The Eagle, Cambridge

Situated opposite owner’s Corpus Christi College, the history of what is Cambridge’s most famous pub is well documented literally and pictorially on the website and on my scan; it’s the city’s second oldest after the Pickerell and originally the Eagle & Child. Certainly, there are some sound elements such as the somewhat Jacobean fireplace and overall interior, which is perhaps a bit of a later brewers’ Tudor addition, but the pub lacks a CAMRA star rating. It’s also operated by Greene King, which is rarely a good thing. In more recent times, it acquired graffiti in the RAF Bar (no, not affiliated to Baader Meinhof) from Allied pilots burnt into the ceiling and of course, no mention can be made without reference to James Watson and Francis Crick who invented DNA here, but let’s not forget Maurice Wilkins and poor Rosalind Franklyn. Customers were understandably many for a Friday evening, but the place would probably be rammed had it not been the holidays. There were seven cask offerings including the predictable rebadge that is Eagle DNA, rightly swerved in favour of Oakham’s Mompesson’s Gold at a whopping £3.10 a half and dull. This is a must-visit if in Cambridge if only for the history and interior, but it’s not a place where I’d linger.

Official site of The Eagle - www.greeneking.co.uk

Official site of The Eagle - www.greeneking.co.uk