King's 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 King's College in the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. The Chapel was built in phases by a succession of kings of

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from 1446 to 1515, a period which spanned the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

and three subsequent decades. The Chapel's large stained glass windows were completed by 1531, and its early

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

rood screen was erected in 1532–36. The Chapel is an active house of worship, and home of the King's College Choir. It is a landmark and a commonly used symbol of the city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Construction

Henry VI planned a university counterpart to

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

(whose

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 ...

is very similar, but not on the scale intended by Henry). The King decided the dimensions of the Chapel. Reginald Ely was most likely the architect and worked on the site since 1446. Two years earlier Reginald was charged with sourcing craftsmen for the Chapel's construction. He continued to work on the site until building was interrupted in 1461, having probably designed the elevations. The original plans called for

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vaulting, and the piers of the

choir 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 ...

were built to conform with them. Ultimately, a complex fan vault was constructed instead. Reginald probably designed the window

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...

at the extreme east of the church's north side: the east window of the easternmost side chapel, which unlike the Perpendicular style of the others is in ''curvilinear'' Gothic style. The priest and later bishop Nicholas Close (or Cloos) was recorded as the "surveyor", having been the curate of St John Zachary, a church demolished to make way for the Chapel. The first stone of the Chapel was laid, by Henry himself, on the Feast of St James the Apostle, 25 July 1446, the College having been begun in 1441. By the end of the reign of Richard III (1485), despite the

, five bays had been completed and a timber roof erected. Henry VII visited in 1506, paying for the work to resume and even leaving money so that the work could continue after his death. In 1515, under Henry VIII, the building was complete but the great windows had yet to be made. The Chapel features the world's largest fan vault, constructed between 1512 and 1515 by master mason John Wastell. It also features fine medieval stained glass and, above the altar, '' The Adoration of the Magi'' by Rubens, painted in 1634 for the Convent of the White Nuns at Louvain in Belgium. The painting was installed in the Chapel in 1968; this involved the lowering of the

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

floor leading up to the High Altar. It had been believed that gradations were created in 1774 by James Essex, when Essex had in fact ''lowered'' the floor by 5 1/2 inches, but at the demolition of these steps, it was found that the floor instead rested on Tudor brick arches. During the removal of these Tudor steps, built at the Founder's specific request that the high altar should be 3 ft above the choir floor, human remains in intact lead coffins with brass plaques were discovered, dating from the 15th to 18th centuries, and were disinterred. The eventual installation of the Rubens was also not without problems: once seen beneath the east window, a conflict was felt between the picture's swirling colours and those of the stained glass.The Rubens was also a similar shape to the window, which "dwarfed it and made it look rather like a dependent postage stamp". Plain shutters were proposed, one on each side, to give it a

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

shape (although the picture was never part of a triptych) and lend it independence of form, which is how one sees the Rubens today. The installation was designed by architect Sir Martyn Beckett, who was "philosophical about the furore this inevitably occasioned - which quickly became acceptance of a solution to a difficult problem." During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

the Chapel was used as a training ground by

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's troops, but escaped major damage, possibly because Cromwell, having been a Cambridge student, gave orders for it to be spared. Graffiti left by these soldiers is still visible on the north and south walls near the altar. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

most of the stained glass was removed and the Chapel again escaped damage.

Great windows

King's College Chapel, Cambridge - The Great East Window

The windows of King's College Chapel are some of the finest in the world from their era. There are 12 large windows on each side of the Chapel, and larger windows at the east and west ends. With the exception of the west window, they are by

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

hands and date from 1515 to 1531.

Barnard Flower Barnard Flower (died July or August 1517) was a Flemish glazier. He was King's Glazier to Henry VII and Henry VIII from 1505 to 1517, the first non-Englishman to hold this office. Flower came to work in England in the late 15th century. By 1496 ...

, the first non-Englishman appointed as the King's Glazier, completed four windows. Galyon Hone and three partners (two English and one Flemish) are responsible for the east window and 16 others between 1526 and 1531. The final four were made by Francis Williamson and Symon Symondes. The one modern window is that in the west wall, which was donated by King's alumnus Francis Stacey and is by the

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832 ...

company and dates from 1879.

Rood screen

This large wooden screen, which separates the ante-chapel from the

and supports the organ, was erected in 1532–36 by Henry VIII in celebration of his marriage to

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

. The screen is an example of early Renaissance architecture: a striking contrast to the Perpendicular Gothic Chapel;

Sir Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, '' The Buildings of England'' ( ...

said it is "the most exquisite piece of Italian decoration surviving in England".

Current use

The Chapel is actively used as a place of worship and also for some concerts and college events. Notable college events include the annual King's College Music Society May Week Concert, held on the Monday of May Week. The event is popular with students, alumni, and visitors to the city. The Chapel is noted for its splendid acoustics. The world-famous

Choir of King's College, Cambridge The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's Col ...

, consists of choral scholars, organ scholars (male students at the college), and choristers (boys educated at the nearby

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London an ...

). From 1982 until shortly before his death on 22 November 2019 the director of music for the choir was Sir

Stephen Cleobury Sir Stephen John Cleobury ( ; 31 December 1948 – 22 November 2019)Daniel Hyde. The choir sings services on most days in term-time, and also performs concerts and makes recordings and broadcasts. The

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...

has broadcast the Choir's

Nine Lessons and Carols Nine Lessons and Carols, also known as the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, is a service of Christian worship traditionally celebrated on or near Christmas Eve. The story of the fall of humanity, the ...

from the chapel on Christmas Eve, during which a solo treble sings the first verse of '' Once in Royal David's City''. There is also a chapel choir of male and female students, King's Voices, which sings

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

on Wednesdays during term-time. The chapel is widely seen as a symbol of Cambridge (for example in the logo of

Cambridge City Council Cambridge City Council is a district council in the county of Cambridgeshire, which governs the City of Cambridge. History Cambridge was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1207, which permitted the appointment of a mayor. The first recorde ...

Dean of the Chapel

The Dean of the Chapel is responsible to the College Council and the Governing Body for the conduct of services within the Chapel. King's College Chapel, like other Cambridge colleges, is not formally part of the structure of the Church of England, but the Dean is customarily licensed by the Bishop of Ely. Both he and the Chaplain take a regular part in chapel services: each is normally present at services six days a week during

Full Term Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

, and each preaches once or twice a term. The Chapel is run by a Chapel Committee chaired by the Dean. A Use of Choirs Committee, also chaired by the Dean, organises the engagements of the Chapel choir. The current Chaplain is Revd Dr Mary Kells, who has been in the post since September 2021. She was preceded in the post by Revd Dr Ayla Lepine (2020–2021). Revd Tom McLean served as Interim Chaplain in 2020. He followed the Revd Andrew Hammond, who held the role of Chaplain from 2015–2019, after the Revd Richard Lloyd Morgan who served from 2003–2014.

Recent deans

* 1890 to 1893 – The Revd Dr. Alfred Hands Cooke * 1894 to 1918 – The Revd Dr. Alan England Brooke * 1918 to 1941 – The Very Revd

Eric Milner-White Eric Milner Milner-White, (23 April 1884 – 15 June 1963) was a British Anglican priest, academic, and decorated military chaplain. He was a founder of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd, an Anglican dispersed community, and served as its superio ...

* 1942 to 1948 – The Rt Revd Archibald Rollo Graham Campbell * 1949 to 1956 – The Revd Ivor Erskine St Clair Ramsay * 1956 to 1966 – The Revd Dr. Alexander Roper Vidler * 1966 to 1970 – The Very Revd Dr. David Lawrence Edwards * 1970 to 1981 – The Very Revd Michael Stanley Till * 1981 to 1991 – The Very Revd John Henry Drury * 1991 to 2001 – The Revd Canon Prof. George Pattison * January to September 2002 – The Revd Canon Martin Shaw (temporary Dean) * 2002 to 2004 – The Revd Prof. Christopher John Ryan * 2005 to 2009 – The Revd Ian Malcolm Thompson * 2010 to 2014 – The Revd Dr. Jeremy Morris * 2014 to present – The Revd Dr. Stephen Cherry

Gallery

File:20130808 Kings College Chapel 01.jpg, Side view of the Chapel from inside the college King's College Chapel, Cambridge, South Entrance by Henry Fox Talbot, cropped.png, King's College Chapel, Cambridge, South Entrance, by Henry Fox Talbot, circa 1845 File:King's College Chapel Vault.jpg, The vault of King's College Chapel

Bibliography

* Warrior, Josephine. ''A Guide to King's College Chapel''. Photography and design by

Tim Rawle Tim Rawle is an English architectural photographer and writer. He is best known for his photographs of buildings in Cambridge, England. Biography Tim Rawle was born in Ashford, Kent. After studying fine art and graphic design at St Martin's Scho ...

(Cambridge 1994, reprinted 1997, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2014)

References

External links

King's College: the Chapel

{{Authority control Religious buildings and structures completed in 1515

Chapels of Colleges of the University of Cambridge Tudor architecture Grade I listed churches in Cambridgeshire Grade I listed buildings in Cambridge