The front of Old Court

Clare Bridge, over the River Cam

Clare College was founded in 1326 and endowed a few years later by Elizabeth de Clare, making it the second oldest surviving college at the University of Cambridge after Peterhouse. After the Lady Clare, a granddaughter of King Edward I of England, endowed it, the foundation was known as Clare Hall up until 1856, when it changed its name to Clare College. (A new Clare Hall was founded by Clare as a postgraduate institution in 1966). Clare is famous for its chapel choir and also for its gardens, which form part of what is known as the Backs (essentially the rear part of colleges which are next to the River Cam). The current Master is Anthony (Tony) J Badger, Paul Mellon Professor of American History.

Clare's 'Old Court', 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 (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.

Clare has a much-photographed bridge over the river which has fourteen stone balls decorating it. In actual fact, 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 popular sport amongst Clare students is 'pole-catching', in which the student stands on Clare bridge and attempts to grab punt poles from the hands of unsuspecting tourists.

Clare is known as one of the most musical colleges in Cambridge. Most of its students play at least one instrument, and its orchestra and choir attract some of the best young musicians in the country. It is the traditional destination of most of the students coming up to Cambridge from Chetham's School of Music. It holds popular jazz and drum'n'bass nights in its cellars. The Scratch Perverts used to DJ regularly.

Clare is a very liberal college. The Socialist Worker society meets there, and Clare students have previously been arrested for various direct action protests. A liberal attitude is taken during jazz and comedy nights. Its student paper, Clareification, 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.

Famous alumni

• John Guy, leading Tudor historian and Fellow of the College.
• Peter Ackroyd, author
• David Attenborough, naturalist
• Sabine Baring-Gould, Victorian novelist
• Charles, Lord Cornwallis, British general in the American Revolutionary War
• Nicholas Ferrer
• Hugh Latimer, Chaplain to Henry VIII, Bishop of Worcester, martyr
• Peter Lilley, Conservative MP
• Matthew Parris, Broadcaster, political analyst and former Conservative MP
• Geoffrey Robinson, Labour MP
• Dr Richard Taylor, Independent MP
• Richard Wainwright, Liberal MP
• Sir Roger Norrington, conductor
• John Rutter, composer
• Siegfried Sassoon, war poet
• Richard Stilgoe, entertainer
• James D. Watson Double helix discoverer and human genome advocate
• Andrew Wiles, mathematician who proved Fermat's last theorem

External links

• Clare College, Cambridge official website (http://www.clare.cam.ac.uk)
• Image of Clare Bridge (http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/ab374/pictures/Cambridge/tn/cam0070.jpg.html)
• CLAREification website- the weekly satirical magazine of Clare students (http://www.srcf.ucam.org/clareification/)
• Union of Clare Students website (http://ucs.clare.cam.ac.uk/)