Our Story

The Study Centre operates out of the Round Church on Bridge Street, a building which boasts a rich Christian heritage. As the second oldest building in Cambridge, built between 1114 and 1130, on the wave of the monastic renewal and at the outset of the twelfth century Renaissance, the Round Church predates the university.

When the congregation outgrew the premises in the late nineties, and moved to St Andrews the Great Church, the building was opened up to charitable ministry, first under, ‘Christian Heritage’, and now, ‘The Foundations Trust’. The work was established by Francis Schaffer’s son-in-law, the Founder of English L’Abri, Ranald Macaulay, and has ranged from student formation to direct public engagement. In particular, the charity became known for its running of the Round Church Visitor Centre, which introduces visitors to the Christian foundations of Western culture through its exhibition and guided walking tours. 

The study desks in the north aisle- first known as the ‘Scriptorium’- were installed by Andrew Fellows, Ranald’s successor in leadership at L’Abri and the Round Church until 2020. In 2022 the Study Centre opened, alongside the charity’s name change and new board of trustees. The Trust now supports a range of partnered university ministry projects including Forming a Christian Mind, UCCF Research and IFES Europe Postgraduate Initiative, including the Association of Christian Postgraduate Groups. 

The Cambridge Christian Study Centre works from a position of generous, humble confidence in the historic truths of biblical Christianity as summarised in the UCCF and Evangelical Alliance statements of faith, placing us within a classical Protestant evangelical tradition.