 Mawer entered University College London in 1898 as a graduate, where he was the Morley Medallist.Mawer entered Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge in October 1901 as a foundation scholar, residing there for three years, obtaining a double mark of distinction in the English sections of the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos.Supported by a Research Studentship given to him by the College, Mawer spent the next year studying Norse activity in England, in particular the subject of Norse place-names.