Facilities

Accommodation at the

Margaret Beaufort Institute

Due to the unusual situation for students coming to Cambridge during the Covid-19 pandemic, for the 2020-20 21 academic year, we are offering a subset of our self-catered accommodation of 32 rooms across three different-style buildings. The rooms available this year have been newly refurbished in Spring 2020 and have en suite bathrooms and a shared kitchen. 

We are reducing the occupancy of our buildings, following the advice of Public Health England and the University of Cambridge, in order to ensure social distancing, maintain hygiene, and minimise the risk of Covid-19 infection. This may change over the course of the year, but at least for the Michaelmas and Lent terms, we plan to reduce the occupancy by about 33%. 

This guide tells you more about the accommodation in order to enable you to make an informed choice, even though you may not be able to visit us in person. We are happy to arrange Zoom-enabled tours of individual rooms, the common areas, and the garden. 

The Harding Wing 

The Harding Wing is a three-storey accommodation block built in the 1980’s and totally refurbished inside during the last six months. One side of the building overlooks our beautiful private garden, and the other side looks out over Champneys Walk, with mature trees and views across to Newnham College. The building features mid-century modern design with large double-glazed windows and high ceilings. 

Harding Wing – The Rooms 

There are 11 bright and airy rooms on the first and second floors with grey/white modern furniture, white walls, blue curtains, and striped carpets. All rooms have en suite bathrooms with showers. There is a one room with a separate bathroom with a bathtub and shower. 

Harding Wing – Common Areas 

Kitchen. All rooms share a large country-style kitchen on the ground floor of the adjoining Lady Margaret House, originally a large Edwardian home fronting onto Grange Road. The kitchen is well equipped and charming with several cookers, microwaves, refrigerators, freezers, and allocated locked storage cupboards. For 2020-2021, there will be a rota system, which will allow only two people to be in the kitchen simultaneously. 

Second Floor Kitchenette. On the third floor, there is a compact kitchenette with a seating area complete with a refrigerator, sink, microwave and toaster oven. For 2020-2021, this area may be used on a rota basis as an alternative food preparation/eating area. 

In Lady Margaret House, there is a Common Room, laundry rooms, the Lash Library, and an Oratory. There is also a Chapel, part of which serves as the library for the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology. The buildings are surrounded by a quiet, well-maintained garden complete with vegetables and a pet rabbit. The residents have free use of the common areas. For 2020-2021, social distancing rules will apply in all the common areas.

Harding Wing – Services

Wifi The entire Institute has fast and reliable wifi through “eduroam” (education roaming for research https://www.eduroam.org/) which is the secure, worldwide roaming access service developed for the

international research and education community. This is the preferred option for wireless access during your time in Cambridge since once it is configured correctly, it will automatically connect with no further user interaction. All internet access within the Institute is governed by the rule set out by the University of Cambridge Information Service https://www.uis.cam.ac.uk/.

Furniture and Fittings Each room contains a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a desk and chair, bedside table, and a single bed. Some of the larger rooms have an upholstered reading chair. You may not bring your own furniture or curtains into your room. The furniture and curtains, as supplied, cannot be removed from your room.

Rooms have black-out curtains and are fully carpeted. Beds are a single size and have mattresses and a mattress protector fitted. For those not wishing to bring their own bedding, we can provide a bedding pack (duvet, sheets, pillows and pillowcases, blankets) for an additional fee.

Heating Central heating is provided in all the buildings from October through April. The radiators allow you to control the heating in your room. No air conditioning is provided.

Cleaning Daily cleaning is done in the common areas and kitchens. Residents are responsible for the tidiness of their own rooms, washing up their own dishes, making their beds, and helping to keep the common areas clean, especially the kitchens. In 2020- 2021, additional cleaning will be provided as a precautionary measure against Covid-19.

One day each week, the ensuite bathroom is cleaned by MBIT staff, and a schedule of cleaning will be agreed with you at the start of your occupancy.

Laundry Washers and Dryers, drying racks and irons/ironing boards are provided free of charge.

Location

Margaret Beaufort Institute is in the Newnham area of Cambridge, a ten-minute walk to the Sidgwick site, and near to Wolfson, Newnham, Darwin and Selwyn Colleges.

Harding Wing – Rooms Floor Areas and Monthly Rent 

Please refer to the map of each floor to see the position of the room within the building. 

Please check with the House Manager to confirm availability of a specific room or rooms. Some of our rooms may not be rented for the entire year, and may be available for shorter periods. 

For more information, please email our House Manager at lt269@cam.ac.uk