We are pleased to offer a site visit to view the ongoing and final phase of the Clare College refurbishment programme, looking at the reroofing and complex timber repair works currently being progressed under the cover of a temporary roof. A summary of the works to Old Court is covered below:
- After seven five years of enabling and building work, involving the construction of a temporary bridge over the Cam, the erection of a crane in the Master’s garden, and the deployment of temporary kitchens and buttery facilities on the lawns, the College is nearing the end of its refurbishment phase.
- The first phase of the Old Court project (1a) was completed in October 2020, and comprised modernisation of the Porters’ Lodge, refurbishment of facilities in the basements of E and G staircases, refurbishment of A and B staircases, a new fire escape, rewiring of C staircase, construction of a new plant room, and re-roofing of the North Range. (Leaking roofs had made many of the attic rooms unsafe and uninhabitable.
- The second phase (1b) comprises the construction of the new River Room café for Clare students on the footprint of the old television room (north of the Master’s Garden), new steps to the North Range to improve access to Hall, the refitting of the main College kitchens, and the construction of a new three-storey extension in the North Passage incorporating a new servery area, toilet and disabled facilities, a lift and fire escapes. As a result, all the key spaces of Old Court will be fully accessible for the first time in the College’s history. The Hall will become a more flexible space that can be used for performances as well as meals.
- Phase 2, the third and final element of the Old Court project, is the re-roofing of the East, South and West Ranges (staircases A to G), the rewiring of D and E staircases, and the
refurbishment of rooms in staircases C, D and E.
Places will be limited due to the access taking place via the scaffolding stair cases and tour at height. For those attending, we require full PPE (hard hat, high vis, boots).
