Pembroke College, The Chapel with Hitcham's Cloister is a Grade I listed building in the Cambridge local planning authority area, England. First listed on 26 April 1950. A Medieval Chapel. 3 related planning applications.

Pembroke College, The Chapel with Hitcham's Cloister

WRENN ID
muffled-cellar-weasel
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
Cambridge
Constituency
Cambridge MP: Daniel Zeichner (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
26 April 1950
Type
Chapel
Period
Medieval
Address
Pembroke College, The Chapel with Hitcham's Cloister, CB2 1RF
OS grid reference
TL 448 580
Coordinates
52.20158, 0.11878
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Pembroke College features a chapel built between 1663 and 1665 by Sir Christopher Wren, which was extended one bay eastwards in 1880 by George Gilbert Scott, with the existing east end being re-erected. This chapel is notable for being Wren's earliest completed work. It is constructed from Portland stone and showcases a Corinthian order, possibly inspired by Serlio. The roof is topped with a hexagonal cupola. Original lead rainwater heads bear the initial "W". Inside, the chapel boasts an elaborate plaster ceiling, oak communion rails, panelling and stalls, marble pavements, and an oak reredos. The organ, made in 1707 by Bernard Smith, was restored in 1863. Adjacent to the chapel is Hitcham's Cloister, built between 1664 and 1666, featuring a six-bay arcade with late 19th-century additions at each end. The ground floor is ashlar, with a range of brick chambers above, all restored in the late 19th century.

Local climate

Pembroke College, The Chapel with Hitcham's Cloister 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
  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • 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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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Pembroke College, Screen Entrance from Trumpington Street Between the Chapel and the Red Building Grade II 17 m
  2. Pembroke College, Red Building Grade II 30 m
  3. Church Fence of St Mary the Less Fronting Trumpington Street Grade II 32 m
  4. Richardson Candle group in Trumpington Street including the Fitzwilliam Museum Grade II 34 m
  5. Pembroke College, Statue of William Pitt the Younger Outside the Library Grade II 41 m
  6. Pembroke College, The Buildings Surrounding Old Court (Except the Chapel and Cloister) and Ivy Court Grade I 41 m
  7. Peterhouse, Outbuilding to North East of Master's Lodge Grade II 44 m
  8. Emmanuel United Reformed Church Grade II 44 m
  9. Pembroke College, Library Grade II* 45 m
  10. 74, Trumpington Street Grade II 50 m