CLARE HALL

We are a postgraduate college renowned for its informal approach to college life and international diversity. The President, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and postgraduate students together make up an integrated academic society that is not constrained by hierarchy and is consequently a culturally rich and intellectually diverse environment for advanced study.

A British architect and long-time resident of Sweden, Ralph Erskine was enlisted to build a resolutely modern community within Cambridge’s history-rich landscape. Erskine’s Clare Hall buildings form a skyline of striking triangular profiles, not overwhelming the environment but rather inscribing nature into residents’ daily lives.

The College sits in peaceful surroundings to the west of Cambridge, just off Herschel Road, consisting of two sites, the main college buildings and West Court.

CLARE HALL

We are the smallest Cambridge college with around 200 students. It is an ideal community to quickly feel at home, where social and intellectual mixing can take place in an informal setting. Many graduates prefer to be in a more mature community with facilities and support tailored to their needs. Fellows, Visiting Fellows and students regularly mix at mealtimes and at frequent informal gatherings, seminars and talks.

ACCOMMODATION AND FACILITIES

Clare Hall sits in a leafy residential road to the west of Cambridge.?The College surroundings are quiet and peaceful, but only a 10 minute walk away?from the historic city centre.?We offer a range of residential, student and guest room accommodation with a selection of single and double rooms and some self-contained flats in unique 1960s influenced architecture.

A large common room is available for members and guests to use, and a wide range of high-quality food is served daily in the College Dining Hall. We are also one of a few colleges in Cambridge to have an indoor swimming pool, which sits alongside a fully equipped gym.

The Ashby Library was built in honour of Lord Eric Ashby, an Honorary Fellow of Clare Hall and holds over 2,000 books. It is situated overlooking the Fellows’ Garden beside Elmside, one of the graduate student residences.

THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CLARE HALL

Architecture
Ralph Erskine developed a new and persuasive architecture for Clare?Hall, a deliberate riposte to Le Corbusier’s contemporary Brutalism. Our buildings are internationally renowned and rank alongside the finest architecture of the later twentieth Century as recognised by the Secretary of State who designated them Listed grade 2* in 2018

Our Visiting Fellowship Programme
Clare Hall hosts between ten and twenty visiting academics at any one time, many of whom keep in close touch with the College after they leave Cambridge

We Welcome Families
We are proud of our family-friendly reputation and have a number of apartments on-site where students and academics can live with their families.

CLUBS AND SOCIETIES

Clare Hall is a warm and friendly college with events, clubs and societies running throughout term time. These range from academic talks and lectures including the annual Ashby and Tanner Lectures and weekly Colloquiums, to regular art exhibitions and music concerts.? We have a very active student body in College who regularly organise social events for students in the Anthony Low Student Bar and a very successful College Boat Club.