Trinity College Chapel is the
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
of
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, a constituent college of the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. Part of a complex of
Grade I listed buildings at Trinity, it dates from the mid 16th century.
It is an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
church in the
Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches.
The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
tradition.
Building and architecture
![Cambridge University, Trinity Chapel Interior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Cambridge_University%2C_Trinity_Chapel_Interior.jpg)
The chapel was begun in 1554–55 by order of
Queen Mary and was completed in 1567 by her half-sister,
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
. The architectural style is Tudor-Gothic, with
Perpendicular
In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...
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
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
in the 19th-century and present slate roof-covering is modern.
The whole chapel was restored by
Edward Blore
Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary.
Early career
He was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore.
Blore's backg ...
in 1832 and further work took place between 1868–1873 when
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...
added the
vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
, Choir-room and porch, and the Chapel re-roofed, painted and glazed.
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 £ million in ) of which £11,000 (equivalent to £ million in ) was raised by subscriptions. This late Victorian pictorial
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
was designed by
Pre-Raphaelite
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...
artist
Henry Holiday to a scheme devised by Trinity theologians,
B.F. Westcott and
F.J.A. Hort
Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828–1892), known as F. J. A. Hort, was an Irish-born theologian and editor, with Brooke Foss Westcott of a critical edition of '' The New Testament in the Original Greek''.
Life
He was born on 23 April 182 ...
. 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.
The table below contains details of each window, with latin inscription and related article link.
Memorials
There are many memorials to former fellows of Trinity within the chapel, 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.
Organ
The chapel has a fine
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
, 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.
Choir
The
Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
is composed of around thirty male and female Choral Scholars and two Organ Scholars, all of whom are
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
s 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
Stephen Layton
Stephen David Layton (born 23 December 1966) is an English conductor.
Biography
Layton was raised in Derby, where his father was a church organist. He was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral, and subsequently won scholarships to Eton College a ...
.
Burial ground
The
Ascension Parish Burial Ground
The Ascension Parish Burial Ground, formerly known as the burial ground for the parish of St Giles and St Peter's, is a cemetery off Huntingdon Road in Cambridge, England. Many notable University of Cambridge academics are buried there, includi ...
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
Handley Carr Glyn Moule (23 December 18418 May 1920) was an evangelical Anglican theologian, writer, poet, and Bishop of Durham from 1901 to 1920.
Biography
Moule was schooled at home before entering Trinity College, Cambridge in 1860, where ...
* ? – ?
Frederick Arthur Simpson
*1923–1943:
Hugh Fraser Stewart
Hugh Fraser Stewart (1863–1948) was a British academic, churchman and literary critic.
Life
He was the second son of Ludovic(k) Charles Stewart, an army surgeon and son of Ludovick Stewart of Pityvaich, and Emma Ray or Rae. He was educated at T ...
*1943–1958:
John Burnaby
John Burnaby (28 July 1891 – 6 March 1978) was an Anglican priest and Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. He was married to Dorothy Helen Burnaby, née Lock, the sister of Robert Heath Lock
Robert Heath Lock (19 ...
*1958-1969:
Harry Williams
*1969–1983:
John Robinson John Robinson may refer to:
Academics
*John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist
* John J. Robinson (1918–1996), historian and author of ''Born in Blood''
*John Talbot Robinson (1923–2001), paleontologist
*John ...
*1984–1991:
John Bowker
*1991–2006:
Arnold Browne
*2006–present:
Michael Banner
Michael Banner (born 1961) is Dean and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. From 2004–2006 he was Director of the UK Economic and Social Research Council's Genomics Research Forum and Professor of Public Policy and Ethics in the Life Sciences ...
List of memorials/graves
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Trinity College Chapel
{{Authority control
Chapels of Colleges of the University of Cambridge
Grade I listed churches in Cambridgeshire
Chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...