Peterhouse, Cambridge

Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely, and granted its charter by King Edward I. Today, Peterhouse has 226 undergraduates, 86 full-time graduate students and 45 fellows. The modern name of Peterhouse does not include the word "college".Peterhouse is one of the wealthiest colleges in Cambridge, with assets exceeding £250 million, including property in central London such as the Albany apartment complex in Piccadilly. Peterhouse is one of the few colleges that still seeks to insist that its members attend communal dinners, known as "Hall". Hall takes place in two sittings, with the second known as "Formal Hall", which consists of a three-course candlelit meal and which must be attended wearing gowns. At Formal Hall, the students rise as the fellows proceed in, a gong is rung, and two Latin graces are read.Academic performance tends to vary from year to year due to its very small student population; for example, Peterhouse came 25th in the Tompkins Table in 2007 but 7th in 2010, 12th in 2014 and 6th in 2015 (out of 29 colleges).The college has five Nobel laureates associated with it, either as former students or fellows: Sir John Kendrew, Sir Aaron Klug, Archer Martin, Max Perutz, and Michael Levitt.