St John's College, Cambridge

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St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College heraldic shield
                             
Full name The College of Saint John the Evangelist of the University of Cambridge
Motto Souvent me Souvient
I Often Remember
Named after The Hospital of Saint John the Evangelist, Cambridge,
named after John the Evangelist
Previous names Incorporates part of what was Merton Hall which no longer exists
Established 1511
Sister College(s) Balliol College, Oxford
Trinity College, Dublin
Master Prof. Richard Perham
Location St. John's Street, CB2 1TP
Undergraduates 570
Postgraduates 340
Homepage Boatclub

St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1511. It is now Cambridge's third largest college by size of its membership, after Trinity College and Homerton College. It is one of the richest colleges with an estimated financial endowment of £225m and income of £7.6m pa (2003) (however a substantial fraction of this income is actually used for activities which benefit students from other colleges, for example St John's runs several University women's sports clubs and supports the running costs of New Hall which was built on the College's land).

Nine Nobel Prizes have been awarded to members of St John's.

St John's is also famous for possessing what is generally acknowledged to be one of the finest collegiate choirs in the world.

Contents

[edit] History

The college was founded on the original 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 testament and it was largely the work of Saint John Fisher which ensured that the college was founded. He had to obtain the approval of King Henry VIII of England, the Pope through an intermediary Polydore Vergil, and the Bishop of Ely to suppress the religious hospital and move ahead with its conversion to a college. Nevertheless 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.

First Court was converted from the original hospital on the foundation of the college. It has since been gradually changed until finally the original 13th century hospital chapel and other buildings were demolished in the middle of the 19th century. The new chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and includes in its interior some pieces saved from the original chapel. The original chapel foundations can still be seen in First Court. First Court was used as a prison in 1643 during the English Civil War, when the college was on the Royalist side, while the city of Cambridge was largely on the Parliamentary side.

The Main Gate of St John's College, decorated with the arms of the foundress.
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The Main Gate of St John's College, decorated with the arms of the foundress.

Second Court, built from 1589 - 1599, has been described as 'the finest Tudor court in England'. Reputedly under the Oriel window in the north range of the court the treaty between England and France was signed which established the marriage of King Charles I of England to Queen Henrietta Maria. Now the Combination Room, but before the 19th century part of the Master's Lodge, the first-floor gallery along the north range has the largest single ceiling in Cambridge. The college has blocked the installation of electrical power sockets and lighting in the room, and all meals held after dark in the Combination Room are traditionally lit with large numbers of candles.

The Old Library was built in 1624, largely with funds donated by John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln. It includes a very fine bay window overlooking the River Cam which has the letters ILCS on it, standing for Iohannes Lincolniensis Custos Sigilli, or 'John of Lincoln, Keeper of the Seal'. The remaining parts of Third Court were added in 1669 - 1672.

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

Connecting Third court to New Court is New Bridge, more commonly known as the Bridge of Sighs. It is named after the Bridge of Sighs in Venice which it resembles. The other bridge over the river, the Kitchen Bridge (named after the lane it followed the line of, Kitchen Lane) which is to the south of the Bridge of Sighs was partly based on plans made by Sir Christopher Wren, and is therefore also known as the Wren Bridge.

The 19th century Gothic New Court, probably one of the most famous buildings in Cambridge, was the first College building on the West Side of the River. It was built mainly as a result of the need to accommodate the increased numbers of students. Its prominent location (especially when seen from the river) and flamboyant design has led it to be nicknamed the "wedding cake."

New Court connects to the Fisher Building, named after John Fisher, the Cripps Building, named after its benefactor, the Cripps Foundation (see Sir Humphrey Cripps), the School of Pythagoras and Merton Hall.

The Fisher Building was designed by Peter Boston and completed in 1987.

The Cripps Building was built in 1966-67 to meet a post-1945 expansion in the numbers of students. It has two courts, and was designed by architects Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya. The building received many awards, and has become a famous example of later twentieth-century architectural style.

The School of Pythagoras was built around 1200 AD, predating the foundation of the College (1511). Merton Hall is so called because until 1959 both the School of Pythagoras and Merton Hall were property of Merton College, Oxford.

[edit] College life

St John's College New Court (19th-century)
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St John's College New Court (19th-century)

The College is situated on the Backs - the area of college parkland on the banks of the river Cam, providing a particularly beautiful setting. This also allows the college to maintain a significant fleet of punts in its purpose-built punt pool behind the Cripps Building, and College members are frequently to be seen in the summer enjoying the sunshine on the grass by the river or in front of New Court.

The School of Pythagoras, built in cir.1200 is built on land which was owned by Merton College, Oxford until 1959. It predates any of the other buildings in the College, although it was originally a private house, rather than part of the college. It is said to be the oldest building continually in use by a university in Britain.

St John's, although never renowned as the most academic of Cambridge colleges, alway performs respectably academically. In addition to its numerous Nobel prize winners, it is usually placed highly in the Tompkins Table of undergraduate degree results.

St. John's is also famous for possessing what is generally acknowledged to be one of the finest collegiate choirs in the world. The choir has a distinguished tradition of religious music and since the 1670s has sung the daily services in the College Chapel during the University Term. The services follow the Cathedral tradition of the Church of England, Evensong being sung during Term six days a week and Sung Eucharist in addition on Sunday mornings.

During the University Vacation the Choir carries out engagements in the UK and overseas. Recent tours have taken the Choir to various places, including Holland, the USA and France. The Choir has also made a large number of recordings.

The men of the choir, or choral scholars, also form their own world renowned 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. Providing a mixture of classical a capella music and folksongs, as well as covers of recently chart hits and light hearted entertainment, they are highly in demand for private functions in addition to public concerts.

The 16th century dining hall has a very fine hammerbeam roof.
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The 16th century dining hall has a very fine hammerbeam roof.
View over the rear buildings of St Johns from the Chapel.
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View over the rear buildings of St Johns from the Chapel.

John's features heavily in the sports rivalries of the university. It is considered by some members of the university to be ungenerous with its accumulated wealth, however this assertion is contested (see statistics above). It is the subject of a song: "I would rather be at Oxford than at John's", which is sung by students of neighbouring colleges to the tune of "She'll be coming round the mountains":

I'd rather be at Oxford than at John's
Ohh - I'd rather be at Oxford than at John's
I'd rather be at Oxford
Rather be at Oxford
I'd rather be at Oxford than at John's

The lyrics are based on the widely-held belief at Cambridge that Oxford should be viewed with disdain (see Oxbridge rivalry).

The song sung in response by students at John's is "You'll Never Be at John's" to the tune of "You'll never walk alone":

Sign on, sign on, with hope in your hearts
But you'll never be at John's
You'll never be at John's

The College cocktail is the Red Boy, which is made of a bottle of Diamond White, grenadine, and a mixture of shots (usually Archers (Peach Schnapps) and vodka).

The 'Red Boys' is the nickname of the 1st XV Men's Rugby Team, and the Red Boy is the name of the red jumper they wear. The 'Red Girls' is the nickname of the 1st Women's Rugby Team. St. John's College Mens Rugby Club have won the Division One League title for the last 5 years in a row.

Members of college may take to the Cam and row for the Lady Margaret Boat Club (LMBC), which was founded in 1825.

The college has an active Film Society which shows films twice a week during the university term.

Every year the college awards prestigious and generous scholarships to a handful of graduate students under the Benefactors’ Scholarships Scheme. 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.

The Bridge of Sighs, across the River Cam
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The Bridge of Sighs, across the River Cam

[edit] Famous alumni

See also Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
See also Category:Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge

[edit] Politics

[edit] Science, mathematics, and technology

[edit] Literature

[edit] Other

[edit] External links

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