To spot Pembroke College, look ahead for a large, elegant building crafted in pale stone. The windows are tall and straight, many with pointed, arched tops. The tiled rooftops slope gently and are dotted with stone chimneys. Above the building, a proud, square tower with decorative turrets rises into the sky. If you see a lush, green quad hemmed in by ancient stonework, you’ve arrived.
Now, as you stand in front of Pembroke College, imagine yourself stepping back in time. The college is alive with centuries of history. Founded in 1347 by Marie de St Pol, Pembroke has stood through storms, celebrations, and secrets. Picture the echo of footsteps on cobblestones as students, called Valencians, hurry to their lessons. The oldest gatehouse in Cambridge towers by the entrance, and inside, a world of tradition unfolds.
Pembroke’s story begins on a chilly Christmas Eve, when King Edward III handed Marie permission to create this place of learning. In those days, the buildings were small-a single courtyard with all you needed: a chapel, a hall, a kitchen, rooms for the scholars, and even space for the college cook and barber. The first chapel here, designed by none other than Christopher Wren, still whispers stories to those who pass by.
Life here was ruled by strict rules-drunkenness could set tongues wagging, and students had to settle any debts quickly, or else. Marie, the founder, kept a sharp eye on order. The statutes even forbade wild graduation parties, so you might imagine the tension as students tried to celebrate without making too much noise.
Pembroke’s grounds are laced with stone buildings of every age-if these walls could talk, you would hear the debates of a future prime minister, William Pitt the Younger, or the determined footsteps of scholars bent over ancient books. The college library, complete with its Victorian clock tower, once held the world’s first encyclopedia with printed diagrams, a treasure of knowledge.
Even today, the college thrives. In 2015, a quiet bequest from Ray Dolby, inventor and Pembroke alumnus, swept in like a sudden wind-£34 million, the largest donation in Cambridge history. You can almost feel the weight of hundreds of years pressing on your shoulders. Yet the college breathes freely, with green lawns and laughter spilling out into the stone courts where history meets the present, and the past is never far behind.
Intrigued by the buildings, traditions or the student life? Make your way to the chat section and I'll be happy to provide further details.
