Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge 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. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on
"the Backs". The current Master is Anthony Grabiner,
Baron Grabiner, a British barrister. Clare is consistently one of the most
popular Cambridge colleges amongst prospective applicants. As of 2014, it
had an endowment of over £89m. 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, which provided for twenty fellows and ten students.
The college was known as Clare Hall until 1856, when it changed its name to
"Clare College". Buildings
= Old Court= Clare's Old Court, a Grade I listed
building, frames King's College Chapel as the left border of one of the most
celebrated architectural vistas in England. It was built between 1638 and
1715, with a long interruption for the English Civil War. The period spans the
arrival of true classicism 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, 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.
= Clare Bridge= Clare has a much-photographed bridge
over the river which is the oldest of Cambridge's current bridges. Fourteen
stone balls decorate it, one of which has a missing section. A number of
apocryphal stories circulate concerning this - the one most commonly cited by
members of 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 into the river.
Clare's bridge connects Old Court to Memorial Court, which was designed by
Giles Gilbert Scott and dedicated in 1926. 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 center of
Memorial Court; the new courtyard created in the west was renamed Ashby
Court thereafter. A new court, Lerner Court, was opened in
January 2008 and was designed by architects van Heyningen and Haward. 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.
= Gallery= Student life
Clare is known as a liberal and progressive college. In 1972 it became
one of the three male Cambridge colleges that led the way in admitting female
undergraduates. Clare continues in this tradition and has won praise for the
transparency of its admissions process. Clare is known as one of the most
musical colleges in Cambridge. Its choir has performed all over the world. Many
Clare students play instruments, and the college music society, Clare College
Music Society, is well known, particularly the orchestra. Like most
Cambridge colleges, Clare allows students to have a piano in their
college rooms. = Clare Ents=
As well as popular jazz and comedy nights, Clare is renowned 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.
= Clareification= Clare's student newspaper,
Clareification, won "Best University College Paper" in "The Cambridge
Student" in 2005. Published by the Union of Clare Students, it comprises
satirical articles mocking Cambridge traditions, reports on silly student
antics, and college gossip in the "Clareifornication" column.
On 3 February 2007 the college cut its funding to the paper following the
publication of the guest-edited edition of 2 February, retitled "Crucification".
In addition to the paper's usual satirical attacks on Christianity, this
edition also featured several articles which mocked Islam, and a reproduction
of the cartoon illustrations of the prophet Mohammed which provoked
international protest when they first appeared in Danish newspaper
Jyllands-Posten in September 2005. = May Ball=
Clare holds an annual may ball on the Monday of May Week in the middle of
June. It is one of the largest may balls in Cambridge and is well known for
securing popular head-liners. = 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 6 men's VIIIs in the May Bumps
competition. Academic performance
The undergraduates of Clare College have usually performed very well based on the
results published in the Tompkins Table, placing Clare within the top ten
colleges from 2000 to 2005. However, their performance in the following years
was poorer, leaving them in 12th in 2006 and 18th in 2009. Their 2010 performance
however showed an increase of 10 places over their previous year's performance,
and in 2011 they reached fourth place. Entrance into Clare College is very
competitive. Overall, Clare has approximately 5 applicants per place.
Yet 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. Clare is known for its unusually
transparent, meritocratic admission process, which assigns numerical scores
to candidates on a number of criteria, and has been published in detail in
national newspapers. People associated with Clare College
See also Category:Alumni of Clare College,
Cambridge Category:Fellows of Clare College,
Cambridge References
External links Clare College, Cambridge official
website Union of Clare Students website
Clare MCR website