About England

     England (pronounced IPA: /ˈɪŋglənd/) (Old English: Englaland, Middle English: Engelond) is the largest and most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total population of the United Kingdom, whilst the mainland territory of England occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. Elsewhere, it is bordered by the North Sea, Irish Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and English Channel.

     England became a unified state during the 10th century and takes its name from the Angles, one of a number of Germanic tribes who settled in the territory during the 5th and 6th centuries. The capital city of England is London, which is the largest city in Great Britain, and the largest city in the European Union by most, but not all, measures.

     England ranks amongst the world's most influential and far-reaching centres of cultural development. It is the place of origin of both the English language and the Church of England, and English law forms the basis of the legal systems of many countries: in addition, London, the country's capital, was the centre of the British Empire, and the country was also the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. England was the first country in the world to become industrialised. England is home to the Royal Society, which laid the foundations of modern experimental science. England was the world's first parliamentary democracy and consequently many constitutional, governmental and legal innovations that had their origin in England have been widely adopted by other nations.

     The Kingdom of England was a separate state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union resulted in a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. With the Principality of Wales already in the English state. Great Britain is the term in use for the largest island in the British Isles, with the name's origins in the Celtic 'People of the Islands', or Pretani.

About Cambridge

     The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. It lies approximately 50 miles (80 km) north-northeast of London and is surrounded by a number of smaller towns and villages. It is also at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen.

     Cambridge is best known for the University of Cambridge, which includes the renowned Cavendish Laboratory, King's College Chapel, and the Cambridge University Library. The Cambridge skyline is dominated by the last two, along with the chimney of Addenbrooke's Hospital in the far south of the city and St John's College Chapel tower in the north. The city's name is pronounced /'keɪm.bɹɪdʒ/, as opposed to another Cambridge in Gloucestershire, England, which is pronounced /'kæm.bɹɪdʒ/.

     According to the 2001 census, the City's population was 108,863 (including 22,153 students). However, the population of the urban area, which includes parts of South Cambridgeshire district is estimated to be 130,000.

     Cambridge is well served by medical care, with several smaller medical centres dotted around the city, along with Addenbrooke's Hospital a learning and teaching hospital and one of the largest in the United Kingdom, also functioning as a centre for medical research.

     Great St Mary's Church has the status of being the "University Church". Many of the University colleges contain chapels that hold services according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, while the chapel of St Edmund's College is Roman Catholic. There is a mosque used by Muslim residents and students, an Orthodox synagogue (belonging to the university Jewish Society) and the Beth Shalom Reform synagogue.

     The city also has a number of theological colleges for training clergy for ordination into a number of denominations, with affiliations to both the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University.