Photo: Cruccone · CC BY-SA 2.0
Central · Founded 1350
Trinity Hall
One of Cambridge's oldest colleges and among its smallest central ones, a full college despite its name, founded for lawyers and still prized for its riverside garden.
The college
A closer
look.
Central — Trinity Lane
Founded 1350. Founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich, to train lawyers in canon and civil law after the Black Death had devastated the ranks of the clergy.
Medieval in plan with a Georgian face: the fourteenth-century ranges of Front Court were refaced in smooth ashlar in the eighteenth century, and behind them survive the Elizabethan Old Library, a small early chapel and gardens running down to the Cam.
On a visit
Don’t miss.
- 01Front Court's Georgian-faced medieval ranges
- 02The Elizabethan Old Library
- 03The riverside garden
- 04The small medieval chapel
- 05The view from Garret Hostel Bridge
Connected to
Notable
names.
- Stephen Hawking, who came to Trinity Hall as a research student
- J. B. Priestley
- Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury
- Rachel Weisz
- Andrew Marr
- Centuries of judges from the lawyers' college
Before you go
Visiting Trinity Hall
Visitors may check in at the Porters' Lodge and walk around the grounds free of charge, but the college is closed to the public from April to June inclusive during the examination term and from 21 December to 2 January.
Opening hours, admission and access change often — check the official site before you travel.
- Founded
- 1350
- Area
- Central — Trinity Lane
- Type
- College
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