The John Browne Charitable Trust has made a gift of £2million to Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge. This gift (the largest single gift to the College since 2005) has provided the funds to acquire a building on the site which was previously owned by a third party.
The acquisition of the building will enable the College to increase student accommodation as well as expand teaching and conference capacity.
In honour of this transformational gift, the building has been renamed Paula Browne House – in memory of Lord Browne’s mother.
About Paula Browne
Paula Browne was a Hungarian Auschwitz survivor who met her husband in post-war Hamburg. In 1955, the Browne family moved to Cambridge to follow the career of John Browne Sr.
Paula Browne was an exceptional woman: while living in Cambridge, Paula opened her home to refugees who had fled the Hungarian revolution. She was part of a network of people in the UK who agreed to help these refugees and the spectacle of a large number of people coming and going from the continent made a big impression on the young John Browne.
Lord Browne commented: “The trustees of the John Browne Charitable Trust and I are delighted to make this gift to Murray Edwards College. It is a special college, part of an extraordinary university to which I owe a great deal. My mother was an uncommon women who cared enormously about granting women equal access to opportunity – because it was something that was denied to her. She would have been so pleased to be associated in this way with Murray Edwards.”
Paula Browne House Conference Centre
Set in a tranquil location on Huntingdon Road, Paula Browne House is a self-contained, covid-secure conference centre with a raked lecture theatre, flexible flat-floored meeting rooms and an elegant foyer for registration and catering.
Freya Vaughan, Events Manager said “The acquisition of Paula Browne House offers a real opportunity for us to raise the level of valuable contribution our events business makes to the financial wellbeing of the College.
The conference centre has always been very popular with clients and we have hosted some essential medical events in the last 18 months, which have been very successful. With the roadmap out of lockdown and vaccination programme underway, we are looking forward to welcoming new and regular clients to Paula Browne House.
Our clients are always impressed by the light, airy feel of the foyer and the flexibility of the meeting rooms. Free car parking on site, excellent AV facilities and a highly experienced team ensure your event runs smoothly.”
