Peterhouse, Cambridge

Peterhouse is the oldest college in the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has 270 undergraduates, 125 graduate students and 45 fellows, making it the smallest College in Cambridge.

Buildings and grounds

Chapel

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From the main entrance to Peterhouse from Trumpington Street, the altar end of the chapel is the most immediately visible building. The chapel was built in 1628 when the Master of the time Mathew Wren (Christopher Wren's uncle) demolished the College's original houses. The chapel's style reflects the contemporary religious trend towards Arminianism The Laudian Gothic style of the chapel mixes Renaissance details but incorporated them into a traditional Gothic building. The chapel's Renaissance architecture contains a Pieta altarpiece and a striking ceiling of golden suns. The original stained glass was destroyed by Parliamentarian forces in 1643, with only the east window's crucifixion scene (based on Rubens' Le Coup de Lance) surviving. The current side windows are by Max Ainmuller, and were added in 1855. The cloisters on each side of the chapel date from the seventeenth cenrury. However, their design was classicised in 1709, while an ornamental porch was removed in 1755.

Related Topics:
1628 - Mathew Wren - Christopher Wren - Arminianism - Laudian - Gothic - Renaissance - Pieta - Parliamentarian - 1643 - Rubens - Max Ainmuller - 1855 - 1709 - 1755

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Old Court

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Old Court lies beyond the chapel cloisters. To the south of the court is the dining hall, the only College building that survives from the thirteenth century. It was re-mediaevalised in 1870 with fine panelling, an impressive oriel window, and a new timber roof by the architect George Gilbert Scott. The stained glass, with pieces by William Morris, Ford Madox Brown and Edward Burne-Jones, is a fine example of Pre-Raphaelite glass. The sixteenth-century fireplace now contains tiles, also by Morris.

Related Topics:
1870 - Oriel window - George Gilbert Scott - William Morris - Ford Madox Brown - Edward Burne-Jones - Pre-Raphaelite

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The north and west sides of Old Court were added in the fifteenth century, and classicised three centuries later. The chapel makes up the fourth, east side to the court. Rooms in Old Court are occupied by a mixture of fellows and undergraduates. The west and north sides of the court also house Peterhouse's JCR and the student bar.

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Gisborne Court

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Gisborne Court is accessible through an archway leading from the west side of Old Court. It was built in 1825. Its cost was met with part of a benefaction of 1817 from the Rev. Francis Gisborne, a former Fellow. When the gift was announced to the Governing Body its size, £20,000, was so great that the Fellows took it at first as a practical joke. The court is built in white brick with stone dressings in a simple Tudor Gothic style from the designs of William Mclntosh Brookes. Only three sides to the court were built. The College is currently considering plans to build a fourth side in a style similar style. Rooms in Gisborne Court are mainly occupied by undergraduates.

Related Topics:
1825 - 1817 - Tudor Gothic

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Fen Court and the Birdwood Building

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Beyond Gisborne Court is Fen Court, a twentieth century building partially on stilts. Fen Court was added in 1940 from designs by H. C. Hughes and his partner Peter Bicknell. It was amongst the earliest buildings in Cambridge designed in the style of the Modern Movement pioneered by Walter Gropius at the Bauhaus. The carved panel by Anthony Foster over the entrance doorway evokes the mood in Britain as the building was completed. Bearing the inscription DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI MCMXL ("from the depths I cry out (1940)") it depicts St Peter saved in the midst of the sea.

Related Topics:
1940 - Walter Gropius - Bauhaus - St Peter

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In 1933 Bicknell and Hughes also designed the adjacent bath-house, known as the Birdwood Building, that makes up the western side of Gisborne Court. It is now used as a gym.

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The Deer Park

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The grounds to the south of Gisborne Court have been known as the Deer Park since deer were brought there in the nineteenth century. During that period it achieved fame as the smallest deer park in England. After the First World War the deer sickened and passed their illness onto stock imported from the Duke of Portland's estate at Welbeck Abbey in a attempt to improve the situation.

Related Topics:
First World War - Duke of Portland - Welbeck Abbey

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The William Stone building

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The William Stone building lies to the south of the Deer Park and was funded by a bequest from William Stone (1857-1958), a former scholar of the college. Erected in 1963, it is an eight-storey brick tower which was much admired and photographed in the 1960s and 1970s by architectural students, especially from Japan. It houses a mixture of Fellows and undergraduates.

Related Topics:
1963 - 1960s - 1970s

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The Burrough's building

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The Burrough's building is situated at the front of the college, parallel to the Chapel. It is named after its architect, Sir James Burroughs, the Master of Caius, and was built in 1736. It is one of several Cambridge neo-Palladian buildings designed by Burroughs. Others include the remodelling of the Hall and Old Court at Trinity Hall and the chapel at Clare College.

Related Topics:
Caius - 1736 - Palladian - Trinity Hall - Clare College

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The Master's Lodge

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The Master's Lodge is situated across Trumpington Street from the College, and was bequeathed to the College in 1727 by a Fellow, Dr Charles Beaumont, son of a former Master, Joseph Beaumont. It is built in red brick in the Queen Anne style.

Related Topics:
1727 - Queen Anne

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