Murray Edwards College

Murray Edwards College stands on Huntingdon Road, about a mile north-west of central Cambridge. It began in 1954 as New Hall with sixteen students in temporary rooms, then moved in 1965 to a permanent site designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon. The college occupies former orchard land once part of the Darwin family estate. Its buildings grew in stages, from the 1960s concrete quadrangles to later en-suite wings. The college’s name honours Dame Rosemary Murray, its first president, and alumna Rosalind Edwards, who gave £30 million in 2005. The college is worth the journey for its role in Cambridge’s history of women’s education. In 1967 Jocelyn Bell Burnell, then a PhD student, discovered the first four pulsars here, leading to a Nobel Prize for her supervisor and recognition for her own career. Rosemary Murray became Cambridge’s first woman vice-chancellor in 1975, and two later presidents also reached senior university posts. Murray Edwards remains one of only two women-only colleges in the United Kingdom, alongside Newnham. Its fellowship and staff include men, and male students attend lectures and events on site. Visitors find a varied campus of modern and mid-century buildings. Orchard Court’s three wings house split-level rooms with shared balconies, while Pearl House offers en-suite study bedrooms and communal kitchens. The Dome serves meals and hosts formals and brunch, often praised as the best in Cambridge. Fountain Court opens to the library with an illuminated fountain and seasonal flower displays. The 24-hour library provides study spaces, tea, coffee and welfare events. Outside, informal gardens include a recreated Chelsea Flower Show garden beside the library and a greenhouse where banana plants are wintered.