HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Trinity College Chapel is the
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
of
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, a constituent college 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 ...
. Part of a complex of
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s at Trinity, it dates from the mid 16th century. It is an
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church in the
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...
tradition.


Building and architecture

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 List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
. The architectural style is Tudor-Gothic, with
Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...
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 a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
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 Blore was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore. Blore's backg ...
in 1832 and further work took place between 1868 and 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 of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...
, 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 refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
was designed by
Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), 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, ...
artist
Henry Holiday Henry Holiday (17 June 183915 April 1927) was an English Victorian painter of historical genre and landscapes, also a stained-glass designer, illustrator, and sculptor. He was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, many of whom he knew. ...
to a scheme devised by Trinity theologians, B.F. Westcott and F.J.A. Hort. 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 and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...
, 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 The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge is a mixed choir whose primary function is to sing choral services in the Tudor chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge. In January 2011, ''Gramophone'' named the choir the fifth best choir in the world. T ...
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, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
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
Steven Grahl Steven Grahl is the Director of Music at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is also conductor of Schola Cantorum of Oxford. He is a past president of the Incorporated Association of Organists, and previously conducted both the Peterborough Choral So ...
.


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, includ ...
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 ...
*1943–1958: John Burnaby *1958-1969: Harry Williams *1969–1983: John Robinson *1984–1991: John Bowker *1991–2006: Arnold Browne *2006–present: Michael Banner


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 (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...