Skip to main content Skip to footer

50 Clare Hall Treasures to mark our 50th anniversary year

What do you treasure about Clare Hall?  The wonderful architecture, our people, or the quiet contemplative surroundings perhaps. To celebrate our half century we created a list of our own 50 Clare Hall treasures. Some may be familiar, some a little quirky, but we hope they will all evoke your own personal memories or inspire you to explore our wonderful college a little more on your next visit. 

1. The ‘Adders’ sign in the borders at West Court, they don’t have this at Trinity on the lawns!

2. Annual Cricket Match between staff and students in June – a test of skill, nerves, and sheer determination, and that’s just getting one of the famous half-time teas!

3. Lord Ashby’s deed of baronetcy hangs in its original case on a wall in the Library named after him. Eric Ashby officially opened the new Clare Hall buildings in 1969.

4. An oriental inspired bridge crosses Bin Brook, a tributary from the River Cam in the gardens of No 9 Herschel Road, West Court.

5. Once a year for a few special days in spring, the Japanese blossom tree on the lawn in Fellows Garden blooms and flowers. The spectacle is wonderful to behold.

6. Christmas is a special time wherever you are in the world and at Clare Hall, we make sure that for the students, guests, staff and fellows we celebrate the season. It starts with the arrival of the Christmas tree in the Dining Hall.

7. The official vellum deed from the College of Arms granting Clare Hall the Arms or Crest of the college.

8. When he designed the layout of the college buildings, Ralph Erskine created this beautiful inner courtyard. Today the college offices surround this internal vista, and we are privileged to share the view of the fish in the pond guarded over by the watchful statue of the heron on the roof in the corner.

9. Elmside, our wonderful Arts & Crafts inspired house overlooking the Fellows Garden. Home to many of our former students, they all have great memories of their times there and of the many parties that went on into the night.

10. There is just something tactile about seeing a name we love and this small painted name on the gatepost on Grange Road says it all.

11. Our archives contain many treasures, and we could only pick a few, but surely one of the most important of these is the collection of architectural drawings of Clare Hall by the Swedish architect – Ralph Erskine.

 12. Our staff! Where else in the University would you find such a great team who work hard to enable the college to run efficiently, and who when you ask them to pose with some 1966 balloons, do not hesitate to step forward and volunteer!

13. The fish, there is Nemo, Dory, Marlin, Bruce, Crush…I’ve lost count now, they have moved. I will start again…

14. Our gardens are tended by the expertise of Head Gardener, David Smith. He oversees the planting and the care of the Main site and the West Court site, as well as the Barton Road property.

15. Friendship – Clare Hall is a warm and welcoming graduate college where you will be made to feel at home, like these two!

16. The Gardens Team – where would we be without these guys to keep the borders outside Paul Mellon looking fabulous and the lawns looking green and lush.

17. Originally on the main site, Herschel House stood here before it was demolished. It once belonged to George Mallory, the famous mountaineer who disappeared along with Andrew Irving on the slopes of Everest in 1924.

18. How do the gardens look so great? Well, the secrets lie in the nurturing and tendering of the seedlings that start their Clare Hall life in the college greenhouses over the winter and spring period by the Gardens team.

19. At the Head Porter’s desk is a large round mirror, which is not just for Andy Taylor to see himself but rather to see if there is anybody waiting at the porter’s desk behind him since his desk faces the wall.

20. Herschel Road, Cambridge CB3 9AL – that’s our address. Herschel Road is named after either William Herschel (1738-1822) who discovered Uranus, and infrared radiation or his son John Herschel (1792-1871) who was at St John’s College, and was a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer, who also did valuable botanical work.

21. The Housekeeping Team work tirelessly to ensure that the rooms are cleaned and maintained for our students and Life Members, so they are definitely one of our 50 Treasures of Clare Hall.

22. The tree nearest the Ashby Library on the Fellows Lawn was planted in memory of John Garrod, former Bursar. The stones at the foot of the tree were carved by the Kindersley workshop in Cambridge.

23. Another important part of Clare Hall, the porter’s key cupboard. It holds (obviously!) the keys to the college, so when you come to Cambridge and come to Clare Hall you will be issued with your room key from here.

24. The King Room – this was generously refurbished by Donald and Mary Elizabeth King in 2014-5 and is a fantastic light meeting room designed with the simplicity of Swedish design. It is used for private dinners, conferences, and meetings.

25. Kindersley workshop examples around the college, there are several to be found in the name plates for each of the houses and in the welsh slate plaques on the walls.

26. Leslie Barnett was Tutor, then Senior Tutor at Clare Hall, this bust stands outside Leslie Barnett house which was formerly named Keyneside but is now named in her honour.

27. The Library serves as a place of quiet contemplation and study for students, Visiting Fellows and Life Members alike.

28. Matriculation – the formal entry to Cambridge collegiate life, this is marked with a formal dinner and the chance to appear in the matriculation photograph. Many of these from past matriculations adorn the walls near the President’s office in the main building.

29. This year’s May Ball 2016 had to go on the list, just because it was a ball! The theme was based on an infamous lavish party held by Truman Capote in New York in 1966, with the décor in black and white.

30. Former Clare Hall President Michael Stoker painted some watercolours of the college, which we recently exhibited as part of our Anniversary Art Exhibition.

31. At the far end of Scholar’s Garden, there is the statue of a mother and child reading which is a tribute to Libby Gardner, first wife of one of our Life Members.

32. Surely, one of the coolest colleges? We have our own music practice room in which budding musicians can practice with all manner of instruments.

33. Up in the ALB bar, we have the ‘blades of glory’ – the oars won by Clare Hall rowing crews in the Cambridge Bumps. Our own W1 crew won blades in June this year so we expect another addition to the wall shortly!

34. Our porters have to be one of our treasures, don’t they? Who else would deal with a delivery of a 6ft sitar in the porter’s lodge? Don’t think it will fit in the recipient’s pigeon hole!

35. Talking of pigeon holes…an important hub of college life. Here is where the post is delivered to, where the pizza deal delivery leaflet will find it’s way to and the slip from the porters saying ‘Your Amazon delivery of 6ft sitar is waiting in the porter’s lodge!’

36. Clare Hall also doubles up as an Art Exhibition space throughout the year; staff are now well used to members of the public gazing up at the walls outside their offices!

37. This is the official silver plated trowel used by Brian Pippard, the first President of Clare Hall, in the topping-out ceremony of the new Erskine designed buildings in 1968.

38.  The Foundation Charter was given to Clare Hall by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in October 1984.

39. What is now known as Gillian Beer house at West Court used to be the home of Lord Rothschild, and the family insignia is prevalent on gates and ornamental parts of the original house.

40. The Rouse Mathematical window is part of the Ashby Library, it refers to a magic square. Rouse Ball was the founder of a magic society in 1919 which met in the ‘magic room’ which is now the Library.

41. Clare Hall has many sculptures in its gardens, come and explore – some are reputed to be Pokestops for the new craze of Pokemon Go!

42. Nicholas Shackleton was one of our Fellows, he was also an eminent Marine Geologist. He was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1971 and we hold some of his own archive material in college. The Shackleton fellowship is named in his honour.

43. Outside the western facing windows of the Salje Building at West Court are rows of silver birch trees planted into the ground, creating a stunning visual piece of nature.

44. The Maintenance staff who work to repair, fix, improve and renovate the rooms, buildings and sites at Clare Hall, all treasures! This is not the official photograph of the team, but rather the Head of Maintenance boogying away at our recent 1966 Party.

45. Our students!!! Need we say more – they are great!

46. Tucked away in the far corner near Elmside is the sundial that sits in the rosebeds.

47. Clare Hall is also known for hosting the annual Tanner and Ashby Lectures. Notable speakers in the past include Sir David King and Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve.

48. West Court itself lies at the far end of Herschel Road. On the site, there is Salje Building, Paul Mellon house, Robert Honeycombe house and Gillian Beer house which are residential properties

49. We have our own swimming pool and gym, now if we were not already the coolest college with everything else we have shown you, you would have to admit that we are now!

50. In the original Rothschild house (now renamed Gillian Beer house) is a secret cupboard, however, if we showed it you it would not be secret would it?

IE Support

This site doesn't support Internet Explorer, so some pages might not look correct and some functionality might not work as expected.