The garden at Peterhouse has been beautiful over the past few weeks. The college has a large back garden contained within an old stone wall, and the whole lawn has been completely covered with daffodils. The garden lies behind the Fitzwilliam Museum, and extends a long way. I visited Peterhouse garden a few times within […]
The Old Library at Queens’ College was opened to the public for a few weeks in February and early March. This beautiful place is still equipped with its original medieval lecterns. The floor and fittings are made of dark wood, making the library very atmospheric. I love the old volumes that surround you in the […]
Founded by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the time of Elizabeth I, Emmanuel College was originally intended as a home for Puritan beliefs. Today Emmanuel is known for its striped formal lawn in Front Court, its Wren chapel (one of only two in Cambridge), its swimming pool, and beautiful large paddock with a pond […]
King’s College is one of Cambridge’s most famous colleges, and its chapel has come to represent the city as a whole, as the emblem of the city council and perhaps Cambridge’s most iconic and recognisable landmark. Viewing the city from the castle mound, King’s chapel dominates the Cambridge skyline. The view towards the city centre […]
Lucy Cavendish is not a well-known college, perhaps to the delight of its students. It is not on the tourist trail, but set among the ‘hill colleges’ near the Castle mound. Even there, it is not a large, obvious college like Fitzwilliam or Churchill, and is tucked away off a little side road. Lucy Cavendish […]
Robinson College is the youngest college in Cambridge. It was founded in 1979. Robinson College was created after a £17 million gift was made to the University of Cambridge by Sir David Robinson, a British entrepreneur and philanthropist, for the purpose of founding a new college in Cambridge. Constructed entirely of distinctive red brick, Robinson […]
An incredibly photogenic college, Newnham lies a little way off the beaten track. Newnham College was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, as Cambridge University’s second college for women. The first women’s college in Cambridge was Girton College, which was founded two years earlier. In Cambridge, Newnham is both the name of a college, and […]
Clare Hall is perhaps the most unusual-looking of the Cambridge colleges, and makes for a surprising visit. Designed more akin to a block of 1960s flats than a traditional college, Clare Hall nonetheless has an interesting history. Clare Hall was founded in 1966 directly by Clare College, as a college of advanced study that would […]
Founded in 1326, Clare College is the second oldest college in Cambridge. Clare College has perhaps the best location of all the Cambridge colleges: a site that spans both sides of the river, and is right in the city centre, off the pedestrianised and picturesque Trinity Lane. Set in the heart of the old University […]
I was lucky enough to pass St Catharine’s College on an open day in June. It happened to be a beautiful day as well. Many Cambridge colleges were open on this day to invite prospective students and the public in to look around, including nearby Peterhouse, Pembroke and Corpus. I knew I had to take […]
A remarkably friendly and open college, Pembroke is also beautiful, and very old. The delights of wandering its grounds – noticing another Gothic archway, a cat-flap cut into a modern door in a medieval building, or simply enjoying the gardens – do not diminish no matter how often you visit. This college lies directly on the […]
The University of Cambridge has 31 constituent colleges. This summer I am visiting them all, from medieval Peterhouse to modern Robinson. Click the links to read about each college. A few colleges already have posts, others are still to come – so please check back later for these ones. As I add posts for more […]
One of the newer colleges of the University of Cambridge, Darwin College nonetheless possesses old buildings, including this beautiful old granary on the banks of the River Cam. An interesting fusion of modern and old buildings, Darwin’s real delight lies in its pretty and secluded riverside gardens. The gardens are separated into alcoves that run […]
The Alma mater of Charles Darwin and John Milton, Christ’s is an established older college in Cambridge. Christ’s was founded in 1505, by a woman, Lady Margaret Beaufort, which makes it something rather special. The Founder Margaret Beaufort was one of the richest women in medieval England, the mother of Henry Tudor (Henry VII), and […]
The day after Easter Monday I took my camera and walked into the city. It was beautiful weather and felt like the first day of summer. I had just been to buy a new backpack for my upcoming trip to Spain. In the shop they just cut off the tags and I didn’t have a […]
Gonville & Caius College is one of the oldest Cambridge colleges, founded in 1348. Gonville & Caius sundial, Senate House Passage I had been wanting to see the inside of the college for a while, having walked past the outside for years. So I went for a wander around one sunny lunchtime. There was a […]
Trinity Hall is a small, beautiful college, and one of the oldest in Cambridge. Occupying a site beside the river, nestled between Trinity College and Clare College, Trinity Hall is in the heart of the old university area. Its near neighbours include Gonville and Caius College, the University’s Old Schools, Clare College, Trinity College, and […]
The Mathematical Bridge in Cambridge is famous for its unusual design. Although it appears to be an arch, the bridge is built entirely of straight timbers. Its component pieces are arranged at tangents that create a strong, self-supporting structure when pressure is applied to them all together. Originally built in 1749, it has been rebuilt […]