Gonville and Caius College

Gonville and Caius College (pronounced "Keys") is one of the older Cambridge colleges, founded in 1348 and refounded in 1557 by John Caius, physician to the Tudor court. It sits on Trinity Street just north of King's and is free to enter most of the time. The architectural centrepiece is the Gate of Honour, a Renaissance structure dating from 1575 — one of the earliest Renaissance buildings in Cambridge — which faces the Senate House and is opened only for graduation ceremonies.

The college's alumni include Stephen Hawking, who spent most of his career here and is buried in the college chapel, as well as Francis Crick and a remarkable concentration of other scientists. The college chapel holds a memorial to Hawking and materials relating to his life.

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John Caius, who refounded the college in 1557, was physician to Edward VI and Mary I. He designed three gates to mark the student's journey through Cambridge life: the Gate of Humility (where you enter the college), the Gate of Virtue (leading to the main court), and the Gate of Honour (through which students pass to the Senate House to receive their degrees). The Gate of Honour is only opened three times a year — when students graduate.

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