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Cambridge
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The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cambridge
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None
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There is a toast, ''Floreat antiqua domus'' ('May the old house flourish'), from which the college's nickname, 'Old House', is derived
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The city's Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary
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None the college was once popularly known as Bene't College, though this seems to have died out in the 1820s
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1352
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Corpus Christi College, Oxford
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Master
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Prof Haroon Ahmed
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James Freeman
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Andrew Nelson
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Trumpington Street
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250
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Homepage
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(full name: '''The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary''') is a College of the
University Of Cambridge . It is notable for being the only college to have been founded by
Cambridge townspeople, having been founded in
1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the second-smallest college (after
Peterhouse ).
The licence to build an eighth college in the University of Cambridge was granted by
Edward III in 1352 to the newly merged guilds of Corpus Christi and St Mary in the parish of St Bene't's. They immediately began the construction of a single modest court near the parish church and in
1356 it was ready to house a Master and two fellows, who drew up the college's statutes. Continuing their studies in
Theology and
Canon Law , they served as chaplains to the guild.
The college's first couple of centuries saw its wealth increase, which was put on display as part of the Corpus Christi guild's annual procession. This involved parading through the streets to Magdalene bridge, before returning for an extravagant dinner. The parade continued until
Henry VIII put a stop to it in
1535 .
Corpus is exceptionally rich in silver, but its greatest treasure is the
Parker Library , one of the finest and most important collections of medieval manuscripts in the world. Its most famous possession is the
Canterbury Gospels , probably brought to England in
597 AD by
St. Augustine , when he was sent by
Pope Gregory I to convert the people of Britain. However, it also contains the principal manuscript of the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , works by
Matthew Paris and
Chaucer's ''
Troilus And Criseyde '', to name only a few.
Christopher Marlowe was perhaps the college's most-celebrated son, having matriculated to Corpus in
1580 . Although little is known about his time there, it is often believed that it was during his study for his MA that he began his work as a
Spy , a claim based on only a single cryptic statement by the
Privy Council . In
1953 during renovation of the Master's Lodge a portrait of a man "in the 21st year of his age" was discovered. As the painting is dated
1585 , the year Marlowe was 21, it is inevitable that it has been claimed as a portrait of the playwright himself.
In recent years, the College has spearheaded the
Northern Ireland Initiative which was set up to encourage students from Northern Ireland to apply to Oxbridge, but particularly Cambridge. They hold "Cambridge Taster Days" across the province and
Dr. Melanie Taylor spends much of her year travelling around
Northern Ireland talking to prospective students and allaying their fears over the interviews and other myths that have appeared over the years.
Old Court, built in the 1350s, is one of Cambridge's oldest buildings and retains many of its original features, including sills and jambs to hold oil-soaked linen in the days prior to the arrival of glass. The court was possibly built from the core of an even older building and is the oldest courtyard in Oxford or Cambridge (a claim disputed by
Merton College, Oxford who say the same of their
Mob Quad ) as well as, some say, the oldest continually inhabited courtyard in the country. A new library complex is in the process of being built.
St Bene't's church next door is itself the oldest building in the city, and served as the college's chapel until one was built in around 1500.
New Court (completed
1827 ) was designed by
William Wilkins , who is buried in the college chapel. New Court is also the site of the Parker Library, which was begun in
1376 and much improved by a bequest from
Matthew Parker , the college's Master between
1544 and
1553 , who as
Archbishop Of Canterbury formed a fine collection of manuscripts from the libraries of
Dissolved Monasteries .
There are also several outlying college properties, including the graduate campus of
Leckhampton . Here there are playing fields, 9½ acres (38,000 m²) of gardens, a swimming pool and some of the best graduate housing in the University.
As with all old institutions, Corpus has many legends, traditions and general oddities. Here is a sampling:
- In Corpus slang, a Bop is called a 'slack'.
- Again in Corpus slang, a Bop at the College's Postgraduate site Leckhampton is called a 'sleck'.
- Corpus owns the Eagle Pub (though it is managed by Greene King ). Watson And Crick are said to have refreshed themselves in this pub while deliberating over the structure of DNA .
- The College is said to be haunted by a number of ghosts. Most famous, and feared, is the terrifying apparition of Henry Butts , hero of the Plague of 1630 , who (it is said) hanged himself with his garters in the then Master's Lodge. Another is that of Elisabeth Spencer, daughter of the master, and her young lover (both dead in 1667 ). Their ghosts are said to walk on Christmas Eve. Both sets of apparitions are said to walk through the Parker Room and it is supposedly a "sending down" offence to report a sighting of the ghost of the Parker Room.
- The College porters are said to refuse to walk through the Great Hall when it is dark and the lights are off. Due to what terrifying spectre, no-one is sure.
- A college legend, no doubt scurrilous and unfounded, is that Skullion, the head porter in Tom Sharpe 's '' Porterhouse Blue '' was modelled on the legendary Albert Jaggard, head porter of Corpus Christi at the time the book was written. Jaggard is remembered in a number of legends still repeated in hushed tones in the small hours of the morning, although some alumni can report detection of a soft centre.
- The chapel's three windows by the same stained-glass artist appear at the beginning of a story by M.R. James , ''The Treasure of Abbot Thomas''.
- According to student legend, Leckhampton House is the least haunted house in England. Early in its history, the house was home to an enthusiastic experimenter in parapsychology, whose activities are said to have permanently scared off whatever might be inclined to haunt the place.
- The Corpus gentlemen's sporting and dining society are known as the Pelicans. The society emerged when the notorious Chess Club was pressured to disband in the 1980s, due to their unacceptable social outings. Members sport beige slacks, with blue shirts and a distinct maroon tie upon which a Pelican has been hand sewn. Membership is restricted to those who have represented the college at Cuppers standard in at least three sports, or who have represented the University.
- Each Lent term, a one day series of competitions is held against Corpus Cambridge's sister college, Corpus Christi College, Oxford . This competition, the Corpus Challenge, encompasses a number of different field and bar sports and is alternately hosted at Cambridge and Oxford. The 2006 challenge was held in Cambridge and was won by Cambridge for the first time since 1998.
- The mathematics society is named "T. Batterby" after the last Corpus recipient of the Wooden Spoon . The spoon is still in the college's possession.
- The law society is named after Nicholas Bacon .
- While the College is known for playwright Christopher Marlowe , its drama society is named the Fletcher Players, after John Fletcher .
- Corpus was the only college not to sell its silverware in support of either side during the Civil War. That — and its unrivaled collection of manuscripts and massive collection or rare wines and ports — fuels rumours that it is Cambridge's richest college per student. This is a moot point, since these assets cannot be sold and most cannot be valued.
- One of the college's buildings, Botolph Court, which houses some 30 students, is said to be built on top of a 17th century plague pit and slowly sinking into it. This rumour is supported by the old basement under the building, sloping walls and floors and that the building lies just outside the old city wall.
- The nickname 'Old House' is used to refer to the whole college, but most usually to designate the main college buildings, as opposed to outlying places like Leckhampton (e.g. "After my morning swim at Leckers, I'm going to eat lunch at Old House"). It is no longer in common usage among undergraduates (save for in the Latin form, Floreat antiqua domus, in the college toast), although it is still used by some graduate students, fellows and old members.
- Members of the college often refer to themselves as 'Corpuscles'.
- There is a persistent myth that during the Second World War, the Master was a high ranking agent from Military Intelligence and that in the event of an invasion by the Germans, Corpus Christi was to become the centre of operations for resistance for the whole of East Anglia. This is untrue. While Cambridge was to be a centre of military government, the address of the command centre was elsewhere in the town.
- http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/jcr - JCR page
- http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/mcr - MCR page
