| Senate House | |
|---|---|
 The Senate House viewed from the Great St Mary's tower. | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Academic |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Location | King's Parade, Cambridge |
| Construction started | 1722 |
| Completed | 1730 |
| Owner | University of Cambridge |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | James Gibbs |
The Senate House is a 1720s building of the University of Cambridge in England, used formerly for meetings of its senate and now mainly for graduation ceremonies.
The building, which is situated in the centre of the city between King's and Gonville and Caius Colleges, was designed by architect James Gibbs, based to an unclear extent on designs by the gentleman-architect Sir James Burrough, [1] and built in 1722–1730 by Gibbs in a neo-classical style using Portland stone. [2] The ceremony to lay the first stone was performed by Thomas Crosse, then Vice-Chancellor, on 22 June 1722. [3] The site was previously used for houses, which were purchased by an act of Parliament,[ which? ] dated 11 June 1720. It was officially opened in July 1730, although the western end was not completed until 1768.
The Senate House was originally intended to be one side of a quadrangle, however the rest of the structure was never completed. [4] It forms part of the Old Schools Site. It is a Grade I listed building. [5]
Graduates receiving an undergraduate degree wear the academic dress that they were entitled to before graduating: for example, most students becoming Bachelors of Arts wear undergraduate gowns and not BA gowns. Graduates are presented in the Senate House college by college, in order of foundation or recognition by the university, except for the royal colleges.
The 31 colleges process to the Senate House in the following order: [6]
King's 
Trinity 
St John's 
Peterhouse 
Clare 
Pembroke 
Gonville & Caius 
Trinity Hall 
Corpus Christi 
Queens' 
St Catharine's 
Jesus 
Christ's 
Magdalene 
Emmanuel 
Sidney Sussex 
Downing 
Girton 
Newnham 
Selwyn 
Fitzwilliam 
Churchill 
Murray Edwards 
Darwin 
Wolfson 
Clare Hall 
Robinson 
Lucy Cavendish 
St Edmund's 
Hughes Hall 
Homerton During the congregation, graduands are brought forth by the Praelector of their college, who takes them by the right hand, and presents them to the vice-chancellor for the degree they are about to take. The Praelector presents graduands with the following Latin statement, substituting the name of the degree for "____":
"Dignissima domina, Domina Procancellaria et tota Academia praesento vobis hunc virum quem scio tam moribus quam doctrina esse idoneum ad gradum assequendum _____; idque tibi fide mea praesto totique Academiae.
(Most worthy Vice-Chancellor and the whole University, I present to you this man whom I know to be suitable as much by character as by learning to proceed to the degree of ____; for which I pledge my faith to you and to the whole University.)"
and female graduands with the following:
"Dignissima domina, Domina Procancellaria et tota Academia praesento vobis hanc mulierem quam scio tam moribus quam doctrina esse idoneam ad gradum assequendum ____; idque tibi fide mea praesto totique Academiae.
(Most worthy Vice-Chancellor and the whole University, I present to you this woman whom I know to be suitable as much by character as by learning to proceed to the degree of ____; for which I pledge my faith to you and to the whole University.)"
After presentation, the graduand is called by name and kneels before the vice-chancellor and proffers their hands to the vice-chancellor, who clasps them and then confers the degree through the following Latin statement—the Trinitarian formula (in nomine Patris...) may be omitted at the request of the graduand:
"Auctoritate mihi commissa admitto te ad gradum ____, in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.
(By the authority committed to me, I admit you to the degree of ____, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.)"
The now-graduate then rises, bows and leaves the Senate House through the Doctor's door, where he or she receives his or her certificate, into Senate House passage.
At the University of Cambridge, each graduation is a separate act of the university's governing body, the Regent House, and must be voted on as with any other act. A formal meeting of the Regent House, known as a Congregation, is held for this purpose. [7]
As part of the university's 800th anniversary celebrations in 2008, the side of the Senate House was illuminated with a light show, illustrating aspects of the history of the university. [8]
 | This section needs to be updated.(June 2023) |
At the end of the academic year, class-lists for most degrees are posted up on the outer wall of the building. The results of Part II and Part III of the Mathematical Tripos, however, are read out to the waiting students from the balcony of the Senate House, after which piles of class-lists are thrown to the ground from the balcony like confetti in a time-honored manner.
A battered Austin Seven van was found on the apex of the Senate House roof on the morning of 8 June 1958. The van had been placed there the night before by a party of engineering students from Gonville & Caius College. They found the derelict Austin Seven in Harston and towed it into Cambridge. They removed the engine and rear axle to make it light enough to winch up to the roof, and hauled it up using cables and scaffolding they'd stolen from King's College. It took the university a week to get the van down and the prank received much media attention at the time. [9] [10]
A variety of similar student pranks have been carried out on the roof of the building since. Most notably, a fully-decorated Christmas tree was placed on the corner of the Senate House roof in November 2022, assumed to be the work of night climbers. [11]
On 31 May 2017, Senate House hosted the BBC Election Debate ahead of the UK General Election eight days later.
Mishal Husain chaired audience questions for Jeremy Corbyn, Tim Farron, Caroline Lucas, Paul Nuttall, Angus Robertson, Amber Rudd, and Leanne Wood. [12]
The University of Dublin, corporately designated as the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin. It was founded in 1592 when Queen Elizabeth I issued a royal charter for Trinity College as "the mother of a university", thereby making it Ireland's oldest operating university. It was modelled after the collegiate universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but unlike these affiliated ancient universities, only one college was ever established; as such, the designations "Trinity College Dublin" and "University of Dublin" are usually synonymous for practical purposes.
John Caius, also known as Johannes Caius and Ioannes Caius, was an English physician, and second founder of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
The University of Cambridge has a long tradition of academic dress, which it traditionally refers to as academical dress. Almost every degree which is awarded by the University has its own distinct gown in addition to having its own hood. Undergraduates wear college gowns, which are all subtly different; these differences enable the wearer's college to be determined. Academic dress is worn quite often in Cambridge on formal, and sometimes informal, occasions, and there are a number of rules and customs governing when and how it is worn. Black gowns (undress) are worn at less formal events, while on special occasions full academical dress is worn, consisting of gown, hood and headdress with Doctors in festal dress. The University's officials also have ancient forms of academic dress, unique to the University.
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Sir Thomas Gooch, 2nd Baronet (1674–1754) was an English bishop.
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius, is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of the wealthiest. In 1557, it was refounded by John Caius, an alumnus and English physician.
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John Gostlin was an English academic and physician, Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge from 1619 and Regius Professor of Physic.
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The procedures and traditions surrounding academic graduation ceremonies differ around the world.
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Sir John Ellys or Ellis was an English academic, Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge from 1703.
James Halman was an academic of the University of Cambridge. He held the office of Registrary of the university from 1683 to 1701 and was also the twenty-third Master of Gonville and Caius College.
Ernest Stewart Roberts was born in Swineshead, Lincolnshire; a classicist and academic administrator. He served as Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (1906-1908). He was admitted to Caius in 1865, elected Fellow in 1870 then Senior Tutor. He was elected President in 1894 and Master in 1903. He was involved in the foundation of the College magazine, The Caian and the College Mission at Battersea and in the organisation of the College rifle corps and boat club.
John Forbes Cameron was a Scottish mathematician, academic and academic administrator. He was Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge from 1928 to 1948 and was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1933 to 1935.
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