Cambridge Colleges Trivia Quiz

Peterhouse was founded in 1284 during the reign of King Edward I by the then Bishop of Ely, a city in the county of Cambridgeshire. Deriving its name from the apostle Saint Peter, the college is situated in central Cambridge, on Trumpington Street. The road also has the colleges of Pembroke, St Catharine's and Corpus Christi. The name is just Peterhouse - don't add 'college' after it.

Among its famous alumni are Charles Babbage the computer pioneer, scientists including Lord Kelvin and Henry Cavendish, while actor James Mason and director Sam Mendes also went to Peterhouse.

The college was founded by King Henry VI in 1441 and was originally intended only for those educated at Eton College, also founded by the monarch. The Wars of the Roses disrupted the building and it wasn't until the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII that all the building work was completed.

The college backs on to the River Cam and is particularly renowned for its chapel, begun in 1446 and finished in 1544. An annual carol concert is broadcast from the chapel and shown by the BBC on Christmas Eve.

You may have noticed that the apostrophe followed the name to indicate that two queens are associated with the establishment of this college. Margaret of Anjou originally founded the college in 1448 while Elizabeth Woodville re-founded it in 1465. This reflected the struggle for the English throne between their respective husbands, Henry VI and Edward IV.

Queens' is also famous for its 'mathematical' bridge crossing the River Cam. Officially named the Wooden Bridge or Queens' Bridge, the design is unusual with straight timbers creating the shape of an arch. It connects two parts of the college.

The similarly named Queen's College at Oxford is dedicated to only one queen - Philippa of Hinault, wife of Edward III.

Henry VIII was the monarch who founded Trinity, in 1546. It was formed by the merger of two existing colleges. It is the wealthiest and frequently the most academically successful of all the Cambridge colleges based on league tables kept by the colleges.

If Nobel Prizes are any measure, Trinity certainly lives up to its reputation with 34 winners, more than any other college at either Cambridge or Oxford at the time of writing. They include Amartya Sen (Economics 1998) and Bertrand Russell (Literature 1950).

Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex, left funds in her will for the setting up of a Protestant college in Cambridge. She died in 1589 and the college was duly established by her executors in 1596, using her name - the full name is The College of the Lady Frances Sidney Sussex. It is located on Sidney Street in the city.

Oliver Cromwell was one of the early students at Sidney Sussex, although he did not finish his course, dropping out when his father was taken ill. His head is said to be buried in the college's chapel. Lord (David) Owen also attended, as did Carol Vorderman who went on to appear on 'Countdown' on television for many years.

Sidney Sussex is the last of the original colleges, with more than two hundred years passing before the next one being founded.

Downing College was endowed by Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet in 1749, under the terms of his will, although this depended on a series of cousins having no heirs. Even though the will was explicit, it took a court case to remove Downing's estranged wife and her family from the estates. It took until 1800 before the funds became available, and Downing College became the first college to be established since the sixteenth century, in 1800.

The college was built on Downing Street, although the original plans had to be scaled down due to the depletion of funds by the legal actions. Parts of the college weren't added until the 1950s. Don't be misled, though, it's still an imposing building and Downing has attracted students such as John Cleese and Michael Winner.

The Downing family is the same one which originally owned London's famous Downing Street, home to the Prime Minister at number 10. The London properties were built by the grandfather of the man responsible for the college.

Established in 1869 by two leading feminists of the time, Barbara Bodichon and Emily Davies, Girton College is not in the city of Cambridge and takes its name from the village of Girton, located about two miles outside to the north west. It was the first college to be female only, although it began admitting male students in 1976.

Girton is associated with Somerville College in Oxford, which also began as a female only institution. Famous alumni of Girton include the Danish Queen Margrethe II and Sandi Toksvig.

Selwyn College was named for George Selwyn, who was the first Bishop of New Zealand, from 1841 until 1868. He returned to the UK to become Bishop of Lichfield and, on his death in 1878, the college was founded in his memory, in 1882. Selwyn himself had studied at Cambridge, at St John's College.

Selwyn is situated on Grange Road, also home to several other colleges including Newnham College and is more on the outskirts of Cambridge than other colleges. Over the years, with the expansion of other establishments, it is now more integrated with the university. The buildings have a distinctive style with red brick (it was built in Victoria's time) and limestone inlays being prominent. John Sentamu, formerly Bishop of York, and Hugh Laurie are among the famous people to have studied there.

Churchill College is named for Sir Winston Churchill and he was the chairman of the trust set up in 1958 to create a new college as his memorial. The date of founding is given as 1958 with the first students being admitted in 1960 and 1961. The college was established to focus on technological subjects, as Churchill had been impressed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and wanted the UK to have something similar.

The college is located on the outskirts of Cambridge and is noted for being among the first all male colleges to extend enrolment to female students. The college is known for its collections of sculpture and artwork with Barbara Hepworth and Andy Warhol among the artists to have their works on display there.

The funds required to set up a new college needed a millionaire, and Sir David Robinson donated 18 million pounds to establish the college that now bears his name. Cambridge born, Robinson had made his fortune renting radios and televisions to people who could not afford to buy one outright. Those days are lone gone, of course. The college was founded in 1977 and opened to a small group of students by 1979, with the main influx the following year. An official opening ceremony was carried out by Queen Elizabeth II in 1981.

Located on Grange Road, Robinson is near other colleges, including Selwyn and Clare, and the area is now a hub for various Cambridge University facilities known as the Sidgwick Site. Nick Clegg, the former Deputy Prime Minister, and television presenter Konnie Huq are among the former students at Robinson.