Gonville and Caius College

Caius (pronounced "Keys") lies just off Trinity Street, next door to the Senate House, and has two founders four centuries apart. Edmund Gonville, a clergyman, established Gonville Hall in 1348. After his death the college struggled, and Bishop William Bateman of Norwich stepped in and relocated it to its present site. In 1557 the physician John Caius, an old member, refounded it by royal charter, and the combined name stuck. Caius's own medical background still shapes the college's reputation.

What to look for

• The Three Gates. John Caius built gateways meant to mark the stages of a scholar's life: Humility near the Porters' Lodge, Virtue linking Tree Court with Caius Court, and Honour opening towards the Senate House. The last is used only on special occasions such as graduation.
• Gonville Court. The earliest section of the college, its frontages were recast in a classical style during the 1750s. The chapel dates from 1393 and is said to have been in use for longer than any other purpose-built college chapel in either university town.
• Salvin's Hall and Old Library. Anthony Salvin designed both in 1854. A college flag hanging in the Hall was carried to the South Pole in 1912 on the Terra Nova Expedition.
• Caius Court. Begun in 1565, it has three sides, so that, as Caius explained, the air should not go stale in a cramped space.
• Beyond the old courts. The modern Harvey Court, built in 1961 on West Road, is named for the physician William Harvey.

Edmund Gonville's college

Gonville held several church livings and earned enough to lend money to Edward III, which led to his appointment as a King's Clerk. With the backing of Sir Walter Manny he asked the king for leave to found a college for twenty scholars, and Edward III issued letters patent in January 1348. The Black Death reached England that June. Gonville died in 1351 with the college already in financial trouble, and Bishop Bateman moved it to its present site. The bishop also leased land by the river for a college of his own, Trinity Hall. Bateman gave the foundation a new name referring to the Annunciation of Mary, and put his one-time chaplain John Colton in charge as master.

Under John Caius

The future master read divinity here from 1529 to 1533, studied medicine at Padua, and became royal physician to Edward VI, then Mary I, and afterwards Elizabeth I. He became master on 24 January 1559 and held the post until shortly before his death in 1573, taking no payment while giving the college large sums and greatly enlarging its buildings. His name is tied to its long strength in medicine. The college library later moved from Gonville Court into the Cockerell Building, whose lease Caius took on in the 1990s, in the summer of 1996 after a thorough renovation; the same building had previously been home to two other libraries, the Seeley (history) and the Squire (law).

Practical notes

Check before you go: the college says it is closed to general visitors on weekdays during term. Members and people with business can still be admitted through the Porters' Lodge if arranged in advance. Prospective applicants may visit at any time without booking.