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The St Radegund

Cambridge's famously tiny King Street alehouse, bound up with the legendary King Street Run and revived as an independent community pub.

Plan this experience

Explore the story

CostFree to visit

Time to allow45–90 minutes

PaceEasy

PlaceKing Street, city centre

Best timeYear round

01 / The experience

The St Radegund

The St Radegund is one of Cambridge's most distinctive pub experiences: a genuinely tiny alehouse with a century of local history and an outsized place in student folklore.

At the eastern end of King Street, the St Radegund compresses an extraordinary amount of Cambridge pub folklore into what is widely described as the city's smallest pub. The present public house emerged around the turn of the twentieth century close to the site of the earlier Garrick Inn and took its name from the saint associated with nearby Jesus College. It became the traditional start and finish of the King Street Run, the notorious student drinking challenge traced to a 1955 debate. After a long closure and an abortive 2024 revival, it reopened in January 2026 as an independent, cask-led community alehouse. Visit for the intimate scale, house ales and living King Street mythology rather than polished gastropub comforts.

02 / The essentials

The St Radegund: visit essentials

01
It is widely described as the smallest pub in Cambridge.
02
The present pub developed around the turn of the twentieth century near the site of the former Garrick Inn.
03
Its name recalls St Radegund, the patron associated with the medieval nunnery on the site of Jesus College.
04
It became the traditional start and finish of the King Street Run.
05
The King Street Run is traced to a 1955 undergraduate debate about drinking a gallon without a comfort break.
06
The pub reopened as an independent, cask-led community alehouse on 29 January 2026.
07
Its freehold is held by Cambridge United Charities.

03 / The place

The building in context.

Built: Late nineteenth-century building; present pub recorded by the early twentieth century
Style: Compact traditional city alehouse
Listing: Historic public-house frontage identified in the Cambridge Historic Core Appraisal

04 / Before you go

Plan your visit

Prices & admission

No admission charge; drinks are individually priced.

Opening hours

Generally 17:00–23:00 Monday–Friday, 13:00–23:00 Saturday and 16:00–22:30 Sunday. Check the official pub or CAMRA listing before travelling.

Plan your experience

Walk-in pub. Its exceptionally small interior means space cannot be assumed at busy times.

Visit the official site

Accessibility

The compact historic premises may constrain circulation. Contact the pub directly for current step-free access and toilet information.

Participation requirements

No particular fitness requirement; confirm access needs directly because the pub is unusually small.

Not normally required.

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01Culture & history