Transforming the beating heart of Clare

After five years of enabling and building work, involving the construction of a temporary bridge over the Cam, the erection of a crane in the Master’s garden, and the deployment of temporary kitchens and buttery facilities on the lawns, the College is delighted – and not a little relieved – to announce the imminent completion of the second phase of the Old Court project.

The overall purpose of the project is to provide the best possible experience for current and future students, so that they can benefit from all the opportunities of a Clare education. Old Court is the beating heart of the College, so ensuring its long-term conservation, upgrading its facilities, and allowing it to be used flexibly for a range of student activities are core priorities.

The first phase of the Old Court project, 1a, was completed in October 2020, and comprised modernisation of the Porters’ Lodge, refurbishment of facilities in the basements of E and G staircases, refurbishment of A and B staircases, a new fire escape, rewiring of C staircase, construction of a new plant room, and re-roofing of the North Range. (Leaking roofs had made many of the attic rooms unsafe and uninhabitable.)

The second phase, 1b, comprises the construction of the new River Room café for Clare students on the footprint of the old television room (north of the Master’s Garden), new steps to the North Range to improve access to Hall, the refitting of the main College kitchens, and the construction of a new three-storey extension in the North Passage incorporating a new servery area, toilet and disabled facilities, a lift and fire escapes. As a result, all the key spaces of Old Court will be fully accessible for the first time in the College’s history. The Hall will become a more flexible space that can be used for performances as well as meals.