Jesus College, Cambridge
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| Colleges of the University of Cambridge Jesus College |
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| College name | The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge | |||||||
| Named after | The Virgin Mary Saint John the Evangelist Saint Radegund Jesus Lane and All Saints'Parish |
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| Established | 1496 | |||||||
| Location | Jesus Lane | |||||||
| Admittance | Men and women | |||||||
| Master | Prof. Robert Mair | |||||||
| Undergraduates | 489 | |||||||
| Graduates | 270 | |||||||
| Sister college | Jesus College, Oxford | |||||||
| Official website | ||||||||
| Boat Club website | ||||||||
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
The college was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely. It has been traditionally believed that the nunnery was turned into a college because the nunnery had gained a reputation for licentiousness.
The college's full name is "The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge". Its common name comes from the name of its chapel, Jesus Chapel. Founded at the beginning of the 11th century, the chapel is the oldest university building in Cambridge still in use.
When founded in 1496, the college consisted of buildings taken over from the nunnery: namely the chapel, and the cloister attached to it; the nuns’ refectory, which became the college hall; and the former lodging of the prioress, which became the Master’s Lodge. This set of buildings remains the core of the college to this day, and this accounts for its distinctly monastic and non-collegiate character, which sets it apart from other Cambridge colleges. A library was soon added, on the floor above the college hall, and the chapel was considerably modified and reduced in scale by Alcock.
The 500th anniversary of the college’s foundation in 1996 saw the completion of the new Quincentenary Library, designed by Eldred Evans and David Shalev, which was shortly followed by a new accommodation building.
The college is also known for its grounds, which are unlike those of Cambridge’s other old colleges, being much more spacious. Set back from Jesus Lane, all the courts are open on at least one side (with the exception of the Cloister). The main entrance to the college is a walled passage, called the “Chimney” (derived from the French word chemin).
Jesus College is one of the few colleges to allow anyone to walk on the lawns of its courts, with the exception of First Court, Cloister Court and those that are burial sites for deceased nuns from the original nunnery. However, in common with other Cambridge colleges, this privilege is only extended during the summer term. Jesus gets far fewer tourists than most other colleges due to being slightly away from the centre.
Professor Robert Mair, Fellow of St John’s and Professor of Geotechnical Engineering in the university, has been Master of Jesus since March 2001.
Jesus College is the 6th wealthiest college in Cambridge with assets of £127 million (2007).
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[edit] Notable alumni
| Name | Birth | Death | Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Cranmer | 1489 | 1556 | Archbishop of Canterbury |
| John Bale | 1495 | 1563 | Bishop of Ossory |
| Thomas Goodrich | 1494 | 1554 | Bishop of Ely |
| Arthur Golding | 1535/6 | 1606 | Protestant propagandist |
| Sir Fulke Greville | 1554 | 1628 | Biographer of Sir Philip Sidney |
| Richard Sterne | 1596 | 1683 | Archbishop of York, Master of Jesus College (1634) |
| John Eliot | 1604 | 1690 | Translated the Bible into Algonquian |
| William Beale | 1784 | 1854 | Master of Jesus College (1632) |
| John Flamsteed | 1646 | 1719 | First Astronomer Royal |
| Thomas Herring | 1693 | 1757 | Archbishop of Canterbury |
| Matthew Hutton | 1693 | 1758 | Archbishop of Canterbury |
| John Jortin | 1698 | 1770 | Ecclesiastical historian |
| David Hartley | 1705 | 1757 | Philosopher |
| Laurence Sterne | 1713 | 1768 | Novelist |
| Henry Venn | 1725 | 1797 | A leader of the Evangelical movement in the Church of England |
| Gilbert Wakefield | 1756 | 1801 | Principal of two nonconformist academies |
| Robert Malthus | 1766 | 1834 | Population theorist |
| William Otter | 1768 | 1840 | First Principal of King's College London |
| Samuel Taylor Coleridge | 1772 | 1834 | Poet, critic and philosopher |
| William Percy Carpmael | 1853 | 1936 | Founder of the Barbarians rugby team |
| Steve Fairbairn | 1862 | 1938 | Rowing coach |
| Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch | 1863 | 1944 | Novelist and critic |
| Sir Harold Scott | 1887 | 1969 | Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service from 1945 to 1953 |
| E. M. W. Tillyard | 1889 | 1962 | Literary critic, master (1945-1959) |
| Alistair Cooke | 1908 | 2004 | Broadcaster |
| Jacob Bronowski | 1908 | 1974 | Broadcaster |
| James Reeves | 1909 | 1978 | Author and literary critic |
| Don Siegel | 1912 | 1991 | American Film Director and Producer |
| David Clive Crosbie Trench | 1915 | 1988 | 24th Governor of Hong Kong |
| Peter Mitchell | 1920 | 1992 | Biochemist |
| Raymond Williams | 1921 | 1988 | Literary and cultural critic |
| Edwin Boston | 1924 | 1986 | clergyman and steam enthusiast |
| J.B. Steane | 1928 | Music critic and musicologist | |
| David McCutchion | 1930 | 1972 | Academic |
| Michael Podro | 1931 | 2008 | Art historian |
| Lord Renfrew | 1937 | Archaeologist | |
| Lisa Jardine | 1944 | Literary critic | |
| Roger Scruton | 1944 | Philosopher | |
| David Hare | 1947 | Playwright | |
| Simon Hornblower | 1949 | Prof of Classics and Grote Prof of Ancient History UCL | |
| Anthony Wilson | 1950 | 2007 | Journalist, founder of Factory Records |
| Geoff Hoon | 1953 | Chief Whip and Secretary to the Treasury | |
| Nick Hornby | 1957 | Novelist and journalist | |
| Kimberley Rew | Songwriter and guitarist | ||
| Prince Edward | 1964 | Earl of Wessex | |
| James Wood | 1965 | Literary critic | |
| Sir Chintaman Dwarkanath Deshmukh | 1896 | 1982 | Finance Minister of India |
| Alexis Taylor | Singer and musician | ||
| Somnath Chatterjee | 1929 | Speaker of Lok Sabha |
[edit] Masters and Fellows of Jesus College
- See List of Masters of Jesus College, Cambridge
- See also Category: Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge
[edit] Chapel
Although Jesus College was not founded until 1496, it is unique in as much as the chapel and other buildings date from the 12th and 13th centuries. Originally it was the Benedictine Convent of St Mary and St Radegund, which was dissolved by John Alcock, Bishop of Ely.
The Chapel was founded in 1157 and took until 1245 to complete, was cruciform in shape, the nave had both north and south aisles. A high, pitched roof was surmounted by a belfry and steeple, this collapsed in 1277. The chapel was also used as the parish church of St Radegund. Twice the chapel was ravaged by fire, 1313 and 1376.
When the college took over the precincts, the parish was renamed after the college as Jesus parish, with the churchyard still being used for burials, this however, was short lived, as by the middle of the 16th century Jesus parish was absorbed into that of All Saints.
The chapel was much modified, with the western two thirds of the nave being converted into college rooms.
The college maintains two choirs. From September 2009, former assistant organist at St Paul's Cathedral, Mark Williams will become Director of Music,[1] as incumbent Daniel Hyde is going to Magdalen College, Oxford, to replace Bill Ives.[2]
- Jesus College Choir consists of male and female students and sings regular services twice a week in the chapel. One of the leading choirs in Cambridge, its singers are mainly drawn from the college's own students, but also includes singers from a number of other colleges.
- Jesus College Chapel Choir consists of around 20 choristers combined with the Gentlemen of the College Choir, and also sings services twice a week in the chapel. It is unique among Cambridge college choirs in that the choristers are volunteers - that is, they are drawn from schools around the city, and do not attend a particular choir school.
[edit] Misericords
The misericords were created by Pugin between 1849 and 1853, and used fragments of the misericords dating from 1500, which had been preserved in the Master's Lodge as templates.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Poole, Sarah Cathedral organist secures dream job, 6 April 2009, Bolton News. Retrieved on 19 April 2009.
- ^ New Informator Choristorum appointed, Oxford University. Retrieved on 19 April 2009.
[edit] External links
- Jesus College website
- Jesus College May Ball website
- Jesus College Student Union website
- Jesus College Graduate Union website
- Map showing the college’s location near the centre of Cambridge
- Jesus College Medical Society website
- Jesus College Choir website
- Jesus College Music Society
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Coordinates: 52°12′32.75″N 00°07′24.24″E / 52.2090972°N 0.1234°E
