Peterhouse

Peterhouse sits on Trumpington Street just beside the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the college itself dates its foundation to 1284, making it the oldest in Cambridge. Its founder was Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely, who moved a group of scholars to this site from the Hospital of St John. The scale is intimate: a handful of courts rather than a grand set-piece, with each generation visible in the stonework.

What to look for

• The Hall. The medieval dining hall in Old Court is the college's one surviving 13th-century building. George Gilbert Scott Jr restored it between 1866 and 1870, and the windows and fireplace tiles carry work associated with William Morris, Ford Madox Brown and Edward Burne-Jones.
• The Chapel. Built under Master Matthew Wren and consecrated in 1632, it stands in the middle of one side of Old Court between open cloisters. Its Laudian Gothic style, golden ceiling suns and surviving east-window crucifixion are the main draws. The college's partbooks, a collection of Tudor and Jacobean church music, belong to the same story, and its choir has performed material from them.
• Electric light. In 1883-84 Lord Kelvin, an alumnus, installed electric lighting in the Hall and Combination Room to mark the college's six-hundredth anniversary.
• Fen Court. Built 1939-41 by Hughes and Bicknell, this raised block is an early Modern Movement building in Cambridge. Look for the carved panel over the door inscribed De profundis clamavi MCMXL.
• Perne Library. Above the Porters' Lodge, the library was first built in 1590 to house the books of Andrew Perne, a former Master.

Gisborne Court

An archway on the west side of Old Court leads into Gisborne Court, built in 1825-6 in white brick with stone dressings in a plain Gothic revival style. A former fellow's benefaction of 1817 paid for part of the cost. Only three sides were completed; the fourth is a screen wall, which was taken down in 1939 leaving its footing. The Whittle Building opened on that side in early 2015, in neo-Gothic style, and echoes the vanished screen. It holds undergraduate rooms, the student bar and common room, a function room and a gym.

Andrew Perne

Andrew Perne became Master in 1553 and kept favour under both Mary I and Elizabeth I. A joke of the time held that the weathervane of St Peter's Church could be read as "Andrew Perne, Papist" or "Andrew Perne, Protestant", depending on the wind. He died in 1589 and left the college money for fellowships and scholarships, together with his books, the core of what is now the Perne Library.

Practical notes

All visitors should report first to the Porters' Lodge at the Trumpington Street entrance. The college says it is open to the public for much of the year but closes at some times, such as exam periods and special events, so ask the porters before you set out. Behind Gisborne Court, the Grove housed deer in the 19th century and was then billed as England's tiniest deer park. The deer are long gone, but the gardens remain a quiet contrast to the street.