On Trinity Lane, walk past the turning to Garret Hostel Lane on the right. Trinity Hall is also on the right, a few yards further on. The rather low and small gate of Trinity Hall is not obvious, although in the summer there is a placard outside.

Entrance to Trinity Hall is free, but groups of more than six are not admitted.

Trinity Hall was founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich. It is the fifth oldest college in Cambridge. Bishop Bateman initially restricted the college to students of Law, and it has remained strong in this discipline. An old boy of the college was Stephen Gardiner (1497-1555), who not only held the posts of Master of Trinity Hall, Chancellor of the University, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of England, but was also the chief adviser to William VIII and Mary I. Other ex-students have been the father of Virginia Woolf, Leslie Stephen, and J.B. Priestley.

First Court dates from the fourteenth century. Little of this age is still visible however, the court having been refaced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The effect of this court is in pleasant contrast to Trinity College's Great Court: it is significantly smaller and well contained, and during the summer the flowering window boxes and wall plants around the court give it a comfortable atmosphere.

Exit the college by the same gate, and turn right.

Trinity Hall official web site

Trinity Hall undergraduate prospectus, from the Cambridge University Admissions Prospectus 1997-98. Includes information about the college and its history, a list of teaching staff, and a list of Open Days.

This page last updated 10 April 1998

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