King's College Chapel

Saving the best until last... the magnificence that is King's College Chapel in Cambridge. I won't attempt a full history here; there are plenty of online sites where you can read about it. I just wandered around enjoying the play of light through the stained glass and the exquisite detailing in the stonework and windows. It brought back happy memories of when my daughter was at King's. She took me to Evensong when I visited her. I would have stayed for the service again but it wasn't until 5.30pm, by which time I needed to be embarked on my long journey home.

The chapel is divided in two by the organ screen. The Choir area (photos above and below) is what you see on TV every Christmas when they broadcast 'Nine Lessons and Carols from King's'.

Begun in 1446 by Henry VI, the Chapel's construction was interrupted by the Wars of the Roses, but building was continued by Richard III, Henry VII and Henry VIII. The dark oak organ screen is decorated with the initials of Henry VIII and his Queen, Anne Boleyn, dating it to between 1533 when Henry married Anne and 1536 when he had her executed. You wonder if he regretted commissioning that! 

Your eye is constantly drawn upwards to the incredible fan-vaulted ceiling and the wonderful stained glass, which was casting coloured light onto everything when I was there.  

Under the Great East Window, there is a painting 'The Adoration of the Magi' by Rubens, donated to the College in 1961, which necessitated some alterations to that end of the Chapel to accommodate it. (A cue for much head-scratching and a certain amount of arguing, I gather!)

Some of the side chapels hold an exhibition about the history - here's a stained glass panel showing Henry VI.  Weak and mentally unstable, he had a difficult reign and eventually died imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1471. I reckon, however, that he would be proud of his legacy of King's College and its Chapel. 

I've never explored the little side chapels before and they are peaceful and charming. I think the photo below is the Chapel of All Souls, containing memorials to members of the College who died in the two World Wars. 

St Edward's Chapel holds 'Madonna in the Rosary' by Gert van Lon, painted between 1512 and 1520: 

It was lovely to visit when the Chapel was relatively quiet and I very much enjoyed exploring. I'm sure there was even more to see but there is so much to take in and understand.