King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a

constituent college A collegiate university is a university where functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the Col ...

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. The college lies beside the

River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distanc ...

and faces out onto

King's Parade King's Parade is a street in central Cambridge, England.Henry VI soon after founding its sister institution,

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. Initially, King's accepted only students from Eton College. However, the king's plans for King's College were disrupted by the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

and the resultant scarcity of funds, and then his eventual deposition. Little progress was made on the project until 1508, when King Henry VII began to take an interest in the college, probably as a political move to legitimise his new position. The building of the college's chapel began in 1446, and was finished in 1544 during the reign 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 known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

King's College Chapel King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College in the University of Cambridge. 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 bu ...

is regarded as one of the finest examples of late

English Gothic architecture English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of Gothic cathedrals and churches, cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture, Got ...

. It has the world's largest

fan vault A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan. The initiation and propagation of this design element is strongly associated with E ...

, while its stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen are considered some of the finest from their era. The building is seen as emblematic of Cambridge. It houses the

Choir of King's College, Cambridge The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It was created by Henry VI of England, King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge, in 1441, to provide daily singing in his King's College Chapel, Cambridge, Chapel, ...

. Every year on Christmas Eve, the

Festival of 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 in Anglican churches. The story of the f ...

(a service originally devised for Truro Cathedral by

Edward White Benson Edward White Benson (14 July 1829 – 11 October 1896) was archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death. Before this, he was the first Bishop of Truro, serving from 1877 to 1883, and began construction of Truro Cathedral. He was previousl ...

in 1880, adapted by the college dean

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 super ...

in 1918) is broadcast from the chapel to millions of listeners worldwide.

History

Foundation

On 12 February 1441,

King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...

issued

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

founding a college at Cambridge for a rector and 12 poor scholars. This college was to be named after

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

upon whose feast day Henry had been born. The first stone of the college's Old Court was laid by the King on

Passion Sunday Passion Sunday is the fifth Sunday in Lent in several Christian traditions, marking the beginning of Passiontide. In 1969, Passiontide was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Western Catholic Church for the Mass of Paul VI, but it is st ...

, 2 April 1441 on a site which lies directly north of the modern college and which was formerly a garden belonging to Trinity Hall. William Millington, a fellow of

Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

(then called Clare Hall) was installed as the rector. Henry directed the publication of the college's first governing statutes in 1443. His original modest plan for the college was abandoned, and provision was instead made for a community of 70 fellows and scholars headed by a provost. Henry had belatedly learned of

William of Wykeham William of Wykeham (; 1320 or 1324 – 27 September 1404) was Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College, Oxford, and New College School in 1379, and founded Winchester College in 1382. He was also the clerk of ...

's 1379 twin foundations of

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

and

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

, and wanted his own achievements to surpass those of Wykeham. The King had founded

on 11 October 1440 but, up until 1443, King's and Eton had been unconnected. However, that year the relationship between the two was remodelled upon Wykeham's successful institutions and the original sizes of the colleges scaled up to surpass Wykeham's. A second royal charter which re-founded the now much larger King's College was issued on 12 July 1443. On 1 September 1444, the Provosts of King's and Eton and the Wardens of Winchester and New College formally signed the ''Amicabilis Concordia'' ("friendly agreement") in which they bound their colleges to support one another legally and financially. Members of King's were to be recruited entirely from Eton. Each year, the provost and two fellows travelled to Eton to impartially select the worthiest boys to fill any vacancies at the college, always maintaining the total number of scholars and fellows at exactly 70. Membership of King's was a vocation for life. Scholars were eligible for election to the fellowship after three years of probation, irrespective of whether they had achieved a degree or not. Undergraduates at King's – unlike those from other colleges – did not have to pass university examinations to achieve their BA degree and instead had only to satisfy the college. Every fellow was to study theology, save for two who were to study astronomy, two civil law, four canon law, and two medicine; all fellows save those studying secular subjects were obliged to take

Holy Orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

and become priests, on pain of expulsion. In 1445, a

Papal Bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

from

Eugenius IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and a nephew of Pope Gregory XII ...

exempted college members from parish duties, and in 1457, an agreement between the provost and

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the university limited the chancellor's authority and gave the college full jurisdiction over internal matters.

Henry VI, Henry VII and Henry VIII

The original plans for Old Court were too small comfortably to accommodate the larger college community of the second foundation, and so in 1443 Henry VI began to purchase the land upon which the modern college now stands. The gateway and south range of Old Court had already been built, but the rest was completed in a temporary fashion to serve until the new court was ready. The new college site was itself left unfinished and the "temporary" Old Court buildings, arranged to accommodate 70, served as the permanent residential fabric of the college until the beginning of the 19th century. Henry's grand design for the new college buildings survives in the 1448 ''Founder's Will'', which describes his vision in detail. The new college site was to be centred on a great courtyard, bordered on all sides by adjoining buildings: a chapel to the north; accommodation and the entrance gate to the east; further accommodation and the provost's lodge to the south; and a library, hall and buttery to the west. Behind the hall and buttery was to be another courtyard, and behind the library a cloistered cemetery including a magnificent bell tower. 20130808 Kings College Chapel 01

The first stone of the chapel was laid by the King on St James's Day, 25 July 1446. The King encouraged support for the college. In 1448, John Conches, former prior of

Wootton Wawen Wootton Wawen is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of Englan ...

gave the priory's lands to ''"John Chedworth provost of the king's college of St. Mary and St. Nicholas Cantebrigge and the scholars thereof, and to their successors."'' Within a decade Henry's engagement in the

meant that funds began to dry up. By the time of Henry's deposition in 1461, the chapel walls had been raised 60 ft high at the east end but only 8 ft at the west; a building line which can still be seen today as the boundary between the lighter stone below and the darker above. Work proceeded sporadically until a generation later in 1508 when the Founder's nephew Henry VII was prevailed upon to finish the shell of the building. The interior had to wait a further generation until completion by 1544 with the aid of

. The chapel was the only part of Henry VI's ''Founder's Will'' to be realised. It has been speculated that the choice of the college as a beneficiary by the two later Henrys was a political one, with Henry VII in particular concerned to legitimate a new, post-civil war Tudor regime by demonstrating patronage of what was by definition the King's College. Later building work on the chapel is marked by an uninhibited branding with the Tudor rose and other symbols of the new establishment, quite against the precise instructions of the ''Founder's Will''.

Front Court completed

The college remained as the Old Court, chapel and a few small surrounding buildings for nearly two-hundred years until in 1724 the architect

James Gibbs James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was a Scottish architect. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transition between English Ba ...

provided a new plan to complete the courtyard of which the chapel formed the north side. Although his design was for the courtyard to be closed by three similar detached Neoclassical buildings, due to lack of funds only the western of these was constructed. The first stone of what became known as the Gibbs' Building was laid by Provost

Andrew Snape Andrew Snape (1675–1742) was an English cleric, academic and headmaster, provost of King's College, Cambridge, from 1719. Life Snape was born at Hampton Court, Middlesex, the son of Andrew Snape (the younger), serjeant farrier to Charles II, ...

, at the time also

vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the university, on 25 March 1723 and the building completed six years later. Front Court was finally completed in 1828 under plans drawn up by William Wilkins. The courtyard was closed by a screen and gatehouse to the east; and residential staircases either side of a hall to the south. The southern buildings continued towards the river with a library and Provost's lodge. All these buildings were, at the college's insistence, built in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style rather than Wilkins's preferred Neoclassical. With the courtyard to the south of the chapel now able to accommodate the college, the land to the north was sold to the university in 1828. It has been erroneously claimed that this was the site of the world's first bonsai tree, cultivated in King's College in the mid 18th century.The university demolished most of the original Old Court buildings in order to make room for an extension to the

University Library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution, which supports the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an es ...

; only the gateway arch opposite Clare College survives. The library subsequently moved away from this site, known as the

Old Schools The Old Schools are part of the University of Cambridge, in the centre of Cambridge, England. The Old Schools house the Cambridge University Offices, which form the main administration for the University. The building is Grade I listed.

, and the buildings are currently used for the main administrative offices of the university.

Victorian reforms and expansion

Under the provostship of Richard Okes, from 1850 until his death in 1888, the college began a period of reform. On 1 May 1851 it was agreed to abolish the privilege of King's members to be granted a degree without passing the university examinations. In 1861 the college statutes were amended so as to expand the college and, more radically, to allow for the election of non-Etonian King's members: the new statutes provided for 46 Fellows, 24 scholarships reserved for boys from Eton, and 24 "open" scholarships for boys from any school. At the same time all formal obligation to take Holy Orders – unenforced since the 17th century – was removed. The statutes were again amended in 1882, this time ensuring fellowships were not always for life and were awarded on merit after submissions of original research. In his 1930 memoir ''As We Were, A Victorian Peep Show'',

E. F. Benson Edward Frederic Benson (24 July 1867 – 29 February 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, historian and short story writer. Early life E. F. Benson was born at Wellington College (Berkshire), Wellington College in Berkshire, ...

, an alumnus of King's, recollected the peculiar behaviour of some of the surviving Life Fellows from his undergraduate years of 1887–1890 and before. Of one he wrote, "He then shuffled out on to the big lawn, with a stick in his hand, and he prodded with it at the worms in the grass, muttering to himself, 'Ah, damn ye: ye haven't got me yet.'" The first non-Etonian students were admitted to study at King's in 1865, and the first non-Etonian scholars and the first non-Etonian fellow were elected in 1873. These reforms continued over subsequent decades and there are now no special privileges for Etonians at King's. Expansion of the college through the 1861 statutes necessitated more building work to accommodate the larger community. In 1869, the area along

King's Parade King's Parade is a street in central Cambridge, England.George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

. When completed a year later, the new courtyard formed was named after Walter Chetwynd, a fellow of the college. However, after subsequent plans to expand college accommodation fell through, King's opened negotiations to amalgamate with St Catharine's College. Although St Catharine's had been founded by

Robert Woodlark Robert Woodlark (also spelled Wodelarke) was an English academic and priest. He was the Provost (college), Provost of King's College, Cambridge, and the founder of St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He was also a professor of sacred theology at th ...

(sometimes spelled Wodelarke), a Provost of King's, the college declined the invitation to combine. Eventually, in 1893, the east and south wings of another new courtyard within King's – designed by

George Frederick Bodley George Frederick Bodley (14 March 182721 October 1907) was an English Gothic Revival architect. He was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott and worked with C. E. Kempe. He was in partnership with Thomas Garner for much of his career and was ...

and overlooking the river – were completed.

20th century

In 1909, the south range of a third new courtyard – named after its architect

Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb, (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in par ...

– was built to the south of the library. In 1927, designs by G. L. Kennedy completed Bodley's Court with a new northern range, and Webb's Court with a new Provost's Lodge on its western side. In 1930, a Cambridge Borough Police officer was shot dead by a student who also shot his tutor in the same incident. On 1 September 1939, the day of the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

and the cause of the UK's entrance into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, permission was sought from the College Council to remove the stained glass from the east window of the chapel. By the end of 1941, all the ancient glass had been removed to various cellars in Cambridge for safekeeping. Despite most of the windows of the chapel being covered over by sheets of tar-paper, which rattled loudly in the wind, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols continued to be broadcast from the chapel every Christmas Eve throughout the war – even though the name of the college could not be broadcast for security reasons. King's took the opportunity of these years to clean, repair and photograph the glass. By 1949, all the windows had been restored. In 1961, the property millionaire

Alfred Ernest Allnatt Alfred Edward Allnatt (19 February 1889 – 14 August 1969), known professionally as Major A. E. Allnatt, was an English businessman and art collector. He took over his father's supply business and developed it into Allnatt London Properties a ...

offered King's the ''

Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings or Visitation of the Wise Men is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having fo ...

'' by

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

, which he had purchased in 1959 for a world-record price. The college accepted "this munificent gift" with the intention of displaying the painting in the chapel, possibly as an altarpiece. The painting was initially displayed in the antechapel but a significant faction of the fellowship – including

Michael Jaffé Andrew Michael Jaffé (3 June 1923 – 13 July 1997) was a British art historian and curator. He was Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England for 17 years, from 1973 to 1990. Life Born in London, he was educated at Wagner's an ...

and the Provost

Noel Annan Noel Gilroy Annan, Baron Annan OBE (25 December 1916 – 21 February 2000) was a British military intelligence officer, author, and academic. During his military career, he rose to the rank of colonel and was appointed to the Order of the Briti ...

– were determined for the painting to become the focal point of an entirely redesigned east end planned by the architect Sir Martyn Beckett, who was "philosophical about the furore this inevitably occasioned – which quickly became acceptance of a solution to a difficult problem." As the first stage of this project, the Edwardian

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

and 17th-century wood panelling were removed and the Rubens installed in their stead behind the altar in April 1964. The painting was so big that the raised floor of the chapel's east end, required by the 1448 ''Founder's Will'', would have to be levelled so as to prevent the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

artwork obscuring the bottom of the Tudor east window. However 20 fellows and the honorary fellow E. M. Forster signed a letter urging the college to reverse its plan and "admit that it has made a mistake"; the levelling of the floor nevertheless went ahead. The newly refitted east end opened in 1968 and proved highly controversial, with the ''

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is a professional architecture magazine, published monthly in London by Metropolis International. Each issue includes in-depth features on relevant current affairs, alongside profiles of recently completed buildings. Ten t ...

'' criticising it as "motivated not by the demands of liturgical worship but by those of museum display." The last main-site building to be erected by the college was the Keynes Building, finished in 1967 and named after the former college bursar

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist and philosopher whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originall ...

. This building enclosed Chetwynd Court along with the Wilkins' and Scott's buildings, and provided more than 70 en-suite accommodation rooms along with other facilities. The first women students arrived at King's in 1972, one of the first three previously all-male colleges to admit women. The college, along with most others at the university, had been all-male since its foundation. However, under the provost

Edmund Leach Sir Edmund Ronald Leach FRAI FBA (7 November 1910 – 6 January 1989) was a British social anthropologist and academic. He served as provost of King's College, Cambridge from 1966 to 1979. He was also president of the Royal Anthropolo ...

, King's together with Churchill and Clare became the first three previously all-male colleges to admit women. Henry VI is not completely forgotten at the college. The Saturday after the end of

Michaelmas term Michaelmas ( ) term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St M ...

each year is Founder's Day, which begins with a Founder's Eucharist in the chapel, followed by a Founder's Breakfast with ale and culminating in a sumptuous dinner in his memory called "Founder's Feast" to which all members of college in their third year of studies are invited.

Buildings and grounds

Chapel

The College Chapel, an example of late

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

, was built over a period of a hundred years (1446–1531) in three stages. The Chapel features the world's largest

ceiling; 26 large stained-glass windows, 24 of which date from the 16th century; and

's painting the ''

'' as an

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

. The chapel is actively used as a place of worship and also for some concerts and college events. The Chapel choir consists of organ scholars, choral scholars (male students from the college and other colleges) 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 Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The s ...

). The choir sings services on most days in term-time, and also performs concerts and makes recordings and broadcasts. In particular, it has broadcast its

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 in Anglican churches. The story of the f ...

on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

from the Chapel on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

for many decades. Additionally, there is a mixed-voice Chapel choir of male and female students,

King's Voices King's Voices is an English choir, and is the mixed-voice chapel choir of King's College, Cambridge. It is a resident choir to the college's chapel, alongside the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. Foundation and role in college The choir was ...

, which sings

evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...

on Mondays during term-time.

Front Court

Academic profile

The unofficial

Tompkins Table The Tompkins Table is an annual ranking that lists the Colleges of the University of Cambridge in order of their undergraduate students' performances in that year's examinations. Two colleges— Darwin and Clare Hall—do not have undergraduat ...

comparing academic performance ranked King's 12th out of a total of 29 rated colleges at the University of Cambridge in 2019. In terms of first-class degrees, King's ranked 9th in the university with 31.3% of final year students achieving a first. King's offers all undergraduate courses available at the university, except for

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, land economy and

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, medical diagnosis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all a ...

, although Directors of Studies for Anglo-Saxon Norse & Celtic and Management Studies visit from other colleges. With more than 100 fellows and some 420 undergraduate students, King's has one of the highest ratios of fellows to students of all the Cambridge colleges. Since its foundation, the college has housed a library, providing books for all students, covering all the subjects offered by King's. Around 130,000 books are held: some available for teaching and for reference, others being rare books and

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s. The library operates a user-oriented purchasing policy: students and Directors of Studies recommend new purchases in their subject. There is both Wi-Fi and Ethernet internet access throughout the library as well as a library computer room. Special collections include a separate Music Library, the Keynes Library, a Global Warming collection, and an Audio Visual Library.

Intake and access profile

The college has gradually broadened its intake to include many students from

state school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

s, often having the highest proportion of maintained school acceptances of the undergraduate colleges. This has led to accusations of reactionary bias against public school pupils and of affirmative action (positive discrimination), although the relatively high proportion of state-school students reflects the far greater number of applications from pupils at maintained schools in comparison to other Cambridge colleges. King's has established a Schools Liaison Officer post in order to provide support to students, whatever their background, and schools and colleges of any type to find out more about the

and the college. King's is the link Cambridge college for schools in North East England through Cambridge University Area Links Scheme. Generally, the atmosphere at King's is considered to be easier than that of other colleges to integrate into for students from a working-class or minority background. However, a survey conducted by Varsity Newspaper in January 2009 revealed that the average parental income of students who participated in the survey at King's was higher than the university average. In June 2018, Dr.

Priyamvada Gopal Priyamvada Gopal (born 1968) is an Indian-born academic, writer and activist who is Professor of Postcolonial Studies at the University of Cambridge. Her primary teaching and research interests are in colonial and postcolonial studies, South As ...

alleged racial profiling by college porters at the gate of King's College, Cambridge. Gopal said that she was subjected to racial profiling and aggression by the porters and gatekeepers of King's and said porters frequently hassled non-white staff and students at the gates. While several students and staff corroborated her accusations, a King's College spokeswoman denied wrongdoing by staff. As a result of the attention the issue received, Cambridge University students came forward describing similar experiences. Gopal said that she received hate mail following her announcement. Gopal announced that she would no longer supervise students at King's until there was a resolution to the long-standing problem.

Student life

King's has its own student unions, both for undergraduates (King's College Student Union or KCSU) and for graduates (King's College Graduate Society or KCGS). Students at King's have used both organisations to assist in the decision-making processes in the college itself and the university. The college students have a reputation for radical political activity going back to the late 1960s, and the college has not infrequently been the centre of demonstrations, rent strikes and so forth, sparked by political events. There are a number of rooms around college which students can book out to hold society events. Societies who commonly do this include King's Politics, The Turing Maths Society, The History Society, The Marxist Society, Keynes Economics Society and King's Feminist Society. The main bar at King's is the site of many social events, open mic nights, and informal meetings and debates between students, whilst a venue known as the Bunker (formerly the Cellar), a second bar in a basement of the college, acts occasionally as a music or dance-night venue and most recently the set for a King's Drama productions including Sartre's ''No Exit'' and a series of monologue showcase events. Even more recently, the Bunker has been used by the King's Electronic Music Society, allowing students to learn how to DJ. Whereas many Cambridge colleges celebrate

May Week May Week is the name used in the University of Cambridge to refer to a period at the end of the academic year. Originally May Week took place in the week during May before year-end exams began. Nowadays, May Week takes place in June after exa ...

with a

May Ball A May Ball is a ball (dance), ball at the end of the academic term, academic year that takes place at any of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. They are elaborate and lavish formal affairs, requiring black tie or sometimes white tie, w ...

(which actually falls in June), since the early 1980s King's has instead held a

June Event June Events are alternatives to May Balls held by some Cambridge colleges. They typically differ by being shorter in duration and being much more affordable, with may balls at Homerton College having twice the budget on average in comparison to ...

(an informal version of a May Ball with fancy dress) known as The King's Affair. This takes place annually on the Wednesday night of May Week (usually around 20 June), and is attended by around 1,500 students, occupying the Front Court, bar, Hall and Chapel. Past performers have included

the Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...

, Noah and the Whale and, in 2009, Clean Bandit. There are also large student-run college parties at the end of each term known as Mingles.

Sports

King's has a number of competitive and casual sports clubs. King's College Boat Club has the largest active membership of any club in King's. In 2013 the first men's boat qualified to race in the Temple Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta. After several years of poor performances, the boat club has returned to success in the Lent and May Bumps, with blades being awarded four times in 2023, including twice to the first women's VIII. Another major club is the King's Mountaineering and Kayaking Association, which has a fleet of kayaks for use on the

(which runs through the college) and regularly runs climbing, walking and kayaking trips for students of the college during university vacations. Its rugby team is joint with Corpus Christi and Clare colleges and consequently known as CCK. Its historic crest is the hallowed Elephant of Wisdom.

Music

King's College is home to the

, which was founded in the 15th century and is now one of today's most well-renowned representatives of the English choral tradition. In 2013, the choir launched its own label, King's College Recordings, allowing it to gain more artistic freedom over its releases. Its releases and worldwide fame have led to global tours and performances. The Choir of King's College sings evensong and Eucharist services on all days of the week apart from Mondays, with two services on a Sunday. It is currently led by the incumbent Director of Music, Daniel Hyde (organist), Daniel Hyde. The other resident choir of the college is the mixed-voice choir

, founded in October 1997 under Dr John Butt (musician), John Butt, with the intention of giving women in King's the opportunity to sing in the chapel and be eligible for choral awards within the college. Currently, the choir sings evensong every Monday in university term, as well as performing at King's College Music Society (KCMS) and college events throughout the year. King's Voices has also appeared on albums alongside the Choir of King's College, most recently in the Te Deum and Magnificat of the ''Collegium Regale'' service by Herbert Howells on a double album of music by Howells. Sopranos in King's Voices also featured in a live recording of Benjamin Britten's ''Saint Nicolas (Britten), Saint Nicolas'' alongside the BBC Singers and Britten Sinfonia as part of Stephen Cleobury, Sir Stephen Cleobury's Farewell Concert, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2019. The choir's current director is Ben Parry (musician), Ben Parry, who is assistant director of Music at King's.

Entrepreneurship and business at King's

In 2014, King's College established an Entrepreneurship Prize opened to King's College students with alumni as judges, including Hermann Hauser, and Stuart Lyons, the former chairman of Beales (department store), Beales. In 2021, it launched the King's Entrepreneurship Lab to "support students with a future interest in innovation, entrepreneurship, and business" co-directed by King's fellows Kamiar Mohaddes and Thomas J. Roulet, Thomas Roulet, who are faculty at the Cambridge Judge Business School. In 2022, it received an additional donation from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, Gatsby Foundation to enlarge its scope. The college has had a number of notable alumni in business, including Alfred Allen Booth, Phil Vincent, Zhang Zetian, Nancy Zhang and famous innovators such as Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, Charles Townshend.

People associated with King's

File:Robertwalpole cropped cropped.jpg, Robert Walpole, first Prime Minister of Great Britain File:MRJames1900.jpg, M. R. James, scholar and ghost-story writer File:George Santayana.jpg, George Santayana, philosopher File:E. M. Forster von Dora Carrington, 1924-25.jpg, E. M. Forster, novelist File:Keynes 1933 cropped.jpg,

, economist File:Rupert Brooke Q 71073.jpg, Rupert Brooke, poet File:Philip Noel-Baker 1942.jpg, Philip Noel-Baker, Olympic medallist and Nobel laureate in peace File:Xu Zhimo.jpg, Xu Zhimo, poet File:Blackett-large.jpg, Patrick Blackett, Nobel laureate in physics File:Alan Turing portré.jpg, Alan Turing, mathematician and computer scientist File:Frederick Sanger2.jpg, Frederick Sanger, double Nobel laureate in Chemistry File:Salman Rushdie 2012 Shankbone-2.jpg, Salman Rushdie, novelist File:Stephen Poliakoff.jpg, Stephen Poliakoff, playwright and director File:Mervyn King.jpg, Mervyn King, Baron King of Lothbury, Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England File:Davidbaddielnightingale2.jpg, David Baddiel, comedian File:Zadie Smith NBCC 2011 Shankbone.jpg, Zadie Smith, novelist Once someone has been admitted to the college, they become a member for life. Alumni of the college includes prime ministers, archbishops, presidents and academics. ''Time (magazine), Time'' published in 1999 a list of what it considered the most "influential and important" people of the 20th century. In a list of one hundred names, King's claimed two: Alan Turing and

who had been both students and fellows at the college. Heads of State and Government educated at King's include the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, Robert Walpole. Also in the 18th century, alumni include the Secretary of State Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (Turnip Townshend), who was also known for his interest in agriculture and his role in the British Agricultural Revolution, the judge and Lord Chancellor Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden. Historical figures include Francis Walsingham, spymaster to Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth. Politicians educated at King's include the former British Home Secretary Charles Clarke, the peer and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville, and Martin Bell. In law, alumni include the barrister and vice-chancellor Robert Alexander, Baron Alexander of Weedon, and the former President of the British Supreme Court Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers. Alumni in religion include William Thomas (Archdeacon of Northumberland), William Thomas, the 16th-century Protestant martyr John Frith (martyr), John Frith, the 16th Century Russian Orthodox Priest Rex Phillips-Dibb, the Chassidic Rabbi George O'Rourke, the Archbishop of Canterbury John Sumner (bishop), John Sumner, and Richard Cox (bishop), Richard Cox, who served as List of Chancellors of the University of Oxford, Chancellor of Oxford before appointment as Dean of Westminster and eventually Bishop of Ely. Notable alumni in literature and poetry include the authors Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie, Martin Jacques, J. G. Ballard and E. M. Forster, the Nobel Prize winner Patrick White, the poets Rupert Brooke, Walter Raleigh (professor), Walter Raleigh and Xu Zhimo, and the playwright Stephen Poliakoff. The ghost story writer and medievalist M. R. James spent much of his life at King's as a student, fellow and Provost. The author and translator of Aristotle John Harington (writer), Sir John Harington is also an alumnus, and a benefactor of mankind for having invented the flush toilet. In the arts, alumni include the philosopher George Santayana; the historians Benedict Anderson, Eric Hobsbawm and Tony Judt; composers George Benjamin (composer), George Benjamin, Judith Weir (Master of the Queen's Music), Thomas Ades, and Julian Anderson; the original members of the Grammy Award-winning a cappella group King's Singers; the folk musician Spiers and Boden, John Spiers; the comedian David Baddiel; the model Lily Cole; the tenor James Gilchrist (tenor), James Gilchrist; and the countertenor John Whitworth (musician), John Whitworth. In the sciences and social sciences, King's alumni include the British sociologist Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens, Anthony Giddens, the physicist Patrick Blackett, Baron Blackett, Patrick Blackett, the chemist Frederick Sanger, the psychologist Edgar Anstey (psychologist), Edgar Anstey, the palaeontologist Richard Fortey, the economist John Craven (economist), John Craven, the political theorist John Dunn (political theorist), John Dunn, the engineer Charles Inglis (engineer), Charles Inglis, and the mathematician and eugenicist Karl Pearson. The Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King, Baron King of Lothbury, Mervyn King was also educated at King's. The technology entrepreneur Hermann Hauser, of Acorn Computers, Acorn and ARM Holdings, ARM, studied postgraduate physics there. Of the current fellows of King's prominent fellows include Whitehead and Adams' Prize Winner Clément Mouhot and the Fellow of the Royal Society and Clay Research award winner Mark Gross (mathematician), Mark Gross.

Nobel laureates

There are nine Nobel laureates who were either students or fellows of King's: * Charles Glover Barkla was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1917 "for his discovery of the characteristic Röntgen radiation of the elements". * Patrick Blackett, fellow of King's, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1948 "for his development of the Wilson cloud chamber method, and his discoveries therewith in the fields of nuclear physics and cosmic radiation". * Frederick Sanger, fellow of King's, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1958 "for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin". Sanger was awarded his second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980 jointly with Walter Gilbert for "their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids". Sanger is one of only five people to have won a Nobel Prize twice, and the only affiliate of the University of Cambridge to have done so. * Philip Noel-Baker was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1959 for work towards global disarmament. * Patrick White was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 1973 "for an epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature". * Richard Stone, fellow of King's, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences 1984 "for having made fundamental contributions to the development of systems of national accounts and hence greatly improved the basis for empirical economic analysis". *Sydney Brenner, fellow of King's, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2002 jointly with H. Robert Horvitz and John E. Sulston "for their discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death". *Oliver Hart (economist), Oliver Hart was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences 2016 jointly with Bengt Holmström "for their contributions to contract theory". *Geoffrey Hinton was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 jointly with John Hopfield for using "tools from physics to develop methods that are the foundation of today’s powerful machine learning".

Provosts

The head of King's College is called the Provost (education), Provost. The current Provost, , is Dr Gillian Tett, a British author and journalist.

Visitor

The visitor of the college is the Bishop of Lincoln.King's College Statutes 2007
s. P(1).
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Arms

References

Footnotes

Printed sources

* * * *Patrick Wilkinson (scholar), Patrick Wilkinson, ''Kingsmen of a Century: 1873–1972'' (Cambridge: King's College, 1980)

External links

Official website

King's College Student Union

King's College Graduate Society

Virtual tour of the library
{{Authority control King's College, Cambridge, 1441 establishments in England Colleges of the University of Cambridge Educational institutions established in the 15th century Grade I listed buildings in Cambridge Grade I listed educational buildings Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Cambridgeshire James Gibbs buildings