The Development Office was founded in 2000, and within this period numerous projects have been undertaken.  In 2014 several floors of the refurbished William Stone Building were open to view as were the newly refurbished Fen Court, the new accommodation in M Staircase, the Gunn Gallery in the Ward Library, and the restored Hall and Combination Room.  In 2015, work was  completed on the Whittle Building, which was officially opened by HRH Prince Charles in February 2015.  Throughout this period we also focussed our fundraising efforts on the endowment.

The endowment is key to the College’s support of students and the financial support of graduate and undergraduate students is at the forefront of the Development Campaign.  The College is especially concerned that the effect of increased student fees (which go directly to the University to replace teaching funding the Government has withdrawn) will discourage able students from going on to do graduate degrees.  The College set up two specific funds – one for the arts and the other for sciences – to ensure that no able student is prevented from undertaking further study for financial reasons.  The sum required to endow a Graduate Studentship in perpetuity is approximately £650,000.  Donations to the Graduate Studentship Funds normally be treated as expendable endowment so that we can support able students even as we are building up the endowment funds.

More recently we have established The Lady Mary Ramsey Fund; a joint fund for financial assistance and bursaries. We have a number of financial assistance funds and bursaries dedicated to providing support to undergraduates in cases of financial need. Some of our older financial assistance funds are limited to particular disciplines or to other special cases, so this joint fund was established to provide us with the flexibility to provide support where it is needed. Contributions to these funds, or the endowment of new ones, are very important and allow us to act quickly, enabling students to focus on their studies rather than their financial difficulties. The expansion of these funds continues to play a major part in the Development Campaign.

Work to restore the Chapel is on-going and the next exciting phase includes the re-working of the original Snetzler organ and the restoration of the north and south windows. Other projects include the restoration of the Brewhouse to create a centre for music; the enhancement of the gardens around Cosin Court including the creation of step-free access to the Master's Lodge; and the re-development of the Boathouse.

In April of 2019 we held a Project Open Day and were delighted to invite Petreans to join us to view and discuss recent and forthcoming developments.

Petreans were given the opportunity to visit:

  • the truly remarkable restoration of Tunwells Court.
  • Brewhouse, then being restored.
  • the future plans for the restoration of the Chapel.
  • the plans for the new organ.
  • an exhibition and discuss the plans for redeveloping the Boathouse.
  • an exhibition and discuss the plans for the College’s Masterplan.

Peterhouse Projects Open Day 2019