The Buildings Surrounding Principal Court, St Catharine's College is a Grade I listed building in the Cambridge local planning authority area, England. First listed on 26 April 1950. A C17 College.
The Buildings Surrounding Principal Court, St Catharine's College
- WRENN ID
- tangled-brick-swallow
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Cambridge
- Constituency
- Cambridge MP: Daniel Zeichner (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 26 April 1950
- Type
- College
- Period
- C17
- OS grid reference
- TL 447 581
- Coordinates
- 52.20289, 0.1164
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
St Catharine's College features buildings surrounding Principal Court, with the North Range including the Chapel built between 1694 and 1697 by mason Robert Grumbold. It is constructed of brick with rusticated stone quoins and stone dressings. The interior is panelled and boasts an original plaster ceiling, with high-quality original fittings such as oak communion rails, panelling, reredos, screen, and stalls crafted by John Austin and Thomas Woodward. The Hall, built from 1673 to 1675 and altered in 1868, is also made of brick with stone quoins, featuring reset and repaired 17th-century panelling in both the Hall and Buttry. The Library, located above the Hall, was remodelled between 1756 and 1763 and includes good plasterwork and oak bookcases.
The West Range, completed in 1687, is made of red brick with stone dressings and consists of 13 bays, with a central gateway that has a fine frontispiece on either side and a plain gathall between. The East side features Tuscan and Corinthian orders, while the West side is Ionic. The original oak bolection moulded double doors remain intact, and the range contains a significant amount of original woodwork, including panelling, fireplaces, doors, and staircases.
The South Range includes the Ramsden Building, with the West end dating back to 1681, originally serving as the Master's Lodge and comprising 8 bays. The interior features a considerable amount of original bolection moulded panelling and other woodwork. The Ramsden Building, constructed between 1757 and 1772 by James Essex, is made of brick with rusticated quoins and has a symmetrical design that partly replicates the Chapel's exterior. Its interior retains original staircases and plaster dentil cornices in the rooms.
Local climate
The Buildings Surrounding Principal Court, St Catharine's College sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 96% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 82% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 32 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
- 1 Christ's College, The Buildings Surrounding Entrance Court, with the South East Range of Second Court
- 2 Pembroke College, The Buildings Surrounding Old Court (Except the Chapel and Cloister) and Ivy Court
- 3 Emmanuel College, Buildings Surrounding Front and New Courts and the Brick Building
- 4 Queens' College, The Buildings Surrounding Front Court, Cloister Court, Pump Court and Walnut Tree Court
- 5 St John's College, The Buildings Surrounding the First, Second and Third Courts
this building 1 similar nearby listed buildings
Nearby listed buildings
- Boundary Wall Fronting Queen's Lane, St Catharine's College
- Queens' College, The Buildings Surrounding Front Court, Cloister Court, Pump Court and Walnut Tree Court
- Screen and Gates of Master's Lodge Fronting Queen's Lane, St Catharine's College
- The Railings, Piers, Gateway and Screen Wall on the East Side of Principal Court, St Catharines College
- Master's Lodge, St Catharines College
- King's College, South Range of Webb's Court with Gateway to Queen's Lane
- Two Lamp Posts at the Main Entrance to the College, St Catharine's College
- Queens' College, North and East Walls of the President's Garden
- St Catharine's College
- 4 Silver Street