Clare College, Cambridge

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Colleges of the University of Cambridge Clare College
College name	Clare College
Named after	Elizabeth de Clare
Established	1326
Previously named	University Hall (1326-1338) Clare Hall (1338-1856)
Location	Trinity Lane
Admittance	Men and women
Master	Prof. Tony Badger
Undergraduates	440
Graduates	210
Sister colleges	Oriel College, Oxford St Hugh's College, Oxford
Official website
Boat Club website

The front of Old Court

Clare Bridge, over the River Cam

Clare Bridge's missing wedge

Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.

The college was founded in 1326, and is the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens, which form part of what is known as "the Backs", the back of the colleges that overlook the River Cam.

The current Master of Clare College is Anthony ("Tony") J Badger, Paul Mellon Professor of American History.

[edit] History

The college was founded in 1326 by the university's Chancellor, Richard de Badew, and was originally named University Hall. Providing maintenance for only two fellows, it soon hit financial hardship. In 1338, the college was refounded as Clare Hall by an endowment from Elizabeth de Clare, a granddaughter of Edward I, which provided for twenty fellows and ten students. The college was known as Clare Hall until 1856, when it changed its name to "Clare College". (A new "Clare Hall" was founded by Clare College as an exclusively postgraduate institution in 1966.)

Clare's Old Court, a Grade I listed building, which frames King's College Chapel as the left border of one of the most celebrated architectural vistas in England, was built between 1638 and 1715, with a long interruption for the English Civil War. The period spans the arrival of true classicism into the mainstream of British architecture. Its progress can be traced in the marked differences between the oldest wing to the north, which still has vaulting and other features in the unbroken tradition of English Gothic, and the final southern block, which shows a fully articulated classic style. The college's chapel was built in 1763 and designed by James Burrough. Its altarpiece is Annunciation by Cipriani.

Clare has a much-photographed bridge over the river which has fourteen stone balls decorating it. One of the balls has a missing section. A number of apocryphal stories circulate concerning this - the one most commonly cited by members of college is that the original builder of the bridge was not paid the full amount for his work and so removed the segment to balance the difference in payment. A more likely explanation is that a wedge of stone cemented into the ball as part of a repair job became loose and fell out, presumably still lying on the river bed. The repair work is necessary when a stone ball becomes worn around the metal rod on which it is secured to the bridge; a wedge of stone is removed from the base of the ball (around the rod) in order to free it, it is then turned sideways, a hole is drilled at the new base to receive the rod, and the wedge-shaped gap is filled with a new piece of stone. This can be observed on other balls on the same bridge, where the seam between the main ball and the replacement wedge is visible and tangible, though difficult to spot as a repaired ball is always aligned to have the new wedge facing outwards. The bridge is the oldest of Cambridge's current bridges.

A new court was opened in January 2009, known as Lerner Court, which houses 36 students and is used for conferencing during term and vacation.

[edit] College life

Clare is known as a liberal and progressive college. In 1972 it became one of the three male Cambridge colleges that led the way in admitting female undergraduates. Clare continues in this tradition and has won praise for the transparency of its admissions process ^[1]

Clare is known as one of the most musical colleges in Cambridge. Its choir is internationally recognised and has performed all over the world. Many Clare students play instruments, and the college orchestra (Clare College Music Society (CCMS)) is well known. Like most Cambridge colleges, Clare allows students to have a piano in their college rooms. Clare holds popular jazz and drum'n'bass nights in its cellars.

[edit] Student paper

Clare's student paper, Clareification, published by the Union of Clare Students won "Best University College Paper" in "The Cambridge Student" in 2005 and is filled with satirical articles mocking Cambridge traditions, reports on silly student antics, and college gossip in the infamous "Clareifornication" column. It is often the subject of criticism by the staff for risqué and tasteless content, and was described by the Master, Professor Badger, as "an unholy cross between the Sun and Private Eye". On February 3, 2007, the college cut its funding to the paper, causing publications to be suspended for a period of a few weeks. This occurred as a result of the outcry following the publication of the February 2 edition, a guest-edited edition which was retitled "Crucification". In addition to the paper's usual satirical attacks on Christianity, this edition also featured several articles which mocked Islam, including a reproduction of the cartoon illustration of the prophet Mohammed. This was the same cartoon which provoked international protest when it first appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September 2005.

[edit] College grace

The Scholars' Garden

Oculi omnium in te sperant Domine:

Tu das iis escam eorum in tempore opportuno.

Aperis tu manum tuam:

Et imples omne animal benedictione tua.

Sanctifica nos, quaesumus, Domine, per verbum

et orationem, istisque tuis donis, quae de tua

bonitate sumus accepturi, benedicito

per Christum Dominum nostrum,

Amen

Translated into English, this reads^[2]:

The eyes of all wait upon thee, O Lord,

And thou givest them their food in due season.

Thou openest thy hand,

And fillest every living thing with thy blessing.

Sanctify us, we beseech thee, O Lord, by thy

word and our petition; and bless these thy gifts which

of thy bounty we are about to receive,

through Christ our Lord.

Amen

[edit] Academic performance

The undergraduates of Clare College have usually performed very well based on the results published in the Tompkins Table, placing Clare within the top ten colleges from 2000 to 2005.^[3] The notable exceptions to this have been 2006 where Clare finished in 12th place and of 2007 where Clare slipped to 17th place. Although not an official listing done by the University, the Tompkins Table does offer an impartial account of how the undergraduates of individual colleges perform in their finals.

Entrance into Clare College is very competitive and can be best seen from the published list ^[4] of offers given to students and the number of applicants broken down by subject. As an approximate indication, one out of every five applicants is offered a place in Clare, with that varying greatly between the different subjects offered.

[edit] Famous or notable alumni

Clare is one of the few colleges which hosts an annual May Ball, during which the college is lavishly decorated.

• Desmond Ackner, Baron Ackner, British judge and Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
• Sir Ernest de Silva, Sri Lankan Philanthrophist and Business Magnate
• Peter Ackroyd, author
• Robyn Addison, actor, played Sarah Boyer in Survivors and Joanne Coldwell in Casualty, appeared in episodes of The Street and Dalziel and Pascoe
• Anthony Appiah, philosopher
• Sir Eric Ashby, Baron Ashby of Brandon, botanist and natural scientist, Master of the College 1959-1967, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1967-1969, founded Clare Hall, Cambridge
• Peter Asprey, choral director, founded Ensemble Illuminati and Stile Antico
• Edward Atkinson, Master of the College 1856-1915, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1862-1863
• Sir David Attenborough, naturalist
• John Fleetwood Baker, Baron Baker of Windrush, scientist and engineer, Professor of Mechanical Sciences (latterly renamed Professor of Engineering) at the University of Cambridge, 1943-1970
• Amiya Charan Banerjee, mathematician, Vice-Chancellor of Allahabad University 1953-1955
• Nicholas Bannan, specialist in choral singing and music education
• Sabine Baring-Gould, Victorian novelist
• Sir Max Bemrose, industrialist
• John Berryman, American poet
• Samuel Blythe, Master of the College 1678-1713, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1684-1685, benefactor
• Ivor Bolton, conductor and musical director, founded the St James's Baroque Players, founder and Musical Director of the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music, regular conductor at the Bavarian State Opera, Principal Conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg
• Sir John Boyd, Master of Churchill College, Cambridge 1996-2006
• Harvey Brough, musician and composer, founded Harvey and the Wallbangers
• David Cannadine, historian
• Hector Munro Chadwick, philologist and historian, Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Cambridge 1912-1941
• Nicholas Collon, musician, co-founded Aurora Orchestra and Cappella Artois
• Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general in the American Revolutionary War
• Christian Coulson, actor
• Robert Court, Head Master of Birkdale School
• Ralph Cudworth, philosopher and theologian, leader of the Cambridge Platonists, Master of the College 1644-1650, Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Cambridge 1645-1688
• Sir Ernest De Silva, Sri Lankan philanthrophist
• Richard Egarr, harpsichordist and fortepianist, Musical Director of the Academy of Ancient Music
• Sir Geoffrey Rudolph Elton, historian of the Tudor period, Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge 1983-1988
• Nicholas Ferrar, religious leader
• Gavin Ferris, co-founder of Radioscape
• Mansfield Duval Forbes, historian, archivist and benefactor
• Trent Ford, American actor and model
• Sir Michael Le Fanu, Admiral of the Fleet of the Royal Navy
• Henry Louis Gates, African-American academic
• Sir Paul Girvan, Lord Justice of Appeal, Supreme Court of Northern Ireland
• Sir Harry Godwin FRS, botanist and ecologist, Professor, founded the Godwin Institute for Quaternary Research in the University of Cambridge
• John Guy, leading Tudor historian and Fellow of the College
• Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond, classicist, historian and archaeologist
• Sir Charles Hanson, 2nd Baronet
• Nick Harkaway, novelist
• Carr Hervey, Lord Harvey, British MP and eldest son of John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol
• John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, British MP and supporter of the Hanoverian Succession
• John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, British MP and eldest son of John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol by his second marriage
• James Rendel Harris, biblical scholar, theologian, palaeographer and mathematician
• Kit Hesketh-Harvey, comic performer and scriptwriter
• Sir Bob Hepple, QC, FBA, attorney, advocate and anti-apartheid campaigner in South Africa until 1963, specialist in labour law, industrial relations, equality and anti-discrimination law, Master of the College 1993-2003, Professor of Law at the University of Cambridge 1995-2001
• David Howarth, Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge and Fellow of the College
• Martin How, composer and organist
• Thomas McKenny Hughes, Woodwardian Professor of Geology at the University of Cambridge 1873-1917
• Tim Hunt, biochemist
• Norman L. Jones, Tudor historian and Head of Department of History, Utah State University
• James Butler Knill Kelly, Anglican Bishop of Newfoundland
• Oscar Kempthorne, Distinguished Professor of Science and Humanities at Iowa State University, statistician and geneticist
• Andrew Key, British Ambassador to Macedonia, 2007
• Robert Key, Conservative MP
• Matt Kirshen, stand-up comedian
• Frances Kirwan, Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University
• Tessa Knighton, hispanist, musicologist, editor of Early Music and Fellow of the College
• Hugh Latimer, Chaplain to Henry VIII, Bishop of Worcester and martyr
• Sue Lenier, poet and playwright
• Randy Lerner, American entrepreneur, owner of Aston Villa and Cleveland Browns
• Rebecca Levene, author of Doctor Who novels
• Peter Lilley, Conservative MP
• Kurt Lipstein, QC, German-born lawyer, refugee from Nazism, specialist in Roman law and conflict of laws within private international law and public international law and pioneer in comparative law, Fellow of the College 1956-2006, Professor of Comparative Law at the University of Cambridge 1973-1976
• Liz Lloyd, adviser to former Prime Minister Tony Blair
• Henry Longhurst, Sports Journalist, Television Broadcaster
• Tim Loughton, Conservative MP
• Ben Lumsden, musician and songwriter, bassist in former rock band Grace
• Robert Mair, Master of Jesus College, Cambridge
• Andrew Manze, baroque violinist and broadcaster, Musical Director of The English Concert
• Zoë Martlew, cellist
• Paul Mellon, benefactor
• Thomas Merton, writer, Catholic thinker and monk
• John Moore, Bishop of Ely 1707-1714
• Mohan Munasinghe, environmental campaigner, founder of Munasinghe Institute for Development, vice chair of IPCC which won Nobel Peace Prize 2007 jointly with Al Gore
• Arthur Darby Nock, classicist and historian of religion
• Sir Roger Norrington, conductor, founded the London Classical Players
• Matthew Parris, broadcaster, political analyst and former Conservative MP
• The Revd Canon Arthur Robert Peacocke, MBE, scientist and theologian, Dean of the College 1973-1984
• Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Prime Minister of Great Britain
• Sir Brian Pippard, first President of Clare Hall, Cambridge, Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge 1971-1984
• James Raven, Professor of History at the University of Essex
• William Brian Reddaway, economist, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge 1969-1980
• Geoffrey Robinson, Labour MP
• George Ruggle, early seventeenth-century scholar, philologist and playwright
• John Rutter, composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer
• Siegfried Sassoon, war poet
• Sir Nicholas John Shackleton FRS, geologist, Professor at the Godwin Institute for Quaternary Research and the Department of Earth Sciences in the University of Cambridge
• Cecil Sharp, folklorist and ethnographer
• Rupert Sheldrake, scientist
• Ed Snow, stage name Skankhammer, musician and songwriter, drummer in "cult" ska band 7 Seconds of Love
• Matthew Stadlen, producer, editor and journalist for BBC News, presents Five Minutes With...
• Richard Stilgoe, songwriter, lyricist and musician
• Sam Swallow, musician and songwriter, keyboardist in former rock band Grace, guest keyboardist with pop band The Hoosiers
• Harold McCarter Taylor, architectural historian
• Richard Taylor, Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University
• Dr Richard Taylor, Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern MP
• Marcel Theroux writer and broadcaster
• Sir Henry Thirkill, physicist, Master of the College 1939-1958, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1945-1947
• Robin Ticciati, conductor, pianist, percussionist and violinist, co-founded Aurora Orchestra, Musical Director and Artistic Advisor of the Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Musical Director of Glyndebourne on Tour
• John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury 1691-1694
• Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, senior British politician after whom Sydney, Australia was named
• Richard Wainwright, Liberal MP
• Sir John Waldron, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, 1968-1972
• Prof Mark Walport, director of Wellcome Trust
• Christopher Wandesford, Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1640
• James D. Watson, double helix discoverer and human genome advocate
• Clive Wearing, musician, musicologist, broadcaster and amnesiac
• Abraham Whelock, seventeenth-century scholar, philologist and Arabist
• William Whiston, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge 1702-1711, theologian
• William Whitehead, Poet Laureate 1757-1785
• Andrew Wiles, mathematician who proved Fermat's last theorem
• The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams, Dean of the College 1984-1986, Archbishop of Canterbury 2003-present
• Michael Wills, Labour MP
• Lord Wilson of High Wray, Governor of the BBC and Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria
• Richard Wilson, Baron Wilson of Dinton, civil servant and Cabinet Secretary, Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Clare College, Cambridge

• Category:Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge
• Category:Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge
• List of Masters of Clare College, Cambridge

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Clare College, Cambridge official website
• Choir of Clare College, Cambridge official website
• Union of Clare Students website

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Coordinates: 52°12′18.3″N 0°6′54.7″E / 52.205083°N 0.115194°E / 52.205083; 0.115194 (Clare College)