Parker's Piece
Creating My Cambridge invites you to compose your own pieces, songs, raps, poems, dramas, stories inspired by the stories about Parker's Piece, how it got its name, and all the sports and pastimes played there over the centuries.
To help your getting creative we have some historical information with an illustrated powepoint here:
http://www.creatingmycambridge.com/history-stories/7-parkers-piece/
Below, you'll find the very funny song about the feast which has been composed by the CBBC's Horrible Histories songwriter, Dave Cohen in collaboration with Helen Weinstein from Historyworks who has commissioned the piece and researched the content for the song, with some lovely lines about pickles, beef, puddings! This song is for all Cambridge children to enjoy singing in schools and in choirs. Enjoy!
On this page you will also find the track recorded with The Dowsing Sound Collective and singers by Historyworks for the piece entitled 'Reality Checkpoint - Parker's Piece' composed byAndrea Cockerton and 'Why We Ride' Composed by Kirsty Martin with Rowena Whitehead Performed by: ReSound
The Parker's Piece Feast
Commissioned by HistoryWorks For ‘Creating My Cambridge’
Recording and Scoring: Bethany Kirby
You can download a copy of the score HERE
Lyrics (to the tune of She’ll be Coming Round the Mountain)
Verse 1
Was in 1838 at Parker’s Piece
Fifteen thousand ate a massive lunchtime feast
It was for the celebration, Queen Victoria’s Coronation
Must have been a million farts and burps released.
CHORUS:
Singing I, I, yippee yippee I
Singing I, I, pickle bread and pie
Singing such a massive feast for thousands down at Parker’s Piece,
Full to bursting by the time we said bye bye
Verse 2
More than four thousand five hundred loaves of bread
Fifty tons of beef to fill each hungry head.
Stacks of pickles salt and mustard and we guess a lot of custard
For the sixteen hundred puddings at the spread.
CHORUS:
Verse 3
With the rivers full of sewage, they were fearful,
Drinking water, and so folk all had a beerful.
Even children drank from pots and tiny tots were given tots,
Little wonder everybody was so cheerful.
CHORUS:
Verse 4
When the meal was done the fun did not stop there,
Choi-rs singing, a balloon sent in the air.
Once the kids had stuffed their faces they took part in silly races
Riding donkeys, rams and pigs from here to there.
CHORUS:
Verse 5
There were games and prizes in the meal deal,
Biscuit bolting, orange bobbing, grab an eel.
Even prizes there for winning for the champion of grinning,
Perfect ending to the greatest ever meal.
CHORUS
Reality Checkpoint
Composer: Andrea Cockerton
Performed by: The Dowsing Sound Collective
Location: This piece and its historical context are closely linked with Parker's Piece, Cambridge.
This audio file is a recording & edit by Historyworks:
Lyrics:
We’d like to sing to you a piece of history
About people like you, and people like me
To take you way back to when this green got named.
He was a cook, see, at Trinity he…
Leased this fine field of green
Where bowlers pitch and spin
As we all pass by and watch or join a game.
The cook named Edward, he, went down in history
For Parker was his name and legacy
And the land on which we stand was handed to the common man
A lot like you and me...
Parker’s Piece.
Jump through a few years and we find Mr Bond
Not the one you’re thinking of; this one had less aplomb -
He’d planned a party, but it got left quite late.
And what a deadline – the Coronation
They were in quite a fix, but people wanted it
And so they moved heaven and earth to find a way (in thirteen days).
Fed fifteen thousand here, many more drew near
Eighteen thirty eight, the year, with food, games, fireworks, beer
Such a party never seen, right here on our city green
For people like you and me….
Par-ker’s Piece (space)- puddings
Piece (place) - pickles
Piece (mates)
Par-ker’s Piece (space)- mustard
Piece (place) - barrels
Piece (mates)
Par-ker’s Piece
Now on to Jack and the Hobbs' Pavilion
Where more than cricket came to fruition
The FA football rules were created in our midst.
Too many fights had ensued upon this land
The time had come to have a consistent hand
Applied to bring some consensus to the game.
Meanwhile Jack quietly worked hard on his batting technique
And scored his first ton here, the sound of willow clear
And soon the tents were gone, to give us Hobbs' Pavilion
For people like me and you to play…
…on Par-ker’s Piece
From the seventeenth century up to the present day
This great big stretch of green has seen all ages play
And drawn the city together in one place.
From first flights landing here to rustic sports & beer
From pounds of meat and snuff
To pyrotechnic stuff
People like us created memories in this space.
And now for you and me, this place is also ours to be
We can bring our gear and bikes and watch the world go by
Balls and people everywhere, drawn to the space and air
People like you and me…
…on Par-ker’s Piece (space)- sticky
Piece (place) - wicket
Piece (mates)
Par-ker’s Piece (space)- bolting
Piece (place) - biscuit
Piece (mates)
Par-ker’s Piece (space)- throw in
Piece (place) - tackle
Piece (mates)
Par-ker’s Piece (space)- dipping
Piece (place) - treacle
Piece (mates)
Par-ker’s Piece
Check your reality
Kick off your history
This is the place to be (smashed for 6)
©Andrea Cockerton 2014
Historical Context:
On 16th December 1587 Edward Parker, a college cook, leased the area that has come to be known as Parker’s Piece. In 1613 it was passed onto the Mayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of Cambridge as part of an exchange with Trinity College. Then, in 1831, the university requested permission to create a cricket pitch. This was granted but on the condition that it had to be for the use of the public as well as the university. Parker’s Piece has since become one of Cambridge’s most fondly used areas of public land, nurturing great sporting talent, accommodating public celebrations and long-held traditions. A selection of these games and leisure pursuits are named in the song called “Reality Checkpoint” which is the poignant name for the lamp at the centre of Parker’s Piece as it importantly provides a meeting point between town and gown, both in the past and the present.
As a schoolboy in the late nineteenth century, the famous cricketer Jack Hobbs would practice at Parker’s Piece. Hobbs described it as “probably the finest and most famous cricket ground in the world; it is certainly one of the best.” Cricket was, at that time, particularly popular, with between thirty and forty clubs keeping nets on Parker’s Piece. In 1930 a pavilion was built and named after the early master of English cricket who’d began his career there: Jack Hobbs. If you look carefully above the clock tower you can see that the weather vane depicts a cricketer at the wicket.
It was also here that the modern rules for association football were established, before then, the rules from differing clubs meeting up to play would cause tensions. In 1848 the teams in the area met to establish one uniform set of rules as a way of preventing fights and disagreements. These rules were fixed to the trees on Parker's Piece and, later, when the Football Association was founded in 1863, they used these Cambridge rules.
Parker’s Piece has always been widely used by the communities in Cambridge, providing a location for all sorts of celebrations and remarkable events. On the 28th of June, 1838, the Municipality of Cambridge organised one of the largest banquets ever prepared at Parker’s Piece to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Victoria. The total number of participants was 32,000, with 15,000 diners and 17,000 spectators, at a time when the population of Cambridge was less than 30,000 people. In total, the diners consumed 1,015 stones of meat, 72 lbs of mustard, 140 lbs salt, 125 gallons of pickles, 4,500 loaves of bread, 1,608 plum puddings of 6.5lbs each, and 99 barrels of ale. What was truly remarkable about this event, was not just the scale, but that it was organized in just 13 days!
Image courtesy of the Cambridgeshire Collection, Cambridge Central Library.
To find out more about the history that has inspired this composition and its lyrics you can visit the Historyworks website.
Click on the film link below to access a fun film showing the route and the process of the Cycle of Songs journey:
https://vimeo.com/98585866
Libretto: The libretto can be downloaded here.
Score: The vocal score can be downloaded here and the piano score can be downloaded here.
The following are draft demos of parts for the Cycle of Songs Choir to learn the piece.
Solo Soprano
Soprano Part 1
Alto Part 1
Alto Part 2
Tenor Part 1
Tenor Part 2
Why We Ride
Composer: Kirsty Martin with Rowena Whitehead
Performed by: ReSound
Lyrics: Kirsty Martin, based on the poem 'Why We Ride' by Hollie McNish with Inja.
Location: This piece and its historical context are closely linked with 104 Regent Street, Cambridge, CB2 1DP.
This is a recording by Historyworks of the 'Why We Ride' song:
Lyrics
Parkers Piece, Gonville Place, turn right into Regent Street
Sidney Street, Round Church, St. John’s, Trinity, Kings Parade
Trumpington Street, down the road to Trumpington High Street
The road is ready for me!
(And we’re away….)
This is why I ride, freewheeling – this is why I ride; I like to fly
This is why I ride, freewheeling – this is why I ride…
Life is much more fun, riding on my bike
Park or school or home, anywhere I like!
This is why I ride, freewheeling – this is why I ride; I like to fly
This is why I ride, freewheeling – this is why I ride…
All I need is the helmet on my head
Bike pump, backpack, water bottle, knee pads perhaps
Tyre tracks not too low, spokes not choked
Gears and brakes not jammed – and I’m ready to go!
And I’m ready to go – hurry up!
And I’m ready to go – come on everyone!
Parkers Piece, Lensfield Road, Fen Causeway, Newnham Road
Granchester Street, Eltisley Avenue and past the swimming club,
Granchester Meadows, carry on, to the tea gardens
The road is ready for me!
(And we’re away….)
This is why I ride, freewheeling – this is why I ride; I like to fly
This is why I ride, freewheeling – this is why I ride…
Life is much more fun, riding on my bike
Park or school or home, anywhere I like!
This is why I ride, freewheeling – this is why I ride; I like to fly
This is why I ride, freewheeling – this is why I ride…
I ride for one slice of freedom, walking seems so slow
Wheels fly in motion, and I’m ready to go!
And I’m ready to go – hurry up!
And I’m ready to go – come on everyone!
Parkers Piece, Clarendon Street, New Street into Fair Street,
Across Midsummer Common, mind the cows along Riverside,
to Stourbridge, watch the boats rowing down the river
The road is ready for me!
I ride for one slice of freedom, walking is so slow
Wheels fly in motion, and I’m ready to go!
All I need is the helmet on my head
Bike pump, backpack, water bottle, knee pads perhaps
Tyre tracks not too low, spokes not choked
Gears and brakes not jammed – and I’m ready to go!
And I’m ready to go – hurry up!
And I’m ready to go – come on everyone!
The world outside is ours – the marks say we belong
So we ride along the path – and the road is ready for me!
Life is much more fun, riding on my bike
Riding on my bike – anywhere I like
Riding on my bike…………………anywhere I like
Riding on my bike…………………hurry up!
©Kirsty Martin 2014, based on the 'Why We Ride' poem by Hollie McNish with Inja.
Historical Context:
From the “Velocipede” to the “Boneshaker” to the “Granta”, the family firm of John Howes & Sons supplied Cambridge with top of the range bicycles for 173 years. Established in 1840 on Regent Street, Howes & Sons were among the pioneers of 19th century bicycle design, supplying citizens with bicycles for racing, leisure, and work. They helped shape Cambridge as the cycling city we recognise today. It is alleged that this was the first bike shop in the country, developing out of a wheelwright’s shop who adapted tools to service the cycle rather than the wagon.
Howes & Sons’ success can also be attributed to their affiliation with University scholars and the Cambridge University Bicycle Club. Set up on the 28th February 1874, the club appointed John Howes (son of the original founder who died in 1849) as a supplier, repairer, and on-hand technician for race days. There were few other traders during this period and by 1887 only three other firms were registered. This had grown by 1896 to six but by 1913 forty six companies were trading in bicycles.
By 1900 cycling had grown enormously and it was much more accessible due to more reasonable pricing. The upper classes had turned towards motor cars, and those who could afford them, the motor cycle, but the bicycle remained for many of the population in Cambridge an accessible and affordable option.
The emergence and innovations of Howes & Sons, aided by the increased interest in cycling in the 1890s, ensured that the people of Cambridge had access to a range of cycling services and established the city’s identity as a cycling hub.
Many bike shops proliferate around Cambridge today, and the app song “Why We Ride” is located at the old Howe’s shop to mark the important legacy of this place for the city. The business continued to thrive through the generations but after 173 years of trading, the shop closed for the last time on December 31st 2013.
Image courtesy of the Cambridgeshire Collection, Cambridge Central Library.
To find out more about the history that has inspired this composition and its lyrics you can visit the Historyworks website.
Click on the film link below to access a fun film showing the route and the process of the Cycle of Songs journey:
https://vimeo.com/98585866
Infomation for Choirs:
Score: The score for 'Why We Ride' can be downloaded here.
Matrix: The matrix for 'Why We Ride' can be downloaded here.
You can download the complete lyrics here or you can read them further down this page. The lyric sheets for the seperate parts being sung by the Cycle of Songs Choir can be downloaded below.
To find a very rough demo of 'Why We Ride' listen here:
Seperate parts of the piece can be accessed below:
Children
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass
Hollie McNish's poem and video 'Why We Ride: A Film by and for Cambridge’s Young Riders':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsKlWaIiI7w
