College
Clare College
Cambridge's second-oldest college sits just off King's Parade on the River Cam, with seventeenth-century Old Court, gardens on the Backs and an internationally renowned choir founded in 1866.
The story
Lady Elizabeth de Clare, a granddaughter of Edward I, endowed the college a few years after its founding in 1326, and Clare marks its 700th anniversary in 2026. The buildings around Old Court went up between 1638 and 1715; college tradition credits Inigo Jones, though that cannot be verified. The Reformation preacher Hugh Latimer was a Fellow here, and alumni include Sir David Attenborough. Memorial Court, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, was dedicated in 1926 to Clare alumni who died in the Great War, and the Forbes Mellon Library was added to it in 1986. In 1972 Clare was one of the first three Cambridge colleges to admit women. The bridge over the Cam looks toward the Jerwood Library, and the gardens on the Backs form a celebrated view together with King's College Chapel.
Good to know
TAGGG AI- ✦Refurbishment work can close the college to the public at times, so check access before planning a visit.
- ✦From the back lawn of King's College you can see much of Clare, its bridge and the Clare Border.
- ✦On the bridge, count the round stones along its parapet and take in the view of the Jerwood Library.
