Кембридж университетінің Сенат үйі

Building at the University of Cambridge

The Senate House is a 1720s building of the University of Cambridge in England, used formerly for meetings of its senate and now mainly for graduation ceremonies.

The building, which is situated in the centre of the city between King's and Gonville and Caius Colleges, was designed by architect James Gibbs, based to an unclear extent on designs by the gentleman architect Sir James Burrough, and built in 1722–1730 by Gibbs in a neo classical style using Portland stone. The ceremony to lay the first stone was performed by Thomas Crosse, then Vice Chancellor, on 22 June 1722. The site was previously used for houses, which were purchased by an Act of Parliament, dated 11 June 1720. It was officially opened in July 1730, although the western end was not completed until 1768. The Senate House was originally intended to be one side of a quadrangle, however the rest of the structure was never completed. It forms part of the Old Schools Site. It is a Grade I listed building.

As part of the University's 800th anniversary celebrations in 2008, the side of the Senate House was illuminated with a light show, illustrating aspects of the history of the university.

At the end of the academic year, class lists for most degrees are posted up on the outer wall of the building. The results of Part II and Part III of the Mathematical Tripos, however, are read out to the waiting students from the balcony of the Senate House, after which piles of class lists are thrown to the ground from the balcony like confetti in a time honored manner.

A battered Austin Seven van was found on the apex of the Senate House roof on the morning of 8 June 1958. The van had been placed there the night before by a party of engineering students from Gonville & Caius College. They found the derelict Austin Seven in Harston and towed it into Cambridge. They removed the engine and rear axle to make it light enough to winch up to the roof, and hauled it up using cables and scaffolding they'd stolen from King's College. It took the University a week to get the van down and the prank received much media attention at the time. A variety of similar student pranks have been carried out on the roof of the building since. Most notably, a fully decorated Christmas tree was placed on the corner of the Senate House roof in November 2022, assumed to be the work of night climbers.

On 31 May 2017, Senate House hosted the BBC Election Debate ahead of the UK General Election eight days later. Mishal Husain chaired audience questions for Jeremy Corbyn, Tim Farron, Caroline Lucas, Paul Nuttall, Angus Robertson, Amber Rudd, and Leanne Wood.