The College, its History and Reputation
Gonville and Caius College, to give its full name, is one of the oldest Cambridge colleges. It takes its name from its two founders, but is usually known as Caius College, and the Lodge follows that shortened name. The first founder, Edmund Gonville, was Rector of Terrington St Clement in Norfolk, who founded the College as Gonville Hall in 1348. At least four Cambridge colleges were founded about that time and are sometimes known as “plague colleges”, created to deal with the shortage of learned men in the aftermath of the Black Death in 1348. It is a sad coincidence that this website was set up during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020.
The second founder, John Caius, was a former student of Gonville Hall. In the mid 1500s he refounded the College as Gonville and Caius College and became Master in 1559. Dying in 1573, he is buried in the College Chapel.
No-one who has been fortunate enough to live and study at Caius can fail to be aware of the history and the learning surrounding them, quite simply from the aura of peace combined with purpose in the Old Courts, Gonville Court and Caius Court, if nothing else. The range of distinguished Caian names over the years is impressive; a small selection of them, not all academics, shows a wide range of interests and achievement. William Harvey was Court physician to Charles I, but more importantly the discoverer of the circulation of blood in the body. Sir Harold Gillies pioneered facial plastic surgery from his work with the wounded in World War 1. Harold Abrahams won the 100 metres Gold Medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics, commemorated in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. Edward Wilson, physician and artist, was one of Captain Scott’s ill-fated 1912 expedition to the South Pole. Carrying with him a small light blue flag embroidered with the College Coat of Arms, he died with Scott and their companions on the return journey. The flag was found with his body and is now in the College Hall.
Francis Crick, one of no less than fifteen Nobel Prize winners from the college, is famous as the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. Stephen Hawking the celebrated theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author of A Brief History of Time was a Fellow of the college for over 50 years until his death in 2018. The recently retired senior Conservative politician the Rt. Hon. Kenneth (Ken) Clarke read Law at the College, and is now an Honorary Fellow.
The college has an excellent and most informative website: https://www.cai.cam.ac.uk/ There is a wealth of information to be found on it; some examples are:
Caius Nobel Laureates: https://www.cai.cam.ac.uk/node/4627;
Study at Caius: https://www.cai.cam.ac.uk/study;
Working with Schools: https://www.cai.cam.ac.uk/schools;
Caius News: https://www.cai.cam.ac.uk/news
Caius is a friendly college, seeking to bring the best out of one. On entering into Tree Court it radiates a peaceful, welcoming atmosphere. On first arriving years ago as an undergraduate, the writer of this part of the website felt both a challenge and support. So it has continued over the years whenever he has returned to Cambridge. It is a homecoming.
Caius Masonic Lodge 3355 