Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge - Buildings and Grounds

Buildings and Grounds

The main grounds of the College are located off Storey's Way, towards the north-west of Cambridge. The college is sometimes identified as one of the Hill Colleges, together with Churchill College, St Edmund's College, Girton College and Murray Edwards College. These colleges are all among the most recently established and tend to share certain architectural features.

Fitzwilliam consists of a variety of modern buildings, built in the grounds of a regency estate.

The Grove (1813)

The college's centrepiece is the Grove, a Grade II regency manor house. This was designed by the architect William Custance and constructed in 1813. Custance was also the house's first resident and his initials, along with the date '1814', can be found on a rainwater hopper at the side of the house. Another slightly smaller building known as Grove Lodge was also designed by Custance and is now part of Murray Edwards College. For some time, both properties were owned by the Darwin family and The Grove served as Emma Darwin's primary residence between 1883 and 1896, following the death of her husband Charles. During this time, she had the interior lined with original William Morris wallpaper and two of her sons had smaller houses built in the grounds. Although both have since been demolished, the house built by Horace Darwin, which was known as The Orchard, was donated to Murray Edwards College in 1962 and the site now serves as its primary campus. In 1988, The Grove became part of Fitzwilliam and today it is home to a number of fellows, as well as the Senior Common Room and the Middle Combination Room.

The Hall Building (1963)

The Hall Building is a large complex towards the back of the college. It was built between 1960 and 1963 and was designed by Sir Denys Lasdun, who won Royal Gold Medal in 1977 and is most well known for having designed the National Theatre in London. The building, which is an example of the Modern Movement in architecture, consists primarily of the college dining hall, but also houses the bar, kitchens, the junior common room, a couple of seminar rooms and a gymnasium. The dinner gong, just outside the dining hall, was originally the bell of the HMS Ocean and was presented to Fitzwilliam House by Admiral of the Fleet Sir Caspar John in 1962.

Fellows' Court (1963)

Like the Hall Building, Fellows' Court was part of the initial construction, designed by Sir Denys Lasdun and completed in 1963 at a cost of approximately £300 000. It occupies an area in the far corner of the college and is enclosed by the Hall Building, the Law Library and two dormitories. It is generally reserved for fellows, and, as well as residence, also houses the Fellows' Parlour.

Tree Court (1963)

Tree Court, the last component of the initial 1963 construction, is located at the north end of the college, opposite Fellows' Court. The court was initially the college's main entrance and, with a car park and a cycling bay just outside, it remains a back door to the college. Tree Court was Lasdun's first attempt at student residence; he would go on to design similar buildings at the University of East Anglia and Christ's College, Cambridge. Although the court opens out onto the college gardens, the wall opposite the Hall Building was recently lengthened with the addition of the college's new Library and IT Centre. Today, Tree Court provides residence for the majority of first year students.

New Court (1985)

In the mid-eighties, the college expanded to the south with the construction of New Court, a three-walled residential compound, designed by MacCormac Jamieson Prichard. Students and fellows contributed to the design with such ideas as intersecting staircases and elongated windows. The court won 1989 David Urwin Award for Best New Building. In 2004, the court gained its fourth wall with the completion of the college's new auditorium.

The Chapel (1991)

In 1991, the north wing of New Court was lengthened to include the new college Chapel. The building, which was also designed by MacCormac Jamieson Prichard, faces directly towards the Grove and is an example of the International Movement in architecture. The Chapel is designed to resemble the hull of a ship, which hints at the religious themes of journey and protection. The building is home to a fine two-manual organ designed by Peter Collins, a Bechstein grand piano and a Goble harpsichord. The addition won the 1992 Civic Trust Award, the 1993 Carpenters' Award and the 1993 David Urwin Award for Best New Building. The firm later used a similar design for the Ruskin Library at the University of Lancaster.

Wilson Court (1994)

The fourth court was added to the south of the college, next to the boundary with Murray Edwards, in 1994. It was designed by van Heyningen & Haward Architects and includes 48 acoustically independent rooms and the Gordon Cameron Lecture Theatre, which is also used as the college cinema. It won the 1996 RIBA Award.

Gatehouse Court (2003)

The completion of Gatehouse Court in 2003 saw the realisation of Sir Denys Lasdun's original vision. The design, courtesy of Allies & Morrison, reorientated the college and gave it a new entrance, complete with Porter's Lodge, administrative offices, meeting rooms, parking facilities, a large-scale engraving of the college crest and a flagpole. It also provided an extra 42 en-suite bedrooms for student accommodation. The college now faces south and opens onto Storey's Way, a smaller, primarily residential street branching off Madingley Road. As well as expanding the college dramatically, the court was awarded the 2005 RIBA Award and the 2005 BDA Award for Building of the Year.

The Auditorium (2004)

Perhaps the most impressive addition to the college site came with the completion of the Auditorium building in 2004. Having overseen the construction of Gatehouse Court, Allies & Morrison were employed to design the college's new performance facilities. Built using a similar brick to that used for the Grove almost 200 years earlier, the building is largely below ground-level, resulting in a direct view of the surrounding landscape for audience members towards the back of the gallery. It won the 2005 Concrete Society Award and the 2005 BDA Award for Best Public Building. Located near the front of the college, the building faces New Court and backs onto the college gardens. Consisting of a large central performance area, three smaller practice rooms and an entrance hall, the auditorium is the official home of the internationally renowned Fitzwilliam Quartet. The main hall, which has been praised for its acoustics, houses a Steinway grand piano and the practice rooms, which vary in size and purpose, include instruments such as a tympani, a full-size drum kit, amplifiers and a Bösendorfer piano. Although used primarily for music, the building has also hosted drama performances and important lectures. In recent years, guests have included the American politician Jesse Jackson, former poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion, and the former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove, who visited the college as part of the Arrol Adam Lecture Series in 2008.

The Library and IT Centre (2009)

A new library was completed in 2009. As of January 2010, its book collection contains around 60 000 volumes and increases by about 1000 volumes each year. At a cost of £5m, the building was designed by Edward Cullinan, who had worked with Lasdun on the original college plan, and who was undertaking his first major project after receiving the Royal Gold Medal in 2008. It was built as an extension to the uncompleted east wing of Tree Court and was designed to allow maximum luminosity and energy efficiency. The building, opened in April 2010 by the Duke of Edinburgh, is also fitted with extensive computing facilities and includes separate underground computer rooms for undergraduates and postgraduates. In 2011, alumnus Ken Olisa donated £1.4m to the development of the Library and IT Centre. Unlike most college libraries, it is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.