Queens' College, Cambridge

Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is amongst the oldest and largest colleges of the University, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou (the Queen of Henry VI, who founded nearby King's College), and has some of the most recognisable buildings in Cambridge. The college spans both sides of the river Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light side" and the "dark side", with the world famous Mathematical Bridge connecting the two. Queens' College has been a centre of learning for more than 550 years and its distinguished alumni include Desiderius Erasmus, Stephen Fry, Abba Eban and T. H. White. The College has a financial endowment valued at £54.9 million

History
The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou (the Queen of Henry VI), and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville (the Queen of Edward IV). This dual foundation is reflected in its orthography: Queens ' , not Queen's, although the full name is The Queen's College of St Margaret and St Bernard, commonly called Queens' College, in the University of Cambridge.

In 1446 Andrew Dokett obtained a Charter from King Henry VI to found St Bernard's College on a site now part of St Catharine's College. A year later the charter was revoked and Andrew Dokett obtained a new charter from the king to found St Bernard's College on the present site of Old Court and Cloister Court. In 1448 King Henry VI granted Margaret of Anjou the lands of St Bernard's College to build a new college to be called Queen's College of St Margaret and St Bernard.

By 1460 the Library, Chapel, Gatehouse and the President's Lodge were completed and the chapel licensed for service. In 1477 and 1484 King Richard III made large endowments to the college, which were later taken away by King Henry VII. Between that time and the early 1600s many improvements were made and new buildings constructed, including the Walnut Tree Building, which was completed in 1618. Since then the college has refurbished most of its old building and steadily expanded.

During the English civil war, the college sent all its silver to help the King. As a result the president and the fellows were ejected from their posts. In 1660 the president was restored.

In 1777 a fire in the Walnut-Tree Building destroyed the upper floors which had to be rebuilt 1778-82.

In 1823 the spelling of the college's name officially changed from Queen's to Queens'. The earliest known record of the college Boat Club dates from 1831. In 1862 the St Bernard Society, the debating club of the college was founded. In 1884 was the first football match played by the college team. Also in 1884, the St Margaret Society was founded.

In 1980, the first woman was admitted to the college.

The College Arms
These arms are those of the first foundress Queen, Margaret of Anjou, which she derived from those of her father Rene, Duke of Anjou, with the addition of a green border for the College. The six quarters of these arms represent the six lordships (either actual or titular) which he claimed. The green border appears to be intended as a difference for Queens' College. These arms are of interest because the third quarter (Jerusalem) uses gold on silver, a combination which is extremely rare in heraldry. The cross potent is a visual pun on the letters H and I, the first two letters of Hierusalem.

The College Badge


These are not the official arms of the College, but, rather, a badge. The silver boar's head was the badge of King Richard III of England. Richard's wife Anne Neville was the third Queen consort to be patroness of the College. The earliest evidence of the college using a boar's head as a symbol is from 1544. The gold cross stands for St Margaret, and the gold crozier for St Bernard, the two patron saints of Queens' College. Today, this badge is widely used by College Clubs, and also appears in connection with food or dining.

Buildings and location


Queens' College has some of the most recognisable buildings in Cambridge. It combines medieval and modern architecture in extensive gardens. It sits astride the River Cam, its two halves joined across the river by the famous Mathematical Bridge. Queens' College is located in the centre of the city. It is the second southernmost of the colleges on the banks of the Cam, primarily on the East bank. (The others — in distance order — are King's, Clare, Trinity Hall, Trinity, St John's, and Magdalene to the north and Darwin to the south.)

President's Lodge of Queens' is the oldest building on the river at Cambridge (ca. 1460). Queens' College is also one of only two colleges with buildings on its main site on both sides of the River Cam (the other being St John's).

Old Court was built between 1448 and 1451. Stylistic matters suggest that this was designed by and built under the direction of the master mason Reginald Ely, who was also at the same time erecting the original Old Court of King's College (now part of the University Old Schools opposite Clare College), and the start of King's College Chapel. Whereas King's was built using very expensive stone, Queens' Old Court was made using cheaper clunch with a red brick skin. Queens' was finished within two years, whereas King's Old Court was never finished, and the chapel took nearly a century to build.

Cloister Court: the Cloister walks were erected in the 1490s to connect the Old Court of 1448/9 with the riverside buildings of the 1460s, thus forming the court now known as Cloister Court.

Walnut Tree Court was erected 1616–18. Walnut Tree Building on the East side of the court dates from around 1617 and was the work of the architects Gilbert Wragge and Henry Mason at a cost of £886.9s. Only the ground floor of the original construction remains after a fire in 1777, so it was rebuilt from the first floor upwards between 1778–1782, and battlements were added to it in 1823. This court was formerly the site of a Carmelite monastery founded in 1292, but is now the location of the College Chapel and various fellows' rooms. The present walnut tree in the court stands on the line of a former wall of the monastery, and was a replacement form an older one in the same position after which the court was named.

The College Chapel in Walnut Tree Court was designed by George Frederick Bodley and consecrated in 1891. It follows the traditional College Chapel form of an aisleless nave with rows of pews on either side, following the plan of monasteries, reflecting the origins of many Colleges as a place for training priests for the ministry. The triptych of paintings on the altarpiece panel may have originally been part of a set of five paintings, are late 15th Century Flemish, and are attributed to the 'master of the View of St Gudule'. They depict, from left to right, the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Resurrection of Jesus, and Christ's Appearance to the Disciples.

Essex Building, erected 1756–60, is so named after its builder, James Essex the Younger (1722–1784), a local carpenter who had earlier erected the wooden bridge.

Friar's Court: in response to the college's growth in student numbers during the 19th century, the President's second garden was taken as the site for new student accommodation called Friars' Building, designed by W. M. Fawcett and built in 1886. It is flanked on the East by the Dokett Building, designed by C. G. Hare and built in 1912 from thin red Daneshill brick with Corsham stone dressings and mullioned windows. The Erasmus Building completes what it now called Friar's Court on the West. It was designed by Sir Basil Spence and erected in 1959, and is notable for being the first college building on the Backs to be designed in the Modernist tradition.

Fisher Building, named after St John Fisher, was erected in 1936 and designed by G.C. Drinkwater. It continued the Queens' tradition of using red brick. The window frames are of teak, and all internal woodwork is oak. It was the first student accommodation in Queens' to lie west of the river. It was also the first building in Queens' to have bathrooms and toilets on the staircase landings close to the student rooms. These were so clearly evident that it prompted an observer at that time to comment that the building "seemed to have been designed by a sanitary engineer".

Cripps Court, incorporating Lyon Court (named after Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother), was designed by Powell, Moya and Partners and built in stages between 1972 and 1980. It houses 171 student bedrooms, three Combination Rooms (Junior for undergraduate students, Middle for Postgraduates, and Senior for Fellows of the College) and a bar, three Fellows' Flats, a solarium, Dining Hall and kitchens, a gymnasium, squash courts, various function rooms, a large multipurpose auditorium (The Fitzpatrick Hall) and a creche. It was the benefaction of the Cripps Foundation, and was the largest building ever put up by the College. It enables the College to offer accommodation to undergraduates within the main college site for three years. A fourth floor was added in 2007, providing student accommodation and fellows' offices. Disabled access ramps and security doors were added in 2010.

The Mathematical Bridge


The Mathematical Bridge (officially named the Wooden Bridge) crosses the River Cam and connects the older half of the college (affectionately referred to by students as The Dark Side) with the newer, western, half (The Light Side, officially known as 'The Island'). It is one of the most photographed scenes in Cambridge; the typical photo being taken from the nearby Silver Street bridge.

Popular fable is that the bridge was designed and built by Sir Isaac Newton without the use of nuts or bolts, and at some point in the past students or fellows attempted to take the bridge apart and put it back together. The myth continues that the over-ambitious engineers were unable to match Newton's feat of engineering, and had to resort to fastening the bridge by nuts and bolts. This is why nuts and bolts can be seen in the bridge today. This story is false: the bridge was built of oak in 1749 by James Essex the Younger (1722–1784) to the design of the master carpenter William Etheridge (1709–1776), 22 years after Newton died.

It was later repaired in 1866 due to decay and had to be completely rebuilt in 1905. The rebuild was to the same design except made from teak, and the stepped walkway was made sloped for increased wheelchair access. A handrail was added on one side to facilitate the Queen Mother crossing the bridge on her visits to the college. The ever-present boltheads are more visible in the post-1905 bridge which may have given rise to this failed reassembly myth.

Education at Queens'
Queens' College accepts students from all academic disciplines, except the combination of Education with English and Drama. The only condition for admission is academic potential. Similar to other Cambridge colleges, all candidates go through an interview process. Undergraduate applicants in Computer Science, Economics, Engineering and Natural Sciences are expected to have taken the Thinking Skills Assessment before they can be admitted.

As in all other Cambridge colleges, undergraduate education is based on the tutorial system. The faculty and academic supervisors associated with the colleges play a very important part in the academic success of students. Queens' College ranked 14th of the 31 Cambridge colleges in the 2011 Tompkins Table. Its average position since 1997 is 8th.

The college maintains strong ties with Cambridge Judge Business School and has a growing graduate community, including a lively mix of doctoral, medical and PGCE students.

Student life and college traditions
Despite being an ancient college, Queens' is known for being among the more open and relaxed Cambridge colleges. The college provides facilities to support most sports and arts. There are a variety of clubs ranging from rowing to wine tasting. Undergraduates are guaranteed accommodation on the main College site, while graduates usually live in College residence located in Newnham village, a fifteen-minute walk from the central site. The College also owns several houses and flats in Cambridge, which are usually occupied by doctoral students and married couples.

Queens' has very active student societies, known as the Junior Combination Room and the Middle Combination Room, which represent the students and organise various activities for undergraduate and graduate students respectively. The college hosts a lavish May Ball. Florence And The Machine, Bombay Bicycle Club, Alex Clare and Klaxons have played at the event.

Queens' has a strong reputation for music and drama, with the Fitzpatrick Hall providing theatre and concert space for students and societies from across the University.

List of royal patrons
The college enjoyed royal patronage in its early years. Then, after a 425 year break, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, became the college patron. Since 2003 Queen Elizabeth II has been a patron of the college.

In popular culture
T.H. White's novel Darkness at Pemberley is initially set in a thinly disguised Queens' College, called St. Bernard's College.

References to personalities at Queens' can be detected in Stephen Fry' works.

College officials
Refer to:
 * Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge
 * List of Presidents of Queens' College, Cambridge