Emmanuel United Reformed Church, Cambridge

Emmanuel United Reformed Church stands in Downing Place, Cambridge, on the corner with Downing Street. The building was once St Columba’s Presbyterian church, completed in 1891 to designs by John Macvicar Anderson in an Early English style. Its stone façade and tall lancet windows face a busy junction near the university’s historic Senate House. Inside, the refurbished interior now hosts a programme of Sunday worship, lunchtime music recitals and community events. A therapy centre and night-time drop-in run by Cambridge Street Pastors also share the space. The £3.3 million renovation restored original features while adapting the layout for modern use. The church is worth the journey for its layered history and the figures who shaped it. The congregation began in 1689 as a Presbyterian meeting in Green Street, moving here in 1891. Scottish architect Anderson created the present building, and the minister’s role included chaplaincy to Cambridge University’s Church of Scotland students. Notable worshippers included Michael Ramsey, later Archbishop of Canterbury, who attended as a child. Two missionaries honoured here, William Paton and Lesslie Newbigin, became leaders of the Church of South India. A plaque recalls Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson, biblical scholars known as the Westminster sisters. Visitors find a calm interior with exposed stonework and a central aisle leading to the communion table. Stained glass in the apse commemorates early leaders such as Joseph Hussey and John Greenwood. The refurbishment added flexible spaces for concerts, group therapy and community meals. Outside, Downing Place’s cobbled stretch links Senate House Passage to the main square. The church’s rededication in November 2021 marked the end of major building work and the start of a new phase of shared worship and service.