Magdalene college, Cambridge University. Quayside view with punts moored on the bank of the River Cam

Radek Sturgolewski/Shutterstock

Magdalene College

Cambridge


Riverside Magdalene often catches people out – the college name is properly pronounced 'Maud-lyn'. This former Benedictine hostel's greatest asset is the Pepys Library, housing 3000 books bequeathed by the mid-17th-century diarist to his old college. This idiosyncratic collection of beautifully bound tomes is ordered by height. Treasures include vivid medieval manuscripts and the Anthony Roll, a 1540s depiction of the Royal Navy's ships.

Magdalene was the last college to let women study there; when they were finally admitted in 1988, some male students wore black armbands and flew the college flag at half mast.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cambridge attractions

1. Pepys Library

0.03 MILES

The 3000 books in this unique collection were bequeathed by the eponymous 17th-century diarist to his old college. This idiosyncratic collection of…

2. Kettle's Yard

0.08 MILES

An £11 million revamp has added high-tech contemporary-art galleries to much-loved Kettle's Yard. The big draw for many though will be the original…

3. Round Church

0.17 MILES

Cambridge’s intensely atmospheric Round Church is one of only four such structures in England. It was built by the mysterious Knights Templar in 1130 and…

4. St John's College

0.18 MILES

Alma mater of six prime ministers, three saints and Douglas Adams (author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), St John's is superbly photogenic…

5. The Backs

0.19 MILES

Behind the Cambridge colleges’ grandiose facades and stately courts, a series of gardens and parks line up beside the river. Collectively known as the…

6. Wren Library

0.22 MILES

The renowned Wren Library contains 55,000 books published before 1820 and more than 2500 manuscripts, including AA Milne's original Winnie the Pooh. Both…

7. Trinity College

0.22 MILES

The largest of Cambridge's colleges, Trinity offers an extraordinary Tudor gateway, an air of supreme elegance and a sweeping Great Court – the largest of…

8. Gonville & Caius College

0.31 MILES

Known locally as Caius (pronounced 'keys'), Gonville and Caius boasts three fascinating gates: Virtue, Humility and Honour. They symbolise the progress of…