Clever students at one of the few Cambridge University colleges not set on the river have created a 200m canal to allow them to punt to their May Ball.
Students from the breathtakingly beautiful 400-year-old Sidney Sussex spent a week building the canal, which is filled with 88,000 gallons of water.
Guests at the May Ball which, appropriately, had a Venetian theme, were able to punt their way to the event.
The canal cost £5000 to build and was constructed with scaffolding and plastic lining.
Punting along the River Cam is one of the delights that await visitors to the city of Cambridge. A punt is a narrow flat-bottomed boat that resembles a Venetian gondola with the curve removed. Punts seat up to four adults while a fifth person stands at the rear and propels the boat with a long pole. The journey takes you past some of the stunning buildings of Cambridge University.
The head of former English dictator Oliver Cromwell was buried in the grounds of Sidney Sussex College in 1960. He was posthumously executed, hanged in chains and beheaded in 1661 on the orders of King Charles II. Cromwell was once a student at the college.
Cambridge students create 200m canal so they can punt at their May Ball
By Daily Mail Reporter
17th June 2010
Daily Mail
Students at one of the few Cambridge University colleges not set on the river have created a 200m canal to allow them to punt at their May Ball.
A team of undergraduates at Sidney Sussex spent a week building the incredible canal, which held a massive 88,000 gallons of water and snaked through the 16th Century college courts.
Guests at last night's May Ball, which had a Venetian theme, were even able to punt along the fake waterway, which flowed into a huge lake in the centre of the ancient college.
Little Venice: Students at Sidney Sussex college at Cambridge created a 200m canal for their Venetian themed May Ball
Denver Sheridan, 21, president of the May Ball committee, said: 'Other colleges in Cambridge have punting along the river, but we can't do that so we decided to build our own waterway.
'We thought it would be lovely to be able to actually punt through our college. It has taken a year to plan and a week to build but we're really pleased with the result.'
Students spent £5,000 making the U-shaped canal, which was constructed with scaffolding and plastic lining.
Phd undergraduates Adam Lawrance-Owen and Rob Weatherup spent months designing the river and it took a team of 10 more than a week to build.
Eight punts were on hand last night to chauffeur the 1200 guests down the canal to the massive 20 metre by 20 metre lake, which took up entire court in front of the dining hall.
Before: The Chapel Court at Sidney Sussex as it normally looks
After: Students spent £5,000 and one week creating the canal, which was so deep that guests were able to punt down it
'The rest of the college was decorated to look like historical Venice and the punts dropped guests at pretend ports along the canal,' Denver said.
'We thought the theme of Venice with its gondolas would be a bit of an unusual twist on Cambridge punting.'
Tickets for the ball cost £110 and guests were treated to lavish Italian food, chocolate fountains and continental cakes.
The canal was dismantled today.
Sidney Sussex, which was built in 1596, lies in the centre of Cambridge and has 350 undergraduates.
Punting along the River Cam in Cambridge, past King's College
It has produced five Nobel Prize winners and famous alumni include Oliver Cromwell, TV presenter Carol Vorderman, politician David Owen, former MPs John Patten and Ian Lang and even Sherlock Holmes.
Oliver Cromwell's head
In 1661, Oliver Cromwell's body was exhumed from Westminster Abbey, and was subjected to the ritual of a posthumous execution, as were the remains of John Bradshaw and Henry Ireton. (The body of Cromwell's daughter was allowed to remain buried in the Abbey.) Symbolically, this took place on 30 January; the same date that Charles I had been executed. His body was hanged in chains at Tyburn. Finally, his disinterred body was thrown into a pit, while his severed head was displayed on a pole outside Westminster Hall until 1685. Ironically the Cromwell vault was then used as a burial place for Charles II’s illegitimate descendants. Afterwards the head changed hands several times, including the sale in 1814 to a man named Josiah Henry Wilkinson, before eventually being buried in the grounds of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, in 1960.
dailymail.co.uk
Students from the breathtakingly beautiful 400-year-old Sidney Sussex spent a week building the canal, which is filled with 88,000 gallons of water.
Guests at the May Ball which, appropriately, had a Venetian theme, were able to punt their way to the event.
The canal cost £5000 to build and was constructed with scaffolding and plastic lining.
Punting along the River Cam is one of the delights that await visitors to the city of Cambridge. A punt is a narrow flat-bottomed boat that resembles a Venetian gondola with the curve removed. Punts seat up to four adults while a fifth person stands at the rear and propels the boat with a long pole. The journey takes you past some of the stunning buildings of Cambridge University.
The head of former English dictator Oliver Cromwell was buried in the grounds of Sidney Sussex College in 1960. He was posthumously executed, hanged in chains and beheaded in 1661 on the orders of King Charles II. Cromwell was once a student at the college.
Cambridge students create 200m canal so they can punt at their May Ball
By Daily Mail Reporter
17th June 2010
Daily Mail
Students at one of the few Cambridge University colleges not set on the river have created a 200m canal to allow them to punt at their May Ball.
A team of undergraduates at Sidney Sussex spent a week building the incredible canal, which held a massive 88,000 gallons of water and snaked through the 16th Century college courts.
Guests at last night's May Ball, which had a Venetian theme, were even able to punt along the fake waterway, which flowed into a huge lake in the centre of the ancient college.
Little Venice: Students at Sidney Sussex college at Cambridge created a 200m canal for their Venetian themed May Ball
Denver Sheridan, 21, president of the May Ball committee, said: 'Other colleges in Cambridge have punting along the river, but we can't do that so we decided to build our own waterway.
'We thought it would be lovely to be able to actually punt through our college. It has taken a year to plan and a week to build but we're really pleased with the result.'
Students spent £5,000 making the U-shaped canal, which was constructed with scaffolding and plastic lining.
Phd undergraduates Adam Lawrance-Owen and Rob Weatherup spent months designing the river and it took a team of 10 more than a week to build.
Eight punts were on hand last night to chauffeur the 1200 guests down the canal to the massive 20 metre by 20 metre lake, which took up entire court in front of the dining hall.
Before: The Chapel Court at Sidney Sussex as it normally looks
After: Students spent £5,000 and one week creating the canal, which was so deep that guests were able to punt down it
'The rest of the college was decorated to look like historical Venice and the punts dropped guests at pretend ports along the canal,' Denver said.
'We thought the theme of Venice with its gondolas would be a bit of an unusual twist on Cambridge punting.'
Tickets for the ball cost £110 and guests were treated to lavish Italian food, chocolate fountains and continental cakes.
The canal was dismantled today.
Sidney Sussex, which was built in 1596, lies in the centre of Cambridge and has 350 undergraduates.
Punting along the River Cam in Cambridge, past King's College
It has produced five Nobel Prize winners and famous alumni include Oliver Cromwell, TV presenter Carol Vorderman, politician David Owen, former MPs John Patten and Ian Lang and even Sherlock Holmes.
Oliver Cromwell's head
In 1661, Oliver Cromwell's body was exhumed from Westminster Abbey, and was subjected to the ritual of a posthumous execution, as were the remains of John Bradshaw and Henry Ireton. (The body of Cromwell's daughter was allowed to remain buried in the Abbey.) Symbolically, this took place on 30 January; the same date that Charles I had been executed. His body was hanged in chains at Tyburn. Finally, his disinterred body was thrown into a pit, while his severed head was displayed on a pole outside Westminster Hall until 1685. Ironically the Cromwell vault was then used as a burial place for Charles II’s illegitimate descendants. Afterwards the head changed hands several times, including the sale in 1814 to a man named Josiah Henry Wilkinson, before eventually being buried in the grounds of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, in 1960.
dailymail.co.uk
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