Rowan Williams will swap one ancient and traditional institution for another when he takes up his role as Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.
The college was founded in 1428 as a place for Benedictine monks to study law at a distance from the temptations of town.
It has the longest river frontage of any Cambridge college and its beautiful setting on the banks of the Cam will provide tranquil surroundings for Dr Williams and his wife, Jane.
However, the Master’s Lodge at Magdalene is not as grand as it sounds — it is a 1960s brown-brick house, nestled amid the 15th century architecture. The cloisters, Fellows’ Gardens, and 16th century hall decorated with the heraldic arms of Queen Anne will all be at his disposal.
After trying to steer the Church of England through the choppy waters of issues such as gay marriage and women bishops, Dr Williams may find Magdalene a haven of convention. It has a reputation as one of the more staid and conservative of Cambridge’s colleges.
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Women were not admitted until 1986, only six years before the Church of England agreed to ordain female priests. Male students wore black armbands and flew the college flag at half-mast in protest.
Katie Derham, the newsreader, was one of the first women through the door. She recalled: “We felt like pioneers. It was the late 20th century and some of the senior members and the porters took a little bit of educating.
“People came over from other colleges, knocked on my door and said, ‘We’ve come to see a Magdalene girl’. I said, ‘What do you want me to do — juggle or something?’”
Thomas Cranmer, one of Dr Williams’s predecessors as Archbishop of Canterbury, was appointed a lecturer at Magdalene nearly 500 years ago.
Michael Carpenter, president of the college, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have such a distinguished academic and public figure as our new Master. We have a long history in the college and the Master is its figurehead.”
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Dr Williams’s role will be part time — his only obligation is to live at the college during term time, to chair college committees and attend official dinners. He will be actively encouraged to pursue other scholarly interests.
Professor Carpenter said that the Master’s position also involved “doing a lot of entertaining”.
The current master, Duncan Robinson, is a keen art historian and chairman of the Henry Moore Foundation. He stands aside for Dr Williams in January.
A spokesman for the college said it “looked forward to the Mastership of Dr Williams, who has the capacity and vision to guide the college in a time of unprecedented change in higher education. His very distinguished record, both as a scholar and a public figure, will provide for the whole community a model of the high standards of achievement to which Magdalene is committed.”
Dr Williams said: “I am very grateful to the college for the honour they have done me and look forward to being part of such a lively and intellectually rigorous community.
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“I hope I shall be able to continue the exciting developments that have been taking place under the guidance of the present Master and the Fellowship, and Jane and I look forward to taking up this challenging office next January.”
Samuel Pepys is one of the college’s most famous alumni (others include Bamber Gascoigne, CS Lewis, Sir Michael Redgrave and Archbishop Michael Ramsey) and one of its main attractions is the Pepys Library, housing the famous diaries.
Magdalene admits a very high proportion of privately-educated students. In 2010 only 45 per cent of its UK intake was from the state sector, the second lowest among the 29 Cambridge colleges that admit undergraduates.
A spokesman for the college said substantial efforts had been made to promote [fair] access in the past ten years.