Clare Hall

Clare Hall was set up in 1966 by Clare College, which had itself been known as Clare Hall from 1338 until 1856. The aim was an institute for advanced study: a community of graduate students, university research staff and visiting academics, men and women, with housing for their families. The college has since grown into a fully independent institution, which it became in 1984, but it stays small and mixes its members in a way few Cambridge colleges do.

What to look for

• The 1969 buildings. The first buildings opened in 1969, built by an architect the college calls eminent, and the college says the originals are listed Grade II* as buildings of national importance. Common rooms, offices, dining facilities, a president's house and apartments for visiting fellows were the original commission.
• Elmside. This house on Grange Road, converted into accommodation, held the first twelve research students.
• The Tanner Lectures. Since 1978 the Cambridge round of the Tanner Lectures on Human Values has been held here.
• No High Table. Unlike most colleges, Clare Hall has neither a High Table nor a Senior Common Room; all members share one society and the same common rooms.
• Nobel connections. Several visiting fellows, among them a physicist, a poet and an economist, have gone on to win Nobel Prizes.

Planning and opening

Clare College decided in January 1964 to create the new centre, and a small group of its fellows, chaired by the then Master, Sir Eric Ashby, handled the early planning. They chose to revive the old name Clare Hall, which the parent college had carried for more than five hundred years. Ashby, who was also Vice-Chancellor of the university, formally opened the new college in September 1969. By then the first president's family was living in the president's house, twelve research students had rooms at Elmside, and visiting fellows and their families occupied the new apartments. The Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Bologna is so far the only institution abroad explicitly modelled on Clare Hall. The late Lord Ashby became its first honorary fellow in 1975.

How the site grew

A second neighbouring house, now Leslie Barnett House, was acquired in 1978 for graduate rooms, and that purchase made room for the Michael Stoker and Brian Pippard Buildings in the grounds. The Anthony Low Building, in the garden of Elmside, was completed in 2000 and gave the graduates further common rooms and the Garden Bar. In summer 1996 the college bought the former Cambridge home of Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild (1910-1990); after conversion it became West Court, with public rooms, studies, apartments, study bedrooms, a fitness centre and a swimming pool. The main site also has a sports complex with a multi-gym, pool and tennis court.

Practical notes

The main site is at the corner of Herschel Road and Grange Road, with the later West Court about five minutes' walk away at the western end of Herschel Road. Clare Hall is a place of study and residence, so contact the Porters' Lodge on 01223 332360 before visiting.