A Visit to Wittgenstein

This is a one-off Saturday event, in addition to Sunday's regular discussion.

We shall walk from Magdalene Bridge to Ascension Parish Burial Ground, which has been described as Britain's brainiest cemetery. Philosophers there include Wittgenstein, Elizabeth Anscombe, Peter Geach, the dazzling star F. P. Ramsey, and the sensible (but greatly admired by the Bloomsbury Group) G. E. Moore. Among the scientists are the astrophysicist A. S. Eddington and the nuclear physicist John Cockroft. There is also the anthropologist James George Frazer, author of The Golden Bough.

You can find information about the cemetery on the links given on this page:
https://rbphilo.com/ascension.html

We shall meet at Magdalene Bridge on Bridge Street, in the area in front of Prezzo and Cambridge Wine Merchants, on the right hand side of Bridge Street and just before the bridge as you head north out of Cambridge. I shall be there by 1.45 pm, and we shall set off at 2 (OK, maybe 2.05). We shall walk up Magdalene Street, Castle Street and Huntingdon Road. The lane to the cemetery, All Souls Lane, is on the left, just after the junction with Storey's Way. If you happen to arrive late, please do set off in pursuit.

We can return to town along Storey's Way, taking us past some of the grander mansions of Cambridge and the entrance to Churchill College. Just before that entrance, on the right hand side of the road, is number 76. It is now a hostel for the college, but it was the home of Wittgenstein's doctor and Wittgenstein died there. There is a high hedge in front of the house, but if we look through the gap for the entrance we shall see a blue plaque recording Wittgenstein's time there.

We can then continue to the end of Storey's Way and turn left into Madingley Road. Another house to note is 6 Madingley Road, which is set back from the road on the left hand side. It is now known as Marshall House and serves as the President's Lodge for Lucy Cavendish College. It was the home of the economist Alfred Marshall (who is also buried in the cemetery we are visiting - Plot 2, grave 2D 2 - and whose name is borne by the Economics Faculty Library on the Sidgwick Site) and his wife Mary Paley, also an economist and (unlike her husband) a proponent of education for women.

Practical notes

There are no places to buy refreshments on the way, so you may like to bring something with you. Some of us might repair to a café on our return.

The ground in the cemetery is uneven and may have small pits in it, so please take care. Walking around is at your own risk.