Night climbing

Last updated

Night climbing is a term used, principally at the Oxford and Cambridge universities in England, to describe the sport of climbing up the walls of colleges and public buildings, and exploring the rooftops. This activity is frowned on by college authorities, so it is mainly done under cover of darkness, to avoid detection. [1]

Contents

The sport is a subset of buildering, or urban climbing, and is distinguished by the fact that it is usually carried out nocturnally by university students.

The original term for this activity was "roof climbing". The alternative term "night climbing" was introduced in the late 1930s, and has become the standard term.

History

In 1895, the alpinist Geoffrey Winthrop Young started to climb the roofs of Cambridge University. Students had been scrambling up the university buildings for years, [2] but Young was the first to document this activity. He wrote and published a night climbing guide to Trinity College. [3]

In 1905, while a master at Eton College, Young produced his second book, a small volume on buildering, entitled "Wall and Roof Climbing". [4] This was a very erudite work, containing a rich variety of quotations from writers of many different periods and cultures.

In 1921, inspired by Young's guide to Trinity, a group of undergraduates, including Hartley, Grag and Darlington, published a night climbing guide to St John's College. [5]

In 1930, John Hurst wrote the second edition of the guide to Trinity. [6]

In 1937, The Night Climbers of Cambridge , a more comprehensive, though still light-hearted, account of Cambridge undergraduate night climbing appeared in popular print, [7] written by Noël Howard Symington, under the pseudonym "Whipplesnaith".

Night climbing remained popular in Cambridge after World War II. In 1960, Richard Williams wrote the third edition of the Trinity guide. [8] In 1970, a book entitled "Cambridge Nightclimbing" [9] was published under the pseudonym "Hederatus". Night climbing also featured prominently in a book by F A Reeve, entitled "Varsity Rags and Hoaxes", [10] published in 1977, in the detective novel The Bad Quarto by Jill Paton Walsh, [11] published in 2007 and in Michael Ondaatje's Warlight , which cites this book.

In recent years, a number of books on night climbing in Cambridge have been published by Oleander Press, of Cambridge, as follows:

In 2007, Corpus Christi alumnus Ivo Stourton published the novel The Night Climbers which is based on a group of students who engage in the practice.

Famous night climbers

In the 1930s, Whipplesnaith (Noël Symington) climbed many buildings in Cambridge, England.

In 1895, Geoffrey Winthrop Young pioneered the sport of night climbing in Cambridge, England. The identification of the first Cambridge night climber remains an open question, but Young is generally regarded as the original pioneer.

From 2016 to 2018, a group of Nocturnal climbers began posting images to anonymous confession Facebook pages, detailing climbs conducted at Christ Church, Corpus Christi College, Pembroke College, Westgate, Cornmarket Street, and several other high-profile locations. Each public post contained content of a political or philosophical nature, with advice given sometimes in the form of an Agony Aunt. The local media dubbed the group "The Night Climbers of Oxford", for their identities remained unknown. Despite some back lash, the public showed support for the group and their controversial acts. As a result, they quickly became part of Oxford's urban and night-life culture.

During his time studying mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge, Freeman Dyson was known to have practiced night climbing. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity College, Cambridge</span> Constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. Trinity is the largest Oxbridge college measured by the number of undergraduates (730), and has about 300 graduate students and 180 fellows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buildering</span> Act of climbing buildings

Buildering describes the act of climbing on the outside of buildings and other artificial structures. The word "buildering", sometimes misspelled bildering, combines the word building with the climbing term bouldering. If done without ropes or protection far off the ground, buildering is extremely dangerous. It is often practiced outside legal bounds, and is thus practiced mostly at night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Mallory</span> English mountaineer (1886–1924)

George Herbert Leigh-Mallory was an English mountaineer who participated in the first three British Mount Everest expeditions from the early to mid-1920s.

Songes and Sonettes, usually called Tottel's Miscellany, was the first printed anthology of English poetry. First published by Richard Tottel in 1557 in London, it ran to many editions in the sixteenth century.

<i>The Night Climbers of Cambridge</i> 1930s book

The Night Climbers of Cambridge is a book, written under the pseudonym "Whipplesnaith", about nocturnal climbing on the colleges and town buildings of Cambridge, England, in the 1930s. The book remains popular among Cambridge University students and the 1930s and 1950s editions can be hard to find. It is often credited with popularising and inspiring the first generation of urban explorers and night climbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey Winthrop Young</span> British climber, poet and educator

Geoffrey Winthrop Young was a British climber, poet and educator, and author of several notable books on mountaineering.

John Menlove Edwards was born at Ainsdale, near Liverpool, England, on 18 June 1910, the son of a politically radical vicar, George Zachery Edwards, and his wife Helen. His father's cousin was Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral. John Menlove's sister Nowell Mary was known as Nowell Mary Hewlett Johnson, after becoming Hewlett Johnson's second wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar Eckenstein</span> English rock climber and mountaineer

Oscar Johannes Ludwig Eckenstein was an English rock climber and mountaineer, and a pioneer in the sport of bouldering. Inventor of the modern crampon, he was an innovator in climbing technique and mountaineering equipment, and the leader of the first serious expedition to attempt to climb K2.

There are a number of popular legends associated with Cambridge University and its 800 year-old history, often recounted by punt guides to tourists while cruising the River Cam. Some are true, some contain elements of truth, and others are somewhat more fabricated. The myths and legends listed below represent a select few of the traditions and stories associated with Cambridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fell & Rock Climbing Club</span>

The Fell & Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District is the senior climbing club covering the English Lake District. It was founded in 1906–1907 and, amongst its other activities, publishes the rock climbing guides to the area. It owns many of the early climbing photographs taken by George & Ashley Abraham, who were founding members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humphrey Owen Jones</span> Welsh chemist and mountaineer

Humphrey Owen Jones was a Welsh chemist and mountaineer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton Thomas Dent</span> English surgeon, author and mountaineer

Clinton Thomas Dent FRCS was an English surgeon, author and mountaineer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Percy Farrar</span> English soldier and mountaineer

Captain John Percy Farrar, also known as Percy Farrar and as J. P. Farrar, was an English soldier and mountaineer. He was President of the Alpine Club from 1917 to 1919 and a member of the Mount Everest Committee. Farrar's obituary in The Times stated that he 'was known by repute to every one interested in mountaineering in England and on the Continent, and his personal friends at home and abroad were legion'.

Robert Lock Graham Irving, was an English schoolmaster, writer and mountaineer. As an author, he used the name R. L. G. Irving, while to his friends he was Graham Irving.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilfrid Noyce</span> British mountain climber

Cuthbert Wilfrid Francis Noyce was an English mountaineer and author. He was a member of the 1953 British Expedition that made the first ascent of Mount Everest.

<i>Paths of Glory</i> (novel) 2009 novel by Jeffrey Archer

Paths of Glory is a novel by English author Jeffrey Archer based on the story of George Mallory who died attempting to climb Everest in the 1920s. It was published by St. Martin's Press on 3 March 2009. It fictionally supports the claims that George Mallory, an Englishman, was the first to conquer Mount Everest – before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aiguille du Grépon</span> Mountain in the Mont Blanc Massif in Haute-Savoie, France

The Aiguille du Grépon, informally known as The Grepon, is a mountain in the Mont Blanc Massif in Haute-Savoie, France. The Grepon has a Southern and Northern peak, which are the highest points of a sharp granite ridge to the east of the Glacier des Nantillons above Chamonix and northeast of the Aiguille du Midi. A madonna statue is situated on the Southern peak.

Josephine Mary Flood, is an English-born Australian archaeologist, mountaineer, and author.

Eleanor "Len" Winthrop Young (1897–1994) was a British climber. She was a co-founder and the first president of the Pinnacle Club, a British women's climbing club, and made numerous ascents in the Alps and many in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Night Climbers of Oxford</span>

The Night Climbers of Oxford is a secret society, dedicated to nocturnally scaling college and town buildings in Oxford, England. The society is noted for its political activism, controversial acts, feats of climbing and parkour, as well as urban exploration. The society was likely inspired by their Cambridge counterparts, The Night Climbers of Cambridge. Activities conducted by the society are forbidden by the University authorities, meaning that acts are completed under the cover of darkness, to avoid detection.

References

  1. ↑ "The shadowy climbers scaling Cambridge's college rooftops". BBC News. 11 April 2019.
  2. ↑ Geoffrey Winthrop Young: Poet, educator, mountaineer (1995), by Alan Hankinson, published by Hodder & Stoughton, London
  3. ↑ The Roof Climber's Guide to Trinity (1900), written by Geoffrey Winthrop Young, published anonymously, W P Spalding, Cambridge, England
  4. ↑ Wall and Roof Climbing (1905), written by Geoffrey Winthrop Young, published anonymously, Spottiswoode & Co., Eton College, England
  5. ↑ The Roof Climber's Guide to St Johns (1921), written by a group of undergraduates including Hartley, Grag and Darlington, published anonymously, Metcalfe & Co., Cambridge, England.
  6. ↑ The Roof Climber's Guide to Trinity, 2nd edition (1930), written by John Hurst, published anonymously, W P Spalding, Cambridge, England
  7. ↑ The Night Climbers of Cambridge (1937), written by Noël Howard Symington under the pseudonym "Whipplesnaith" , Chatto & Windus Ltd, London
  8. ↑ The Night Climber's Guide to Trinity, 3rd edition (1960), written by Richard Williams, published anonymously, Weatherhead Ltd, Cambridge, England
  9. ↑ Cambridge Nightclimbing (1970), written under the pseudonym "Hederatus", Chatto & Windus Ltd, London
  10. ↑ Varsity Rags and Hoaxes (1977), written by F A Reeve
  11. ↑ The Bad Quarto (2007), a detective novel written by Jill Paton Walsh, published by Hodder and Stoughton, London
  12. ↑ The Night Climbers of Cambridge (reprinted 2007), written by Noël Howard Symington under the pseudonym "Whipplesnaith" , Oleander Press, Cambridge, England
  13. ↑ The Roof Climber's Guide to Trinity (reprinted 2007), written by Geoffrey Winthrop Young, published anonymously, Oleander Press, Cambridge, England
  14. ↑ The Roof Climber's Guide to St John’s (reprinted 2009), written by a group of students including Hartley, Grag and Darlington, published anonymously, Oleander Press, Cambridge, England.
  15. ↑ The Roof Climber's Guide to Trinity, 2nd edition (reprinted 2010), written by John Hurst, published anonymously, Oleander Press, Cambridge, England.
  16. ↑ Wall and Roof Climbing (reprinted 2010), written by Geoffrey Winthrop Young, published anonymously, Oleander Press, Cambridge, England.
  17. ↑ The Roof-Climber's Guide to Trinity, Omnibus Edition (2011), Oleander Press, Cambridge, England.
  18. ↑ Schweber, Silvan S. (1994). QED and the Men Who Made It: Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga . Princeton: University Press. p. 486. ISBN   978-0-691-03327-3.

Locations

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.