[1] It is in the neo-Georgian style and was described by the architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as the "best piece of pre-war urban planning at Cambridge."

The original line of the street dates back to at least the Medieval era.

However, the buildings on the street today were planned as a mixed-use development for Sidney Sussex College and built during 1928–39, just before World War II.

On the corner with Sidney Street is the tall and distinctive Grade II listed Montagu House.

[4] There is a covered bridge linking the two sides of the street.