Back Peterhouse Czech Peterhouse, Caergrawnt Welsh Peterhouse German Peterhouse Spanish Peterhouse Finnish Peterhouse French Peterhouse Italian 피터하우스, 케임브리지 Korean Collegium Petri (Cantabrigia) Latin Peterhouse Dutch
| Peterhouse | |
|---|---|
| University of Cambridge | |
 Old Court, facing the Chapel | |
 Arms of Peterhouse Arms: Or four pallets Gules within a border of the last charged with eight ducal coronets of the first | |
| Scarf colours: four equal stripes alternating white and blue | |
| Location | Trumpington Street (map) |
| Full name | The Master (or Keeper) and Fellows of Peterhouse in the University of Cambridge[1] |
| Abbreviation | PET[2] |
| Founder | Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely |
| Established | 1284 |
| Named after | Peter the Apostle |
| Previous names |
|
| Sister colleges | Merton College, Oxford |
| Master | Professor Andy Parker |
| Undergraduates | 290 (2022–23) |
| Postgraduates | 187 (2022–23) |
| Endowment | £235.1 million (2022)[3] |
| Website | www |
| JCR | www |
| MCR | www |
| Boat club | www |
| Map | |
  Location in Central Cambridge  Location in Cambridge | |
Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate students, and 54 fellows.[4]
Peterhouse alumni are notably eminent within the natural sciences, including scientists Lord Kelvin, Henry Cavendish, Charles Babbage, James Clerk Maxwell, James Dewar, Frank Whittle, and five Nobel prize winners in science: Sir John Kendrew, Sir Aaron Klug, Archer Martin, Max Perutz, and Michael Levitt.[5] Peterhouse alumni also include the Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift, Lord Chancellors, Lord Chief Justices, important poets such as Thomas Gray, the first British Fields Medallist Klaus Roth, Oscar-winning film director Sam Mendes and comedian David Mitchell. British Prime Minister Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, and Elijah Mudenda, second prime minister of Zambia, also studied at the college.
Peterhouse is one of the wealthiest colleges in Cambridge,[6] with assets exceeding £350 million.[7] It is currently third in terms of net assets per student. Members of Peterhouse are encouraged to attend communal dinners, known as "Hall". Hall takes place in two sittings, with the second known as "Formal Hall", which consists of a three-course candlelit meal and which must be attended wearing suits and gowns. At Formal Hall, the students rise as the fellows proceed in, a gong is rung, and two Latin graces are read. Peterhouse also hosts a biennial white-tie ball as part of May Week celebrations.
In recent years, Peterhouse has been ranked as one of the highest achieving colleges in Cambridge, although academic performance tends to vary year to year due to its small population. In the past five years, it has sat in the top ten of the 29 colleges within the Tompkins Table. Peterhouse sat at fourth in 2018 and 2019.
- ^ "THE MASTER (OR KEEPER) AND FELLOWS OF PETERHOUSE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE - Charity 1137457".
- ^ University of Cambridge (6 March 2019). "Notice by the Editor". Cambridge University Reporter. 149 (Special No 5): 1. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ https://www.pet.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/inline-files/2022%20Peterhouse_3006FSS_Client%20signed%2815467985_1%29_0.PDF [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Fellows by Seniority". Peterhouse, Cambridge. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ "About the College". Peterhouse Website. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
- ^ "Oxford and Cambridge university colleges hold £21bn in riches". TheGuardian.com. 28 May 2018.
- ^ "Annual Report and Accounts 2023" (PDF). Peterhouse College, Cambridge. Retrieved 17 June 2024.