Right in front of you is the stately face of Peterhouse, with its elegant stone façade, arched windows, and a clock tower rising above the main entrance-just look straight ahead across the neat green lawn and you can’t miss it!
Now, let’s step back in time and imagine the air filled with the echo of Latin graces and the soft shuffle of students in long, sweeping gowns. Peterhouse is no ordinary college-in fact, it’s the oldest at Cambridge, having been founded way back in 1284 by a Bishop named Hugh de Balsham. Just think, when Peterhouse was opening its doors to those first 14 scholars, people were still getting used to the idea of knights in shining armor rather than students in black robes!
Back then, the original students lived according to the rules of another famous college, but a disagreement with their hosts led Bishop Hugh to move them here, right to this very spot on the edge of town by Trumpington Gate. He not only gave them a place to live, but he also made sure they had a church-St. Peter’s, which is where the college gets its name.
The college grew slowly-sometimes with money, sometimes not. In the early years, Peterhouse was so poor it had to get creative to stay afloat. Yet, the story changed when it inherited a huge chunk of land and, a bit later, the rights to a local church-suddenly, things weren’t so tight anymore.
Over the centuries, Peterhouse has seen it all: rowdy royal politics, religious squabbles, and academic intrigue. Picture, for a moment, standing here in the 16th century during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The wind blows, and the letters on the weather vane atop the church may say “Andrew Perne, Papist” or “Andrew Perne, Protestant” depending on which way the wind (and the government) was turning. That was Perne, a master who kept his job by being clever-and perhaps a touch slippery!
The stories only get stranger in the 1600s. Imagine a chapel full of statues and decoration, all swept away when Puritan zealots barged in during England’s Civil War. Peterhouse really was at the center of the action. Even the college’s famous Perne Library was the site of dramatic book burnings and debates over faith and knowledge. There’s a cheeky hole in Andrew Perne’s own copy of Foxe’s Actes and Monuments-legend has it he burnt the page where he himself was criticized!
If you wander into Old Court, you’ll see the very dining hall where scholars have gathered since the 13th century. It’s the oldest collegiate building in all of Cambridge, still serving candlelit formal dinners-or “Formal Hall” as the students here call it. Picture students rising as the fellows in their ancient gowns file in, the sound of a gong marks the beginning, and two graces are read in Latin. Rumor has it, even the forks here feel more sophisticated!
Peterhouse has always been small but mighty. It’s produced a whole parade of famous minds: Lord Kelvin, Charles Babbage-the father of the computer-James Clerk Maxwell, even Frank Whittle who invented the jet engine, and five Nobel prize winners in science. Not to mention a prime minister or two, an Oscar-winning director, and at least one comedian who must have found the candlelight inspiring for jokes.
Of course, not every chapter of Peterhouse’s history has been peaceful. In the 1980s, it gained a reputation for right-wing debate, with internal feuds that would put even the wildest university drama to shame. Some called it a “lunatic asylum” during that time, but eventually things settled and the college moved into a modern, friendlier era.
Look around at the buildings: the elegant lines of the Burrough’s Building in front, the chapel with its grand, golden ceiling, and the modern additions tucked further back. It’s a jumble of time periods, each stone telling a different story. Imagine the musical notes drifting out from the choir, singing pieces not heard since Shakespeare’s day; the electric excitement when Lord Kelvin helped light up the hall-the first in Cambridge to get electric lighting (second only to the Palace of Westminster!). And tucked away in the grounds, no more deer, but stories of a “deer park” declared the smallest in England, and libraries stacked high with treasures old and new.
Today’s Peterhouse may be small-just a handful of students compared to other colleges-but it stands rich in tradition, innovation, and occasionally, candle wax. As you pass through its ancient archways, think of the generations who’ve stood exactly where you are now, ready to transform the world-and maybe enjoy a good meal in the Hall. After all, some things at Cambridge never go out of style!
Intrigued by the buildings and grounds, arms or the grace? Explore further by joining me in the chat section below.
