For example, university officers must live within 20 miles of Great St Mary's[2] and undergraduates within three.

The latter chimes the "Cambridge Quarters" which were later used by the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament ("Big Ben").

The first mention of the church is a record of King John presenting Thomas de Chimeleye to the rectory in 1205.

[5] At the time, this fire was attributed to the Jewish population of the city, with the result that the synagogue was closed.

Martin Bucer, who influenced Thomas Cranmer's writing of the Book of Common Prayer, was buried there.

Under Queen Mary I, Bucer's corpse was burnt in the marketplace, but under Elizabeth I, the dust from the place of burning was replaced in the church and now lie under a brass floor plate in the south chancel.

[8] Great St Mary's stands in the Liberal Catholic tradition of the Church of England.

The bells were replaced in 1722 and in 1724, the Society of Cambridge Youths was formed to formalise the responsibility for ringing them.

It replaced an earlier instrument by Miller of Cambridge (one time organist of Great St Mary's) dating from 1869.

[8] To accommodate the large audiences that were present for special occasions, and in particular the University Sermon, attendance of which was compulsory, the galleries were added in 1735.