Past and
Future
The Past:
A Brief History
The University of Cambridge
has been in existence since the early thirteenth century, when scholars
moving from Oxford and from Paris formed a school here. The early
students lived in private houses, but it was not long before they
were provided with communal hostels, later to become Halls or Colleges.
Clare is the second oldest College in the University, having been
founded in 1326, under the name of University Hall, by the then
Chancellor of the University, Richard de Badew, who sought and received
a royal licence to establish a college of a Master and fifteen Fellows.
To house and support them, Richard de Badew acquired houses and
property on Milne Street, roughly on the site of the present College.
Milne Street (or Mill Street) no longer exists, though parts of
it survive as Trinity Lane and Queens' Lane. Lacking the resources
to maintain the buildings, or to restore them when they became partly
dilapidated by fire, Richard de Badew sought ways to enhance the
College's endowment. He succeeded in obtaining the interest of a
very exalted patroness, Elizabeth de Clare, Lady de Burgh, a granddaughter
of King Edward I and the widow of three wealthy husbands. In 1336
Lady Clare gave an endowment worth £20 a year, and in 1338
received from Richard de Badew his rights and claims over the institution,
which she refounded as Clare Hall. It remained as Clare Hall for
over five hundred years, until renamed Clare College in 1856, apparently
because `Hall' was felt to imply inferior status. The present Clare
Hall was founded by Clare College in 1966. In 1359 Lady Clare produced
her Statutes, setting out her aims and provisions for the College.
After the devastation caused by the Black Death ten years previously,
Lady Clare's Statutes record her desire that the world of learning
should be replenished, and that the `precious pearl' of knowledge
should be disseminated, for the greater service to Church and State.
The main visible history
of the College begins in the seventeenth century, when it was decided
to erect a completely new building. The earliest buildings had been
severely damaged by fire in 1521, their Tudor replacements had fallen
into disrepair,and an increase in the numbers of students had led
to congestion. The project for what is now Old Court was inspired
and initially directed by the Bursar, Barnabas Oley, and took 81
years to complete. Work started in 1638 with Clare Bridge, designed
by Thomas Grumbold for a fee of three shillings. It is the oldest
surviving bridge over the Cam. The East, or Front, Range of Old
Court (A-D staircases) was built in 1638-41 (its foundation stone,
dated 16 May 1638, has been reset at the east end of the JCR). Work
on the South Range (overlooking King's Lawn) lasted from 1640 to
1642, and the south half of the West Range (up to the gateway) was
completed in 1671, after a twenty-year break from the start of the
Civil War. The North Range, including the Hall (which still has
most of its original panelling) was built between 1683 and 1693,
while the missing section of the West Range (including the gateway
and the Master's Lodge) was added between 1705 and 1719. A new Chapel,
replacing the Tudor Chapel, was built between 1763 and 1769.
In 1840 the College had
about 40 students. By 1910 there were about 200, and a series of
measures were taken to meet the requirements for accommodation.
In 1929 the attics over the Master's Lodge were converted into rooms.
In 1926 the College acquired Castlebrae, on the site now known as
the Colony, and in 1928 two further houses, Etheldreda and Braeside,
were built beside it. The most ambitious plan, however, was for
a new court. Although discussions had begun before the First World
War, the eventual building was conceived as a Memorial Court in
honour of those who had lost their lives in the War. Memorial Court,
including the section later renamed as Ashby Court, was built between
1922 and 1933, and designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who was
also the architect responsible for the new University Library (completed
in 1934) and for such monumental edifices as Liverpool's Anglican
Cathedral. After the Second World
War, Clare student numbers rose to approximately their present level,
and there has therefore been yet further construction or acquisition
of accommodation and facilities. Thirkill Court was added to the
south side of Memorial Court in 1953-55, financed by old members
of the College and named after Henry Thirkill, Master from 1939
to 1958. At the Colony, Wilflete and Castle End were built shortly
afterwards. The new Forbes Mellon
Library, splitting the original Memorial Court into two (and hence
creating Ashby Court, named after Eric Ashby, Thirkill's successor
as Master) was completed in 1986,also with money raised by an appeal
to old members and friends of the College. A new Law Reading Room
was opened in Ashby Court in 1999, named after one of Clare's most
distinguished lawyers, Professor Kurt Lipstein. This new and up-to-date
facility replaced the original Law Reading Room in Old Court.
Cambridge's first residential
College for women - Girton - was established in 1869, although until
1948 the University continued to deny women the right to take degrees.
Clare was among the first three former men's Colleges (alongside
King's and Churchill) to become co-residential: in 1972, a mere
634 years after its re-foundation by the Elizabeth de Clare.
The Development
Office The Development Office
is responsible for fostering a mutual beneficial relationship between
the College, its alumni and other interested parties, and for promoting
the work of the College to this end. Its activities fall under three
main headings: fund-raising, alumni relations and communications.
Led by the Development Director, who is also a Fellow, the Development
Office team raises funds from individuals, companies, trusts and
foundations, for the College's core activities and other special
projects. It also organises a range of benefits, events and
activities in Cambridge and elsewhere for alumni and other well-wishers;
manages the College's alumni database and web pages; and produces
the Clare Annual Report and the twice-yearly newsletter, Clare News.
In order to achieve its goals, the Development Office works closely
with all sections of the College, including Fellows, staff, current
students and alumni.
(See Section 2 iii
of the Handbook for the names of the Development Office team and
the office telephone number).
The Development
Campaign
The Clare Development
Campaign was launched in 1998, with the aim of replacing lost government
funding and averting an immediate reduction in the College's income.
To this end, over £10 million was raised by 2002. Now, Clare
faces new and sustained challenges: the introduction of top-up fees;
intensified international competition for the best students and
academics; and a backlog of expensive repairs and refurbishment
for Old Court. The College has therefore embarked upon a continual
Development Campaign to raise funds for four main areas:
Bursaries
To provide a comprehensive,
tapered system of financial support so that the new funding arrangements
for higher education do not dissuade students of modest means from
applying to the College, or prevent them from continuing their education
once they have come into residence.
Teaching Excellence
To preserve the unique
system of small-group supervisions and tutorial support; to attract
and retain the best teachers and researchers to the Fellowship;
and to improve the College's computing facilities
Buildings
To refurbish Old Court
and other areas of the College, and to construct a new building
(providing student accommodation and study-centre facilities) at
the north-west corner of Memorial Court, next to the University
Library.
Special Projects
Including the endowment
of the Directorship of Music.
Since the changeover to
permanent fundraising in 2002, a further £6.9 million has
been raised towards these goals.
As a Clare student,
you are a member of the College for life, and can look forward to
a rich and beneficial association with Clare throughout your future
career.
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