October saw members from the COEL team, alongside the Cambridge team of global project consultants TSA Riley, host a Halloween themed fundraising event with a ghost tour of Cambridge followed by a drinks reception at the recently completed River Wing at Clare College. In partnership, our companies teamed together to raise funds for Camtrust, a Cambridge-based charity which provides training in life and work skills for adults with learning disabilities. 

The event started at Great St Mary’s Church with four tour guides from Haunted Cambridge, reputed to be the city’s scariest storytellers uncovering some of the tales of the paranormal. Individuals from across the commercial property and construction sector, were led to the home of the last hangman of Cambridge, a haunted bookshop, as well as learning what the golden Chronophage (Corpus clock) represents, why there is a window always open in the Eagle pub, and where the phrase ‘the skeleton in the cupboard’ originated from. 

After these tales of ghosts, the macabre and the thoroughly gruesome, the tour groups were greeted with a drinks reception at the recently completed River Wing in Clare College. The newly built wing was project managed by TSA Riley and forms part of the extension and renovation of Old Court, a Grade I listed building at the core of Clare College. Culminating in a café, the River Room, overlooking the River Cam and Fellows’ Garden, the River Wing ranges in width from 1m to 8m, making it a logistically challenging project to design and construct. The River Room acts as a central social hub for students and staff alike, enabling College members to engage in discussions against the beautiful backdrop of the River Cam and carefully manicured gardens. Having previously served as a series of storage and ancillary areas, the new River Wing also encompasses lift access to upper floors of Old Court, meaning that for the first time in Clare College’s near 700-year-old history, access to upper floors is available to all. 

TSA Riley and COEL reflected on the event:

We were delighted to co-host an event which took in some of the iconic sights of Cambridge providing a different insight into their past. The tour guides did a spectacular job in bringing history to life and creating an air of mystery which thrilled our guests. The River Wing at Clare College was the perfect reception space providing delicious food and drink. Most of all we are very happy to have raised £1200.00 for Camtrust, an outstanding local charity.

To find out more about future events hosted by COEL and our partners, take a look at our events coming up.