Emmanuel College

Emmanuel College stands on the site of Cambridge Blackfriars, a Dominican priory dissolved in the 16th century. Sir Walter Mildmay, Elizabeth I’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, founded the college in 1584. The old friary buildings still shape parts of the site, including the dining hall and chapel. Mildmay intended it as a centre for training Anglican preachers. The college grew into one of Cambridge’s larger institutions, with around 500 undergraduates and 200 postgraduates today. Notable alumni include John Harvard, who helped organise the American college named after him, and Graham Chapman of Monty Python. Three Nobel laureates studied here: Ronald Norrish and George Porter in Chemistry, and Frederick Hopkins in Medicine. Emmanuel consistently ranks among the top colleges in the Tompkins Table, topping it five times between 1998 and 2016. Its academic reputation draws students from across disciplines. The college grounds feature a large fish pond left by the friars, now home to ducks. The Fellows’ Garden holds a swimming pool that dates back to the friary’s bathing pool. A 150-seat theatre sits in the Queen’s Building, designed by Michael and Patty Hopkins. The chapel, one of three Cambridge buildings by Christopher Wren, overlooks the courts. Student life thrives with a bar, common room, and societies ranging from music to mountaineering.