared to the correct rendering.
Other emblems referring to Queens’ College can be seen in the corbels supporting the projecting windows of the upper floors, as shown below. It has been suggested that the dragon design occasionally seen amongst the emblems of Queens’ College might be a reference to St Margaret, one of the college’s patron saints.
The Boar’s Head badge of Queens’ College.
It is erroneously depicted with cross and crozier reversed.
The Boar’s Head badge on a shield.
Again, it is erroneously depicted with cross and crozier reversed.
The intials WMF of the architect William Milner Fawcett.
The date 1869 of the building.
It is not known exactly when this site came into the possession of Queens’ College, but it must have been before 1571, because, from that date onwards, whenever Queens’ leased out the site and building, it included in the lease a proviso that one room in the house must be reserved for ever as lodgings for the rector of St Botolph’s Church (just opposite). However, this provision was not included in the 1868 lease to William Fawcett, and so from that time onwards there was no accommodation reserved for the rector. This was not a practical issue for so long as the rector was also an unmarried Fellow of Queens’, as such a person had accommodation in the college. But, during the 20th century, that ceased being the case, and accommodation for the rector and potential family became a problem, which was eventually solved by the diocese providing a rectory house at 1a Summerfield.
William Milner Fawcett was a prolific local architect. He was County Architect from 1861 and Ely Diocesan Surveyor from 1871. For Queens’ College he undertook two projects: in 1875, he restored the Queens’ Lane frontage of Old Court, and in 1885–6 he designed Friars’ Building. Also in 1875, he designed the new Master’s Lodge for St Catherine’s College. He is now believed to be responsible for the row of shops 16–21 Silver Street (previously thought to be by R.R. Rowe). Towards the end of his life he appears to have been in partnership with Thomas Dinham Atkinson (1864–1948).
His mother was Isabella née Farish (1800–66). One of her brothers was named William Milner Farish (1802–63), and that might have been the source of the forenames for William Milner Fawcett. In the case of William Milner Farish, the middle name “Milner” might have been derived from family respect for Isaac Milner (1750–1820), President of Queens’ College from 1788, who was closely involved with Professor William Farish (1758–1837), uncle of William Milner Farish and Isabella, in the evangelical movement that swept Cambridge in the late 18th century. Another brother of Isabella was Henry Farish (1799–1856), Fellow of Queens’ 1824–30; and another uncle was Charles Farish (1766–1824), Fellow of Queens’ from 1792.
On 1903 September 29, the lease of the site was transferred from Fawcett to James Neal, Tailor, who traded from the shop. Neal died in March 1928, but the company continued trading under his name, until they were taken over by Ede & Ravenscoft in 1977.
On 9 April 1944 the freehold of the 1 Silver Street site was sold by Queens’ College to St Catherine’s College.
Links
Entry in the National Heritage List for England.
Further reading
1922: A little history of S. Botolph’s, Cambridge, by Arthur Worthington Goodman, pp. 104–8. (OCLC 776794335)