St John's College, an institution known formally as The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge[1] is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1511. In constitutional terms, the College is an eleemosynary corporation established by Charter dated 9 April 1511. St John's College has fixed assets of £567,390,000, granting it the largest endowment per student of any Cambridge College.[2] The College's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, a prince and on Saint.[3] The aims of the College, as specified by its Statutes, are the promotion of education, religion, learning and research. The College is a charity under English law, being an exempt charity under the terms of Schedule 2 of the Charities Act 1993.[4] The college is also famed for its choir, and its famous May Ball was ranked the 'seventh best party in the world' by Time Magazine.[5]
David Loggan's engraving of the College, circa 1685.
The college was founded on the site of the 13th century Hospital of St John in Cambridge at the suggestion of Saint John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and chaplain to Lady Margaret. However, Lady Margaret died without having mentioned the foundation of St John's in her will, and it was largely the work of Fisher that ensured that the college was founded. He had to obtain the approval of King Henry VIII of England, the Pope through the intermediary Polydore Vergil, and the Bishop of Ely to suppress the religious hospital and convert it to a college. The college received its charter on April 9, 1511. Further complications arose in obtaining money from the estate of Lady Margaret to pay for the foundation and it was not until October 22, 1512 that a codicil was obtained in the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. In November 1512 the Court of Chancery allowed Lady Margaret's executors to pay for the foundation of the college from her estates. When Lady Margaret's executors took over they found most of the old Hospital buildings beyond repair, but repaired and incorporated the Chapel into the new college. A kitchen and hall were added, and an imposing gate tower was constructed for the College Treasury. The doors were to be closed each day at dusk, sealing the monastic community from the outside world.
Over the course of the following five hundred years, the College expanded westwards towards the River Cam, and now has eleven courts, the most of any Oxford or Cambridge College.
Buildings and Grounds
The Main Gate of St John's College, decorated with the arms of the foundress.
The Great Gate (1516)
St John's distictive Great Gate follows the standard contemporary pattern employed previously at Christ's College and Queens' College. The gatehouse is crenelated and adorned with the arms of the foundress Lady Margaret Beaufort. Above these are displayed her ensigns, the Red Rose of Lancaster and Portcullis. The College Arms are flanked by curious creatures known as yales, mythical beasts with elephants' tails, antelopes' bodies, goats' heads, and swivelling horns. Above them is a tabernacle containing a socle figure of St John the Evangelist, an Eagle at his feet and symbolic, poisoned chalice in his hands. The doors date from 1665-6, and the fan vaulting above was constructed by William Swayne, the master mason of King's College Chapel.[6]
First Court (1511-1520)
First Court is entered via the Though the first court of St John's College is highly architecturally varied. First Court was converted from the hospital on the foundation of the college, and constructed between 1511 and 1520. Though it has since been gradually changed, the front (east) range is still much as it appeared when first erected in the 16th-century.[7] The south range was refaced between 1772-6 in the Georgian style by the local architect James Essex, as part of an abortive attempt to modernise the entire court in the same fashion. The most dramatic alteration to the original, Tudor court however remains the Victorian ammendment of the north range, which involved the demolition of the original mediaeval chapel and the construction of a new, far larger set of buildings in the 1860s. These included the Chapel, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, which includes in its interior some pieces saved from the original chapel. It is the tallest building in Cambridge. The alteration of the north range necessitated the restructuring of the connective sections of First Court; another bay window was added in order to enlarge the College's hall, and a new building constructed to the north of Great Gate. Parts of First Court was used as a prison in 1643 during the English Civil War.
Dining Hall (1511-1516, extended 1863)
The College's Hall has a fine hammerbeam-roof, painted in black and gold and decorated with the armorial devices of its benefactors. The hall is lined to cill-level with linenfold panelling which dates from 1528-9, and has a five-bay screen, surmounted by the Royal Arms. Above is a hexagonal louvre, dating to 1703. The room was extended from five to eight bays according to designs by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1863. It has two bay windows, containing heraldic glass dating from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. [8]
The Chapel of St John's College is entered by the north west-corner of First Court, and was constructed between 1866-9 in order to replace the smaller, mediaeval chapel which dated back to the 13th-century. When in 1861 the College's administration decided that a new building was needed, Sir George Gilbert Scott was selected as architect. He had recently finished work on a similar project at Exeter College, Oxford, and went about constructing the Chapel of St John's College along similar lines, drawing inspiration from the Church of Saint Chapelle in Paris.
The College's Old Library, with the 1831 Bridge of Sighs visible to the right
The benefactor Henry Hoare offered a downpayment of £3000 to finance the chapel's construction, in addition to which he promised to pay £1000 a year if a tower were added to Scott's original plans, which had included only a small fleche. Work began, but Mr Hoare's death in a railway accident left the college £3000 short of his expected benefaction. The tower was completed, replete with louvres but left without bells. It is based on based on Pershore Abbey[9]. The tower is 50 metres high, and ks the tallest structure in Cambridge (followed by the Cambridge University Library and King's College Chapel). The Chapel's antechamber contains statues of Margaret Beaufort and John Fisher, the niches around the building commemorating other College benefactors. Inside the building is a stone-vaulted antechapel, at the end of which hangs a 'Deposition of the Cross' by Anton Rafael Mengs, completed around 1777. The misericordes and panelling date from 1516, and were salvaged from the old chapel. The chapel contains some fifteenth-century glass, but most was cast by Clayton and Bell, Hardman, and Wailes, in around 1869. [8] Freestanding statues and plaques commemorate College benefactors such as James Wood, Master 1815-39, as well as alumni including William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson and William Gilbert. The College tower can be climbed, and is accessed via a small door on First Court.
Second Court (1598-1602)
Second Court, built from 1598 to 1602, has been described as 'the finest Tudor court in England'. Built atop the demolished foundations of an earlier, far smaller court, Second Court was begun in 1598 to the plans of Ralph Symons of Westminster, and Gilbert Wigge of Cambridge. Their original architectural drawings are housed in the College's library, and are the oldest surviving plans for an Oxford or Cambridge college building.[10] It was financed by the Countess of Shrewsbury, whose arms and statue stand above the court's western gatehouse. The court's Oriel windows are perhaps its most striking feature, though the dominating Shrewsbury Tower to the west is undoubtedly the most imposing. This gatehouse, built as a mirror image of the College's Great Gate, contains a statue of the benefactress Mary Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, added in 1671. Behind the Oriel window of the north range lies the Long Gallery, a promenading room that was, prior to its segmentation, 148 feet long. In this room, the treaty between England and France was signed that established the marriage of King Charles I of England to Queen Henrietta Maria. In the 1940s, parts of the D-day landings were planned there.
The doorway to Second Court is embellished with a portcullis and rose, the ensigns of the College's foundress, Lady Margaret Beaufort
Chapel Court
Located to the west of the Chapel tower.
North Court
Located to the north of Chapel Court.
Forecourt
Located to the east of Chapel court, facing St John's street. It is used partly as a car park for fellows, and also as a night entrance to the College.
The Old Library was built in 1624, largely with funds donated by John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln. Hearing of the College's urgent need for greater library space, Williams donated £1,200 anonymously, later revealing his identity and donating a total of £2,011 towards the library's total cost of £3,000.[11] The Library's fine bay window overlooks the River Cam, and bears the letters ILCS on it, standing for Iohannes Lincolniensis Custos Sigilli, or John of Lincoln, Keeper of the Seal. The original intention of the College had been to construct an elegant, classical building supported by pillared porticos, but Bishop William insisted on a more traditional design. Thus, though the College lays claim to few examples of neo-classical design, the College Library stands as one of the earliest examples of English neo-Gothic architecture.
Third Court (1669-1672)
Third Court is entered through Shrewsbury Tower, which from 1765 to 1859 housed an observatory. Each its ranges was built in a different style. Following the completion of the College Library in 1624, the final sides of Third Court were added between 1669 and 1672, after the College had recovered from the trauma of the English Civil War. The additions included a fine set of Dutch-gabled buildings backing onto the River Cam, and a 'window-with-nothing-behind-it' that was designed to solve the problem of connecting the windowed library with the remainder of the court.
Kitchen or Wren Bridge (1696-1712, Robert Grumbold)
This was the first stone bridge erected at St John's college, continuing on from Kitchen lane. The crossing lies south of the Bridge of Sighs, and was a replacement for a wooden bridge that had stood on the site since the foundation's early days as a hospital. Though Sir Christopher Wren submitted designs for the bridge, it was eventually built on a different site by a local mason, Robert Grumbold, who also built Trinity College Library. As with the Library, Grumbold's work was based on Wren's designs, and the bridge has become known more famously as 'the Wren Bridge'.
Kitchen Court
This tiny court, formed within the walls of the old Kitchen Lane, is used as an outdoor dining area.
Though it bears little resemblance to its namesake in Venice, the bridge connecting Third Court to New Court, originally known as New Bridge, is now commonly known as the Bridge of Sighs. It is one of the most photographed buildings in Cambridge, and was described by the visiting Queen Victoria as 'so pretty and picturesque'.[12] It is a single-span bridge of stone with highly decorative Neo-Gothic covered footwalk over with traceried openings. There is a three bay arcade at the East end of the bridge.
St John's College New Court (19th-century)
New Court (1831-1987, Rickman and Hutchinson)
The 19th century neo-Gothic New Court, probably one of the most famous buildings in Cambridge, was the first College building on the west side of the river. Designed by Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson, New Court was built between 1826 and 183 to accommodate the College's rapidly increasing numbers of students. Despite the College's original intention to get the architects to build another copy of Second Court, plans were eventually accepted for a fashionably romantic building in the 'Gothick' style. It is a three-sided court of tall Gothic Revival buildings, closed on the fourth side by an open, seven-bayed cross-vaulted cloister and gateway. It is four storeys high, has battlemented and is pinnacled. The Gatehall has a fan vault with a large octangonal pendant, and the interior retains many of its original features including ribbed plaster ceilings in the mock-gothic style. Its prominent location (especially when seen from the river) and flamboyant design have led it to be nicknamed the "Wedding Cake." Hutchinson was suitably proud of his creation, and it is said that he once dashed up a staircase to reprimand an undergraduate for spoiling its symmetry by sitting too near one of its windows.
St John's Master's lodge is located in a grassy clearing to the north of Third Court. It was built at the same time as the new Chapel was being constructed, and has Tudor fittings, wainscot, portraits and other relics from the demolished north wing of First Court. It has a large garden, and in the winter its westmost rooms have excellent views of the College's old library, the River Cam, and the Bridge of Sighs.
Cripps Building (1966-67, Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya)
This buildings, behind New Court, was built in 1966-67 to meet a post-1945 expansion in the numbers of students. It has two courts, and was designed by architectsPhilip Powell and Hidalgo Moya. The building was listed after receiving an award from the British Architectural Instituation, and is considered an exemplar of the later 20th-century architectural style. It is named the Cripps Building after its benefactor, the Cripps Foundation (see Sir Humphrey Cripps). The Cripps Building forms two courts, Upper River Court and Lower River Court.
The Fisher Building
The Fisher Building was named after John Fisher and was designed by Peter Boston and completed in 1987.
The School of Pythagoras
The School of Pythagoras was built around 1200, predating the foundation of the College (1511). It is the oldest secular building in Cambridge.
Merton Hall and Merton Court
Merton Hall is so called because from 1266[13] until 1959 both the School of Pythagoras and Merton Hall were property of Merton College, Oxford. Merton Court is the College's eleventh and westernmost court.
St John's College Choir has a tradition of religious music and has sung the daily services in the College Chapel since the 1670s. The services follow the cathedral tradition of the Church of England, Evensong being sung during Term six days a week and Sung Eucharist on Sunday mornings. The Choir is currently directed by Mr Andrew Nethsingha, who has previously been Director of Music at Gloucester and Truro Cathedrals. The boys of the choir are all educated at the St John's College School. During university vacations the choir carries out engagements elsewhere. Recent tours have taken it to places including Holland, the USA and France. The choir has made a large number of recordings.
The Choir has an extensive discography dating back to the 1950s, when it was signed to the Decca/Argo label under George Guest. More recently, the Choir has completed a sequence of recordings of English 20th century choral for Naxos, which sold over 200,000 copies.[14] The Choir now records with Hyperion Records, and has released four discs to date with the label: one of the music of Mendelssohn, a collection of music for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, Christmas at St John's, a recording of the choral and vocal music of Jongen and Peeters and most recently, a collection of the music of Bairstow. The Choir has received invitations to perform throughout the world, recently touring in France, Austria, Holland, Estonia, Hungary and America.
The men of the choir, or choral scholars, also form their own close harmony group, The Gentlemen of St John's. Their repertoire spans the 15th century through to the modern day, and concert tours have taken them to Europe, the USA and Japan. They provide a mixture of classical a capella music and folksongs, as well as covers of recently chart hits and light-hearted entertainment.
Traditions
Motto
The College motto is souvent me souvient, supplied by Lady Margaret Beaufort, and written in Mediaeval French. It is inscribed over gates, lintels and within tympana throughout the college, functioning as a triple pun. It means 'I often remember', 'think of me often' and, when spoken (exploiting the homonym souvent me sous vient), 'I often pass beneath it' (referring to the inscriptions). The college shares its motto with Christ's College, Cambridge and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
College Grace
The College Grace is customarily said before and after dinner in Hall. The reading of Grace before dinner (ante prandium) is usually the duty of a Scholar of the College; Grace after dinner (post prandium) is said by the President or the Senior Fellow dining. The Graces used in St John's have been in continuous use for some centuries and it is known that the Ante Prandium is based upon mediaeval monastic models. The Grace is said shortly after the fellows enter the Hall, signalled by the sounding of a Gong, and accompanied by the rining of the College's Grace Bell. The Ante Prandium is read after the Fellows have entered, the Post Prandium after they have finished dining:
Latin
English
Ante Prandium (Before Dinner)
Oculi omnium in te sperant, Domine, et tu das illis cibum in tempore, aperis manum tuam, et imples omne animal benedictione. Benedic, Domine, nos et dona tua, quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi, et concede ut illis salubriter nutriti, tibi debitum obsequium praestare valeamus, per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum.
'The eyes of all wait upon thee, O Lord: and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand: and fillest all things living with plenteousness. Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts which out of thine abundance we are about to receive, and grant that by their saving nourishment we may have power to fulfill the obedience due to thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord.'
Post Prandium (After Dinner)
Infunde, quaesumus, Domine Deus, gratiam tuam in mentes nostras, ut his donis datis a Margareta Fundatrice nostra aliisque Benefactoribus ad tuam gloriam utamur; et cum omnibus qui in fide Christi decesserunt ad caelestem vitam resurgamus, per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum. Deus pro sua infinita clementia Ecclesiae suae pacem et unitatem concedat, augustissimam Reginam nostram Elizabetham conservet, et pacem universo Regno et omnibus Christianis largiatur.
Pour forth, we beseech thee, Lord God, thy grace into our minds, that we may use these gifts, given by Margaret our Foundress and other Benefactors, to thy glory, and together with all who have died in the faith of Christ rise again to life in heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord. May God, of his infinite mercy, grant his Church unity and peace, preserve our most august queen, Queen Elizabeth, and grant peace to the whole Realm and to all Christians.
Eating Swan
The College arms
Fellows of St John’s College are the only people outside the Royal Family legally allowed to eat unmarked mute swans. Swan traps were originally built into the walls of the college alongside the river, but these are no longer used.[15] The Crown (the British monarch) retains the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water, but the Queen only exercises her ownership on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries. This ownership is shared with the Vintners' and Dyers' Companies, who were granted rights of ownership by the Crown in the fifteenth century, and was extended to the College via ancient Royalist ties.
The College Crest and Arms
St John's College and Christ's College, Cambridge both bear the arms of the Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, mother of Henry VII. These arms are recorded in the Cllege of Arms as being borne by right, and are described as: Quarterly: 1 and 4 azure three fleurs-de-lis gold (France, Modern); 2 and 3 gules three lions passant gardant or (England); all within a border compony silver and azure. In addition, both foundations use the Beaufort crest, an eagle displayed arising out of a coronet of roses and fleurs-de-lis all gold, but their title to this is more doubtful. When displayed in their full achievement, the arms are flanked by mythical yales.
Scholarships and Prizes
Every year the college awards scholarships to a handful of graduate students under the Benefactors' Scholarships Scheme.[16] The scholarships include the Craik Scholarship, the J.C. Hall Scholarship, the Luisa Aldobrandini Studentship Competition, the Paskin Scholarship and the Pelling Scholarship. Competition for these scholarships is very fierce as students from any country reading for any graduate degree—not only members of the college—can apply.
College life
The buildings of St John's College include the Chapel, the Hall, two libraries, a bar, and common rooms for fellows, graduates and undergraduates. There are also extensive gardens, lawns, a neighbouring sportsground, College School and boat-house. On-site accommodation is provided for all undergraduate and most graduate students. This is generally spacious, and some undergraduate rooms comprise 'sets' of living and sleeping rooms. Members of the College can choose to dine either in the Hall, where silver service three-course meals are served, or in the buttery, where food can be purchased from a cafeteria-style buffet. College Catering is organised by Michelin Star Chef Bill Brogan, overseer of the intercollegiate Stewards' Cup.
The College maintains an extensive libary, which supplements the university libraries. Most undergraduate tutorials are carried out in the college, though for some specialist subjects undergraduates may be sent to tutors in other colleges. The college owns its own punts which may be borrowed by students or dons.
The college maintains a significant fleet of punts in its purpose-built punt pool behind the Cripps Building. The School of Pythagoras is now used as a drama space. It predates the College proper, and is said to be the oldest building continuously in use by a university in Britain. It was originally the private house of the Merton Family. In addition to its Nobel prize winners, St John's traditionally ranked highly in the Tompkins Table of undergraduate degree results, though its rating has fallen over the past four years.[17].
Sports and Activities
The Red Boys, St John's College Rugby Club, has won the Division One League title for the last eight years in a row and the cuppers trophy for the last four making it one of the most successful collegiate rugby teams in Cambridge's history. The women's team (Red Girls) has also experienced success this year with them securing the inter collegiate cup on the same day that the red boys won the double for the fourth year in a row.
The college rowing club, the Lady Margaret Boat Club (LMBC), was founded in 1825. Despite many gruesome rumours concerning the name of the club, it was merely the most successful of the many boat clubs established in the College in the 19th century. In a similar fashion the traditional rival of the LMBC, the Boat Club of Trinity College, is known as 'First and Third' in a reference to its formation from two original clubs.
View over the rear buildings of St John's from the Chapel.
St John's and the abolition of the British slave trade
As part of the commemoration of the bicentenary of the 1807 Act, and as a representative of one of the Ivy League universities offering American historical perspective on the Triangular Trade, President Ruth J. Simmons of Brown University (herself a direct descendant of American slaves) gave a public lecture at St John's College entitled "Hidden in Plain Sight: Slavery and Justice in Rhode Island"[19] on February 16, 2007. St John's College hosted some of the key events relating to the commemoration,[20] including an academic conference and a Gospel Mass in the College Chapel with the London Adventist Chorale.
May Ball
St John's hosts perhaps the most famous May Ball in Cambridge, which is traditionally held on the Tuesday of May Week. The Ball the was ranked the 'seventh best party in the world' by Time Magazine, and is one of the most sought after in Cambridge.[5] In recent years, tickets have only been available to Johnians and their guests. Highlights include an extravagant fireworks display and a variety of musical acts - in 2008 including Dizzee Rascal and Lesley Garrett. (More details on past acts can be seen on the May Ball page).
The following is a list of notable people educated at St John's College Cambridge. When available, years of attendance are provided as indicated in the College Register or in theOxford Dictionary of National Biography. Over 1000 former members of St John's College appear in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.[21]
Malcolm Moss, Conservative Member of Parliament for North East Cambridgeshire (1987-) (Parliamentary Under-Secretary Northern Ireland Office 1994-1997)
David Harvey, Marxist geographer, social scientist
William Heberden, British physician, who gave the first clinical description (1768) of angina pectoris and demonstrated that chicken pox was different from smallpox
^ 'A History of St John's College', produced by Tim Rawle Associates, Cloister Press, p.1
^ St John's endowment per student is approximately £540,371 (567,390,000 / 1050). By way of comparison, the richest Cambridge College, Trinity, has an endowment per student of approximately £22,871 less (621,000,000 / 1200).