Founded in 1347 by Marie de St Pol, Countess of Pembroke. Named Marie Valence Hall, it changed its name to Pembroke Hall sometime before 1856. Sister College – Queen's College, Oxford. Men and women – undergraduates, 430 postgraduates, 250. When Pembroke was established, on Christmas Eve 1347, it had a preference for gifted students born in France and strongly disapproved of excessive drinking and frequenting unsavory houses. It was founded by Marie de St Pol, widow of Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, under license granted by Edward III. The institution was originally known as the Hall of Valencia Mary, later renamed Pembroke Hall, and then became Pembroke College in 1856. One of the most successful universities. Today, Pembroke is equally focused on academic success, placing great importance on providing an environment that promotes success. . Students not only enjoy intellectual challenges, but are also encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities such as music, sports and drama. The college has a consistent history of being one of the university's top performers. Applications are now encouraged from all sides, with a 57% admission rate from public schools and a roughly equal gender split, with women first admitted in 1983. There are 250 students postgraduates and 430 undergraduates. The youngest British Prime Minister ever, William Pitt the Younger. , studied in Pembroke and resided there until she was elected a Member of Parliament in 1780, eventually becoming Prime Minister in 1783. Pembroke Women's College at Brown University in the United States is named after the establishment of Cambridge. Pembroke is the third oldest university and one of the richest, occupying a large and architecturally varied site, just 5 minutes' walk from the market square. It includes a traditional library, a new hall, a new master's lodge and the residential block known as the Red Building in neo-Gothic style. George Gilbert Scott, the younger, added the new hybrid free-form classical courtyard in the 1880s, with angels, grotesques, and curly Dutch gables above the windows. The Tudor-style red brick Pitt Building, completed in 1907, is described by Trinity graduate W. D. Caroe as an "...accomplished master of building according to medieval precedent." Sleek, detail-free modern buildings standing in the south-east corner with a touch of classical form and massing make up Foundress Court, completed in 1997. Accommodation varies depending on cost and is provided for all first years on site, the following years being housed in off-site rooms. The college has five times more candidates than places and offers successful students a concrete and supportive educational approach...