St John's College, Cambridge

St John's distinctive 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 fan vaulting above is contemporary with tower, and may have been designed by William Swayne, a master mason of King's College Chapel.[15]

First Court is entered via the Great Gate, and 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.[16] 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 amendment of the north range, which involved the demolition of the original medieval 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 third 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 to enlarge the college's hall, and a new building constructed to the north of Great Gate. Parts of First Court were used as a prison in 1643 during the English Civil War. In April 2011, Queen Elizabeth II visited St John's college to inaugurate a new pathway in First Court, which passes close to the ruins of the Old Chapel.

The 16th-century dining hall has a hammerbeam roof

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.[17] In 1564, Queen Elizabeth rode into the college's Hall on horseback, during a state visit to Cambridge.[18]

The tower of Second Court leading to Third Court

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.[19] 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. Second Court is also home to the college's famous 'triple set', K6.

View of Third Court and the Old Library

The interior of the Old Library

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.[20] The library's 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 Williams insisted on a more traditional design. Thus, though the college lays claim to few examples of neo-classical design, the library stands as one of the earliest examples of English neo-Gothic architecture.

Third Court is entered through Shrewsbury Tower, which from 1765 to 1859 housed an observatory. Each of 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.

View of Wren Bridge from the Backs

St John's College Bridge of Sighs

This was the first stone bridge erected at St John's college, continuing on from Kitchen lane. The crossing's chief distinction is the use of illusory intaglio; Wren's bridge is carved from a limestone monolith incised to give the appearance of masonry.[21] 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'.

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".[22] 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. The architect was Henry Hutchinson.

The 19th-century neo-Gothic New Court, probably one of the best known buildings in Cambridge, was the first major building built by any of the colleges on the west side of the river. Designed by Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson, New Court was built between 1826 and 1831 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 'Gothic' 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 battlements and is pinnacled. The main portal has a fan vault with a large octagonal pendant, and the interior of the main building 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.

Old College Chapel

Inside St John's College Chapel

The Chapel of St John's College is entered by the northwest corner of First Court. It was constructed between 1866 and 1869 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 the chapel at Exeter College, Oxford, and went about constructing the chapel of St John's College along similar lines, drawing inspiration from the Saint Chapelle church in Paris.

St John's College Chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott

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 Hoare's death from 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 Pershore Abbey.[23] The tower is 163 feet (50 m) high.[24]

The chapel's antechamber contains statues of Lady Margaret Beaufort and John Fisher. 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.[17] 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. However, this access was closed in 2016 for the duration that important structural repairs were carried out to the tower Pinnacles and roof.

The Chapel is surrounded on three sides by large tabernacles which form part of the external buttresses. Each contains a statue of a prominent college alumnus, alumna or benefactor. The persons commemorated are, beginning with the buttress next to the transept on the south side:

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. The architect was Sir George Gilbert Scott.

Old Divinity School

Chapel Court

Located to the west of the chapel tower lies Chapel Court, which was constructed together with North Court' and Forecourt in the 1930s to account for an increase in student numbers. North Court is located just north of Chapel Court and Forecourt is situated to the east, facing St John's Street. The latter is used partly as a car park for fellows and night entrance to the college. All three courts were designed by the architect Edward Maufe.

Further increases in student numbers following WWII prompted the college to again increase the number of accommodation buildings. Cripps Court was built in the late 1960s to satisfy this demand. It is located just behind New Court and forms two courts (Upper & Lower River Court). Designed by architects Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, the building is Grade II* listed[25] having received an award from the British Architectural Institution. It is considered an exemplar of late 20th-century architectural style and is named after its main benefactor, Humphrey Cripps.[26] In 2014, the building went through an extensive refurbishment program, which saw renovated accommodation and structural repairs, including the cleaning of the Portland stone which the building is made of.[27]

To the west of Cripps Court lies the School of Pythagoras. Built around 1200, it predates the college with 300 years and is both the oldest secular building in Cambridge and the oldest building continuously in use by a university in Britain. The building now serves as the location for the College Archives. Next to the School of Pythagoras lies Merton Hall. From 1266 until 1959 both the School of Pythagoras and Merton Hall were property of Merton College, Oxford.[28] Merton Court is the college's eleventh and westernmost court.

In 1987 the construction of the Fisher Building was completed. Named after Cardinal John Fisher, the building contains teaching rooms, conference facilities, and the student-run college cinema. It was designed by the architect Peter Boston.

Located directly opposite the college's Great Gate is All Saints' Yard. The complex is formed from the buildings of the so-called "Triangle Site", a collection of structures owned by the college. An extensive renovation project finished in Michaelmas Term 2012 had a budget of approximately £9.75 million. The centrepiece of the Yard is Corfield Court, named after the project's chief benefactor, Charles Corfield. The site can be entered through one of two card-activated gates, or through the School of Divinity. The School of Divinity is the largest building on the site, and was built between 1878 and 1879 by Basil Champneys for the University of Cambridge's divinity faculty on land leased by St John's College. Control of the building reverted to St John's when the faculty of divinity moved to a new building on the Sidgwick site in 2000.

The Second Court of St John's College

Fellows of St John's College are the only people outside the Royal Family in the United Kingdom 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.[35] 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.

According to popular legend, St John's College is inhabited by a number of ghosts. In 1706, four fellows exorcised some ghosts from a house opposite the college by the simple method of threatening to fire their pistols at the positions the moans and groans were coming from. Second court is apparently still haunted by the ghost of the former undergraduate and master, James Wood. Wood was so poor that he could not afford to light his room, and would often do his work in the well-lit stairway.[36]

St John's College New Court and blank clock tower face

New Court's central cupola has four blank clock-faces. These are subject to various apocryphal explanations. One legend maintains that a statute limiting the number of chiming clocks in Cambridge rendered the addition of a mechanism illegal. No such limitation is known to exist. More likely explanations include Hutchinson's fear that the installation of a clockface would spoil the building's symmetry, and that the college's financial situation in the early nineteenth century made completion impossible.

Other legends explaining the absence of clockfaces claim that St John's College and its neighbour, Trinity College, Cambridge were engaged in a race to build the final (or tallest) clocktower in Cambridge. Supposedly, whichever was finished first (or was tallest) would be permitted to house the 'final' chiming clock in Cambridge. Trinity's Tower was finished first (or, in another version of the same story, was made taller overnight by the addition of a wooden cupola), and its clock was allowed to remain. In truth, the completion of New Court and Trinity's Clock (which is in King Edward's Tower) was separated by nearly two centuries. Trinity's famous double-striking was installed in the seventeenth century by its then-Master, Richard Bentley, a former student of St John's, who dictated that the clock chime once for Trinity, and once for his alma mater, St John's.

Bridge between St John's and Trinity

St John's remains a great rival of Trinity College, which is its main competitor in sports and academia. The rivalry can be traced to Henry VIII founding Trinity after having ordered the execution of Saint John Fisher, the man whose efforts had ensured the foundation of St John's. Over the years, numerous anecdotes and myths have arisen, involving students and fellows of both colleges alike. The rivalry is often cited as the reason why the older courts of Trinity have no "J" staircases, despite including other letters in alphabetical order (it should be mentioned that a far more likely reason is the absence of the letter "J" in the Latin alphabet). There are also two small muzzle-loading cannons on Trinity's bowling green pointing in the direction of John's, though this orientation may be coincidental. In similar fashion, the eagle on top of the entrance to St John's New Court is said to have been sculptured so that it shuns even the sight of its neighbouring rival. Generally, however, the colleges maintain a cordial relationship with one other; compatriotism led famously to the splitting of the atomic nucleus in 1932 by Ernest Walton (Trinity) and John Cockcroft (St John's).

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 College 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.

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 'often I 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.

The College Prayer is spoken at the end of chapel services. It alludes to the gospel of John in which it is presumed the author mentions himself anonymously as the disciple Jesus loved:[37] "Bless, O Lord, the work of this College, which is called by the name of thy beloved disciple; and grant that love of the brethren and all sound learning may ever grow and prosper here, to thy honour and glory, and to the good of thy people, who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen."

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 ringing of the college's Grace Bell. The ante prandium is read after the fellows have entered, the post prandium after they have finished dining:

Entrance to the SBR, I1 First Court

The Samuel Butler Room Society (SBR) is the Middle Combination Room (MCR) of St John's College. The Society traces its foundation to 1960, when graduate student members submitted an application to College Council for official separation from the Junior Combination Room (JCR). The name of the Society refers to the physical rooms which are used by members of the Society. The rooms were named after the noted Johnian author and polymath Samuel Butler. The membership of the Society comprises all members of the College who are registered graduate students of the College and affiliated students of the College.[39]

Lady Margaret Boat Club

St John's Playing Fields

The college has a sporting history, enjoying success in most of the major sports on offer in Cambridge. The college has a cardio gym and a weights gym on site, and has pristine pitches right behind college.

The Red Boys, St John's College Rugby Club, won the Division One League title for nine years in a row, before finally losing to Jesus in 2010–11, and the cuppers trophy for 6 years in a row from 2006 to 2011, making it one of the most successful collegiate sports teams in Cambridge's history. The Redboys occupy eighteen out of the twenty-four plates on the current Division One League Shield, and thirteen out of the seventeen names on the Cuppers trophy. Since 2014, the club has taken home two Cuppers trophies, three Division One League Shields, and the inaugural Sevens Shield in 2016/17. In the 2016/17 season, the Redboys went undefeated.

St John's regularly produces a strong contingent of university players, but also ensures new players develop and get game time swiftly. The rugby club has produced several notable alumni including former RFU executive Francis Baron, former Newcastle, England and Lions fly-half and former RFU Director of Elite Rugby Rob Andrew, and Battlestar Galactica actor Jamie Bamber.

The college rowing club, the Lady Margaret Boat Club (LMBC), is the oldest in the university, and 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.

Every year the college awards scholarships to a handful of graduate students under the Benefactors' and Scholarships Scheme.[40] The most generous of all the early benefactors of St John's College was Dr Roger Lupton (died 1540), Provost of Eton and chaplain to Henry VIII. Lupton had amassed immense wealth through a lifetime of royal service and ecclesiastical pluralism and his scholarships exist today as the Lupton and Hebblethwaite Exhibitions.[41] Other 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.

Second Court during the 2019 May Ball

There is also the famous Adams Prize in mathematics, named after the mathematician (and alumnus of St John's) John Couch Adams for his discovery of Neptune – it is an annual competition and can be awarded to any mathematician resident in the UK, with an age limit of under 40. The college is also associated with the Dr Manmohan Singh Scholarship, first awarded in 2008.

Students at the college wishing to practice law can apply for a McMahon Law Studentship to cover the expense of further study or obtaining professional qualifications.[42]

Every year, students who excel academically and contribute to the life of the College, can be nominated for the prestigious Larmor awards. The Awards are named after Sir Joseph Larmor, former student at St John's. Winners of the prize receive a unique handcrafted piece of silverware and a financial prize. Recent award winners include the actor Jonah Hauer-King and the violinist Julia Hwang.[43]

St John's hosts a large and typically spectacular May Ball, which is traditionally held on the Tuesday of May Week. 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 which in recent years have included Rudimental, Gorgon City and Katy B.[44] The May Ball is organised by the committee, usually composed up of 10 students from the college, with roles ranging from Head of Food, Drink, Security, Scene, Creative, Logistics, Employment, and the executive committee with a President, Vice-President and Junior Treasurer. The first ball took place in 1888 and has since been considered one of the most lavish end-of-year university parties. Famously, the theme is kept a closely-guarded secret until the night itself.[45]

St John's alumnus Thomas Clarkson addresses delegates at the 1840 convention of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society

Several of St John's graduates were involved in the efforts to abolish the British Slave Trade that culminated in the Act of 1807. In particular, Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce, Thomas Gisborne and Thomas Babington were active in the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and other abolitionist efforts.[50]

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 descendant of American slaves) gave a public lecture at St John's College entitled "Hidden in Plain Sight: Slavery and Justice in Rhode Island" on 16 February 2007. St John's College hosted some of the events relating to the commemoration,[51] including an academic conference and a Gospel Mass in the College Chapel with the London Adventist Chorale.