School of Pythagoras
Encyclopedia
The School of Pythagoras is the oldest building in St John's College, Cambridge
, and the oldest secular building in Cambridge
, England
. To the north is Northampton Street
.
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 now used for graduate student accommodation. It is known as Merton Hall. From 1266 until 1959 the School of Pythagoras and later Merton Hall were owned by Merton College, Oxford
.
The School of Pythagoras is now used as a theatre
and is the base for the St John's College Dramatic Society.
Douglas Adams
appeared there in a revue in 1972.
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, and the oldest secular building in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. To the north is Northampton Street
Northampton Street, Cambridge
Northampton Street is a street in the north of central Cambridge, England. It runs between Madingley Road and Queen's Road to the west and Castle Street, by Castle Hill, Chesterton Lane , and Magdalene Street to the east.Northampton Street is part of the Cambridge inner ring road and thus has...
.
The School of Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
was originally built around 1200, before even the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
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
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
was added to its west side. This is now used for graduate student accommodation. It is known as Merton Hall. From 1266 until 1959 the School of Pythagoras and later Merton Hall were owned by Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
.
The School of Pythagoras is now used as a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and is the base for the St John's College Dramatic Society.
Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
appeared there in a revue in 1972.
See also
- St Bene't's ChurchSt Bene't's ChurchSt Bene't's is an Anglican church in central Cambridge, England, noted for its Anglo-Saxon tower. The church is on the south side of Bene't Street adjacent to Corpus Christi College. Bene't is a contraction of Benedict, hence the unusual apostrophe in the name...
, the oldest building in Cambridge, dating from 1033 - Leper ChapelLeper Chapel, CambridgeThe Leper Chapel in Cambridge, also currently known as the Leper Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene, lies on the east side of Cambridge, England, off Newmarket Road just after crossing over the railway line at Barnwell Junction...
, dating from 1125 - Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge or Round Church, dating from 1130