Networking Dinner

The Networking Dinner will be held on the evening of Tuesday 28th September at:

Old Dining Hall Queens College, Cambridge UK

Networking Dinner Map »

On arrival at Queens College, delegates will be taken across the world famous Mathematical Bridge over the River Cam for a Drinks Reception on the lawn. This will be followed by the networking dinner in the Old Hall.

The Old Hall

The Old Hall was the original dining hall at Queens College, used by Fellows and students for over 500 years and is part of Old Court which reflects the plan of manor court houses of the 15th century. The interior is richly decorated and above the Tudor fireplace are tiles attributed to William Morris and his associates. Together with a minstrels gallery the Hall provides an historical atmosphere in a truly splendid setting.

Mathematical Bridge

The bridge was built in 1749 by James Essex the Younger (1722-1784) to the design of William Etheridge (1709-1776). It has subsequently been rebuilt to the same design in 1866 and 1905.

There are many stories to suggest that Isaac Newton had an involvement with the bridge but he died in 1727, a while before the bridge was built. Other stories imply that students or Fellows disassembled the bridge (and then failed to re-assemble it, as the myth runs) but given the size and weight of the wooden members of the bridge this would not be possible. The joints of the present bridge are fastened by nuts and bolts. Earlier versions of the bridge used iron pins or screws at the joints, driven in from the outer elevation. Claims that the bridge was originally built without nails are untrue.