Trinity Great Court
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Great Court is the main
court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
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 ...
, and reputed to be the largest enclosed
courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...
in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. The court was completed by
Thomas Nevile Thomas Nevile (died 1615) was an English clergyman and academic who was Dean of Peterborough (1591–1597) and Dean of Canterbury (1597–1615), Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge (1582–1593), and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge ...
, master of the college, in the early years of the 17th century, when he rearranged the existing buildings to form a single court.


Description

Starting in the northeast corner at E staircase, in which
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
had his rooms, and moving clockwise, one first reaches the Porters' Lodge and Great Gate, begun in 1490 as the entrance to King's Hall and completed in 1535. The Great Gate holds the famous statue of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
whose sceptre was replaced by a chair leg by students in the 19th century. Next comes the East Range, and staircases F-K (with J omitted) that contain the college
bursary A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awa ...
and rooms principally housing fellows of the college. Staircase I leads to Angel Court, containing rooms for students and fellows, and to the college bar. The South Range runs from staircases L–Q with rooms for students and fellows, with Queen's Gate (named after
Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
) as its centrepiece. R staircase can be found in a passage leading to Bishop's Hostel, while S staircase is on the left in the passage leading past the Hall into Nevile's Court. The West Range is dominated by the Great Hall, the college's dining hall modelled on that of
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
, and the Master's Lodge. The fourth side begins with staircases A–C, before reaching King's Gate (also called
Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
Gateway), and the entrance to the oldest part of the college, the remaining surviving buildings of King's Hall. Originally built on the site of the current sundial in the middle of the court, Nevile moved it 20 metres north when completing the court. King's Gate also houses the famous Trinity College Clock that chimes every 15 minutes and strikes the hour twice. The clock was installed at the request of Master of Trinity
Richard Bentley Richard Bentley FRS (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellen ...
in the 17th century, striking each hour once for the college of his mastership, Trinity, and once for his alma mater,
St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
. In the centre of the court is an ornate fountain, built during Nevile's time, and fed by a pipe from Conduit Head in west Cambridge.


The Great Court Run

Many have tried to run the 339 metres (371 yards) around the court in the time it takes to strike 12 o'clock (actually 24 chimes owing to an old tradition), a feat recreated in the 1981 film ''
Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a de ...
'' (though filmed in
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, C ...
, not Trinity). Known as the ''Great Court Run'', students traditionally attempt to complete the circuit on the day of the Matriculation Dinner. Only two people are believed to have actually completed the run in the time, the first being
Lord Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...
in 1927. Contrary to the depiction in ''Chariots of Fire'',
Harold Abrahams Harold Maurice Abrahams (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. Biography Early life ...
never attempted the Run.
Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...
and
Steve Cram Stephen Cram, (born 14 October 1960) is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arr ...
attempted the feat in a charity race on 29 October 1988. Coe's time was reported by
Norris McWhirter Norris Dewar McWhirter (12 August 192519 April 2004) was a British writer, political activist, co-founder of The Freedom Association, and a television presenter. He and his twin brother Ross were known internationally for the founding of ''Gui ...
to have been 45.52 seconds, but it was actually 46.0 seconds as confirmed by the video tape, while Cram's was 46.3 seconds. The clock on that day took 44.4 seconds and video confirms that Coe was approximately 12 metres short of his finish line when the fateful final stroke occurred. There is some debate over the dying sounds of the bell being included in the striking time, which would allow Coe's run to be claimed as successful. The event was organized by 36-year-old undergraduate
Nigel McCrery Nigel Colin McCrery (born 30 October 1953 in London) is an English screenwriter and ex-police officer. He is the creator of the long-running crime dramas ''Silent Witness'' (1996-present) and ''New Tricks'' (2003-15). Early life Because of his fa ...
and raised £50,000 for the
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...
. In 2007, Sam Dobin was seen to 'beat' the clock in a time of 42.77s, improving on his 3rd-place finish the previous year. Dobin's achievement received national newspaper coverage which reported it as the fastest time in the history of the race, beating Burghley and Coe's efforts. From 2012 to 2014, Cornelius Roemer won the run three times in a row, and beat the clock in his 2014 run. However, the route taken by competitors around the court has changed over the years, thus making the accomplishment much more attainable. The current route—running on the cobbles rather than the path—cuts the distance down to 297m (the perimeter of the grass) as opposed to 339m (the perimeter of the cobbles). This is about 19% shorter, reducing the pace required from Olympic to a level manageable by hundreds of good club athletes across the country, and enables the four sharp corners to be "rounded off" so that runners do not need to slow down appreciably when taking the corners. As of 2017, competitors taking part in the "serious" run (a "fun" run is held simultaneously) have been barred from running on the cobbles under penalty of disqualification. Recent winners: *2000: Adrian Hemery *2001: Mike Collins *2002: Huw Watson (AUS) *2003: Calum T.M. Nicholson *2005: Chris Wilson *2006: Dany Gammall *2007: Sam Dobin (beat the clock on the cobbles route) *2008: Edgar Engel *2009: ''Cancelled due to poor weather conditions'' *2010: Henry Husband *2011: Steven Karp (CAN) *2012: Cornelius Roemer *2013: Cornelius Roemer *2014: Cornelius Roemer (beat the clock on the cobbles route) *2015: Jiri Kucera (CZE) *2016: Patrick Bradbury *2019: George Mears (beat the clock) The 2009 event was cancelled due to poor weather leaving the court unsafe to run on. David Cecil, the only man to achieve the Great Court Run prior to 2007, and Sebastian Coe, the man who came closest to achieving the feat between Cecil's and Dobin's successes, both achieved the distinctions of Olympic Champion, Member of both Houses of Parliament, and Chairman of the London Olympics Organising Committee (David Cecil at the 1948 Olympics, Sebastian Coe at the 2012 Olympics). Other factors affect the timing of the Great Court Run. The speed at which the bells strike is governed by a mechanical ''fly'', details of which are recorded b
The Trinity Clock Monitoring Project
The ''fly'' uses air resistance to govern the speed at which the striking mechanism turns and as such the speed depends most importantly on the density of the air. The duration of the striking of twelve thus depends on the meteorological conditions of the day in question. On a cold, dry, high-pressure day the bells strike more slowly than on a warm, humid low-pressure day. This can cause variation of as much as 2 seconds either side of the normal time of around 48 seconds. For typical October days (the official run takes place in October) the likely difference is a more modest one second. Runners in midwinter will have the best chance of completing the circuit before the bells have finished. The best weather conditions for completing the run is on a cold dry day on account of air density which depends on temperature, barometric pressure and humidity. The chime speed is also affected by the number of days since the chimes were last wound, three being optimal. This is because the cable for weight driving the bells runs onto a second layer of the winding drum, as has been measured by the Keeper of the Clock. There is also the effect of the weight of the cable itself so that the bells speed up a little as the weights descend over the period of a week (being the time between windings). Both these effects can be seen in the diagrams showing variation of the strike duration with the number of days after winding.


Caucus Race

A less structured event, the ''Caucus Race'', occurs during the summer long vacation when undergraduates who have summer courses gather all around Great Court just before two o'clock dressed in their academic robes. Great Court is divided into six rectangular lawns and the objective of the race is to circumnavigate all six individually and in all their combinations, which requires a mathematical brain to plan well, and end at the fountain. The entry fee is a pint of beer. As soon as the clock starts to strike everyone starts running around whatever route they have chosen, much to the consternation of the tourists. On reaching the fountain everyone gets a prize of a pint of beer. It has been done in 14 minutes but that is exceptional.Christopher Thorne
''Trinity Great Court Run: The Facts''
, Achilles Club Annual Report, 2001


The chapel

The final part of the court is completed by the chapel, begun by
Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...
in 1554 in memory of her father. The ante-chapel contains statues of many famous Trinity men, including Roubiliac's sculpture of
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
,
Thomas Woolner Thomas Woolner (17 December 1825 – 7 October 1892) was an English sculptor and poet who was one of the founder-members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was the only sculptor among the original members. After participating in the found ...
's piece of
William Whewell William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved dist ...
and the altarpiece is
Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...
's ''St Michael and the Devil''. The chapel contains a fine organ built by the
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firm of
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in 1975—one of only two instruments by this respected maker in Great Britain. It is contained within the restored late seventeenth-century case built by perhaps England's most famous organ builder "Father" Smith. The Metzler organ incorporates some surviving pipes from this instrument.


Dimensions

The exact external dimensions of the four sides of Great Court are: * South – 87.8m (82.5m) * West – 105.2m (99.9m) * North – 78.3m (69.4m) * East – 99.4m (88.9m) which enclose an area of approximately 1.8 acres (7,300 square metres). (The figures given in parentheses are the distances run on the flagstones for the Great Court Run)


References


External links


Panorama of the Great Court

Great Court Run
{{Coord, 52, 12, 25, N, 0, 07, 01, E, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Great Court Buildings and structures in Cambridge Parks and open spaces in Cambridge Courtyards Sport at the University of Cambridge