1950-2000

In the twenty years after the Second World War, the college grew again, to reach the current norm of 110-120 undergraduates entering per year. This was part of the postwar expansion in university education, greatly assisted by government funding.

It was in the 1950s and early 1960s, during the Tutorship of W.A.Camps, that Pembroke took the crucial steps in adjusting to this new era, in particular by putting its admissions policy on a broader and more systematic basis. Camps was also responsible for building up the postgraduate side, and forged good links with Commonwealth and United States universities for this purpose.

This expansion of the college necessitated more new building. Between the wars, two floors of rooms had been added over the Hall, and extra accommodation had been provided for undergraduates by the conversion of the Master's Lodge, while a new Lodge was built in the south-east corner of the garden, on land acquired from Peterhouse in the 1850s.

In 1954-7, a major new range, the Orchard Building, was built, with the proceeds of a postwar War Memorial and Sexcentenary Fund and a further generous donation by Guggenheim.

In the 1960s and 1970s refurbishment was undertaken throughout the college in order to improve the standard of accommodation and to prevent decay. Even so, for a long time it was not possible to house most junior members on site. So, in 1995, the College launched a large construction project to house 92 students in the south-east corner of the garden, in place of the Master's Lodge and Garden. This new accommodation, Foundress Court, was finished in 1997. The building contains a new Lodge, as well as sound-proofed rooms for musical events and practice, an exercise room with multigym, a new computer room, a seminar room and an extra common room. Foundress Court also allows us to extend our programme of vacation courses for young people from abroad, which began in 1977 in association with the University of California. It is a joint project with Nihon University, Tokyo, and students from Nihon and several other foreign universities already participate in the thriving courses.

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