Murray Edwards College
A Grade II* listed 1960s concrete campus with the Dome dining hall, the Women's Art Collection and free daily entry.
Murray Edwards opened in 1954 as New Hall, the third Cambridge college for women. The first sixteen students squeezed into a house on Silver Street, on ground that Darwin College now occupies. The Darwin family handed over a house called The Orchard in 1962, and on that Huntingdon Road site the new buildings went up between 1964 and 1965. The college was renamed Murray Edwards in 2008 after a large gift from an alumna and her husband, and in honour of its first president.
What to look for
- The Brutalist buildings. The architects, Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, went on to design the Barbican in London. The college calls the result a light-filled "manifesto for the education of women", and its original buildings are Grade II* listed.
- The Dome. The dining hall draws on the grandeur of Renaissance cathedrals. It houses part of the artwork for which the college is known and has a servery that rises from the floor on special occasions.
- Fountain Court. An illuminated fountain and waterways beside the library, with tables out in warmer months.
- The Women's Art Collection. The college points visitors to its collection of art by women, alongside the buildings and gardens, on a tour that begins at the Porters' Lodge.
The gardens
The grounds are informal in style rather than formally laid out. A greenhouse that once belonged to the Darwin family estate still stands, and banana plants are grown in it over the winter. In 2007, as New Hall, the college became the first in Cambridge to take part in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Its garden took the Transit of Venus as its theme and won a Bronze Flora medal. A somewhat larger version was rebuilt beside the library afterwards.
Arms and charter
New Hall received its Royal Charter in 1972. The arms show a dolphin, a symbol of youthful exploration, on a black field. Three stars are borrowed from the arms of the Murray family, and the castellated border refers to the college's position on Castle Hill.
Practical notes
Unlike most Cambridge colleges, Murray Edwards says it is open to all, daily from 10am to 6pm, with no admission charge. Begin at the Porters' Lodge on Huntingdon Road. The college is about a mile from the centre and close to Fitzwilliam College and St Edmund's College. Ask at the lodge about any closures, as building works are planned under the college's estates strategy.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
