THE CAM 101 



Newton never saw. This garden and the new buildings 

 occupy a site bought in part from Jesus College in 1790 

 and in part from the town in the following year. When 

 Newton came up, and for a quarter of a century after- 

 wards, this site was covered by a congestion of small 

 tenements, those abutting on the river-side being for the 

 most part small ale-houses. In the middle of the last 

 century much of the food and the wood and reeds used 

 for firing came into Cambridge " up the Cam," and 

 numerous small " hythes " such as we can still see to-day 

 between the Magdalene Bridge and the northern side of 

 St. John's College were then conspicuous along the upper 

 reaches of the Cam, between Magdalene and St. John's 

 and above Queen's, where the great mills were, and 

 although for the most part put out of action, still are. 

 The towing horses of the barges were cast ofi after 

 passing Midsummer Common, and then the barges were 

 punted along the backs of the colleges by stout poles 

 called " spreads." In those days the bargee was a social 

 feature in the University, as readers of Thackeray's 

 " Codlingsby " will recall. 



In Mr. T. D. Atkinson's plan of Magdalene the houses 

 huddled on this narrow site were separated from the 

 College by a narrow pathway known as Salmon's Lane, 

 but one of Newton's colleagues has told me that Newton 

 used to say there were two lanes running parallel with 

 the river and two rows of tenements between them ; 

 after all, it is difficult to be incredulous about the over- 

 crowding of small tenements sixty-five years ago, but 

 one outstanding fact is that the corner house nearest to 

 the bridge was a more substantial building and sheltered 

 a well-known doctor of the town. 



Newton came of a country-gentry stock The family 

 fortune was based on the West Indies, and it suffered 

 the general decHne which accompanied the abolition of 



