St Edmund's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge[4] in England. Founded in 1896, it is the second-oldest of the three Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which accept only students reading for postgraduate degrees or for undergraduate degrees if aged 21 years or older.
After Catholic Emancipation, in particular after the Universities Tests Act 1871, students who were Roman Catholics were admitted as members of Oxford and Cambridge universities. However, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith decreed that it would be next to impossible for the ancient English universities to be frequented without mortal sin, stressing the dangers of an increasing atmosphere of liberalism and scepticism.[8] This decision was met with public outcry from the wealthy laity, who wished for their sons to attend Oxbridge colleges.[9] After a petition led by Anatole von Hügel, this ban was lifted in 1895 by Pope Leo XIII with the condition that a chaplain be appointed, a library with Catholic books be founded, and public lectures on philosophy, history and religion be established.[10][11] As a result, the Universities Catholic Education Board (later Oxford and Cambridge Catholic Education Board) was founded and Edmund Nolan was appointed Chaplain. The Duke of Norfolk purchased property in Cambridge and the Cambridge University Catholic Chaplaincy was established at St Edmund's House in November 1886.[10]
In its early days the college functioned predominantly as a lodging house, or hall of residence, for students who were matriculated at other colleges. Most of the students, at that time, were ordained Catholic priests who were reading various subjects offered by the University. The college was established in the buildings of Ayerst Hostel, which had been set up for non-collegiate students by the Anglican priest William Ayerst in 1884.[7] In 1896 Ayerst Hostel closed due to lack of funds, and the property was transferred to the Catholic Church.[12] The founding master of St Edmund's House was Edmund Nolan, then vice-rector of St Edmund's College, Ware.[7]
Collegiate Status
Attempts to have St Edmund's House become a constituent college of the University of Cambridge were undertaken at various junctures, but were met in pre-ecumenical days by continuing opposition from the predominantly Protestant membership of the university’s governing Regent House. Among motives cited were that the college was not self-governing and its assets were held in trust by an external body, namely, the Catholic Church.[13]
The chapel was consecrated in 1916 by Cardinal Francis Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster.[14] A new dining hall was constructed in 1939 and the membership of the college increased steadily as it became a recognised House of Residence of the university, without college status.
In response to growing postgraduate student numbers in the early 1960s, the Regent House of the university established several Colleges primarily for postgraduate students, and St Edmund's House became one of the graduate Colleges in the University (the others being Wolfson College, Hughes Hall, Clare Hall and Darwin College). This spurred further progress regarding St Edmund's status within the University, and in 1965, the College was permitted to matriculate its own students and new fellows were elected. In 1975 St Edmund's acquired the status of an "Approved Foundation", and after the transfer of the College assets from the Catholic Church to the autonomous governing body comprising the Masters and Fellows of the College in 1986, the College changed its name from "St Edmund's House" to "St Edmund's College". It received university approval for full collegiate status in 1996, and this was confirmed by the grant of its royal charter in 1998.[15][16] The college now accepts students of all faiths and none.
Allegations of Misconduct
Noah Carl racism controversy
St Edmund’s College faced backlash over its handling of Noah Carl's appointment, following revelations about his research promoting links between race, intelligence, and criminality. An investigation led to his dismissal, citing ethical and scholarly shortcomings. However, the college had failed to vet his background thoroughly and acted only under pressure from public protests.[17] The college dismissed Carl as there "There was a serious risk that Dr Carl’s appointment could lead, directly or indirectly, to the college being used as a platform to promote views that could incite racial or religious hatred, and bring the college into disrepute".[18] While the college maintained it upheld academic standards, its approach to the recruitment and eventual dismissal drew criticism for lack of transparency and effective oversight.[19]
Accusations of Hinduphobia
In March 2023, the college faced accusations of Hinduphobia after Hindu students were criticised for unintentionally colouring a statue during Holi. The CR president was forced by college fellows to issue an apology despite believing no harm was intended. The college was seen by many students to have overstepped their authority, by interfering with the CR’s independence, and to have alienated Hindu students at the college.[20]
Buildings and grounds
Norfolk Building
The Norfolk Building is the oldest building on site, dating back to 1896 as the former Ayerst Hostel; it provided accommodation for Edmund Nolan, the first Master of St Edmund's, along with the first four students of the college.[21] Known for its clean Gothic revival style, the building underwent a three-phase extension scheme designed by Roderick Gradidge in 1989, and now houses amenities including the Combination Room, Dining Hall, Kitchens and a Porter's office.[22]
College Chapel and Norfolk Building in the foreground with Okinaga Tower in the background
A bronze sculpture of the college patron, St Edmund of Abingdon, is located at the front of the chapel, his left hand holding a Bible. The statue is the work of Rodney Munday, an alumnus of St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and was commissioned by the College in 2007.[23] The Chapel Schola and Choir perform in concerts in collaboration with St Edmund Hall, Oxford and St Edmund's College, Ware in commemoration of their Patron Saint.
Expansion
St Edmund's continues to expand and develop its buildings. In 2000, a new residential building housing 50 students was opened, named after Richard Laws, one of the former Masters. In 2006, two new residential buildings, including rooms for 70 students as well as apartments for couples, were opened; these were named after the former Master of the College, Sir Brian Heap, and the former Vice-Master, Geoffrey Cook.
In 2016, major plans were announced for the development of two new courts and several buildings. It was planned that brick buildings would form the perimeter of two new courts and a new multi-million pound student centre will frame the west side of the College. The expansion plans received planning consent from Cambridge City Council in June 2017, but building work never started.[24][circular reference]
Okinaga Tower
Created in 1993 by the bequest of the Teikyo Foundation, the Okinaga Tower is the college's tallest structure. Designed by architect Roderick Gradidge in 1989 it houses the Master's Lodge, as well as a suite with views of the city and was opened by Betty Boothroyd, Speaker of the House of Commons.[22]
Courts and other buildings
The Brian Heap, Richard Laws, Geoffrey Cook and the Luizo buildings were constructed to accommodate growing student numbers in the 2000s, with most buildings providing are student dormitories.
In 2019 the college constructed Mount Pleasant Halls, occupying the site of a substantial office block formerly on the site and giving St Edmund College a frontage to the main thoroughfare of Huntington Road.
The College Sporting Grounds is located west of the Richard Laws Building, and offers a full-sized football pitch for college sports and other outdoor activities.
White Cottage with Mount Pleasant Halls in the background
The College Orchard is south of the Sporting Grounds, and consists of a small lawn with 5 apple trees, outdoor seating, and a barbecue pit for students.
White Cottage is a modest 18th-century brick farmhouse which pre-dates the college buildings on the site and is painted white, situated adjacent to Mount Pleasant Halls against which it appears an incongruous survival. White Cottage was the first home of the Von Hugel Institute, a Catholic Institute for Critical Enquiry working in the fields of Christianity and society. The Institute was founded in 1987 to preserve the Roman Catholic legacy of the College when control of the College itself was ceded to its autonomous Governing Body in 1985 in order to achieve university collegiate status.[25]
Bene't House is a detached Edwardian house, south-east of the Norfolk Old Wing. Named after St Benedict of Nursia (c.480 - 547 AD), it has since 2018 contained the facilities and offices for the Von Hugel Institute.[25]
Gallery
Mount Pleasant Halls front facade
Mount Pleasant Halls Court
Main gate
Sporting grounds and Brian Heap Building
Richard Laws Building
Geoffrey Cook Building
College orchards
Maisonettes, now used as offices
Norfolk Extension
Bene't House
College Chapel
Academic profile
The full spectrum of academic subjects is represented in the college. The fellowship of the college represents many academic disciplines, spread across arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, medicine, and veterinary medicine.
The college has one research institute attached to it: the Von Hügel Institute founded in 1987 to carry out research on Catholic Social Teaching. Describing itself as a 'Catholic Institute for Critical Enquiry' it works in the fields of Christianity and society, and seeks to preserve the Roman Catholic legacy of St Edmund's College when control of the College itself was ceded to its autonomous Governing Body in 1985 in order to achieve university collegiate status.[25] The Von Hügel Institute is therefore a link to the Roman Catholic origins of the college.
The overall examination results of the college's comparatively few undergraduates tend to be in the middle among the Cambridge colleges, with St Edmund's ranking 21st on the Tompkins table in 2018.[26]
Dining Hall
Student life
The college is younger than some of the more traditional colleges of the university. Despite this St Edmund's maintains many ancient Cambridge traditions including formal hall, albeit with modifications. Fellows at most Cambridge and Oxford colleges dine at a "high table" (separately from the students); however, St Edmund's has no such division, with undergraduates, postgraduates and fellows sitting together at dinners.[27] Unlike most mature and modern colleges, St Edmund's still requires students to wear their academic gowns during formal halls, ceremonies, and college occasions. St Edmund's retains several other dining traditions unusual for modern colleges, including a requirement to ask the master to leave the hall to use the bathroom, a banning of technological devices and newspapers, and a strict requirement to only speak English.[28] The St Edmund's undergraduate gown is fashioned from distinctive black cloth with close detailing around the neck and sleeves.
On 15 September 2017, a team of four rowers from the college broke the World record for the 'Longest Continual Row' in the male 20-29 small team category by over an hour.[31] The following year, on 13 April 2018, a team of ten rowers from the college went on to set the British and World record for "One Million Meters" on the indoor rowing machine in the male 20-29 large team category.[32][33]
Sir Brian Heap, biologist who was the master of the college from 1996 until 2004. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1989 and held the post vice-president and foreign secretary from 1996 to 2001
^Evenett, H.O. (1946), "The Cambridge Prelude to 1895", The Dublin Review (437)
^E Leedham-Green 1996 A concise history of the University of Cambridge. Cambridge University Press: 171-2.
^Leader, Damian R. (April 1998). "A concise history of the University of Cambridge. By Elisabeth Leedham-Green. Pp. xiv+274 incl. endpapers, 45 plates and 5 figs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. £27.95 (cloth), £9.95 (paper). 0 521 43370 3; 0 521 43978 7". The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 49 (2): 329–380. doi:10.1017/s0022046997435832. ISSN0022-0469.
Lubenow, W. C. (2008). "Roman Catholicism in the University of Cambridge: St Edmund's House in 1898". Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 59 (4): 697–713. doi:10.1017/S0022046907002254.
McClelland, V. Alan (1997). "St. Edmund's College, Ware and St. Edmund's College, Cambridge; Historical Connections and Early Tribulations". British Catholic History. 23 (3): 470–83. doi:10.1017/S0034193200005811. S2CID163723108.
Sweeney, Garret (1980). St Edmund's House, Cambridge: The First Eighty Years: A History. Cambridge: St Edmund's House. ISBN978-0-95-071770-8.
Walsh, Michael (1996). St Edmund's College, Cambridge, 1896–1996: A Commemorative History. Cambridge: St Edmund's College. ISBN978-0-95-071771-5.
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