Pembroke College started life as Broadgates Hall, a hostel for law students in the fifteenth century. In 1624, King James I authorised the transformation of the establishment into a full college at the University of Oxford, named in honour of the third Earl of Pembroke, William Herbert.

Pembroke College boasts a location in the bustling centre of Oxford, as well as academic and sporting excellence, and notable alumni including the writer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson.