Welcome to Lucy Cavendish College!
Lucy Cavendish is a newer college, founded in 1965. Originally, the college only admitted female undergraduates, but as of 2021, college admissions have been opened to include men and undergraduates. Lucy Cavendish prides itself as the college with the highest percentage of students from state school, so it is always a warm, relaxed and welcoming environment with students from a diverse range of backgrounds. As a smaller college, we also pride ourselves on being the friendliest college in Cambridge!
My name is Zaynub and I’m a second year English student, and I am Adam, a second year maths student, and we are your ISOC college reps! We are always here as your point of contact for all Muslim students at Lucy Cavendish. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need any help—our emails are zvh20@cam.ac.uk (Zaynub) and ak2456@cam.ac.uk (Adam).
Pros
Supportive atmosphere.
A high proportion of students from 'ordinary'/working-class backgrounds with varied life experiences
Great for STEM students
Cons
Food in canteen is limited
The college is very small which is good for getting to know everyone, but some people might not like it
Washing Facilities
Lucy Cavendish tends to have washing facilities (washing machine and dryers) in most of its accommodation buildings. Unfortunately, these are not free. One wash cycle costs around £2.50-£2.75 and one drying cycle costs £1.25. There tends to always be a free washing machine around so wait times are not an issue.
Prayer Space
Lucy Cavendish always has a designated prayer space. Last year, the meditation and multifaith prayer room was found in W3 of Bertram and was accessible from 7 am – 10 pm each day. At the moment, the room is undergoing relocation, but we will let you know at the start of term where it’s new location will be.
Halal Food
The catering team can provide halal chicken for students upon request.
At formals, there is an option to request the halal option—if the option for the night is chicken, this is easily substituted with halal chicken. However, if any other meat option is listed, you will be served the vegetarian meal. In the buttery, there is always a vegan and vegetarian option for every meal, and you can easily request halal chicken if you regularly eat college meals.
Furthermore, there is an extremely popular food truck called the Madingley road Kebab that occasionally parks itself right outside Lucy along Madingley Road. I have eaten at the Madingley Road Kebab on a few occasions when I was in a pickle and I can attest to its quality. If you call the number 07941149952 you can place an order in advance.
Halal Grocery Shopping
The closest halal grocery shops to Lucy Cavendish are Midan World Foods and Iqbro’s Halal Grocers both of which are located on Histon Road. Out of the two, I prefer Midan World Foods as it has an excellent naan section and a good selection of traditional frozen dishes and other frozen items (such as jumbo packs of samosas and spring rolls). On Histon Road, there is also an Aldi and an Iceland which are useful for cheap bits and bobs.
Going into the town centre, the Sainsbury’s on Sidney Street has a small halal section and I have seen big packs of tandoori chicken wings there in the past. Going out of towards the periphery of town along Madingley Road, there is also a very large Sainsbury’s branch which is good if you/your family want to do some bulk shopping at the start of term.
As you will soon figure out, most halal restaurants and shops in Cambridge are along Mill Road as this is where the Central Mosque is located. Since Mill Road is quite far away from Lucy, you will probably not go there too often but if you do, I strongly recommend visiting Al Amin Grocers at least once. In the back of the shop there is an elderly woman called Mumtaz who serves you the food that she makes fresh.
In the town centre there are a few halal stalls in the market square, a halal Taco Bell on Market St and a halal KFC on Andew’s St which is quite popular. On King’s Street there are three halal restaurants that I know of: the Raja (Indian cuisine), Efes (Turkish) and Warung Bakso (Indonesian). The food at each is good, but the first two are quite expensive while the third is much more affordable. Each of these venues are no more than 15 minutes from Lucy by foot.
Fridge/Freezer Provision
You will always have access to a full kitchen here at Lucy, with both a fridge and freezer (albeit a small freezer!). Because of this, the college is reluctant to provide a fridge/freezer for your room. However, you can always ask to bring your own fridge/freezer, though it is not certain that they will always allow you to.
Ensuite
Lucy cavendish has many en-suite options. For first year accommodation—which is always on-site—the De Brye, Bertram and Warburton accommodation buildings have 12-18 en-suite rooms per block, giving you many options. Also, the brand new building on-site is state of the art and has en-suites for every room.
Furthermore, as an ex-female college, Lucy Cavendish always provides an option for female-only accommodation spaces, where both kitchen and bathroom can only be accessed by girls. For first years, this provision is available as a ‘set’ in Oldham Building (sharing a kitchen and bathroom with one other girl), for female muslim students, which tends to work quite well, and alleviates any anxieties about accommodation.
Concluding Remark
We hope you have a lovely time settling into Lucy Cavendish and enjoying its quaint Victorian houses and warm atmosphere, but we know starting university can be daunting. If you have any anxieties at all do not hesitate to contact either of us so we can make sure you have the best time here at Cambridge
Relevant college emails:
Domestic Bursary: domesticbursary@lucy.cam.ac.uk
Chaplain: dm695@cam.ac.uk
Signed,
Zaynub (zvh20@cam.ac.uk)
Adam (ak2456@cam.ac.uk)