Skip to content

Photo: David Gruar · CC BY-SA 2.0

← All colleges

West · Founded 1977

Robinson College

Cambridge's newest full undergraduate college and its most distinctive piece of late 20th-century architecture, funded by a single benefactor's gift.

Official site
Founded1977
WhereWest
TypeCollege

The college

A closer
look.

West — Grange Road

Founded 1977. Founded in 1977 through a gift from the businessman Sir David Robinson and formally opened by the Queen in 1981, making it the newest full undergraduate college in Cambridge.

Fortress-like red brick by Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, built 1977–81 and entered by a ramped, gatehouse-like portal on Grange Road; the chapel holds two stained-glass windows by John Piper and a Frobenius organ, and the buildings back onto mature Victorian and Edwardian gardens crossed by the Bin Brook.

Find it · West · Founded 1977Robinson College
Drawing routeThe itinerary still works without the map.
52.2047°N, 0.1053°WGet directions

On a visit

Don’t miss.

  1. 01The red-brick gatehouse and entrance ramp
  2. 02The chapel's John Piper windows
  3. 03The Frobenius organ
  4. 04The gardens and Bin Brook
  5. 05Front Court and Long Court

Connected to

Notable
names.

  • Sir David Robinson, founder
  • Nick Clegg
  • Robert Webb
  • Konnie Huq

Before you go

Visiting Robinson College

Visitors are welcome free of charge, Monday to Saturday 10am–6pm and Sundays 2pm–6pm, with Front Court, Long Court and the gardens open and chapel services open to all. Public access is restricted just before and during the exam season and during the college shutdown, so check with the Porters' Lodge.

Opening hours, admission and access change often — check the official site before you travel.

Founded
1977
Area
West — Grange Road
Type
College

Editorial record

Reviewed, sourced and accountable.

This guide to Robinson College is maintained by an independent editorial team. Changing visitor details should always be confirmed with the responsible organisation.

Reviewed on
Written and reviewed by
Above Guide Editorial Team
Verified identifier
Wikidata Q1247564