Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge

Trinity College Chapel
52.2074°N 0.1175°E / 52.2074; 0.1175
Location	Trinity College, Cambridge
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Anglican
Tradition	Anglo-Catholic
History
Founded	1567 (1567)
Founder(s)	Mary I of England, Elizabeth I
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I listed
Designated	25 April 1950[1]
Architectural type	Tudor Gothic
Style	Perpendicular
Years built	1554–1555
Completed	1567
Specifications
Length	205 feet (62 m)
Width	33 feet (10 m)
Laity
Director of music	Steven Grahl (from January 2024)
Music group(s)	Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College Chapel is the chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Part of a complex of Grade I listed buildings at Trinity, it dates from the mid 16th century.^[2][3] It is an Anglican church in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.

Building and architecture

Chapel interior, c. 1870

The chapel was begun in 1554–55 by order of Queen Mary and was completed in 1567 by her half-sister, Elizabeth I.^[4] The architectural style is Tudor-Gothic, with Perpendicular tracery and pinnacles. The roof is of an earlier style than the rest of the building, and may have been re-used from the chapel of King's Hall, the college which preceded Trinity on this site. Only the walls and roof are of Tudor date, but the walls were re-faced in ashlar in the 19th-century and present slate roof-covering is modern.^[5] The whole chapel was restored by Edward Blore in 1832 and further work took place between 1868 and 1873 when Arthur Blomfield added the vestry, Choir-room and porch, and the Chapel re-roofed, painted and glazed.^[2]

Windows

The original white-glass windows with religious inscriptions were replaced as part of the redecoration of the chapel that took place between 1871 and 1875. The cost of the redecoration works was £20,000 (equivalent to £2.4 million in 2023) of which £11,000 (equivalent to £1.3 million in 2023) was raised by subscriptions.^[6][7] This late Victorian pictorial stained glass was designed by Pre-Raphaelite artist Henry Holiday to a scheme devised by Trinity theologians, B.F. Westcott and F.J.A. Hort.^[8] They comprise eight windows on the north side and seven on the south side of the quire, each depicting eight figures representing features or movements of the related period, in roughly historical sequence and arranged in an upper and lower row of four. The cost of the windows was supported by donors who were Trinity alumni themselves or given in dedication to the memory of alumni.^[9]

The table below contains details of each window, with Latin inscription and related article link.

Trinity College Chapel Windows

Window	Theme	(West) People (East)				Donor(s)
North 1	Disciples of Christ	S. MARIA MAGD. Mary Magdalene	S. THOMAS Thomas the Apostle	S. MARTHA Martha	S. MARIA MARTHÆ SOROR Mary, sister of Martha	T. J. Phillips Jodrell
		NICODEMUS Nicodemus	S. NATHANIEL Saint Nathaniel	S. PHILIPPUS Philip the Apostle	S. ANDREAS Andrew the Apostle
South 1	Evangelists and Teachers	S. IACOBUS MI. James the Less	S. PETRUS Saint Peter	S. PAULUS Paul the Apostle	APOLLOS Apollos	Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro
		S. MATTHAEUS Matthew the Apostle	S. MARCUS Mark the Evangelist	S. LUCAS Luke the Evangelist	S. JOHANNES St John the Evangelist
North 2	The Ante-Nicene Church	S. CYPRIANUS Cyprian	ORIGENES Origen	TERTULLIANUS Tertullian	S. PERPETUA Perpetua	William George Clark
		S. PANTÆNUS Pantænus	S. JUSTINUS MAR. Justin Martyr	S. IGNATIUS Ignatius of Antioch	S. CLEMENS ROM. Pope Clement I
South 2	The Church of the First Days	CORNELIVS Cornelius the Centurion	S. DIONYSIVS Dionysius the Areopagite	LYDIA Lydia of Thyatira	ONESIMVS Onesimus	Revd Henry John Hotham[note 1]
		S. BARNABAS Barnabas	S. STEPHANVS Saint Stephen	S. TIMOTHEVS Saint Timothy	PHŒBE Phoebe
North 3	The Western Church	S. GREGORIUS M. Pope Gregory I	S. BENEDICTUS Benedict of Nursia	S. LEO MAGNUS Pope Leo I	S. MARTIN TUR. Martin of Tours	Revd Spencer Mansel, in memory of William Lort Mansel
		S. AUGUSTINUS HIP. Augustine of Hippo	S. MONNICA Saint Monica	S. HIERONYMUS Jerome	S. AMBROSIUS Ambrose
South 3	The Eastern Church	EUSEBIUS PAMPH. Eusebius	IMP. CONSTANTINUS M. Constantine the Great	HELENA AUG. Helena, mother of Constantine I	IMP. JUSTINIANUS Justinian I	Mrs Thrupp in memory of Joseph Francis Thrupp
		S. ATHANASIUS Athanasius of Alexandria	S. BASILIUS M. Basil of Caesarea	S. EPHRAEM SYRUS Ephrem the Syrian	S. JO. CHRYSOSTOMUS John Chrysostom
North 4	Latin Christianity	GIOTTUS Giotto	FRANCISCUS ASSIS Francis of Assisi	GREGORIUS VII Pope Gregory VII	COLUMBANUS Columbanus	Coutts Trotter
		DANTES ALLIGH Dante Alighieri	LUDOVICUS IX Louis IX of France	THOMAS AQUINAS Thomas Aquinas	IMP. CAROLUS M. Charlemagne
South 4	The Anglo-Saxon Church	BONAFACIUS AP. GER. Saint Boniface	BEDA VENERABILIS Bede	ALCUINUS Alcuin	ALFREDUS REX Alfred the Great	Mrs Mathison, in memory of the Revd William Collings Mathison[note 2]
		ALBANUS MARTYR Saint Alban	AUGUSTINUS ARCH. CANT. Augustine of Canterbury	BERTHA REG. CANT. Bertha of Kent	THEODORUS ARCH. CANT. Theodore of Tarsus
North 5	English Ecclesiastical Life before the Reformation	WOLSEY CARDINALIS Thomas Wolsey	GULIELMUS EP. WINTON William of Wykeham	ROBERTUS EP. LINCOLN Robert Grosseteste	HUGO EP. LINCOLN Hugh of Avalon	Augustus Arthur VanSittart
		STEPHANUS ARCHIEP. CANT. Stephen Langton	THOMAS ARCHIEP. CANT. Thomas Becket	ANSELMUS ARCHIEP. CANT. Anselm of Canterbury	LANFRANCUS ARCHIEP. CANT Lanfranc
South 5	English National Life before the Reformation	EDWARDUS WALL PR. Edward the Black Prince	JO. DUNS SCOTUS Duns Scotus	GALFR. CHAUCER Geoffrey Chaucer	GULL. CAXTON William Caxton	Joseph Barber Lightfoot
		SIMON DE MONTFORT Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester	MATTHÆUS PARIS Matthew Paris	EDWARDUS PRIMUS Edward I of England	FR. ROGER BACON Roger Bacon
North 6	Founders and Benefactors of the University and College	MARIA REG. Mary I of England	HENRICUS VIII Henry VIII of England	EDWARDUS III Edward III of England	HERV. DE STANTON Hervey de Stanton	Benjamin Gray
		H. DE BALSHAM EP. EL. Hugh de Balsham	HENRICUS III Henry III of England	ETHELDREDA ABB. Æthelthryth	SIGEBERTUS ANGLOR. REX Sigeberht of East Anglia
South 6	The English Reformation	H. LATIMER EP. VIG. Hugh Latimer	EDWARDUS VI Edward VI	N. RIDLEY EP. LOND. Nicholas Ridley	ELIZABETH REG. Elizabeth I	Robert Burn
		IO. WYCLIFFE John Wycliffe	DES. ERASMUS Erasmus	W. TYNDALE William Tyndale	T. CRANMER ARCHIEP. Thomas Cranmer
North 7	University and College Worthies	T. NEVILE Thomas Nevile	IO. WHITGIFT ARCH. John Whitgift	M. BUCER Martin Bucer	IO. REDMAN John Redman	Edward William Blore
		C. TUNSTALL. EP. DUN. Cuthbert Tunstall	IO. FISHER EP. ROFF. John Fisher	IO. DE BAGGESHOTE John de Baggeshott[note 3]	GU. DE BUXTON Walter de Buxton[note 4]
South 7	Worthies of the College	H. SPELMAN Henry Spelman	IO. DOM. CRAVEN John Craven, 1st Baron Craven of Ryton	A. MARVEL Andrew Marvell	IO. HACKET EP. LICH. John Hacket	M.R. Cope, Esq., in memory of his brother, the Revd Edward Meredith Cope
		FR. BACON Francis Bacon	IO. DONNE John Donne	G. HERBERT George Herbert	E. COKE. Edward Coke
North 8	Worthies of Trinity College	R. BENTLEY Richard Bentley	IS. NEWTON Isaac Newton	R. COTES Roger Cotes	IO. RAY John Ray	Joseph Prior,[note 5] Mrs Thompson in memory of George Peacock and Charles de la Pryme in memory of George Pryme
		IO. DRYDEN John Dryden	A. COWLEY Abraham Cowley	IS. BARROW Isaac Barrow	IO. PEARSON John Pearson

Memorials

There are many memorials to former fellows of Trinity within the chapel,^[13] some statues, some brasses, including two memorials to graduates and fellows who died during both World Wars. There are also several graves dating from earlier periods.^[5]

Organ

The chapel has a fine organ, originally built by "Father" Smith in 1694. Many alterations were made over the years until, in 1913, an almost totally new organ was built. Some of the pipes were so large that they would not fit in the organ loft and instead had to stand in a corner of the ante-chapel. In 1976 the present mechanical-action instrument, based on the surviving pipework and within the original cases, was completed by the Swiss firm Metzler Söhne. There are regular recitals on Sundays during term time.^[14]

Choir

The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge is composed of around thirty male and female Choral Scholars and two Organ Scholars, all of whom are undergraduates of the College. Besides singing the liturgy in the chapel, the choir has an extensive programme of performances and recordings. The current Director of Music is Steven Grahl.^[15]

Burial ground

The Ascension Parish Burial Ground contains the graves or interred cremations of twenty-seven fellows of Trinity College, including three Vice-Masters.

List of deans of Chapel

The Dean of Chapel holds responsibility for the Chapel and the Clergy at Trinity.

• 1873–1877: Handley Moule^[16]
• ? – ? Frederick Arthur Simpson^[17]
• 1923–1943: Hugh Fraser Stewart
• 1943–1958: John Burnaby
• 1958-1969: Harry Williams
• 1969–1983: John Robinson
• 1984–1991: John Bowker
• 1991–2006: Arnold Browne
• 2006–present: Michael Banner^[18]

List of memorials/graves

Statue of Francis Bacon by Henry Weekes

Statue of Isaac Barrow by Matthew Noble

Daniel Lock by Louis-François Roubiliac

Thomas Babington Macaulay by Thomas Woolner

Statue of Isaac Newton by Roubillac

Statue of Alfred, Lord Tennyson

William Whewell by Thomas Woolner

Name	Artefact	Notes
Herbert Mayow Adams	Brass
John Frank Adams	Brass
Edgar Douglas Adrian	Brass
Richard Appleton	Brass
William Joscelyn Arkell	Brass
Francis William Aston	Brass
Humphrey Babington	Interment
Francis Bacon	Statue	by Weekes, 1845, donated by Daniel Lock.[19][20]
Thomas Bainbrig	Interment
Francis Maitland Balfour	Brass
Isaac Barrow	Statue	by Noble, 1853 presented 1858.[21]
Edward Bathurst	Interment
John Beaumont	Interment	Fellow. d. 6 June 1565. Buried in Ante-Chapel.[22]
William John Beaumont	Interment
Edward White Benson	Brass
Richard Bentley	Interment
Abram Samoilovitch Besicovitch	Brass
Anthony Ashley Bevan	Brass
Alfred Maurice Binnie	Brass
Maurice Black	Brass
Edward William Blore	Brass
	Interment
Anchitel Harry Fletcher Boughey	Brass
William Lawrence Bragg	Brass
Daniel Bratteli	Interment
Charlie Dunbar Broad	Brass
Benjamin Chapman Browne	Brass
Isaac Hawkins Browne	Sculpture
John(?) Browning	Interment	d.1598. Buried in Ante-Chapel floor.[23]
Francis Crawford Burkitt	Brass
Robert Burn	Brass
John Burnaby	Brass
Samuel Henry Butcher	Brass
Henry Montagu Butler	Brass
James Ramsay Montagu Butler	Brass
Richard Austen Butler	Brass
John Walton Capstick	Brass
Edward Hallett Carr	Brass
Arthur Cayley	Brass
George Chare	Sculpture
	Interment
George Sidney Roberts Kitson Clark	Brass
John Willis Clark	Brass
Gerard Francis Cobb	Brass
Patrick Cock	Interment
Nathanael Cole	Interment
John Cooper	Interment	Fellow and Proctor. Vicar of Barrington. Died 9 December 1714.[24][25][26]
William Corker	Interment
Francis MacDonald Cornford	Brass
Roger Robert Cotes	Sculpture
Peter Courthope	Interment
William Cunningham	Brass
Henry Hallett Dale	Brass
William Cecil Dampier Dampier	Brass
George Howard Darwin	Brass
Harold Davenport	Brass
John Davies	Sculpture	1744–1817. Vice-Master; botanist.[27]
Basil Denis Dennis-Jones	Sculpture
Maurice Herbert Dobb	Brass
Peter Paul Dobree	Sculpture
William Drury	Interment
James Duff Duff	Brass
Patrick William Duff	Brass
Frederick James Dykes	Brass
Arthur Stanley Eddington	Brass
Henry Outram Evennett	Brass
Frederick Field	Brass
Walter Morley Fletcher	Brass
Michael Foster	Brass	8 March 1836 – 29 January 1907.[28]
Ralph Howard Fowler	Brass
James George Frazer	Brass
Otto Robert Frisch	Brass
John Andrew Gallagher	Brass
James Whitbread Lee Glaisher	Brass
George Peabody Gooch	Brass
Harry Chester Goodhart	Brass
William Gostwycke	Interment
Andrew Sydenham Farrar Gow	Brass
Alan Gray	Brass
Andrew Hacket	Interment
James Lemprière Hammond	Brass
Charles John Hamson	Brass
Godfrey Harold Hardy	Brass
Ernest Harrison	Brass
Samuel Hawkes	Sculpture
William(?) Herbert	Interment	Bachelor of Divinity and Fellow, 1657–15 November 1715.[29]
David Arthur Gilbert Hinks	Brass
Alan Lloyd Hodgkin	Brass
Henry Arthur Hollond	Brass
Francis Hooper	Sculpture
Frederick Gowland Hopkins	Brass
Fenton John Anthony Hort	Brass
Alfred Edward Housman	Brass
Thomas Percy Hudson	Brass
Hugo McLeod Innes	Brass
Henry Jackson	Brass
Richard Claverhouse Jebb	Brass
Francis John Henry Jenkinson	Brass
Thomas Jones	Sculpture	by Joseph Nollekens.[30]
Piotr Leonidovich Kapitza	Brass
Alan Ker	Brass
Charles William King	Brass
Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick	Brass
George Sidney Roberts Kitson Clark	Brass
Arthur Harold John Knight	Brass
James Lambert	Sculpture	in Vestry. Regius Professor of Greek. 7 March 1741 – 28 April 1823.[31]
John Newport Langley	Brass
Gaillard Thomas Lapsley	Brass
Reginald Vere Laurence	Brass
Ralph Alexander Leigh	Brass
Gerald Ponsonby Lenox-Conyngham	Brass
Joseph Barber Lightfoot	Brass
Denis Dionysius	Interment
John Edensor Littlewood	Brass
Daniel Lock	Sculpture	by Roubillac, north wall of the Ante-Chapel.[20]
Henry Richards Luard	Brass
William Lynnet	Interment
Thomas Babington Macaulay	Statue	by Woolner, 1868.[32]
Charles Fox Maitland	Sculpture
Frederick William Maitland	Brass
Frederick Malkin	Sculpture
Frederick George Mann	Brass
William Lort Mansel	Interment
Francis Martin	Brass	on south wall of the Ante-Chapel. 1802–1868. Senior Bursar; Vice-Master.[33]
John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart	Brass
Moore Meredith	Interment
Hubert Stanley Middleton	Brass
George Edward Moore	Brass
Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro	Brass
Hugh Frank Newall	Brass
Isaac Newton	Statue	by Roubillac, presented 1755.[19]
Tressilian Charles Nicholas	Brass
Reynold Alleyne Nicholson	Brass
John North	Interment
Charles William Oatley	Brass
Carl Frederick Abel Pantin	Brass
Reginald St John Parry	Brass
Alfred Chilton Pearson	Brass
Richard Porson	Sculpture
	Interment
John Percival Postgate	Brass
Joseph Prior	Brass
Mark Gillachrist Marlborough Pryor	Brass
Srinavasa Ramanujan	Brass
Robert Mantle Rattenbury	Brass
Dennis Holme Robertson	Brass
Donald Struan Robertson	Brass
John Arthur Thomas Robinson	Brass
Robert Robson	Brass
Thomas Rotherham	Interment
Francis John Worsley Roughton	Brass
Walter William Rouse Ball	Brass
William Albert Hugh Rushton	Brass
Bertrand Russell	Brass
Ernest Rutherford	Brass
Martin Ryle	Brass
Francis Henry Sandbach	Brass
Thomas Secford	Interment
Adam Sedgwick	Brass
	Interment
Thomas Kynaston Selwyn	Sculpture
Richard Sheepshanks	Sculpture
Henry Sidgwick	Brass
Frederick Arthur Simpson	Brass
Elizmar Smith	Brass
Robert Smith	Interment
Thomas Smith	Interment	Senior Fellow and Vice-Master. Vicar of Chesterton. 1658–1714.[34][35]
James Spedding	Sculpture
Piero Sraffa	Brass
Charles Villiers Stanford	Brass
Vincent Henry Stanton	Brass
Richard Stevenson	Sculpture	by William Grinsell Nicholl on the south wall of the Ante-Chapel.19 October 1811 – 28 September 1837.[36]
Hugo Fraser Stewart	Brass
James Stuart	Brass
Geoffrey Ingram Taylor	Brass
Henry Martyn Taylor	Brass
Sedley Taylor	Brass
Frederick Robert Tennant	Brass
Alfred, Lord Tennyson	Statue
Arthur Thacker	Interment
William Hepworth Thompson	Brass
	Interment
Joseph John Thomson	Brass
Thomas Thorp	Brass
George Macaulay Trevelyan	Brass
Coutts Trotter	Brass
Walter Ullmann	Brass
Ralph Vaughan Williams	Brass
Arthur Woollgar Verrall	Brass
John Michal Kenneth Vyvyan	Brass
Thomas Attwood Walmisley	Brass
Edward Walpole	Interment
James Ward	Brass
Brooke Foss Westcott	Brass
William Whewell	Statue	by Woolner, 1872.[37]
	Interment
Stephen Whisson	Interment
Alfred North Whitehead	Brass
John Willis Clark	Brass
John Wilson	Interment	in Ante-Chapel. Fellow; Tutor; Senior Bursar. Vicar of Over and Chesterton. d. 26 October 1754.[38][39]
Denys Arthur Winstanley	Brass
Carl Winter	Brass
Arthur John Terence Dibben Wisdom	Brass
Ludwig Wittgenstein	Brass
John Wordsworth	Sculpture
	Interment
William Aldis Wright	Brass

Notes

1. Hotham, Henry John, 1814–1900 (clergyman)^[10]
2. Mathison, William Collings, 1817/8–1870 (educationalist and clergyman)^[11]
3. John de Baggeshott: First Warden of the King’s Scholars, 1316
4. Walter de Buxton: Master of Michaelhouse 1324–1328
5. Prior, Joseph (1854–1918) Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College Cambridge^[12]

References

1. Historic England. "Trinity College, The Buildings surrounding Great Court, Nevile's Court and New Court, and including King's Hostel (Grade I) (1106371)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
2. Historic England (26 April 1950). "Trinity College, The Buildings surrounding Great Court, Nevile's Court and New Court, and including King's Hostel (1106371)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
3. "Trinity College, the Buildings Surrounding Great Court, Nevile's Court and New Court, and Including – Cambridge – Cambridgeshire –– England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
4. Willis 1886, pp. 469–472.
5. "Trinity College Chapel – The Building". trinitycollegechapel.com. Trinity College Chapel. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
6. Willis 1886, p. 588.
7. United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2024). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
8. "The windows of Trinity College Chapel". trinitycollegechapel.com. Trinity College Chapel. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
9. Willis 1886, pp. 591–597.
10. "Hotham, Henry John, 1814–1900 (clergyman)". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
11. "Mathison, William Collings, 1817/8–1870 (educationalist and clergyman)". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
12. "Prior, Joseph (1854–1918) Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College Cambridge". archives.trin.cam.ac.uk. Trinity College, Cambridge. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
13. "Index of memorials in Trinity College Chapel and Ante-Chapel". Trinity College Chapel. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
14. "The Organ of Trinity College Chapel Cambridge". Trinity College Chapel. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
15. "Trinity College Choir". Trinity College Choir. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
16. "Ecclesiastical intelligence – new Bishop of Durham". The Times. No. 36539. London. 21 August 1901. p. 8.
17. "Trinity College Chapel – Frederick Arthur Simpson".
18. "New Dean of Chapel Appointed". Trinity College, Cambridge. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
19. Willis 1886, p. 600.
20. "Daniel Lock". trinitycollegechapel.com. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
21. Willis 1886, pp. 600–601.
22. "John Beaumont". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
23. "Index of memorials". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
24. "John cooper". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
25. Venn, John; Venn, J. A., eds. (1922). Alumni Cantabrigienses. Vol. I.1. Cambridge University Press. p. 391.
26. "Person: Cooper, John (1698–1715)". Clergy of the Church of England database. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
27. "John Davies". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
28. "Sir Michael Foster". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
29. "William Herbert". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
30. "Thomas Jones". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
31. "James Lambert". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
32. Willis 1886, p. 601.
33. "Francis Martin". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
34. "Thomas Smith". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
35. "Person: Smith, Thomas (1692–1711)". Clergy of the Church of England database. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
36. "Richard Stevenson". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
37. Willis 1886, p. 602.
38. "John Wilson". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
39. "Person: Wilson, John (1727–1752)". Clergy of the Church of England database. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

Bibliography

• Willis, Robert (1886). Clark, John Willis (ed.). The Architectural History of the University of Cambridge, and of the Colleges of Cambridge and Eton. Vol. 2. University Press. pp. 469–472, 561–602.

External links

• Trinity College Chapel