Petty Cury

Petty Cury is a pedestrian shopping street in Cambridge that runs from Market Hill to Guildhall Street with a mix of retail stores and service businesses. The entire street is closed to vehicles, creating a continuous walkway through one of the city's oldest commercial areas.

The street's name appears in records from 1330 and comes from medieval terms for small and cooks, describing a row of food vendors. Its south side was demolished in the 1960s and replaced with a modern shopping center, fundamentally changing its layout.

The street serves as a daily meeting point where locals and visitors gather to shop and move through the city center. It bridges the everyday rhythm of a modern retail zone with its roots as a medieval food vendors' quarter.

The street is designed entirely for pedestrians and offers direct connections to Market Hill to the east and Guildhall Street to the west. You will find restrooms, seating areas, and access to all major services nearby, making it easy to navigate the area.

The Lion Yard shopping center, which replaced the south side since the 1960s, features glass and concrete facades alongside the historic street layout. This blend of old and new is unusual for British town centers and shows how contemporary retail was inserted into a historic location.