The Eagle on Bene't Street stands as Cambridge's second oldest pub, yet its significance extends far beyond its age. This Grade II listed coaching inn, which first opened its doors in 1667, occupies a unique place in scientific and military history: it was here that Francis Crick announced the discovery of DNA's structure, and here that Allied airmen left permanent marks upon the ceiling during the Second World War.
The Announcement That Changed Biology
On 28 February 1953, Francis Crick entered The Eagle's lunchtime crowd and declared that he and James Watson had "discovered the secret of life." The two scientists, who worked at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory on nearby Free School Lane, had lunched regularly at the same table in The Eagle. Their proposal for the double helix structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) would transform our understanding of genetics and heredity.
Their scientific paper, "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid," was published in Nature magazine on 25 April 1953. In 1962, Crick, Watson, and Maurice Wilkins received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in recognition of their work.
The pub commemorates this history with two plaques positioned by the scientists' regular table, and today serves a special ale named "Eagle's DNA."
Recognition and the Franklin Question
A blue plaque outside the pub, first unveiled in 2003, originally mentioned only Crick and Watson. The omission of Rosalind Franklin, whose X-ray crystallography work (particularly "Photo 51") proved critical to deciphering the DNA structure, drew criticism. In 2017, someone added "+Franklin" to the original plaque in response.
In August 2023, the Cambridge Blue Plaque Committee replaced the plaque with one that recognises Franklin and Wilkins alongside Crick and Watson. The original plaque now resides in the Whipple Museum of the History of Science on Free School Lane.
The RAF Bar: Airmen's Marks in Wax and Soot
The Eagle's rear bar, now known as the "RAF Bar," contains a remarkable piece of Second World War history preserved on its ceiling. During the war, Allied airmen who drank and socialised at the pub used wax candles, petrol lighters, and lipstick to burn their names, squadron numbers, and messages into the plaster.
The tradition is believed to have been started by RAF Flight Sergeant P. E. Turner, who climbed onto a table one evening to burn his squadron number overhead. By the time the conflict ended, the ceiling bore references to more than 60 RAF squadrons and 37 units of the U.S. Army Air Forces.
Notable markings include "THE WILD HARE," believed to have been burned by an American airman stationed at Bassingbourn; a B-17G named The Wild Hare was shot down over Altenbeken, Germany, in November 1944. Another inscription, "PRESSURE BOYS," was left by a member of the 448th Bombardment Group.
During the early 1990s, former RAF Chief Technician James Chainey deciphered and documented the graffiti, preserving this unusual record of wartime service.
A Pub Steeped in Centuries
The Eagle predates its scientific fame by nearly three centuries. Founded in 1667 as the "Eagle and Child," the pub originally served as a coaching inn. Its frontage, facing north onto Bene't Street, dates to around 1600. Behind it lies a galleried wing from the nineteenth century, overlooking a courtyard.
The pub stands opposite St Bene't's Church, whose Anglo-Saxon tower dates to the eleventh century and represents the oldest surviving building in Cambridgeshire. The site remains under the ownership of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, whilst Greene King brewery manages operations.
For visitors, The Eagle offers more than historical significance. Its burnished wood, mismatched chairs, and worn brass fixtures create the atmosphere expected of a seventeenth-century establishment. Yet it is the convergence of extraordinary moments; Crick's boisterous announcement, the airmen's wartime camaraderie; that makes The Eagle a singular fixture in Cambridge's landscape.
The pub remains a popular destination for university staff, students, and those tracing the footsteps of scientific breakthrough and wartime history alike.
