Clare College was founded in 1326 by the university's Chancellor, Richard de Badew, and was originally named University Hall. It is the second oldest surviving college of the University. In 1339 the college was re-founded as Clare Hall by an endowment from Elizabeth de Clare, a granddaughter of Edward I, which provided for twenty fellows and ten students. In 1856 the name was changed to Clare College.
The entrance from Trinity Lane leads past a flowering cherry tree and past the Porter’s Lodge in the Gate Tower into Old Court. The college buildings of Old Court were built over a period of many years from 1638 to 1715 as work was interrupted by the English Civil War. There is no record of the architect who designed these beautiful buildings but Clare tradition has it that the architect was perhaps Inigo Jones.
The Chapel designed by James Burrough dates from a later time, its foundation stone was laid in 1763.