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The Backs is a picturesque area to the east of Queen's Road in the city of Cambridge, England, where several colleges of the University of Cambridge back on to the River Cam, their grounds covering both banks of the river. The name "the Backs" refers to the backs of the colleges. The area, from Magdalene Street bridge in the north to Silver Street bridge in the south, consists of the rear grounds of the following colleges (north to south): *Magdalene — grounds on the west bank of the river before the Magdalene Street bridge. *St John's — buildings on both sides of the river, spanned by the St John's kitchen bridge and the Bridge of Sighs *Trinity — buildings on the east bank, spanned by Trinity bridge. *Trinity Hall — buildings on the east bank but with no rear grounds on the west bank. *Clare — buildings on the east bank, spanned by Clare bridge. *King's — buildings on the east bank, spanned by King's bridge. *Queens' — buildings on both sides of the river, spanned by the Mathematical Bridge. Historically, much of the land was used by the colleges for grazing livestock or growing fruit. The river was also an important commercial thoroughfare to the mill at Silver Street. ==History== In the 16th century, the area consisted of pasture, gardens and orchards owned by colleges of the University, with wooden bridges across the Cam. Over time, the colleges planted avenues of trees and built sturdier bridges. In 1772, St John's College consulted English landscape architect Lancelot ("Capability") Brown (1716–1783), who laid out a "wilderness" on the college side of Queen's Road which still exists today. In 1779, Brown presented a plan to the University of Cambridge to create country-house style parkland with its focus on King's College's Gibbs Building. The plan would have involved removing avenues, transforming the river into a lake, and planting clumps of trees to screen the other colleges. It was never implemented, possibly because it would have removed historic college boundaries and three important bridges.〔 In response to many elm trees succumbing to Dutch elm disease, a Backs Committee was formed in 1979 so that a joint approach could be taken to the problem facing The Backs. As a result of the committee's work, trees were cut down and new ones planted in their place. However, the committee stopped meeting in 1994.〔 In 1995, English Heritage listed The Backs as a Grade 1 Historic Park. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「the backs」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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