About Murray Edwards

The College was founded as 'New Hall' in 1954 to bring more women of outstanding potential to Cambridge. In 2008 New Hall announced its renaming as Murray Edwards College, following a generous donation of £30 million from Ros Edwards, a former student, and her family. This fulfils the ambitions of New Hall's First President, Dame Rosemary Murray, to endow the College and give it a permanent name.

The college itself is a grade II Listed building. However the college itself wasn't completed until 1965. Murray Edwards is built upon the Roman site on Castle Hill.

Back in 1954 Cambridge had the lowest proportion of women undergraduates of any UK university. Cambridge wanted to change this. Murray Edwards would be exclusively for women in the hope that female numbers would rise. In 1954 it admitted its first 16 students. Back in 1962, the Darwin family gave their family home to Murray Edwards College this gave the College its own site. Architects, Chamberlin, Powell and Bon had been chosen to design the building and in 1964 the new College was complete.

For a more comprehensive history, including college archives please visit Murray Edwards Website