![Wolfson President Professor Sir David Williams (right) with Terry Gardner of main contractors Rattee and Kett, laying the Foundation Stone, 28th Sep 1992. Photographer unidentified [ref: SS29pt]](/sites/default/files/styles/large_auto/public/2024-09/image.png?itok=lRK1_wFd)
![Lee Library Elevation, Dec 1990. © Brewer, Smith and Brewer [ref: 2736_5A, SS25pt]](/sites/default/files/styles/large_auto/public/2024-09/image_1.png?itok=pHCSb25E)
![Sketches for the bell tower. © Brewer, Smith and Brewer [ref: ATTIC106pt]](/sites/default/files/styles/large_auto/public/2024-09/image_2.png?itok=sRjbHklm)
09/01/2025
"A PhD is about shaping your life on your own terms"
The Lee Library was a gift from Mr Lee Seng Tee, one of Wolfson’s major benefactors.
The Library is holding a public exhibition on Tuesday 10 September to celebrate the anniversary as part of Open Cambridge, and again for our alumni weekend on 28 and 29 September. The exhibition can also be viewed online.
The exhibition traces the genesis of that generous donation: from early plans for a museum in College, to designs for a canal to the east and west of the building, and the coalescence of ideas around the final design. It also includes plans from architects Brewer, Smith and Brewer; photographs of the building’s construction; and video footage of the opening ceremony. The exhibition is also a great opportunity for visitors to learn more about the role of the Library today, which is not just a home for books, but a source of academic skills support for our students and researchers.
"It is particularly appropriate that Wolfson should now possess a fine library. A library symbolises so potently what is important about scholarship and the University."
Excerpt from President Dr Gordon Johnson's opening speech in 1994
You can join the waiting list for the in-person Library exhibition on Tuesday 10 September on the Open Cambridge website.
Hero image: Artist's impression, 1992. © Brewer, Smith and Brewer [ref: GJPhotos1]
