Repairs to the Hall, Pembroke College Cambridge

Abstract

The hall at Pembroke College, Cambridge, has had a chequered history. It was built by Alfred Waterhouse as a replacement for a 14th century hall in serious need of repair; in the twentieth century two floors of accommodation were inserted into the roof space, Waterhouse's windows were replaced and goods hoists and a staircase placed in the body of the hall. A two year repair programme sought to rectify the problems this caused, principally by acoustic treatment to the plaster ceiling and reconfiguring the screen to include a re-positioned staircase and hoist. Although the alterations are reversible, they partly mask the complex history, including the south elevation of Waterhouse's panelling, and thereby raise questions as to the levels of intervention that are appropriate in work of this kind.