24/10/2017
The Cavendish Laboratory stood on Free School Lane for one hundred years, from 1874 to 1974, where scientists made some of the most important scientific discoveries in the history of mankind, including the discovery of DNA in 1953.
On the day James Watson and Francis Crick found the structure of the double helix, they lunched in , a nearby public house. They were unable to contain their excitement, and Professor Crick is said to have given the pub’s patrons an impromptu seminar on ‘the secret of life’.
Besides a blue plaque documenting that historic day, The Eagle is also worth a visit to discover its RAF bar, where the ceiling is covered in graffiti left by servicemen during the Second World War.