The Porters' Lodge

The Porters are a vital part of college: a first point of contact for everyone, keeping the college safe and helping out with almost everything.

Visit the Porters' Lodge
The Admissions Office

The Admissions Office handles all aspects of the student admissions process which is effectively a year-round process. The Admissions Office also includes the outreach activities of the College, carried out by the School Liaison Officer and other members of the College.

Meet the Admissions Team
The Tutorial Office

The Tutorial Office handles all the administration relating to students’ academic life: from enrolment and teaching, through to the graduation ceremonies. This often requires very close working with Tutors and Directors of Studies

Computer Office

Peterhouse has a small but highly effective IT team. A major role these days is ensuring that everyone has access to reliable internet, but they also very efficient in sorting out computing problems and dealing the necessary IT administrative tasks.

Catering

Everyone in the College depends upon the Catering staff to keep us all fed. They do an outstanding job in providing high quality day-to-day food and drink and stepping up to grand events.

Accommodation & Housekeeping

The Accommodation Officer provides the rooms for Fellows and students. The Housekeeping team keep the shared spaces clean, keeping the college functioning.

Health and Wellbeing

The welfare of the members of college is vitally important. The college nurse is on hand to deal with health problems and arranges other health aspects, such as the offering of flu vaccinations for older members of college. Mental wellbeing is taken very seriously.

The College Office

The College Office is the administrative centre of the college. Our staff look after the day-to-day running of the College.

Development and Alumni Relations

The Development Office maintains the College’s links with its alumni and carries out the fund-raising activities needed to keep such an institution functioning.

Conferences

The Conference Manager handles all aspects of conference organisation.

Human Resources & Finance Office

Both Human Resources and the Finance Office manage the staffing and the financial running of the college.

Maintenance

The Maintenance team have the responsibility of keeping the buildings in good repair and dealing with all the issues that constantly arise in such a collection of different structures.

Gardens

With its extensive gardens, Peterhouse keeps its gardeners very busy throughout the seasons.

Our full-time Conference Manager is available to handle your enquiry, confirm availability and assist with the detailed planning of your event.

Full details of what we can provide for conferences are given in our downloadable brochure. On this page we give an overview of our facilities

 

Enquiries and bookings

To discuss your requirements and check availability, please do not hesitate to contact our full-time Conference Manager , Anne Gifford:

Telephone: 01223 338205
Email: conference@pet.cam.ac.uk
Address: Peterhouse, Cambridge, CB2 1RD, United Kingdom

Alternatively, please submit an enquiry via our online Enquiry Form.

Peterhouse Theatre

The Peterhouse's Theatre is a two leveled setting with seating for 180 people. The theatre has a spacious stage equipped with a front projection screen, stage lighting and Martin surround sound audio, which can all be used to enhance the experience and have a memorable impact on your event.

If required audiovisual equipment including lights, data projector, screen, lectern and microphones are all available.

 

 

Take a Look
The Lubbock Room

This bright and lofty room, formerly part of the University Museum of Classical Archaeology and adjacent to the Theatre, was refurbished in 2005. With its own fully-equipped servery, it is an ideal break-out area for events taking place in the Theatre. As well as being used for serving a range of refreshments, it provides the perfect setting for promotional stands, posters and publicity materials. 

The Lubbock Room can also be used independently for seminars and speaker meetings.

 

Capacity

Refreshments:  180
Theatre-style:  70
Boardroom-style:  30
Classroom-style:  25

Take a Look
The Upper Hall

The Upper Hall is a stunning room that is part-paneled and opens up into a balcony with breathtaking views of the college's brilliant medieval hall. This room is not only aesthetically pleasing, but it also comes equipped with audiovisual facilities, including a large touch screen and push-to-talk microphones, making it the perfect space for both hybrid meetings and in-person events. With its perfect blend of modern technology and classic elegance.

Capacity

Theatre-style:  46
Boardroom-style:  22
Classroom-style:  20

The Henry Cavendish Room

This panelled Georgian room, beautifully furnished with antiques, was formerly part of a Fellow’s ‘set’ and is named after Henry Cavendish, a Petrean scientist credited with having discovered hydrogen and calculated the mass of the Earth in the 18th century.

It provides an ideal setting for small meetings and seminars.  

 

Capacity

Boardroom-style:  16

 

The Davidson Room

The Davidson Room is an impressive space located in the newly built Frank Whittle Building. This room is perfect for hosting small conferences, and presentations. It includes quality AV facilities, including a high spec projector and sound system, making it the ideal space for showcasing multimedia content.

The Davidson Room is also flexible and can be configured to suit a wide range of event types, from lectures and presentations to networking sessions and workshops. Its spacious layout allows for easy movement and interaction, while its audio and visual capabilities ensure that every attendee can engage with the content being presented.

 

Seminar rooms

We have a number of seminar rooms useful for smaller numbers.

 

Friends of Peterhouse Seminar Room: 

Built within the structure of the medieval roof, this distinctive room is ideal for smaller meetings or break-out groups.

Capacity:   Boardroom style: 16

F4 Seminar Room

A small syndicate room, useful for smaller meetings or as a break-out area.

Capacity:    Boardroom style:  14

F5 Seminar Room

A small syndicate room, useful for smaller meetings or as a break-out area.

Capacity:   Boardroom style:  10

Accommodation

The College has up to 100 rooms available for conference letting, all set in the historic surroundings of the main site, overlooking the gardens and in close proximity to our catering facilities and meeting rooms.

All rooms are centrally heated and comfortably furnished, with single beds, wardrobes, desks and comfortable chairs. Some rooms have en-suite showers, while in other cases bath and shower-rooms for shared use are located nearby. Linen and towels are provided, along with tea/coffee making facilities, and rooms can be serviced daily except at weekends.

Welcome to Peterhouse

Peterhouse is the oldest of the constituent colleges in the University of Cambridge.  It was founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely, on its current site close to the centre of the City.  

As a charitable institution, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, religion, learning and research, Peterhouse has made its own distinctive contribution to society for over 700 years. 

It is one of the smaller Colleges, housing an intellectual community of some 45 Fellows, 260 undergraduates and 110 graduate students.  

Peterhouse is renowned for its stimulating and friendly atmosphere, the diversity of its students and the range of their academic, extra-curricular and social activities, as well as for the quality of its facilities. 

We hope that this website will help you to find the information about Peterhouse which interests you. If not, please don't hesitate to contact us. 

Professor Andy Parker

Master of Peterhouse 

The Porters' Lodge

The Porters’ Lodge is the first point of contact for everyone in the College. It is staffed 24 hours a day.

The Porters are responsible for the security of the College and handling emergencies. On a day-to-day level they have the answers to most practical questions, handle the post and call for taxis.

 

 

Visit the Porters
Old Court

The Hall is the south section of OId Court was built around 1290; it is the oldest part of the College.  The north is made up of 3 staircases, B, C, and D, and was built around 1424.  The west of the court was built a little later in 1447-48 and now houses a Fellow's set as well as Noah's Ark on the top floor.

The Hall

The dining hall at Peterhouse was completed in 1290 and, in continuous use by Fellows and students for over 700 years, is the oldest collegiate building in Cambridge, making it a unique venue for all occasions.

While the structure is medieval, the interior was redesigned in the late 19th century, with dark panelling and Masters’ portraits, a minstrel’s gallery and William Morris stained glass, stencilling and tiles combining to create a dramatic back-drop for our dinners.

 

 

Visit the Hall
The Chapel

The Chapel sits at the centre of the oldest part of College and stands for a living tradition in the College’s life. The Peterhouse Chapel Choir is a friendly and diverse group drawn from the undergraduate body of the College and beyond.

 

 

 

Visit the Chapel
The Henry Cavendish Room

This panelled Georgian room, beautifully furnished with antiques, was formerly part of a Fellow’s ‘set’ and is named after Henry Cavendish, a Petrean scientist credited with having discovered hydrogen and calculated the mass of the Earth in the 18th century.

The room is used for small dinners and meetings.

The Middle Common Room

The MCR is between Old and Gisborne Courts is the meeting place for the graduate students.

Gisborne Court

Built, from the designs of William McIntosh Brookes, between 1825-26 and from the generosity of former Fellow, Francis Gisborne, this court was added to the west of Old Court to extend the College significantly.  The fourth side of the court was originally a gothic screen wall, which was pulled down in 1939. 

The Whittle Building

The Whittle Building is the college’s newest construction, providing undergraduate accommodation and meeting rooms. It is named after Sir Frank Whittle, a Petrean engineer famous as the inventor of the jet engine.

The Junior Common Room

The JCR is under the Whittle Building, along with the bar and gym. This provides a space for the undergraduates to meet and relax.

Fen Court

Designed by Hughes and Bicknell, this modernist building is of significant interest and is grade 2 listed.  Having unusually been built during World War 2, the Bursar at the time had stored the necessary materials on site and utilised builders set for repairs to Cambridge in the event of bombings.  Its distinctive T-shape makes good use of the site and the lantern floods light into the building.  The 15 rooms in Fen Court include a sick bay, guest room, 2 Fellows’ sets and 11 student rooms.

The Lubbock Room

This bright and lofty room, formerly part of the University Museum of Classical Archaeology and adjacent to the Theatre, was refurbished in 2005.

This room is used for events, often in connection with the Theatre.

The Libraries

Peterhouse has two libraries: the Perne Library which is our research collection and the undergraduate Ward library. The latter used to be the Museum of Classical Archaeology, making it a very special library space.

The Master's Lodge

The Master’s Loge is across the road from the main college site. It was built in 1702 and has been the residence of successive Masters since 1727 when it was bequeathed to the college by Dr Charles Beaumont (son of the 30th Master, Joseph Beaumont). It is a Grade I listed building.

The Hostel

Next to the Master’s Lodge is the Hostel. Built in 1926, the Hostel provides accommodation for students and a Fellow. It is notable for having housed the London School of Economics during World War 2.

Cosin Court

Cosin Court is named after John Cosin a Master of the College in the 17th Century.  Built in the 1970s, this accommodates 5 Fellows as well as about 50 graduates around the central garden.

The Boathouse

Cambridge is famous for its rowing and all colleges have their own boathouses. The Peterhouse boathouse is just 6 minutes cycle from the college.

 

Being custodians of 700 years of history Peterhouse takes the responsibility of preserving both this historical fabric and our natural environment very seriously. Accordingly we are taking steps to reduce our impact on the environment, to preserve and enhance the Colleges natural and built environment. There have been several projects to restore our historical buildings, from the grand Hall and Chapel, to the mediaeval houses of Tunwell’s Court.

The natural environment

With a very large part of the College’s main site being gardens, there is plenty of natural life around. Having been the first college in Cambridge to start monitoring the biodiversity of its grounds, Peterhouse has the best documented fauna, with over 700 species recorded. Plant recording is also underway. The College also seeks to improve the biodiversity of its grounds, for example swift nest boxes were installed in 2022.

For the full list of species in Peterhouse see the Peterhouse wildlife page.

For the full list of species in Peterhouse see the Peterhouse wildlife page.
Sustainability

The College has a Sustainability and Environmental Policy which covers catering in particular. More widely, the College is trying to reduce the use of single-use plastics wherever possible and to use local and sustainable suppliers and trades. For many year the College has supplemented its energy use with solar panels and is moving towards this and other sources or renewable energy.

Sustainability and Environmental Policy
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