- Parker's Piece
Parker's Piece is a perfectly flat and very roughly square green common located near the centre of
Cambridge ,England . The two main walking and cycling paths across it run diagonally, and the single lamp-post at the junction is commonly known asReality Checkpoint .The grass is well manicured and it is known today chiefly as a spot for picnics and games of football and
cricket , and serves as the games field for nearbyParkside Community College . Fairs tend to be held on the rougher ground ofMidsummer Common .History
Before 1613, the site of Parker's Piece was owned by Trinity College. In that year, the college exchanged the land - at that time located well outside the town - with the town of Cambridge for the majority of Garret Hostel Green, an island on the
River Cam , and the site of the current Wren Library, Trinity College. It was subsequently named after a college cook, Edward Parker, who obtained the rights to farm on it.In 1838, a feast for 15,000 guests was held on Parker's Piece to celebrate the coronation of Queen Victoria.
As a
cricket ground , Parker's Piece was used for first-class matches from 1817 to 1864. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/375_f.html List of first-class matches on Parker's Piece] ]In the 19th century, football was also commonly played on this ground, as is described in the following quotation from Dr. G.E. Corrie, Master of Jesus College (1838): "In walking with Willis we passed by Parker's Piece and there saw some forty Gownsmen playing at football. The novelty and liveliness of the scene were amusing!" [ [http://www.cuafc.org/history.php C.U.A.F.C. History] ]
In the nineteenth century it was one of the principal sports grounds used by students at the
University of Cambridge and the site of numerousVarsity Match es against Oxford.Rules of Football
Parker's Piece has a special place in the history of modern football games, as it was here that the
Cambridge Rules of 1848 were first put into practice. They were very influential in the creation of the modern rules of Association Football, drawn up inLondon byThe Football Association in 1863. A plaque has been mounted at Parker's Piece bearing the following inscription: [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cambridgeshire/content/articles/2006/06/09/cambridge_football_rules_parkers_piece_feature.shtml BBC Cambridgeshire - Football - Cambridge Rules] ]References
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