The hidden gem of Clare College

Perhaps the most famous building is Castlebrae house at the centre of the site, built by Scottish twin sisters Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson (b.1843) whose story is truly remarkable. They were self-taught formidable linguists in many ancient languages, who married Cambridge academics and lived at Castlebrae (one couple to the left of the entrance and the other couple to the right!). After both sisters were bereaved they went on a journey trekking across the desert to St Catherine’s monastery at Mt Sinai where they discovered one of the very earliest copies of the gospels, written in Syriac (although the monks, being Greek Orthodox, could not read it). To this day, rumour has it that the ghost of Agnes roams the halls of Castlebrae, her spirit lingering long after her death in 1926.

Until the 1960s, some Castle Court students lived with landladies who managed their own homes or rented them from the College, providing breakfast as part of the accommodation arrangement. Gradually, this practice was phased out, and by the late 20th century, all rooms were allocated directly by the College, complete with gyp facilities.

Over the years, the older houses around the site were modernised and brought into the College system. These include Braeside, the secondary mansion on the site, as well as the houses along Chesterton Lane— Etheldreda, St Giles, St Andrew’s, and Hillside. Today, these properties offer students variety and comfort, just a stone’s throw away from the city centre.

In 1958, the architect David Robert designed a pair of joined hostels with a much admired ‘fluted’ facade. Originally, these hostels each housed a landlady who served breakfasts to the students. Today, the breakfast rooms have been repurposed into a lounge and three smaller meeting spaces for various student groups. The joined buildings are collectively referred to as ‘Castle End,’ a nod to the original Castle End Farm which stood on the site.