The School of Pythagoras is the oldest building in St John's College, Cambridge, and the oldest secular building in Cambridge, England. [1] [2] It is a Grade I listed building. [3] To the north is Northampton Street. [4] [5]
The School of Pythagoras was originally built around 1200, before even the University of Cambridge existed. It also predates St John's College, which was founded in 1511. It was initially a private house, but over the centuries it has had many uses. For a period it was a ruin. The reason for the name is unclear.
In the 16th century, a small manor house was added to its west side. This is known as Merton Hall. It is now used for graduate student accommodation. From 1266 until 1959 the School of Pythagoras and later Merton Hall were owned by Merton College, Oxford. [6]
The School of Pythagoras is now used as the College Archive Centre. Previously it was used as a theatre and the base for the St John's College Dramatic Society; Douglas Adams appeared there in a revue in 1972. [7]
St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The aims of the college, as specified by its statutes, are the promotion of education, religion, learning and research. It is one of the largest Oxbridge colleges in terms of student numbers. For 2022, St John's was ranked 6th of 29 colleges in the Tompkins Table with over 35 per cent of its students earning first-class honours. It is the second wealthiest college in Oxford and Cambridge, after its neighbour Trinity College, Cambridge.
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The Vinerian Scholarship is a scholarship given to the University of Oxford student who "gives the best performance in the examination for the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law". Currently, £2,500 is given to the winner of the scholarship, with an additional £950 awarded at the examiners' discretion to a proxime accessit (runner-up).
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