| Peterhouse | |
|---|---|
| University of Cambridge | |
 Old Court, facing the Chapel | |
 Arms of Peterhouse Arms:Or four pallets Gules within a border of the last charged with eight ducal coronets of the first | |
| Scarf colours: four equal stripes alternating white and blue | |
| Location | Trumpington Street (map) |
| Full name | Peterhouse in the University of Cambridge[1] |
| Abbreviation | PET[2] |
| Founder | Hugh de Balsham,Bishop of Ely |
| Established | 1284; 741 years ago (1284) |
| Named after | Peter the Apostle |
| Previous names |
|
| Sister colleges | Merton College, Oxford |
| Master | Professor Andy Parker |
| Undergraduates | 290 (2022–23) |
| Postgraduates | 187 (2022–23) |
| Endowment | £235.1 million (2022)[3] |
| Website | www |
| JCR | www |
| MCR | www |
| Boat club | www |
| Map | |
  Location in Central Cambridge Show map of Central Cambridge Location in Cambridge Show map of Cambridge | |
Peterhouse is aconstituent college of theUniversity of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 byHugh de Balsham,Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate students, and 54fellows.[4]
Peterhouse alumni are notably eminent within the natural sciences, including scientistsLord Kelvin,Henry Cavendish,Charles Babbage,James Clerk Maxwell,James Dewar,Frank Whittle, and fiveNobel prize winners in science:Sir John Kendrew,Sir Aaron Klug,Archer Martin,Max Perutz, andMichael Levitt.[5] Peterhouse alumni also include Lord Chancellors, Lord Chief Justices, important poets such asThomas Gray, the first Anglican Bishop of New YorkSamuel Provoost, the first BritishFields MedallistKlaus Roth,Oscar-winning film directorSam Mendes and comedianDavid Mitchell. British Prime MinisterAugustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, andElijah Mudenda, second prime minister ofZambia, also studied at the college.
Peterhouse is one of the wealthiest colleges in Cambridge,[6] with assets exceeding £350 million.[7] It is currently third in terms of net assets per student. Members of Peterhouse are encouraged to attend communal dinners, known as "Hall". Hall takes place in two sittings, with the second known as "Formal Hall", which consists of a three-course candlelit meal and which must be attended wearing suits and gowns. At Formal Hall, the students rise as the fellows proceed in, a gong is rung, and two Latin graces are read. Peterhouse also hosts a biennial white-tie ball as part of May Week celebrations.
In recent years, Peterhouse has been ranked as one of the highest achieving colleges in Cambridge, although academic performance tends to vary year to year due to its small population. In the past five years, it has sat in the top ten of the 29 colleges within theTompkins Table.[when?] Peterhouse sat at fourth in 2018 and 2019.
The foundation of Peterhouse dates to 1280, whenletters patent fromEdward I datedBurgh, Suffolk, 24 December 1280 allowedHugh de Balsham, to keep a number of scholars in theHospital of St John,[8] where they were to live according to the rules of the scholars ofMerton.[9] After disagreement between the scholars and the Brethren of the Hospital, both requested a separation.[10] As a result, in 1284 Balsham transferred the scholars to the present site with the purchase of two houses just outside the then Trumpington Gate to accommodate a Master and fourteen "worthy but impoverished Fellows". TheChurch of St Peter without Trumpington Gate was to be used by the scholars.[10] Bishop Hugo de Balsham died in 1286, bequeathing 300 marks that were used to buy further land to the south of St Peter's Church, on which the college's Hall was built.
The earliest surviving set of statutes for the college was given to it by the then Bishop of Ely,Simon Montacute, in 1344. Although based on those of Merton College, these statutes clearly display the lack of resources then available to the college. They were used in 1345 to defeat an attempt byEdward III to appoint a candidate of his own as scholar. In 1354–55, William Moschett set up a trust that resulted in nearly 70 acres (280,000 m2) of land atFen Ditton being transferred to the College by 1391–92. The College's relative poverty was relieved in 1401 when it acquired theadvowson and rectory ofHinton through the efforts of BishopJohn Fordham and John Newton. During the reign ofElizabeth I, the college also acquired the area formerly known as Volney's Croft, which today is the area of St Peter's Terrace, the William Stone Building and the Scholars' Garden.
In 1553,Andrew Perne was appointed Master. His religious views were pragmatic enough to be favoured by bothMary I, who gave him theDeanery of Ely, and Elizabeth I. A contemporary joke was that the letters on the weathervane ofSt Peter's Church could represent "Andrew Perne, Papist" or "Andrew Perne, Protestant" according to which way the wind was blowing.[10] Having previously been close to the reformist Regius Chair of Divinity,Martin Bucer, later as vice-chancellor of the university Perne would have Bucer's bones exhumed and burnt in Market Square.John Foxe in hisActes and Monuments singled this out as "shameful railing". There is a hole burnt in the middle of the relevant page in Perne's own copy of Foxe.[11] Perne died in 1589, leaving a legacy to the college that funded a number of fellowships and scholarships, as well bequeathing an extensive collection of books. This collection and rare volumes since added to it is now known as the Perne Library.
Between 1626 and 1634, the Master wasMatthew Wren. Wren had previously accompaniedCharles I on his journey to Spain to attempt to negotiate theSpanish Match. Wren was a firm supporter of ArchbishopWilliam Laud, and under Wren the college became known as a centre ofArminianism. This continued under the Mastership ofJohn Cosin, who succeeded Wren in 1634. Under Cosin significant changes were made to the college's Chapel to bring it into line with Laud's idea of the "beauty of holiness".[10] On 13 March 1643, in the early stages of theEnglish Civil War, Cosin was expelled from his position by aParliamentary ordinance from theEarl of Manchester. The Earl stated that he was deposed "for his opposing the proceedings of Parliament, and other scandalous acts in the University".[12] On 21 December of the same year, statues and decorations in the Chapel were pulled down by a committee led by the Puritan zealotWilliam Dowsing.[10][13]
The college was the first in the University to have electric lighting installed, whenLord Kelvin provided it for the Hall and Combination Room to celebrate the College's six-hundredth anniversary in 1883–1884. It was the second building in the country to get electric lighting, after thePalace of Westminster.[5]
The college developed a strong reputation for the teaching of history from the time ofHarold Temperley,[14] and during World War II its fellowship simultaneously included four professors in the university's faculty for that subject –Herbert Butterfield,David Knowles,Michael Postan andDenis Brogan.[15]
In the 1980s Peterhouse acquired an association withConservative politics.Maurice Cowling andRoger Scruton were both influential fellows of the College and are sometimes described as key figures in the so-called"Peterhouse right" – an intellectual movement linked tophilosophical conservativism.[16] While often associated withThatcherite politics (notably, the Conservative politiciansMichael Portillo andMichael Howard both studied at Peterhouse), the extent to whichMargaret Thatcher's economic liberalism was admired within the movement was limited. During this period, which coincided with the mastership ofHugh Trevor-Roper, the college endured a period of significant conflict among the fellowship, particularly between Trevor-Roper and Cowling.[17]
Trevor-Roper feuded constantly with Cowling and his allies, while launching a series of administrative reforms. Women were admitted in 1983 at his urging. The British journalistNeal Ascherson summarised the quarrel between Cowling and Trevor-Roper thus:
Lord Dacre, far from being a romantic Tory ultra, turned out to be an anti-clerical Whig with a preference for free speech over superstition. He did not find it normal that fellows should wear mourning on the anniversary of General Franco's death, attend parties in SS uniform or insult black and Jewish guests at high table. For the next seven years, Trevor-Roper battled to suppress the insurgency of the Cowling clique ("a strong mind trapped in its own glutinous frustrations"), and to bring the college back to a condition in which students might actually want to go there. Neither side won this struggle, which soon became a campaign to drive Trevor-Roper out of the college by grotesque rudeness and insubordination.[18]
In a review of Adam Sisman's 2010 biography of Trevor-Roper, theEconomist wrote that his picture of Peterhouse in the 1980s was "startling", stating the college had become under Cowling's influence a sort of right-wing "lunatic asylum", who were determined to sabotage Trevor-Roper's reforms.[19] In 1987 Trevor-Roper retired complaining of "seven wasted years."[20]
Peterhouse may have been one of the sources of inspiration forTom Sharpe'sPorterhouse Blue.[21]
Peterhouse has its main site situated onTrumpington Street, to the south of Cambridge's town centre. The main portion of the college is just to the north of theFitzwilliam Museum, and its grounds run behind the museum. The buildings date from a wide variety of times, and have been much altered over the years. The college is reputed to have been at least partially destroyed by fire in 1420. The entrance of the college has shifted through its lifetime as well, with the change being principally the result of the demolition of the row of houses that originally lined Trumpington Street on the east side of the college. In 1574, a map shows the entrance being on the south side of a single main court. The modern entrance is to the east, straight onto Trumpington Street.[8]
The area closest to Trumpington Street is referred to as First Court. It is bounded to the north by the Burrough's Building (added in the 18th century), to the east by the street, to the south by the Porters' lodge and to the west by the chapel. Above the Porters' lodge is the Perne Library, named in honour ofAndrew Perne, a former Master, and originally built in 1590 to house the collection that he donated to the college. It was extended towards the road in 1633 and features interior woodwork that was added in 1641–48 by William Ashley, who was also responsible for similar woodwork in the chapel.[22] Electric lighting was added to the library in 1937.[23] The area above the Perne Library was used as the Ward Library (the college's general purpose library) from 1952 to 1984, but that has now been moved to its own building in the north-west corner of the college site.[24]
The Burrough's Building is situated at the front of the college, parallel to the Chapel. It is named after its architect, Sir James Burrough, the Master ofCaius,[25] and was built in 1736. It is one of several Cambridge neo-Palladian buildings designed by Burrough. Others include the remodelling of the Hall and Old Court atTrinity Hall and the chapel atClare College. The building is occupied by fellows and college offices.
Old Court lies beyond the Chapel cloisters. To the south of the court is the dining hall, the only College building that survives from the 13th century and the oldest collegiate building in all of Cambridge. Between 1866 and 1870, the hall was restored by the architectGeorge Gilbert Scott, Jr. Under Scott, the timber roof was repaired and two old parlours merged to form a new Combination Room. The stained glass windows were also replaced withPre-Raphaelite pieces byWilliam Morris,Ford Madox Brown andEdward Burne-Jones.[10] The fireplace (originally built in 1618) was restored with tiles by Morris, including depictions of St Peter and Hugo de Balsham.[26] The hall was extensively renovated in 2006-7.[citation needed]
The north and west sides of Old Court were added in the 15th century, and classicised in the 18th century.[10] The chapel makes up the fourth, east side to the court. Rooms in Old Court are occupied by a mixture of fellows and undergraduates. The north side of the court also house Peterhouse'sMCR (Middle Combination Room).[citation needed]
Viewed from the main entrance to Peterhouse on Trumpington Street, the altar end of the Chapel is the most immediately visible building. The Chapel was built in 1628 when theMaster of the timeMatthew Wren (Christopher Wren's uncle) demolished the college's original hostels. Previously the college had employed the adjacentChurch of St Mary the Less as its chapel. The Chapel was consecrated on 17 March 1632 byFrancis White, Bishop of Ely.[8] The building's style reflects the contemporary religious trend towardsArminianism. TheLaudianGothic style of the Chapel mixesRenaissance details but incorporated them into a traditionalGothic building. The Chapel'sRenaissance architecture contains aPietà altarpiece and a striking ceiling of golden suns. Its placement in the centre of one side of a court, between open colonnades is unusual, being copied for a single other college (Emmanuel) byChristopher Wren.[27] The original stained glass was destroyed byParliamentarians in 1643, with only the east window's crucifixion scene (based onRubens'sLe Coup de Lance) surviving.[nb 1] The current side windows are byMax Ainmiller, and were added in 1855. The cloisters on each side of the Chapel date from the 17th century. Their design was classicised in 1709, while an ornamental porch was removed in 1755.
ThePeterhouse Partbooks, music manuscripts from the early years of the Chapel, survive, and are one of the most important collections of Tudor and Jacobean church music. The Choir of Peterhouse has recently attracted wider interest for its regular performances of this material, some of which has not been heard since the 16th century, and have released a CD of music from the Caroline partbooks.[29] The Organ in the Chapel was installed in 1765John Snetzler. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Organ was expanded and renovated byHill & Son (1893-94) andNoel Mander (1963). In 2023, the Organ underwent a substantial restoration and renovation project byFlentrop andKlais. This restoration uniquely provides two mechanical-action consoles: one 'historic' console intended to recreate the experience of playing Snetzler's original instrument; the other a contemporary console, to allow for the performance of a wider range of repertoire.[30]
The first person buried in the Chapel was Samuel Horne, a fellow of the college.[8] Horne was probably chaplain.
Gisborne Court is accessible through an archway leading from the west side of Old Court. It was built in 1825-6.[10] Its cost was met with part of a benefaction of 1817 from the Rev. Francis Gisborne, a former fellow. The court is built in white brick with stone dressings in a simpleGothic revival style from the designs ofWilliam McIntosh Brookes. Only three sides to the court were built, with the fourth side being a screen wall. The wall was demolished in 1939, leaving only its footing.[31] Rooms in Gisborne Court are mainly occupied by undergraduates. Many previously housed distinguished alumni, including Lord Kelvin in I staircase.
The Whittle Building, named after PetreanFrank Whittle, opened on the western side of Gisborne Court in early 2015. Designed in neo-gothic style byJohn Simpson Architects, it contains en-suite undergraduate accommodation, the student bar and common room, a function room and a gym. Its design recalls that of the original screen-wall that once stood in its place.[32] In 2015 the building was shortlisted for theCarbuncle Cup, given annually by the magazineBuilding Design to "the ugliest building in the United Kingdom completed in the last 12 months".[33][34]
Beyond Gisborne Court is Fen Court, a 20th-century building partially on stilts. Fen Court was built between 1939 and 1941 from designs byH. C. Hughes and his partnerPeter Bicknell.[35] It was amongst the earliest buildings in Cambridge designed in the style of the Modern Movement pioneered byWalter Gropius at theBauhaus. The carved panel by Anthony Foster over the entrance doorway evokes the mood in Britain as the building was completed. It bears the inscription DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI MCMXL — "out of the depths have I cried out 1940". These are the first words ofPsalm 130, one of thePenitential Psalms. Alongside the inscription is a depiction ofSt Peter being saved from the sea.
An adjacent bath-house, known as the Birdwood Building, used to make up the western side of Gisborne Court. This was also designed by Hughes and Bicknell, and was built between 1932 and 1934.[35] It was demolished in 2013 to make way for the new Whittle Building.
The north-west corner of the main site is occupied by former Victorian warehouses containing the Ward Library, as well as a theatre and function room. The building it is housed in was originally the University'sMuseum of Classical Archaeology and was designed byBasil Champneys in 1883. It was adapted to its modern purpose byRobert Potter in 1982 and opened in its current form as a library two years later. In recent years, the final gallery of the old museum building has been converted into a reading room, named the Gunn Gallery, after Chan Gunn.[36]
While officially being named the Grove, the grounds to the south of Gisborne Court have been known as the Deer Park since deer were brought there in the 19th century. During that period it achieved fame as the smallest deer park in England. After the First World War the deer sickened and passed their illness onto stock that had been imported from theDuke of Portland's estate atWelbeck Abbey in an attempt to improve the situation. There are no longer any deer.
The remainder of the college's gardens divide into areas known as the Fellows' Garden, just to the south of Old Court, and the Scholars' Garden, at the south end of the site, surrounding the William Stone Building.
TheWilliam Stone Building stands in the Scholars' Garden and was funded by a £100,000 bequest from William Stone (1857–1958), a former scholar of the college. Erected in 1963-4, to a design by SirLeslie Martin and SirColin St John Wilson, it is an eight-storey brick tower[37] housing eight fellows and 24 undergraduates. It has been refurbished, converting the rooms to en-suite.
The college also occupies a number of buildings on Trumpington Street.[38]
.jpg)
The Master's Lodge is situated across Trumpington Street from the College, and was bequeathed to the College in 1727 by a fellow, Charles Beaumont, son of the 30th Master of the college, Joseph Beaumont. It is built in red brick in theQueen Anne style.[5]
The Hostel is situated next to the Master's Lodge. It was built in a neo-Georgian style in 1926 from designs by Thomas Henry Lyon. The Hostel was intended to be part of a larger complex but only one wing was built. It currently houses undergraduates and some fellows. During World War II theLondon School of Economics was housed in The Hostel and nearby buildings, at the invitation of the Master and Fellows.[39]
Behind the Hostel lies Cosin Court, which provides accommodation for fellows and mature, postgraduate, and married students. The court is named forJohn Cosin (1594–1672) who was successively Master of Peterhouse,Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University andPrince-Bishop of Durham.
St Peter's Terrace is a row of Georgian townhouses houses first-year undergraduates, fellows, and some graduate students in basement flats. It is directly in front of the William Stone Building.[40]
The College has, during its history, used five different coats of arms. The one currently in use has two legitimate blazons. The first form is the original grant byRobert Cooke,Clarenceux King of Arms, in 1575:
The College did, however, habitually use a version with threepallets, and this was allowed at the Herald's Visitation of Cambridgeshire in 1684. The latter version (with three pallets) was officially adopted by the Governing Body in 1935. The construction of the arms is that of the founder, Hugo de Balsham, surrounded by the crowns of theSee of Ely.[41]
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
Benedic nos Domine, et dona Tua, quae de Tua largitate sumus sumpturi, et concede, ut illis salubriter nutriti, Tibi debitum obsequium praestare valeamus, per Christum Dominum nostrum, Amen. Deus est caritas, et qui manet in caritate in Deo manet, et Deus in eo: sit Deus in nobis, et nos maneamus in ipso. Amen. | Bless us, O Lord, and Thy gifts, which of Thy bounty we are about to receive, and grant that, fed wholesomely upon them, we may be able to offer due service unto Thee, through Christ our Lord, Amen. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him: let God be in us, and let us remain in the same. Amen. |
Peterhouse andJesus College are the only two colleges to have two separate halves to their grace, the first being a standard grace, and the second a quotation of 1 John 4:16.
Members of Peterhouse — as masters, fellows (including honorary fellows) or students — are known asPetreans.[42]
![Charles Babbage Inventor of the difference engine, "Father of the computer"[43]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCharlesBabbage.jpg)
.jpg)
Peterhouse has fiveNobel laureates associated with it, either as former students or fellows.
.jpg)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Media related toPeterhouse, Cambridge at Wikimedia Commons| People |  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colleges | |||||||||||||||
| Schools, faculties and departments |
| ||||||||||||||
| Student life |
| ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Affiliates | |||||||||||||||
| Museums | |||||||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||||||
52°12′03″N0°07′06″E / 52.2009°N 0.1184°E /52.2009; 0.1184 (Peterhouse)
