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. 
 

Along the Backs

The riverside path along The Backs in Cambridge affords perhaps the most famous view of King's College Chapel, flanked by Clare College on the left and the Gibbs Building on the right. The view from King's College Bridge (although currently rather spoiled by a huge yellow crane) is lovely and it's a great place to watch the iconic punts gliding up and down. 

The meadow in front of the Chapel has recently been allowed to grow as a wildflower meadow and there were still traces of poppies and cornflowers on the edge. I follow a page on Facebook by Martin Bond, who posts a wonderful photo every day of Cambridge. Have a look HERE to see them harvesting the meadow using traditional methods with heavy horses - wonderful!

Looking the other way from the bridge, there are more buildings belonging to Kings, and in the distance perhaps the most famous of Cambridge's bridges, the Mathematical Bridge. 

The unique bridge known as the Mathematical Bridge is a wooden footbridge spanning the River Cam. It links two parts of Queens' College. Its real name is Queens' Bridge but it's thought the unusual and intricate geometrical design gave rise to its nickname. 

Cambridge University's Colleges

Cambridge is well-known as a collegiate university town. Peterhouse (above) is the oldest college, founded in 1284 - and happened to be the first one I arrived at, walking down Trumpington Street. When the university is in session (and, I guess, also because of Covid concerns) many of the colleges are closed to visitors but you can peep through the gates and see a glimpse of the beautiful old buildings. 

The next college I peeped in was Pembroke (below), founded in 1347 by Marie St Pol de Valence, who, it is said, had the misfortune to be widowed on her wedding day when her husband the Earl of Pembroke was killed in a jousting tournament. (Other accounts say that his death came some three years after they were married.) 

Further along, I came to Corpus Christi, unusual in that it was founded in 1352 by townspeople, members of two Guilds. Its library has a superb collection of rare books and manuscripts, amassed by Matthew Parker, the Master from 1544 to 1553, who had the foresight to rescue many from destruction after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It is, allegedly, from him that we get the term 'Nosey Parker', as he was very inquisitive. 

Corpus Christi's New Court, built in 1827 (photos above and below) is fabulous, all mellow stone with soaring pinnacles and neo-gothic windows. 

Trumpington Street widens to become King's Parade by the famous gatehouse and Chapel of King's College, founded by Henry VI in 1441. It was originally exclusively for boys from Eton College; non-Etonians were admitted from 1873; in 1972 it was one of the first Cambridge colleges to admit women - to the benefit of my lovely daughter, who studied here twenty years ago. 

The Victorian postbox outside King's must be one of the most famous postboxes in England - and the magnificent Gothic Chapel is certainly one of the most-photographed sights in Cambridge. 

The Front Court is an elegant square, flanked by the Chapel (above), the neo-classical Gibbs Building built in the 1720s and (shown in my photo below) the gatehouse and halls, a library and residential buildings completed in Gothic Revival style by William Wilkins in 1828.

I'll add photos from my visit to Kings College Chapel in a separate post. 

I took a brief rest for refreshments here, quite delightful in the sunshine. King's Parade has a convenient Caffé Nero, providing outside tables with a grandstand view of the interesting mix of people milling up and down the street.  

Next stop to peep through the gate: Gonville and Caius (pronounced 'keys'), whose court looked like a rather pretty green oasis. 

Further still, you arrive at the magnificent gatehouse entrance to Trinity College, the largest college, whose bowler-hatted porters were happy to pose for a photo (and are no doubt very used to it!) Trinity was founded in 1546 by Henry VIII. His statue adorns the gatehouse, apparently holding a chair leg rather than a sceptre, thanks to some students' prank. 

The final college that I photographed was Magdalene (1542) (pronounced 'Maudlin'), which sits alongside the River Cam. It's a mellow building, made of hand-made bricks, with a rather lovely oriel window beside the gate. Magdalene holds Samuel Pepys' entire library, including his famous diaries, donated to his old college after his death in 1703.

It was really pleasant just wandering, and having reached the River Cam, I decided to return to the station along the Backs - literally the path along the river past the backs of all the colleges - just for a different view. 

 

Cambridge University Botanic Garden

Ely is only a short train journey from Cambridge, so I was well-placed for a day's sight-seeing in that beautiful university city too. I've never been to the Botanic Garden (though I've enjoyed seeing John's photos from there). Discovering that it was conveniently placed near the station, I entered at one gate and meandered through the garden - stopping off for a coffee at the very nice café, of course! - to the other gate. From there it was a pleasant walk down Trumpington Street into the city centre, past many of Cambridge's colleges. 

There was still some autumn colour hanging on in the garden; blue sky and sunshine meant I enjoyed a delightful ramble.