School of Pythagoras
A house of around 1200 within St John's College, described as the oldest secular building in Cambridge.
The School of Pythagoras is a Grade I listed house belonging to St John's College, with Northampton Street running to its north. It is usually dated to around 1200, which is earlier than both the University itself and the college's 1511 foundation. It is reckoned to be the college's oldest building and the city's oldest non-religious one; the city's oldest building of any kind is generally given as St Bene't's, which dates from 1033 (see St Bene't's Church).
An unexplained name and a varied past
Nobody seems to be sure why the house carries the name it does. It began life as a private home and has had many uses since, spending a period as a ruin. In the sixteenth century a small manor house, Merton Hall, was attached to its west side; it now provides accommodation for graduate students. From 1266 until 1959 the house, and later Merton Hall too, belonged to Merton College, Oxford, an arrangement that lasted nearly seven centuries.
Under St John's the building became a theatre and the home of the college dramatic society, before taking on its present role as the College Archive Centre.
Practical notes
As an archive centre inside a working college, the house is not an open attraction. Enquire through St John's before making a special trip; the college's Bridge of Sighs is the better-known sight on the same site.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
