Parker's Piece
Parker's Piece is a flat, 25-acre green on the edge of central Cambridge, crossed by two diagonal paths. It is where the Cambridge Rules of football were first used, which helped shape the FA's first laws in 1863, and today it is the city's favourite spot for picnics, kickabouts and summer cricket.
Photos
Rodrigo Moulard
Football's birthplace
University students played football here in the 19th century, and the Cambridge Rules drawn up for these games fed into the Football Association's first laws, published in December 1863. A monument unveiled in 2018 carries the rules in several languages, so football fans should seek it out. A plaque placed in 2000 by a team of homeless footballers also marks the site. Between 1817 and 1864 the green also hosted 49 first-class cricket matches, and in 1838 a coronation feast for Queen Victoria was laid out here for 15,000 guests.
The name and the lamp post
The green is named after Edward Parker, a Trinity College cook who leased part of it from 1587. Trinity swapped the land with the town in 1613. Where the two main paths cross stands a lone lamp post nicknamed Reality Checkpoint, a long-standing Cambridge landmark and meeting point.
Using the green
On sunny days it fills with picnics and informal football, and league cricket is still played in the north-west corner. The building known as Hobbs Pavilion carries a blue plaque to cricketer Jack Hobbs. Coaches stop at Parkside, and the shops of the Grafton and Regent Street are a few minutes' walk away.
Highlights
- Where the Cambridge Rules of football were first used
- Reality Checkpoint lamp post
- 2018 football rules monument
- Cricket in the north-west corner
- Jack Hobbs blue plaque
Good to know
- Free, open public space.
- Long-distance and visitor coaches stop at Parkside, on the north-east side.
- Bigger fairs are usually held on Midsummer Common instead.
Frequently asked questions
Nearby
Sources: en.wikipedia.org