From Roman crossing to riverside quarter
The riverside at Quayside has a history reaching back around two thousand years: a Roman-period river crossing nearby, a medieval trading port, reclaimed riverbank, a working dock, and now one of the city's six licensed punting stations.
A small Roman military camp is established on Castle Hill, overlooking the crossing of the River Cam. It is probably connected with Roman military activity around the revolt of Boudica in AD 60 and 61.
A settlement has developed around Castle Hill and the river crossing. The meeting of the crossing, the navigable river and the surrounding land routes was a major factor in Cambridge's early growth.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that a Danish army wintered at Cambridge. The town then came under Danish rule and developed as a military, administrative and trading centre.
Cambridge becomes an important inland port, linked to the North Sea by the Cam, the Great Ouse and the Wash. Overseas merchants use wharves in the riverside district known as the Holm, close to the present St Clement's Church. A medieval chronicle groups Cambridge with Norwich, Thetford and Ipswich as trading centres. A 2017 excavation report questions how early settlement reached this bank, placing it from about the mid-10th century.
A run of named wharves, including Cornhythe, Flaxhythe and Salthythe, lines the river bank from the common hythe near the Great Bridge. Read about the working river.
The King's Ditch, the boundary of the medieval town, is recut along a new route through what is now the Thompson's Lane area behind Quayside. A 2017 report dates the ditch's creation to probably the 12th century, and a 1574 map credits it to Henry III.
Wet riverside ground near Quayside is gradually reclaimed by laying down layers of material over earlier river silts. Read what the excavation found. On a larger plot nearby, reclamation seems to start in the 11th or 12th century.
The recut channel of the King's Ditch is filled in while St John's College owns the land on both sides, and the boundary returns to its earlier line. Existing structures are cleared and a new layout of riverside buildings follows.
The Pickerel Inn is traditionally dated to 1608 and is one of several claimants to the title of Cambridge's oldest pub.
Parliament creates the Conservators of the River Cam to keep the navigation open. Some accounts say 1702.
Brewers occupy a property on Thompson's Lane, adapting its buildings for brewing, storage and other commercial uses.
The current cast-iron Magdalene Bridge is built, replacing earlier wooden and stone crossings on the same spot. It is a Grade II listed structure today.
The railway reaches Cambridge and river trade collapses, though barges work on in dwindling numbers for decades.
Pleasure punts appear on the Cam, though sources differ on the year. How punting came to Cambridge.
The modern Quayside development is generally dated to 1989, the date on a commemorative stone that also carries Magdalene College's motto, Garde ta Foy. It stands on the site of a former working dock and its commercial buildings.
After two recorded incidents of people falling into the river while getting on or off punts, Cambridge City Council authorises a lockable gate across Quayside's high middle steps.
Quayside is one of six river stations licensed for punting by the Conservators of the River Cam, and home to several restaurants and bars along the water's edge.
Where the name comes from
The name records the working dock that once stood here, with its wharves and commercial buildings. When the trade ended is disputed. The railway badly damaged it after 1845, most commercial carrying had stopped by the First World War, and a council report of 2008 suggests trade at Quayside ceased about thirty years before that. Read how the sources differ. The buildings you see today are largely a modern development. The waterside role has lasted, though: the quay became a mooring point, and eventually a launch point for punts.
A bar called Punt Yard
The Punt Yard was a bar and restaurant at 6-8 Quayside. It officially opened on 25 November 2016 and was reported closed by February 2022. This website later adopted the Punt Yard name for its guide to Quayside and Cambridge punting.
What to look for
Magdalene Bridge
The single-span cast-iron bridge dates to 1823 and is Grade II listed. It carries Magdalene Street across the Cam, right above the punting station. Read the bridge's history.
The Magdalene motto stone
A large carved block records the date 1989 and bears Magdalene College's motto, Garde ta Foy, meaning "Keep Your Faith".
The gated river steps
Two sets of high, partial steps are built into the quay wall. A council safety report of 2008 suggested they were made for unloading high-sided boats when Quayside was a trading point. They stand well above the water, and after two recorded incidents of people falling into the river while getting on or off punts, the council authorised a lockable gate across the middle steps.
The Pickerel Inn
The Pickerel Inn stands at 30 Magdalene Street, a short walk across the bridge from Quayside. It is traditionally dated to 1608 and is one of several pubs claiming to be the oldest in Cambridge.
Go deeper
Follow the trade on the working river, meet the residents on who lived on Quayside, compare three old maps, or read what the Thompson's Lane dig found.
Who looks after Quayside
Responsibility for Quayside is shared. In a 2008 report, Cambridge City Council described itself as the freehold owner of Quayside, subject to its status as public highway, with Cambridgeshire County Council as the highway authority. The Conservators of the River Cam license punting on the river but, the report noted, not the landing stages themselves. Work at the river's edge also needed consent from the Conservators and the Environment Agency.
That is the position as the council described it in 2008. Arrangements may have changed since.
Sources
- Cambridge City Council, Historic Core Appraisal, The Historical Development of Cambridge. Used for the Roman camp and settlement, the river crossing, and the Danish army in 875.
- Victoria County History of Cambridgeshire, The city of Cambridge: Bridges. Used for the Great Bridge by 875 and the earlier bridges.
- Historic England, list entry 1331826, Magdalene Bridge, the Great Bridge. Used for the 1823 bridge and its Grade II listing.
- Richard Newman, 24 Thompson's Lane, Cambridge: An Archaeological Investigation, Cambridge Archaeological Unit. Used for the reclamation of the riverbank, the King's Ditch and the brewers.
- Cambridge City Council, Quayside Centre Steps, report and record of decision, 2008. Used for the river steps, the gate, the end of the river trade and who is responsible for Quayside.
- Cambridge City Council, Punting. Used for the six licensed punting stations.
- Victoria County History of Cambridgeshire, The city of Cambridge: Economic history. Used for the wharves, the Conservators and the railway.
- Craig Cessford, excavations at WYNG Gardens, Thompson's Lane, 2017. Used for the dating of early settlement, reclamation and the King's Ditch.
- Wikipedia, River Cam, drawing on Boyes and Russell, The Canals of Eastern England (1977). Used for the end of commercial carrying.
Sources checked October 2026. Dates for the Pickerel Inn and the Punt Yard bar are from secondary accounts and are worded with that in mind.
See how the history connects to a visit today
Today's punts launch from the same riverside that was once a working dock.