14th century Cambridge map from ‘Outside the Barnwell Gate’ by H P Stokes, 1915′

St Nicholas Hostel

History of St Nicholas Hostel

St Nicholas’s Hostel is recorded in a conveyance document from 1585. But the earliest reference to the hostel is in the will of Thomas Lolleworth of Cambridge dated 1393. This document bequeathed the whole of his messuages (buildings) to the Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, including the hostel. The hostel had a great reputation in medieval times in connection with legal studies.

British History Online states: St. Nicholas’s Hostel was prominent among the houses of jurists, and had many eminent men among its members.  It also seems to have had a reputation for rowdiness;  the Grace Book records a fight on two successive nights with its neighbours at Christ’s College, and there are plenty of other examples of inter-hostel brawls recorded.