Murray Edwards College, Cambridge Dame Rosemary Murray and the donors. New Hall was founded in 1954, housing sixteen students in Silver Street where Darwin College now stands. This was at a time when Cambridge had the lowest proportion of women undergraduates of any university in the United Kingdom, and when only two other colleges (Girton and Newnham) admitted female students. In 1962, members of the Darwin family gave their home, "The Orchard", to the College. This new site was located on Huntingdon Road, about a mile from the centre of Cambridge. The architects chosen were Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, who are known for their
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge by grants from the college and rehearsing took place on site. It was initially called the West Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, because the majority of its members were from West Cambridge colleges – predominantly Fitzwilliam, Churchill and New Hall. Although the orchestra later changed its name, a smaller affiliated group, known as the West Cambridge Sinfonia, maintains the reference. Today, the orchestra rehearses primarily at St Giles' Church. It tours and records on a regular basis and performs University concerts once a term. At Fitzwilliam, the role originally played by WCSO has since been taken over by the Orchestra on the