172 



The Growth of Cambridge 



the clay strip, largely occupied by the open commons, streets of small 

 houses appear on the western portion of the Higher Terrace. The move- 

 ment of population to the periphery, and the reUef of congestion in the 

 central parishes, are clearly shown by the Census Returns for the nineteenth 

 century (Fig. 42). The 185 1 Returns attribute the decrease in Great St Mary's 



20 



15 



|io 



o 







1801 II 21 31 41 



51 61 71 

 Fig. 42. 



81 91 1901 II 21 31 



Population curves of two central parishes, showing decline in numbers due to 

 movement into the suburbs. (N.B. The break in the curve between 1911 and 1921 

 indicates a change in the parish boundaries.) 



parish to "the recent destruction of houses on Market HUl by fire and 

 not rebuilt"; while, in the parish oi the Holy Sepulchre, "the decrease of 

 population is caused by the demolition of a number of old and unsafe 

 tenements". The peripheral growth is seen in the population curve for 

 the parish of St Andrew the Less (Fig. 43), where, says the Census 

 Returns, "the marked increase is due to the erection of pubUc buildings 

 and the enlargement of the Colleges and therefore an increase in the 

 number of labourers and mechanics. Several streets of small houses have 

 been built." 



The growth of the town in size and numbers in the first half of the 

 nineteenth century was probably due largely to the progress of medicine 

 and sanitation. Cambridge had suffered in the past repeatedly and severely 

 from pestilence. The increase in University numbers and the building 

 activity of the Colleges added to the prosperity of the town, and there also 



