Fortified as a Parliamentarian stronghold under Oliver Cromwell, Cambridge emerged from the English Civil War intact, and flourished under the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. A great age of science and architecture at Cambridge followed, inspired by Trinity fellow Isaac Newton and architect-mathematician Christopher Wren. Stephanie Boyd explains why the building of college courts, chapels and libraries boomed in this period, and classical masterpieces such as the Wren Library at Trinity sprung up. Comparison is drawn between the fine Cambridge colleges and the squalor of the town, and the impact of the Great Plague on townspeople and scholars. The contributions of individuals such as Francis Bacon and Pepys are included, along with local businessman Thomas Hobson, originator of both fresh water to the town from Nine Wells and the expression ‘Hobson’s Choice’.