Trinity College Chapel
A Tudor-Gothic college chapel with Pre-Raphaelite-era windows, a Father Smith organ case and a mixed-voice choir.
The chapel of Trinity College lies off Trinity Street, within the Grade I listed group of college buildings. It was started in 1554-55 on the orders of Queen Mary and finished in 1567 under her half-sister Elizabeth I. The college's own site stresses that its purpose is unchanged: daily worship as part of college life, plus formal ceremonies and music.
What to look for
- The architecture. Its Tudor Gothic character shows in the Perpendicular tracery and the pinnacles. The roof is of an older pattern than the walls and may have come from the chapel of the earlier King's Hall on the site. Edward Blore restored the chapel in 1832; Arthur Blomfield then supplied a vestry, a choir-room and a porch in 1868-73.
- The windows. The original plain glass was replaced during the redecoration of 1871-75, which cost £20,000, with £11,000 of that raised by subscription. Henry Holiday designed the pictorial glass to a programme worked out by Westcott and Hort, two of the college's theologians. Eight windows face north and seven south, each showing eight figures.
- The organ. A "Father" Smith instrument of 1694 stood here originally; a nearly new organ followed in 1913, and the present mechanical-action organ by the Swiss firm Metzler was completed in 1976, within the original cases. Term-time Sunday recitals are listed.
- Memorials. Brasses, statues and graves commemorate former fellows, including memorials to those who fell in both World Wars.
Practical notes
The chapel serves the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England. The choir comprises about thirty singers of both sexes, the choral scholars, alongside a pair of organ scholars; every one is a university student. Services, events and hire details are on the college's chapel pages, and the college can be reached on 01223 338400.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
