[5] At the time there were only two women's colleges in Cambridge, Girton and Newnham, insufficient for the large and growing numbers of female academic staff in the university.

[6] The college was named in honour of Lucy Caroline Cavendish, a pioneer of women's education and the great aunt of one of its founders, Margaret Braithwaite.

With effect from October 2021, Lucy Cavendish has admitted both women and men from the standard university age.

"[9] The mission of the college was to open the Cambridge door to talented and exceptional students from under-represented and non-traditional backgrounds.

[11] In the 2022 admission cycle, Lucy Cavendish became the first University of Cambridge college to admit more than 90% of its undergraduates from state schools.

The building was renamed Marshall House in his honour and used for student accommodation until 2001 when it was converted back to its original layout and used as the President's Lodge.

The college hosts the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, open to women novelists over the age of 18 years who have not yet been published.