Cambridge College Foundations Trivia Quiz

Answer: Peterhouse

Peterhouse is both the first of Cambridge's colleges to be founded and the oldest one to survive into the 21st century. The exact date of the foundation of Cambridge University is unclear, but its history can be traced to a group of scholars from Oxford University who fled to Cambridge in around 1209 and later set up their own, rival, institution. Peterhouse's foundation in 1284 was originally intended to provide accommodation for just one master and 14 fellows; it has grown considerably over the following 700 years or so but remains one of Cambridge's smallest colleges, with space for around 350 students.

Peterhouse alumni include the "Father of the Computer", Charles Babbage; the poet, Thomas Gray; and the inventor of the jet engine, Sir Frank Whittle.

Answer: King's College

King's College was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI, shortly after he had set up the famous Eton College for younger students and a formal agreement for places at King's to be filled by boys from Eton was reached a few years later. However, the college's development was hampered by the Wars of the Roses and Henry's deposition in 1461. Building work at the site was eventually continued under the later reigns of King Henry VII and King Henry VIII.

The college's (and the university's) most famous building is the grand King's College Chapel, which was built in the Gothic style and is much bigger than the term 'chapel' might imply. In fact it is larger and more impressive than many of England's grandest cathedrals. The college backs onto the River Cam and the view of King's College Chapel from the river, or the area known as 'The Backs', is one of the most famous images of the city.

Answer: Trinity Hall

The Black Death, an outbreak of plague, decimated the population of Europe in the mid-14th century and while estimates vary, research suggests that up to half of England's population probably succumbed to it. Members of the priesthood were more affected than other groups of society as they often spent time caring for other victims and the Bishop of Norwich reported the loss of nearly 700 of his priests. As a direct result he founded a new college at Cambridge University in 1350 with the intention of training replacements for his lost clergy.

While the college initially focused on theology and the law and gained a strong reputation for the latter, in modern times it offers a wide range of courses, from history, philosophy and music to mathematics and chemical engineering. The renowned physicist Stephen Hawking studied at Trinity Hall in the early 1960s.

Answer: Queens' College

The reason why everyone needs to take particular care in placing the apostrophe in the name of Queens' College, Cambridge, is that it was actually founded by two queens. Margaret of Anjou, the wife of King Henry VI, was its first founder in 1448, but it was re-founded by her replacement, King Edward IV's queen, Elizabeth Woodville, in 1465. Anne Neville, the wife of King Richard III, also acted as a patroness of the college. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother was its royal patroness until her death in 2002, and the role was then taken over by her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II - the first Queen Regnant to officially support Queens' College.

Some of Queens' College's newer buildings are separated from the main section by the River Cam, but can be accessed by one of Cambridge's popular tourist attractions, the Mathematical Bridge.

Answer: Girton College

The origins of Girton College, Cambridge lie in the campaign to improve education for women in the 1860s. Until the foundation of the college (which was originally known as the College for Women at Benslow House), attendance at the University of Cambridge was restricted to men only. It was originally located in the town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire as it was considered unacceptable for female students to live in any sort of proximity to their male counterparts. Eventually enough money was raised to construct new buildings in the village of Girton, about two miles north-west of Cambridge, and the college opened there in 1873. However, full equality took nearly another 100 years to achieve as Girton did not obtain full college status until 1948 and it was only at this point that women became entitled to full membership of the university.

After other Cambridge colleges started admitting female students in 1972, Girton opened its doors to male students in 1978.

Answer: Trinity College

Trinity College - not to be confused with the other college called Trinity Hall - was founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII. At that time, the university was a religious institution and had a very real fear that they would suffer the same fate as the monasteries - namely being closed down and having their (considerable) assets seized by the crown. Their solution was to appeal to Henry's wife - Catherine Parr - to intercede with him on their behalf and it is believed that her persuasion led him to support the university and found his own college. However, rather than founding a brand new institution like his predecessors, Henry opted for the much cheaper option of taking two existing colleges and merging them together to create a new one. Michaelhouse was Cambridge's second residential college and had been founded in 1324; while King's Hall had been re-founded by King Edward III in 1337.

Trinity College went on to become one of the largest Cambridge colleges. Its alumni include (amongst many other famous names) Kings Edward VII and George VI; several UK Prime Ministers; the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru; and the philosopher, Sir Francis Bacon.

Answer: St Edmund's College

St Edmund's College was originally founded in 1896, around 20 years after the repeal of the Test Acts rescinded the ban on Roman Catholics attending university. Henry Fitzalan-Howard, the 15th Duke of Norfolk was a prominent Roman Catholic and an important patron of Catholic institutions and organisations, while Baron Anatole von Hügel was an Austrian nobleman and the president of the Cambridge University Catholic Association.

The college was originally little more than a Hall of Residence for its students, but it became a graduate college in the 1960s before gaining full college status one hundred years after it was originally founded. The vast majority of its students are postgraduates with the remaining places being allocated to mature students (those aged 21 and over).

Answer: Churchill College

Churchill College was founded as a "national and Commonwealth memorial" to Sir Winston Churchill, the former UK Prime Minister and Second World War leader. Churchill himself served as the chairman of the trust set up to organise the foundation of the college and set the college's aims of focusing on high quality teaching of science, mathematics and engineering while ensuring a well-rounded education by also including students of a much broader range of subjects. Although originally founded as a male-only college, Churchill was one of the first colleges to admit women in 1972.

As one of Cambridge's newest colleges (and around 700 years younger than its eldest sibling), Churchill's buildings are located on the outskirts of the city and don't have the same tourist appeal. However, they probably do provide a much more modern living environment!

Answer: St John's College

Lady Margaret Beaufort was the mother of the first Tudor king, Henry VII. She was noted for her religious piety and St John's College, which she decided to found prior to her death in 1509 is known for its focus on religion and has educated numerous archbishops and other clergy. The actual foundation of the college was delayed until 1511 after Margaret died and it was discovered that her will had not been amended with any mention of her intentions and no funds had been allocated for it. It was left to Margaret's chaplain, John Fisher, to fight the various legal battles required to get her estate to pay for the construction of the college.

St John's College was named after the medieval hospital which had previously occupied its site. The Hospital of St. John the Evangelist was believed to have been founded around 1200 and was more of a religious institution than the modern definition of a hospital.

Answer: Downing College

Downing College, Cambridge was founded in 1800 thanks to a bequest made by the Sir George Downing in 1749. His childless baronet's will stipulated that if the family line of his cousin and heir Sir Jacob Downing died out, then his estate should be sold to raise funds to found a college at Cambridge University. His cousin died childless in 1764, but the bequest was delayed by his widow's legal battles until the courts finally found in favour of the university in 1800. While a grand design was drawn up for Downing College, 35 years of legal costs substantially reduced the value of the bequest and the full scale of the plans was never realised.

Sir George Downing was the grandson - and namesake - of the 17th century politician who built a row of townhouses on what is now Downing Street in the 1680s. Number 10, Downing Street is the official residence of the UK Prime Minister.