Clare College is a
constituent college of the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after
Peterhouse. It was refounded in 1338 as Clare Hall by an endowment from
Elizabeth de Clare, and took on its current name in 1856. Clare is famous for its
chapel choir and for its gardens on
the Backs (the rear of the colleges that overlook the
River Cam). It is a
registered charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definitio ...
.
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
Elizabeth de Clare, a granddaughter of
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
, which provided for twenty fellows and ten students.
[ Retrieved 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 a postgraduate institution in 1966.)
Women were accepted as undergraduates in 1972, one of the first three previously all-male colleges to do so.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Clare College are "''Or, three chevronels gules, impaling Or, a cross gules; all within a bordure sable guttee d'Or.''"
Elizabeth de Clare's first husband was
John de Burgh (1286–1313). Usually, the arms of the husband appear in the
dexter half, the position of greater honour, here occupied by the arms of de Clare. This shield with its bordure of ''
gouttes d'or'' (golden droplets) appears on the personal seal of Elizabeth de Clare.
Buildings
Old Court

Clare's Old Court, a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
, was built between 1638 and 1715,
with a long interruption for the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
. The period spans the arrival of
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 aesthe ...
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 architecture
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...
, 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. Its altarpiece is ''Annunciation'' by
Cipriani.
Old Court frames
King's College Chapel in views from the Backs.
Clare Bridge
Clare has a
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
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 – 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.
Memorial Court
Clare Bridge connects Old Court to Memorial Court, which was designed by
Giles Gilbert Scott and dedicated in 1926. The new court, west of
Queen's Road, was conceived as a memorial to the Clare men who lost their lives in the First World War. The monumental arch which forms the entrance to the court accommodates a large bell and carries the names of Clare alumni who died in both world wars. Memorial Court is Grade II* listed,
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
van Heyningen and Haward Architects, 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.
Castle Court
A detached area of student accommodation, Castle Court, is between
Castle Street and
Chesterton Lane, on
Castle Hill, north of the city centre.
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:cmglee_Cambridge_Clare_College_Memorial_Court_Queens_Road_gate_in.jpg, Memorial Court viewed from Queen's Road
File:Cambridge boathouses - Clare (2).jpg, Clare College boathouse
File:Antechapel clare.jpg, Clare College chapel
Student life
In 1972 Clare College became one of the three male Cambridge colleges to admit female undergraduates (the other two being
Churchill and
King's).

Clare is known as a musical college in Cambridge. Its
choir
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
has performed all over the world. Clare College Music Society is well known, particularly the orchestra. As well as jazz and comedy nights, Clare is known 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,
Bombay Bicycle Club and
Chase and Status.
The college's student newspaper is called ''
Clareification''.
Clare holds an annual
May ball on the Monday of
May Week in the middle of June.
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.
Academic performance
The undergraduates of Clare College were 12th in the 2024
Tompkins Table, based on degree results.
Clare was in the top ten colleges in the Tompkins Table 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, with approximately five applicants per place. However, 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
Kwame Akroma-Ampim Kusi Anthony Appiah ( ; born 8 May 1954) is an English-American philosopher and writer who has written about political philosophy, ethics, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual history. Appiah is Prof ...
, philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist
File:Lord Cornwallis.jpg, Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British Army officer
File:S. Baring-Gould portrait.PNG, Sabine Baring-Gould, 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, 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, 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (21 July 1693 – 17 November 1768) was an English Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prim ...
, 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 Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
File:John Rutter.jpg, John Rutter, 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, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
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 number, positive integers , , and satisfy the equation for any integer value of greater than . The cases ...
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, 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
See also
* ''
A Clare Benediction'' (1998), an anthem by John Rutter
*
:Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge
*
:Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge
*
Listed buildings in Cambridge (west)
References
External links
Clare College, Cambridge official websiteUnion of Clare Students (JCR) websiteClare MCR website
{{authority control
1326 establishments in England
Educational institutions established in the 14th century
Colleges of the University of Cambridge
Grade I listed buildings in Cambridge
Grade I listed educational buildings
Charities based in Cambridgeshire