Pembroke College

Pembroke College stands in the heart of Cambridge beside Trumpington Street. Founded in 1347 by Marie de St Pol, Countess of Pembroke, it is the university’s third-oldest college. The college spreads across buildings from every century since its creation, with spacious gardens at its centre. More than 700 students and fellows now study and work here. Its members are known as ‘Valencians’, a name that recalls the college’s original dedication to Mary of Valence. The art historian Rosalind Polly Blakesley serves as the college’s Master. The college has long been among Cambridge’s highest achievers. In four separate years it ranked second in the Tompkins Table, the university’s annual academic league. Pembroke also holds a special place in British political history, having educated William Pitt the Younger. The first chapel designed by Sir Christopher Wren still stands within its walls. The college library preserves an original copy of the first encyclopaedia to include printed diagrams, a Victorian neo-gothic tower rising above its shelves. Visitors walk through Old Court, the smallest university court until the 19th century. The gatehouse here is the oldest in Cambridge. The chapel, rebuilt by Wren in 1665, has a fine plaster ceiling and later extensions by George Gilbert Scott. The Hall, rebuilt by Alfred Waterhouse in the 1870s, leads to Red Buildings in French Renaissance style. Beyond the courts lie The Orchard, a semi-wild green space, and a bowling green said to be one of Europe’s oldest in continuous use.