Clare College is a

constituent college A collegiate university is a university in which functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the C ...

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite o ...

. It was refounded in 1338 as ''Clare Hall'' by an endowment from

Elizabeth de Clare Elizabeth de Clare, 11th Lady of Clare (16 September 1295 – 4 November 1360) was the heiress to the lordships of Clare, Suffolk, in England and Usk in Wales. She was the youngest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertfo ...

, and took on its current name in 1856. Clare is famous for its chapel

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

and for its gardens on "

The Backs The Backs is a picturesque area to the east of Queen's Road in the city of Cambridge, England, where several colleges of the University of Cambridge back on to the River Cam, their grounds covering both banks of the river. National Trust chairm ...

" (the back of the colleges that overlook the River Cam). Clare is consistently one of the most popular Cambridge colleges amongst prospective applicants.

History

The college was founded in 1326 by the university's Chancellor, Richard Badew, and was originally named ''University Hall''. Providing maintenance for only two fellows, it soon hit financial hardship. In 1338, the college was refounded as ''Clare Hall'' by an endowment from

, a granddaughter of Edward I, which provided for twenty fellows and ten students.'The colleges and halls: Clare College', A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3: The City and University of Cambridge (1959), pp. 340-346.
Date Accessed: 2 June 2010 The college was known as Clare Hall until 1856, when it changed its name to "Clare College". (A new " Clare Hall" was founded by Clare College as an exclusively postgraduate institution in 1966.)

Buildings

Old Court

Clare's Old Court, a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, frames

King's College Chapel King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College, Cambridge, King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan ...

as the left border of one of the most celebrated architectural vistas in England. It was built between 1638 and 1715, with a long interruption for the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. The period spans the arrival of true

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthet ...

into 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 English Gothic, and the final southern block, which shows a fully articulated classic style. The college's chapel was built in 1763 and designed by Sir James Burrough, the Master of neighbouring

Caius College Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

. Its altarpiece is ''Annunciation'' by Cipriani.

Clare Bridge

Clare has a much-photographed

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

over the River Cam and is the oldest of Cambridge's current bridges. It was built of stone in 1640 by Thomas Grumbold and restored in 1969, and is a Grade I listed building. Fourteen stone balls decorate it, one of which has a missing section. A number of apocryphal stories circulate concerning this – the one most commonly cited by members of 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.

Memorial Court

Clare's bridge connects Old Court to Memorial Court, which was designed by

Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and ...

and 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.

Lerner Court

A new court, Lerner Court, designed by architects van Heyningen and Haward, was opened in January 2008. 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

File:Clare College, back of Old Court.jpeg, Old Court in Winter File:Clare Bridge over the River Cam.jpg, Clare Bridge, over the River Cam File:Clare Bridge - ball with missing wedge.jpg, Clare Bridge's missing wedge File:Clare College, Cambridge, July 2010 (12).JPG, Inside the Great Hall File:Clare College, Scholars' Garden.jpg, The Scholars' Garden File:Clare College Chapel, Cambridge.jpg, College chapel File:Clare College, Cambridge - Lerner Court.jpg, Lerner Court File:Clare_College_Memorial_Court_02.JPG, Memorial Court File:Cambridge boathouses - Clare (2).jpg, Clare College boathouse File:Antechapel clare.jpg, Clare college chapel

Student life

Clare is known as a liberal and progressive college. In 1972 it became one of the three male Cambridge colleges that led the way in admitting female undergraduates (the other two being Churchill and King's). Clare continues in this tradition and has won praise for the transparency of its admissions process. Clare-bar

Clare is known as one of the most musical colleges in Cambridge. Its

has 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.

Clare Ents

As well as popular jazz and comedy nights, Clare is renowned for Clare Ents, a student night held every Friday in term time. The night is popular with students across the university and in the past it has hosted such acts as

Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He has been signed to Parlophone Records since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment compa ...

Bombay Bicycle Club Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London, consisting of Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram, and Ed Nash. They are guitar-fronted and have experimented with different genres, including folk, electro ...

and Chase and Status.

Clareification

Clare's student newspaper, '' Clareification'', won "Best University College Paper" in ''The Cambridge Student'' in 2005. 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. On 3 February 2007 the college cut its funding to the paper following the publication of the guest-edited edition of 2 February, retitled ''Crucification''. 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 provoked international protest when they first appeared in Danish newspaper ''

Jyllands-Posten ''Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten'' (; English: ''The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"''), commonly shortened to ''Jyllands-Posten'' or ''JP'', is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Aarhus C, Jutland, and with a weekday circula ...

'' in September 2005.''

May Ball

Clare holds an annual May ball on the Monday of May Week in the middle of June. It is one of the largest may balls in Cambridge and is well known for securing popular headliners.

Clare Boat Club

Clare Boat Club is 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 the May Bumps competition. The club's Head Coach and Boathouse Manager, Anton Wright, appeared on Channel 4's year-long reality TV show, Eden.

Old Court Panorama

File:Clare_panroama.jpg

Academic performance

The undergraduates of Clare College have usually performed very well based on the results published in the

Tompkins Table The Tompkins Table is an annual ranking that lists the Colleges of the University of Cambridge in order of their undergraduate students' performances in that year's examinations. Two colleges— Darwin and Clare Hall—do not have undergraduat ...

, placing Clare within the top ten colleges from 2000 to 2005. 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. 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. Overall, Clare has approximately five applicants per place. Yet the high quality of applicants means that many of them are awarded places at other colleges through the Winter Pool. Of applicants in 2007, 151 were given offers by Clare, and a further 75 applicants were made offers at other Cambridge colleges.

People associated with Clare College

File:Elizabeth de Clare.jpg, Elizabeth de Clare, 11th Lady of Clare, writer, founder, and patron File:Kwame Anthony Appiah by David Shankbone.jpg, Kwame Anthony Appiah, philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist File:Lord Cornwallis.jpg,

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United ...

, Royal Army officer File:S. Baring-Gould portrait.PNG,

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,2 ...

, Anglican priest and novelist File:Tim Hunt at UCSF 05 2009 (4).jpg, Sir Tim Hunt, biochemist and physiologist File:Hugh Latimer from NPG.jpg,

Hugh Latimer Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the ...

, Bishop of Worcester, Oxford Martyr of Anglicanism File:1stDukeOfNewcastleOld.jpg,

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (21 July 169317 November 1768) was a British Whig statesman who served as the 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Great Britain, his official life extended ...

, former

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...

File:John Rutter.jpg,

John Rutter John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...

, musician, composer and conductor File:Viscount Sydney by Gilbert Stuart.jpg, Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, former

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...

File:Andrew wiles1-3.jpg, Sir Andrew Wiles, mathematician, solved

Fermat's Last Theorem In number theory, Fermat's Last Theorem (sometimes called Fermat's conjecture, especially in older texts) states that no three positive integers , , and satisfy the equation for any integer value of greater than 2. The cases and have been ...

File:Rowan Williams -001b.jpg, Rowan Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian, and poet File:Henry Louis Gates 2014 (cropped).jpg, Henry Louis Gates Jr., American historian and filmmaker File:David Attenborough (cropped).jpg, alt=Sir David Attenborough,

Sir David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

, naturalist, historian, and broadcaster File:Gillian Tett FT Autumn Party 2014 crop.jpg, Gillian Tett, financial journalist and author File:Duleepsinhji 1920s.jpg, Duleepsinhji, cricketer and Indian public servant

References

External links

Clare College, Cambridge official websiteUnion of Clare Students (JCR) websiteClare MCR website
{{authority control Colleges of the University of Cambridge Educational institutions established in the 14th century Grade I listed buildings in Cambridge Grade I listed educational buildings 1326 establishments in England