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Not to be confused with Clare Hall, Cambridge.
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded in 1338 as Clare Hall by an endowment from Elizabeth de Clare. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs" (the back of the colleges that overlook the River Cam).
The current Master is Anthony Grabiner, Baron Grabiner, a British barrister.
Clare is consistently one of the most popular Cambridge colleges amongst prospective applicants.
The college was founded in 1326 by the university's Chancellor, Richard Badew, and was originally named University Hall. Providing maintenance for only two fellows, it soon hit financial hardship. In 1338, the college was refounded as Clare Hall by an endowment from Elizabeth de Clare, a granddaughter of Edward I, which provided for twenty fellows and ten students.[3]
The college was known as Clare Hall until 1856, when it changed its name to "Clare College". (A new "Clare Hall" was founded by Clare College as an exclusively postgraduate institution in 1966.)