Gonville and Caius College is one of the oldest and most influential colleges within Cambridge University. Both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, Britain’s two most prestigious places of learning, are made up of affiliate colleges such as Gonville and Caius. The college was first established in 1348, the fourth oldest in Cambridge. It owes much of its success and development to the two men who give the college its name – despite the fact they lived two centuries apart. William Gonville founded the college but died three years later. Gonville Hall, as it was then known, moved to its present site shortly afterwards.

John Caius took over the running of the dilapidated college building in 1559, renaming it Gonville and Caius College. He restored and extended the buildings and created the elegant courtyards that still stand today, including Caius Court. Master of the college for 15 years, Caius was renowned for his unusual entry rules, barring the sick and infirm, as well as the Welsh, from studying there. While this rule has thankfully been abandoned, Gonville & Caius is still known for its strong traditions. Meals are eaten communally in the dining hall, often whilst wearing formal gowns. Specialising in sciences, particularly medicine, the college has several famous alumni, including Sir Stephen Hawking and broadcaster Sir David Frost.

King’s College is located on the western side of Cambridge University campus, close to the River Cam and the surrounding Backs area of countryside. The college gatehouse stands adjacent to King’s College Chapel, one of the city’s most iconic buildings. The history of King’s College is one of many paradoxes. Completed in the Tudor era, the college was at one time only accessible to students of Eton, a renowned private school for children of the English upper classes. Nowadays, it has one of the highest intake rates of students from state schools of any Cambridge college.

True to its name, the college was founded by Henry VII and saw heavy investment under his reign, including the creation of the adjoining chapel. Other colleges viewed King’s College as a status symbol for the Tudor monarchy – to this day, many of the buildings, including the striking Gothic gatehouse, feature the Tudor rose emblem repeatedly. Despite its royalist beginnings, King’s College has become known for left wing and republican sentiment among its student base. This friction between past and present continues to the present day, with students divided over the display of the Union Flag to celebrate last year’s Royal Wedding. Famous alumni of the college include authors Salman Rushdie and E.M. Forster.

St. Catharine’s College, known locally as Cat’s, is situated on Silver Street, between King’s and Queens’ colleges, close to the River Cam. Founded in 1473, St. Catharine’s was known as Katherine Hall until the 19th century. It is named after Saint Catharine, the patron saint of learning. Traditionally a moderately successful college, specialising in theology and philosophy, Cat’s has grown in recent years to become one of the best performing colleges within Cambridge University.

The college is notable for its distinctive three sided ‘quad’ (an area of grass surrounded by faculty buildings). With the fourth side opening onto Trumpington Street, passers by are offered a unique view into the centre of a Cambridge college. The existing buildings were built across a century, from 1675 to 1757. There have long been plans to create a fourth building hiding the courtyard from view, so the quad may not be visible for much longer.

The college was one of the first in Cambridge to have a female Master – Dame Jean Thomas, who remains college master to this day. Traditionally a sociable, relaxed place of learning, St. Catharine’s has a number of famous alumni, including TV presenter Jeremy Paxman and actor Sir Ian McKellen. Outside of term time, the historic college is available for hire as a conference centre.

Corpus Christi College is one of the oldest institutions within Cambridge University. It is located in the heart of Cambridge’s academic district on Trumpington Street, opposite St. Catharine’s College. Corpus Christi was founded in 1532, and as its name suggests, has been one of Cambridge’s most religiously active colleges throughout its history. For many years all graduates from this small, wealthy college became members of the clergy. Often at the centre of religious argument and debate in the city, the college was known as St. Bene’t’s for several years following the Reformation, when Catholicism was outlawed. This relates to nearby St. Bene’t’s Church, Cambridge’s oldest building, which was once used as the college chapel.

The main Corpus Christi campus is divided into three courts. Old Court is the original college building dating back from its creation, and one of the city’s oldest academic buildings. New Court, completed in 1827, was designed by William Wilkins. The architect considered the courtyard his finest work, and is buried within the college chapel, which was built at the same time. The third courtyard is Library Court, a brand new area housing student amenities, which opened in 2008. Together, the three courtyards span the college’s 650 year history.

Pembroke College is located on the corner of Pembroke Street and Trumpington Street in Cambridge City Centre. It is one of Cambridge University’s largest colleges, and also the third oldest, having been founded in 1347. The college was founded by Marie de St. Pol, the widow of the Earl of Pembroke. Originally known as Valence Mary, it was originally a specialised place of learning for French graduates living in England, but grew to become one of Cambridge’s most successful colleges. The college chapel was the first building to be designed by Sir Christopher Wren, architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

The college was extensively rebuilt around the old courtyard in the Victorian era. Renowned Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse redesigned the dining hall and a range of rooms, although these were expanded and modified in the 20th century. Sir Gilbert Scott also designed New Court, an area of student accommodation. Pembroke College therefore contains works from three of Britain’s most celebrated architects. The gatehouse, facing onto Trumpington Street, is the last surviving part of the original medieval college. Pembroke College is well known in student circles for its theatre group, the Pembroke Players. A number of actors and comedians have been part of the group, including Peter Cook, recently voted Britain’s greatest ever comedian.

Based on Trumpington Street, Peterhouse College is Cambridge’s oldest educational institution, and was founded in 1280. The university site sprawls across the area behind the famous Fitzwilliam Museum, and has been redeveloped and extended repeatedly throughout its history. The dining hall, off Old Court beyond the chapel cloisters, is the only surviving 13th century building. It was restored in the 19th century by renowned architect Sir Gilbert Scott.

The chapel itself is the most visible building from Trumpington Street, and features a dazzling interior that blends Gothic architecture with Renaissance decoration. The chapel contains manuscripts from its early years, which form an impressive collection of Tudor and Jacobean church music. The area adjacent to the chapel, visible from the main road outside, is known as First Court. This courtyard houses the Perne Library, which has housed Peterhouse’s collection of books and scripts since it was built in 1590.

As Cambridge’s most historic college, Peterhouse has an array of famous alumni. Novelist Kingsley Amis, scientist Lord Kelvin and Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine, all studied here. In addition, Peterhouse College is known as a politically conservative college which has educated many Tory party MPs, including Michael Portillo and Michael Howard.

Queens’ College is the southernmost in the chain of prestigious colleges which line the east bank of the river Cam. It is one of only two colleges in this chain (the other being St. John’s College to the north) to have buildings on either side of the river. The two sides of the campus – known as the ‘light’ and ‘dark’ sides by students – are connected by the college’s famous wooden Mathematical Bridge, one of the city’s most famous structures. Sitting adjacent to Silver Street, the college’s medieval buildings are perhaps the most accessible in the city. The oldest building on the river Cam belongs to Queens’ – the President’s Lodge, a Tudor style structure completed in 1460.

Queens’ College is so named as it was founded by the respective queens of Henry VI and Edward IV. The college was first founded in 1448, and then refounded by Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward, in 1465. It is one of the oldest and largest colleges within Cambridge University, and one of the most academically successful. The large Queens’ campus encompasses modern and medieval buildings which can be viewed along the length of Silver Street. Queens’ College is a progressive, social institution that has produced a variety of famous alumni, including Stephen Fry, Oliver Cromwell and the renowned philosopher Erasmus.

A small, modern college to the south of Silver Street, opposite Queens’ College and close to Mill Pond and an area of fenland at the edge of the city centre, Darwin College is one of five Cambridge graduate colleges. Founded in 1964, it was the first college to only admit graduates, and the first to admit women. Darwin College is named after Charles Darwin, the famous British naturalist who conducted much of his research within the city of Cambridge. Many of Darwin’s collections, which he used to build his theories of evolution and natural selection, published in his 1859 thesis, On the Origin of the Species, are housed in the city’s Zoology Museum on Downing Street.

Newton Grange, the oldest building in Darwin College, was once home to the Darwin family. A collective of colleges, mindful of the need for a specialist graduate college within the city, purchased the building from Darwin’s estate in the 1960s. The college has expanded since its foundation to include the nearby Hermitage building and a new library complex. One of Cambridge University’s newest colleges, Darwin college hosts an annual series of themed lectures, the Darwin Lecture Series, which have quickly become a highlight of the university calendar.