The Oxford Guide

Pembroke is a relatively small college specialising mainly in rowing, singing, musical theatre and law. Also pretty hot on oriental studies and history.

There are four quads; the one when you go in is Old Quad, which mainly contains the JCR and the MCR, college offices and teaching rooms. The grand one to the right is Chapel Quad. This contains the hall, which is the thing which looks like a chapel, and the chapel, which is the thing which looks like a hall.

Left of the Chapel Quad, via the Fellow's Garden, there's the new quad, which you reach by crossing a bridge over Brewer Street and the old city wall. It's just opened (2012) and is pretty flash, all ensuite rooms, terraced gardens and a theatre. Most second years and a fair few graduates live here. This means all undergrads get accomodation for their whole degree.

Around the other side of Chapel Quad is the North Quad. Some freshers and lucky finalists are put up in the MacMillan building to the west end of North Quad and up the steps, but most folk are along the row of 18th century houses which stretch along Pembroke Street. There is a street running through North Quad, Beef Lane, which Pembroke bought outright. I don't know if it's a right of way or just as a courtesy, but it's opened on Sundays for people going through to [[St. Ebbe's Church]] and St. Aldate's Church.

To the left of Old Quad is the McGowin library, donated by the McGowin family of Alabama in 1974, and the Master's Lodgings (formerly Cardinal Wolsey's Alms houses).

The other finalists are in the Geoffrey Arthur Building (call it the GAB, and don't call it the Jeffrey Archer Building, we've heard that one) which is down Abingdon Road and by the river. It's a big monolithic thing with a couple of ice grassy quads. You'll probably have a river view. Most of the Graduates live here too.

The atmosphere at Pembroke's generally chilled out, and emphasis is explicitly placed on extra-curricular activities by tutorial staff. Not the place to go if you only want a first, although plenty of firsts do happen here, the focus is on balance and turning out "rounded individuals". An intimate, supportive atmosphere, Pembroke was once in financial trouble, but is definitely out of it now, and has expanded in a multi-million venture to build a brand new quad out of lovely old buildings. You cannot fail to love the place.

See also:

• Wikipedia entry