MarinaLazarus

Hi @MarinaLazarus. I'm a UK student (well, I'll be moving to grad school in Canada in August but for all intents and purposes I'm a UK-based-student-person) and live in Cambridge working as university staff, having attended the University of St Andrews for my BSc. I'd agree with Concordia in that you'll need to make sure you have a couple of formal outfits, but otherwise Cambridge is fairly casual/smart-casual. There are plenty of shops here though so I wouldn't worry too much if you need to get anything while you're over here.

It runs the gamut at Cambridge.  Often very casual, although daytime seminars or presentations might welcome a suit.  
One difference there, as in much of the UK, is the need for formal clothes in the evening.  Much will depend on your college, but you'll almost certainly have a lot of formal halls and receptions to go to.  Some are black tie, the majority will be dark suit for men.

That was me! I'm not sure if it varies between departments, but my rejection came in the form of a letter from the faculty saying they were unable to nominate me. I think as you are required to fill out a separate application for AHRC they have to either accept/reject, whereas the likes of the ESRC you are automatically considered so can expect to only hear if you are successful.

Interesting... I think you'll have to decide what methodology you want to focus on more.  Also, what appeals to you more-- teaching Western Art 101 or World History 101?  Pick one, and that's your main discipline.

There isn't really any "course work" at Oxbridge for doctoral students.  I gather there are a few bits of face time you are recommended to do, but otherwise your main job is to get a proper proposal accepted by the end of Year 1, and then turn in a masterpiece two years after that so you can go off and practice your craft.   
When you're not busy writing, you can attend pretty much any lecture you want, be it for one of the undergrad "papers" (courses or modules), or one-off events held by a department or a college.  There will be some kind of weekly seminar hosted by your niche of the department, as well.  If you think your work would improve by learning a language or getting on the ball about software, fixing those problems will be possible.  If you need to hear smart people explain quantum physics, there will be places to do that.
It sounds as if each place found you a supervisor in the history department who thought your interests were plausible.  Do you know either one, by having interviewed with them or looked at their writing?   It might be worth a conversation with each, to see how they'd suggest you start answering your question and developing new ones.

For the publication, talk to your adviser. Seriously. There are so many nuances here that any advice beyond the banal given here will be wrong.
For the conference, the advice I have is banal, but common sense is apparently not common. So: methods that convey information well in a text do not always (or even usually) convey information well in a lecture.
Do not simply edit an existing paper down. Rewrite it from scratch. Write shorter, clearer sentences.  Under no circumstances should you give an extended quotation in another language (Middle English scholars, I'm looking at you). Translate everything. If a term in a foreign (i.e. not modern English) is important, give it and its translation and always refer to them as a pair, e.g. "Pietas, that is, piety, is a key virtue for Aeneas, and that pietas or piety is...". Always use proper names and avoid him/her/they, even when it reads as a bit clunky on the page. State your thesis, clearly, within your first 250 words. Find out your time limit and respect it. It is strictly impossible to get more than 2,500-3,000 words into 20 minutes at a decent reading pace, unless perhaps you write like you're talking about up goer five.

A Thatcher Scholarship at Somerville (I think it's quite new?)  

Cambridge is pretty expensive overall, but it is a wonderful place to live. Girton is indeed a bit far, be prepared for jokes with that respect, but as a graduate student you don't really have to go there very often (you'll spend most of your time at your department) and students end up loving whichever college they get. As for any city, look for accommodation as soon as you can --- you can check with Girton and the university acc. office, but it might be worth living outside college in private accommodation.
I strongly recommend you get yourself a bike and a rain coat.

@baddie Same here, still no news. My status is still 'under review' (the one just before a Decision has been made or something like that). It's taking forever.

New week, same old question: Any news from the University of Toronto?
I know they were going to send out the offers last week, but it seems nobody here has heard a word from them. 

My best friend and I have a plan: If I don't get into any graduate programs we're both going to go in on opening a cat café. We've already started a rough business model. It makes exactly no money but we'd get to spend our time hanging out with cats.

My husband is British did his undergrad in history at Cambridge (and his dad got a Ph.D. when my husband was young), and he said that funding in the UK was pretty non-existent, so that would definitely be a concern.  Also, the degree as far as I can is pretty much just your thesis, which makes it much shorter than a US degree (which you may see as an advantage or a disadvantage) and much more dependent on the advisor being a good fit than the departure.  If you like the advisor and can swing the finances, I wouldn't worry about what department it is in.  I am in almost the opposite boat.  I have a strong theology background but am mostly interested in history.  I got into none of my history programs last year but into a really good department of religion for historical studies.  I brought up my concern with my POI who teaches in both departments but takes Ph.D. students in the department of religion, and he said that at the Ph.D. level the topic of your thesis is more important than the department you get it in.  Since he is an excellent historian and it's a good fit, I am going there.  I figure at the end of the day, the advisor being a good fit and being supportive of me and my research is more important than the department.  Also, it might be an advantage to be able to teach both.  I am guessing that when it comes to a job search a history degree might be more flexible than a more niche degree, but I don't know much about your subfield.

Cambridge was one of my Plan B choices too and I also worried about fitting in (class wise), although I wouldn't have had a good supervisor with similar research interests. I didn't end up applying, because I got my first choice acceptance very early so I didn't need to apply anywhere else. Cambridge is world class institution though and a PhD there will take you far.
Funding is a major concern, because fees in the UK are insanely high (especially if you're international). Also Cambridge is one of the more...'socially progressive' campuses here, which might not be for everyone.

I know it's really hard to sit on your hands, but unless you are being pressured for a decision from another school I would say wait until sometime in early to mid-March. We're still in the middle of the season, and depending on the school, they might even have another wave of acceptances yet to send out. Not that I think inquiring hurts your chances or anything, but many university pages say notifications are sent between March and April (even if we know they are not all sent that late), so that is most likely what they will tell you. 
BUT. this is just my humble opinion. :-) Best of luck!!!!

Mine is still at "decision made." But this could mean that some of the students who were admitted as first picks rejected the offers, freeing up spots--hopefully you'll be hearing something soon.

Hi, UofT has several strong faculty in Renaissance/early modern, so I believe it would be worth your consideration if you get in. I first received a phone call, then a letter from the department on the 14th. I'm into contemporary visual culture. Best of luck!

I agree with @condivi. Unpaid grad school is not worth it, especially with today's grim job market. But if your question is around prestige, then yes, Cambridge is more prestigious than Toronto. Please note that prestigious does not necessarily mean "better." If I were you, I would inquire with Cambridge about funding and nudge UofT for a response. Hope this helps.