About

Fitzwilliam is one of the University of Cambridge’s 31 colleges. Our buildings have won many architecture awards. The Hall Building and Dining Hall were designed by Sir Denys Lasdun. Other buildings of note include the Auditorium, the Chapel, which is designed to suggest a floating ship, and the Olisa Library. The Grove, a lovely Regency house which once belonged to Emma Darwin, also sits within our grounds.

Fitzwilliam traces its origins to 1869, when the University of Cambridge started to admit non-collegiate students to widen access by reducing costs. The Non-Collegiate Student Board purchased a building in 1885 that took the name Fitzwilliam Hall, the institution was referred to officially as Fitzwilliam House from 1924, and full Collegiate status was granted in 1966. Fitzwilliam College is a thriving community of around 430 undergraduates, 320 graduates, 60 Fellows and more than 100 staff.

An outstanding venue

Step into our beautiful gardens and experience the tranquillity of being at Fitzwilliam. We give you the room you need to make your ideas a reality. Our flexible rooms, great food, and excellent service mean you can relax and enjoy your event.

Catering and Events Customer Care Charter

We are committed to providing an excellent service, delivered to the highest standard of customer satisfaction. This Charter tells you, as our customers, what level of service your event should expect when dealing with the hospitality departments at Fitzwilliam College.

Our Customer Care Charter is available through this link in PDF format.

MIA Meetings Code

Fitzwilliam College is a member of the MIA (Meetings Industry Association). Under the Meetings CODE, we promise to incorporate and uphold their four main areas of interest: Consistency, Openness, Decency and Ethics, when dealing with our customers, students, employees and suppliers.

Download the complete copy of the MIA Meetings CODE - the relevant section for our customers is section 2 - Venues (page 5)

COVID-19

We are pleased to announce that Fitz Events has successfully gained AIM Secure accreditation.

By achieving recognition and endorsement from the sector’s leading trade association for business, meetings and events, we are regarded amongst those who deliver first-class service, excellent facilities and a total commitment to upholding legal compliance and health and hygiene protocols.

AIM Secure specifically measures:

The quality of our meeting and events facilities
Our commitment to delivering a healthy and hygienic environment
Our service delivery
Our compliance with legislation
Our commitment towards diversity and inclusion
Considers our whole meetings and events offering, and is only awarded to those who can verify they are following the stringent protocols set out by the standard.

We will be following the relevant Government and industry guidance to ensure we can host your event safely.

Meet the Team

Robert Clarke – Head of Events & Catering

Robert has worked in the Cambridge collegiate system for over 10 years. After studying Catering Management at Worcester, he joined The Restaurant Group as an Assistant Manager where he progressed to become an Area Manager looking after 14 ‘destination’ restaurants on Leisure Parks. After a spell of managing pubs in Cornwall and Cambridge, Robert joined Murray Edwards College (then New Hall) as Service & Hospitality Manager. A move to Fitzwilliam came 3 years later where he took up a role as Catering Manager and finally Head of Catering & Events in 2016.

Jo Olivey – College Events Coordinator

Jo has over 10 years’ experience of working in events within the Cambridge colleges and at non-academic venues in and around Cambridge, having previously worked as Events Executive at Meet Cambridge. Jo joined the team at Fitzwilliam in 2018 and deals with all the internal College events, from committee meetings to garden parties.

Lina Vainauskaite - Sales & Events Coordinator

Lina joined us in January 2019 having worked previously as an Events Specialist for an international biotechnology company. Taking on the role of Sales and Events Coordinator, she is responsible for taking your enquiries and managing your event from start to finish. Lina has experience in a wide variety of events, including conferences, special events, meetings and residential conferences. She has also been involved with marketing activities, and in particular, with planning and attending trade shows.

Richard Wayman – Executive Head Chef

Richard has worked at a number of Cambridge colleges including King's, Emmanuel and Homerton. He was first promoted to Head Chef at King's College where he established an excellent reputation for fine dining, which in turn attracted many high profile dinners. Richards’ career highlight was cooking for Her Majesty The Queen in honour of the University’s 800th anniversary celebrations. Richard joined Fitzwilliam in 2012, eager to share his passion for food and keen to inspire his new team to achieve the highest possible standards.

Julie Kerr – Front of House Supervisor

Julie has over 27 years’ experience of working within the catering industry. Prior to coming to Fitzwilliam College in 2002 she has worked on a number of large-scale external catering events as well as within the hotel industry. Julie manages a team of 10 front of house staff and ensures that all our guests are well looked after when they are here.