St John's College

St John's stretches from St John's Street back to the Cam, and it straddles the river, joined across the water by the Bridge of Sighs. The college grew from the medieval Hospital of St John the Evangelist, which dated from about 1200. Lady Margaret Beaufort wanted to turn the failing hospital into a college, but she died before her will mentioned it, and it fell to her chaplain John Fisher to see it through. The charter came on 9 April 1511.

What to look for

• The Great Gate. The gatehouse bears the foundress's arms, her Tudor rose and portcullis, and a pair of mythical heraldic beasts called yales, with a figure of St John above.
• First Court. Built from the old hospital between 1511 and 1520, it is architecturally mixed. George Gilbert Scott's tall chapel of the 1860s replaced the medieval one and ranks third in height among Cambridge's buildings.
• The Hall. It has a painted hammerbeam roof and linenfold panelling from 1528-29. Queen Elizabeth I rode into the Hall on horseback in 1564.
• Second Court. Built 1598-1602, it preserves in the library the original drawings, thought to be the earliest surviving plans for an Oxbridge college building.
• The Bridge of Sighs. Connecting Third Court and New Court, it was called "so pretty and picturesque" by Queen Victoria; see Bridge of Sighs.

The Choir

The college choir has sung the daily services in the chapel since the 1670s, following the cathedral tradition, with Evensong six days a week in term and Sung Eucharist on Sunday mornings. Its recordings run to nearly 100 commercial releases from the 1950s onwards. In October 2021 the college announced that girls and women would join the choir, which it was reported would make it the first Oxford or Cambridge college choir to combine male and female voices of both adults and children. The choristers are educated and board at St John's College School.

A library of 1624

The college's older library dates from 1624. Most of its cost was met by the Bishop of Lincoln of the day, who gave £1,200 anonymously and later revealed himself, giving £2,011 in all towards a total cost of £3,000. The letters ILCS on the bay window overlooking the Cam stand for a Latin form of "John of Lincoln, Keeper of the Seal". The college had hoped for a classical building with pillared porticos, but the bishop preferred a more traditional design, and the library is counted among the early examples of English neo-Gothic.

Practical notes

The college says its grounds are closed to tourism, apart from specified paid-entry dates, so check its website before visiting. Free entry is offered to alumni, University and CAM card holders (each with two guests), Cambridge residents with proof of a CB postcode, prospective students and people attending chapel services or other events. Groups of five or more must be led by a registered guide, and no dogs are allowed except assistance dogs.