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Clare College, Cambridge

Coordinates:52°12′19″N0°06′54″E/ 52.2052°N 0.1150°E/52.2052; 0.1150(Clare College)
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Not to be confused withClare Hall, Cambridge.

Clare College
University of Cambridge
Old Court, Clare College
Arms of Clare College: Arms of de Clare (Or, three chevrons gules) impaling de Burgh (Or, a cross gules) all withina bordure sable guttée d'or.Elizabeth de Clare's first husband wasJohn de Burgh(1286–1313). Usually, the arms of the husband appear in thedexterhalf, the position of greatest honour, here occupied by the arms of de Clare. This shield with its bordure ofgouttes d'or(golden droplets) appears on the personal seal of Elizabeth de Clare.
Scarf colours: black, with two equally-spaced narrow yellow stripes
LocationTrinity Lane(map)
Coordinates52°12′19″N0°06′54″E/ 52.2052°N 0.1150°E/52.2052; 0.1150(Clare College)
AbbreviationCL[1]
Established1326;698 years ago(1326)
Named afterElizabeth de Clare
Previous namesUniversity Hall (1326-1338)
Clare Hall (1338-1856)
Sister collegesSt Hugh's College, Oxford
Oriel College, Oxford
MasterLoretta Minghella
Undergraduates484 (2022-23)
Postgraduates266 (2022-23)
Endowment£166.8m(2023)[2]
VisitorChancellors of the Universityex officio[3]
Websitewww.clare.cam.ac.uk
UCSucs.clare.cam.ac.uk
MCRmcr.clare.cam.ac.uk/about-the-mcr
Boat clubwww.clareboatclub.org.uk
Map
Clare College, Cambridge is located in Central Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Location in Central Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge is located in Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Location in Cambridge

Clare Collegeis aconstituent collegeof theUniversity of Cambridge[4]inCambridge,England.The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University afterPeterhouse.It was refounded in 1338 asClare Hallby an endowment fromElizabeth de Clare,and took on its current name in 1856. Clare is famous for its chapelchoirand for its gardens on "The Backs"(the back of the colleges that overlook theRiver Cam).

History[edit]

The college was founded in 1326 by the university's Chancellor,Richard Badew,and was originally namedUniversity Hall.Providing maintenance for only two fellows, it soon hit financial hardship. In 1338, the college was refounded asClare Hallby an endowment fromElizabeth de Clare,a granddaughter ofEdward I,which provided for twenty fellows and ten students.[5]

The college was known as Clare Hall until 1856, when it changed its name to "Clare College".[6](A new "Clare Hall"was founded by Clare College as an exclusively postgraduate institution in 1966.)

Women were accepted as undergraduates in 1972, one of the first three previously all-male colleges to do so.[7]

Buildings[edit]

Old Court[edit]

Old Court from King's Bridge, Cambridge

Clare's Old Court, a Grade Ilisted building,framesKing's College Chapel.It was built between 1638 and 1715,[6]with a long interruption for theEnglish Civil War.The period spans the arrival ofclassicisminto the mainstream of British architecture, such that its progress can be traced in the marked differences between the oldest wing to the north, which still has vaulting and other features in the unbroken tradition of EnglishGothic,and the final southern block, which shows a fully articulated classic style.[citation needed]

The college's chapel was built in 1763 and designed bySir James Burrough,the Master of neighbouringCaius College.[8]Its altarpiece isAnnunciationbyCipriani.[9]

Clare College Gate

Clare Bridge[edit]

Clare has abridgeover theRiver Camand is the oldest ofCambridge's current bridges.It was built of stone in 1640 by Thomas Grumbold and restored in 1969, and is aGrade I listedbuilding.[10]

Fourteen stone balls decorate it, one of which has a missing section. A number of apocryphal stories circulate concerning this – the one cited by members of the college is that the original builder of the bridge was not paid the full amount for his work and so removed the segment to balance the difference in payment. A more likely explanation is that a wedge of stone cemented into the ball as part of a repair job became loose and fell out.[citation needed]

Memorial Court[edit]

Clare's bridge connects Old Court to Memorial Court, which was designed byGiles Gilbert Scottand dedicated in 1926. Memorial Court was extended in the 1950s by the construction of Thirkill Court, and was later divided into two parts when the College's Forbes Mellon Library was constructed in the centre of Memorial Court; the new courtyard created in the west was renamed Ashby Court.[11]

Lerner Court[edit]

A new court, Lerner Court, designed by the architectsvan Heyningen and Haward,was opened in January 2008.[12]It occupies the last piece of undeveloped land in the central area of the College next to Memorial Court and houses a lecture theatre, catering, fellows offices, residential accommodation and a student laundry.

Gallery[edit]

  • Old Court in Winter
    Old Court in Winter
  • Clare Bridge, over the River Cam
    Clare Bridge, over theRiver Cam
  • Clare Bridge's missing wedge
    Clare Bridge's missing wedge
  • Inside the Great Hall
    Inside the Great Hall
  • The Scholars' Garden
    The Scholars' Garden
  • College chapel
    College chapel
  • Lerner Court
    Lerner Court
  • Memorial Court
    Memorial Court
  • Clare College boathouse
    Clare College boathouse
  • Clare college chapel
    Clare college chapel

Student life[edit]

Clare is known as a liberal and progressive college.[citation needed]In 1972 it became one of the three male Cambridge colleges that led the way in admitting female undergraduates (the other two beingChurchillandKing's). Clare continues in this tradition and has been praised for the transparency of its admissions process.[13]

Clare College Bar

Clare is known as a musical college in Cambridge.[citation needed]Itschoirhas performed all over the world. Many Clare students play instruments, and the Clare College Music Society is well known, particularly the orchestra. Like most Cambridge colleges, Clare allows students to have a piano in their college rooms.[citation needed]

Clare Ents[edit]

As well as jazz and comedy nights, Clare is known for Clare Ents, a student night held every Friday in term time.[citation needed]The night is popular with students across the university and in the past it has hosted such acts asTinie Tempah,Bombay Bicycle ClubandChase and Status.[14]

Clareification[edit]

Clare's student newspaper,Clareification,won "Best University College Paper" inThe Cambridge Studentin 2005.[citation needed]Published by the Union of Clare Students, it comprises satirical articles mocking Cambridge traditions, reports on silly student antics, and college gossip in the "Clareifornication" column.[citation needed]

On 3 February 2007, the college cut its funding to the paper following the publication of the guest-edited edition of 2 February, retitledCrucification.[citation needed]In addition to the paper's usual satirical attacks on Christianity, this edition also featured several articles which mocked Islam, and a reproduction of the cartoon illustrations of the prophet Mohammed which provokedinternational protestwhen they first appeared in Danish newspaperJyllands-Postenin September 2005.[15]

May Ball[edit]

Clare hosts an annualMay Ball,during which the college is lavishly decorated.

Clare holds an annualMay ballon the Monday ofMay Weekin the middle of June. It is one of the largest may balls in Cambridge and is well known for securing popular headliners.[citation needed]

Clare Boat Club[edit]

Clare Boat Clubis the rowing club for current members of Clare College. There is a separate club, De Burgh Boat Club, for alumni. In 2012, Clare Boat Club had the highest membership relative to the size of its student body of any college-affiliated boat club in Cambridge, fielding six men's VIIIs in theMay Bumpscompetition.[citation needed]

The club's Head Coach and Boathouse Manager,Anton Wright,appeared on Channel 4's year-long reality TV show,Eden.[16]

Old Court Panorama[edit]

Academic performance[edit]

The undergraduates of Clare College have usually performed very well based on the results published in theTompkins Table,placing Clare within the top ten colleges from 2000 to 2005.[17]However, their performance in the following years (2006–09) was poorer, leaving them in 12th in 2006 and 18th in 2009. Their 2010 performance (8th position) however showed an increase of 10 places over their previous year's performance, and in 2011 they reached fourth place.[18]In 2018, Clare placed 16th out of 29 colleges recorded in the table. In 2019, it fell to 24th place. In 2022, it rose to 12th place.

Entrance into Clare College is competitive, with approximately five applicants per place.[citation needed]However, the high quality of applicants means that many of them are awarded places at other colleges through theWinter Pool.[citation needed]Of applicants in 2007, 151 were given offers by Clare, and a further 75 applicants were made offers at other Cambridge colleges.[19]

People associated with Clare College[edit]

Main articles:List of alumni of Clare College, CambridgeandList of Masters of Clare College, Cambridge

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^University of Cambridge(6 March 2019)."Notice by the Editor".Cambridge University Reporter.149(Special No 5): 1.Retrieved20 March2019.
  2. ^"Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2023"(PDF).Clare College, Cambridge.Retrieved12 September2023.
  3. ^Clare College, Cambridge (11 October 2017)."Statutes of Clare College"(PDF).clare.cam.ac.uk.Archived(PDF)from the original on 29 April 2022.Retrieved20 October2022.
  4. ^Walker, Timea (19 January 2022)."Clare College".undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk.Retrieved2 November2022.
  5. ^"The colleges and halls: Clare College".A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely.Vol. 3: The City and University of Cambridge. 1959. pp. 340–346.Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  6. ^abTim Rawle(1993).Cambridge Architecture(2nd ed.). André Deutsch. p. 100.ISBN0-233-98818-1.
  7. ^"Five decades after Cambridge colleges went co-ed, too little has changed".Financial Times.31 August 2022.Retrieved25 April2023.
  8. ^Clark, John Willis(1886)."Burrough, James (1691-1764)".Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 07. pp. 444–445.
  9. ^"The Chapel and Choir - Clare College Cambridge".clare.cam.ac.uk.Retrieved9 October2021.
  10. ^Historic England."Clare College, Clare Bridge (1125549)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved13 April2017.
  11. ^Clare College Cambridge."Memorial Court - Clare College Cambridge".Retrieved13 September2014.
  12. ^"Clare College, Cambridge - van Heyningen and Haward Architects".Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2013.Retrieved13 September2014.
  13. ^Rebecca Smithers (20 December 2005)."The pick of the bunch".The Guardian.Retrieved13 September2014.
  14. ^"Clare Ents".Clare Ents.Retrieved2 April2012.
  15. ^Burton, Nikki (20 February 2007)."Clare student out of hiding".Varsity Publications Ltd. Varsity.Retrieved13 June2020.
  16. ^"Eden - All 4".channel4.Retrieved25 August2016.
  17. ^"Tompkins Table 2000-2007".mattmayer. Archived fromthe originalon 1 August 2009.
  18. ^"Tompkins Table 2011".The Independent.18 July 2011.Retrieved2 April2012.
  19. ^"Clare Statistics".Clare College, Cambridge.

External links[edit]

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