User:Solipsist/sandbox

King's College Chapel is the most famous landmark of the Cambridge skyline. It is the centrepiece of Henry VI's plan to establish a premier seat of religious learning in University of Cambridge. Designed in the Perpendicular Gothic style, the chapel took over a century to build spanning five kings of England and interupted by civil war. The interior of the chapel is crowned by an outstanding fan vaulted stone ceiling, the largest fan vault ceiling in the world.

History

Henry VI, the pious King, was still a teenager when he estabilshed King's College, Cambridge in 1440 as the more mature partner of his other 'royal and religious' foundation at the school of Eton. At the time, the University was at the height of its first spurt of growth and the sole purpose of all the Colleges was to train clergy. As Henry put it, King's College was "To extirpate heresies, to increase the number of clergy and to provide ministers of religion whose life and doctrine would give light to his subjects". As such the chapel was the centre of college life, and Henry intended his chapel to be the most spectacular ever seen.

Early in the 15th Century, Cambridge had half a dozen small colleges arranged between the high street and the River Cam on either side of Milne Street which connected Cambridges two mills (the sluices for the water wheel of the southern mill still exists near The Mill pub on Mill Lane.) On choosing the site for the new college, the King's commisioners wielded absolute power and chose place the college in the centre of town with the chapel cutting across the middle of Milne Street - the narrow road along which tourist are encouraged to approach the chapel today. The obsolete southern portion of the road with the original main entrance to Queens' College is now called Queens Lane and is virtually unused.

First phase of building

In choosing the design for the chapel, Henry VI was heavily influenced by the chapels that William of Wykeham built at Winchester College and New College, Oxford. Henry laid out a grand plan for the college, but the chapel is the only part that was actually built to his instructions. Henry originally designated a quarry at Thefdale near Tadcaster to supply a white magnesium limestone for the college and laid the foundation stone for the new chapel on St James Day, 25 July 1446. Three years later a second Yorkshire quarry at Huddleston was also donated to the college to supply more material. The stone would have been brought to Cambridge by water, along the east coast of England and up the River Cam.

Henry VI's intentions for the chapel are laid out in his 'wille and entent' of 12 March 1448, in which he specified that the chapel should be;

in length 288 feet of assize without aisles and all of the wideness of 40 feet, being in height 90 feet.

The final building is quite close to these dimensions.

The first master mason to work on the chapel was the royal architect Reginald of Ely who started to draw up the plans in 1444 and directed the construction from 1446 – 1461. For the first 11 years the project was funded by a grant of £1000 a year from the King's estate at the Duchy of Lancaster. However, after this the payments for construction became more irratic. Records show that Reginald of Ely was not paid at all in 1459, and he was still pressing for back pay when he died in 1471. The root of the problem was that the Henry VI had become embroiled in the Wars of the Roses. Funding became uncertain as the King's fortunes waned and when he was finally deposed and taken prisoner on 4 March 1461 the builders decided their chances of ever getting paid had evaporated so they downed tools and went home. A half cut stone abandoned on that day was much later used as the foundation stone of the neighbouring Gibbs building in 1724.

At the end of the first phase of building Reginald of Ely had completed the foundations to the chapel and built the first bay and the towers at the east end of the chapel to a height of about 70 feet. A further five bays had been partially built to a height of 15 feet. The stone used for later construction is a darker oolitic limestone, so the outline of the first phase of construction can clearly be seen where the stone changes colour.

Reginald of Ely is commemorated by a cieling boss bearing his image in the North East side chapel.

Second phase of building

Henry VI was succeeded by King Edward IV who had little interest in the chapel but he did provide enough money for building to resume in 1477. And when Richard III came to the throne in 1483 even more funds were made available.

The second master mason to work on the chapel was John Wolrich, but he was soon replaced by Simon Clerk in 1478. Clerk brought his experience of being the master mason Abbey of Bury St Edmunds and Henry VI's other school at Eton. It is possible that it was his idea to change the interior design from a conventional lierne vault to the more elaborate fan vault, although the actual construction of the vaulted ceiling didn't start until much later.

Construction was halted again, whe Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. At this point, Clerk had more or less completed the first five bays of the chapel. Finished off with a temporary wooded roof, services at the chapel could begin.

Third phase of building

With Henry VII taking the English crown he sealed the Wars of the Roses by marrying Elizabeth of York and uniting the houses of York and Lancaster. Initially Henry spent his efforts in uniting the country.

In an effort to further bolster his claim to the throne, Henry VII decided it would be advantageous to reinforce his status as head of the Church by wrapping himself in the mantle of the 'the royal saint' Henry VI. The fact that his mother Lady Margaret Beaufort had pledged herself to complete Henry VI's religious projects was no small influence.

In 1506 Henry VII visited Cambridge for the service of the Knights of the Garter on 22 April, St George's Eve. Two years later Henry reinitiated the flow of money and construction resumed in earnest in 1508. Although Henry died the following year, his will provided enough money for the chapel to be finished.

This final phase of construction was overseen by the master mason John Wastell. By 1512 the outer fabric of the building was completed. Henry VII's executors then delivered a chest containing £5000 to furnish the interior. The chest still remains at the chapel and can be seen in one of the northern side chapels.

Henry VI's original design had specified that the interior of the chapel should be relatively plain and austere as can be seen at the eastern end of the chapel. However Henry VII stamped his mark with much more elaborate decoration in the antechapel at the west end. Here the walls are covered with heraldic devices representing his royal coat of arms, the emblems of his mother and father and the unification of the House of York and Lancaster.

In 1515 work began on the fan vaulting. The vaults were built under contract to John Wastell and Henry Semak at a cost of £100 per bay. The fan vaults are a form of three dimensional arch. In addition to the key stone at the pinicle of the primary arches, the vaults are locked together by the bosses hanging at the centre of each bay. Each boss is carved from a single block of stone an weighs approximately one ton. The whole ceiling is estimated to be constructed from some 1,875 tons of stone.

Emblems and symbols

Various emblems and heraldic devices can be seen in the decoration of the chapel, particularly in the antechapel and around the main doorways. The principal symbols are

• The double Tudor rose — combining the red rose of the House of Lancaster, inset into the simpler white rose of the House of York.
• The portcullis — the emblem of the Beaufort family and Henry VII's mother Lady Margaret Beaufort.
• The shield of the Royal Arms of England — Henry VII's coat of arms
• The red dragon of Cadwallader — One of the supporters to the Royal Arms, comes from Henry VII's father and the Tudor family. Also seen entwined in the railings of the exterior gate covering the west door.
• The greyhound — The other supporter to the Royal Arms, from Henry VII's mother and the Beaufort family.
• The fleur-de-lys — adopted by the Kings of England since Edward III indicating their claim to the French throne.

Most of the antechapel, the external doorways and

Factlets

Adoration of the Magi by Rubens, bought for a world record price of £275,000 by Major A. E. Allnatt who donated it to the College.

The current organ was originally built by Thomas Dallam in 1605–06, although over the years most parts of the organ have been updated and replaced so only the casing is likely to be original. Most of the organ seen today dates from the restorations of Hill and Son in 1834 and 1859, who added the gold covered statues of angel trumpeters.

The most intricate stone carvings, including the portcullises, roses and heraldic beasts, are carved from Caen stone from France.

The Chapel underwent major restoration work in 1965-68, supervised by Sir Martyn Beckett, partly to clean the stonework but also to provide a better setting of Ruben's painting. This included lowering the floor in the choir so that the painting didn't obscure the east window.

Windows

The stained glass windows demonstrate typology or prefiguration with scenes from the old testament in the upper half of each window reflected with concordant scene from the new testament in the lower half of the window.

Details of the windows from the north west corner; 1-top left, 2-bottom left, 3-top right, 4-bottom right

• A1 Joachim's offering rejected
• A2 Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate of the Temple
• A3 An Angel bids him return to Jerusalem
• A4 Birth of thr Virgin

• B1 Presentation of the Golden Table in the Temple of the Sun
• B2 Presentation of the Virgin
• B3 Marriage of Tobias and Sara
• B4 Marriage of Joseph and Mary

• C1 Eve tempted
• C2 The Annunciation
• C3 The Burning Bush
• C4 The Birth of Jesus Christ

• D1 The Circumcision of Isaac
• D2 The Circumcision of Christ
• D3 The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon
• D4 The Adoration of the Magi

• E1 Purification of women under the law
• E2 Presentation of Christ in the Temple
• E3 Jacob's flight from Esau
• E4 The flight into Egypt

• F1 The Golden Calf
• F2 The Idols of Egypt falling
• F3 Massacre of the seed royal by Athalia
• F4 Massacre of the innocents

• G1 Naaman washing in Jordan
• G2 The Baptism of Christ
• G3 Jacob tempts Esau to sell his Birthright
• G4 Christ tempted by Satan

• H1 Elisha raising the Shunamite's son
• H2 The raising of Lazarus
• H3 David's triumph after slaying Goliath
• H4 Christ's entry into Jerusalem

• I1 Mana falling from Heaven
• I2 The Last Supper
• I3 The Fall of the Rebel Angels
• I4 The agony in the garden

• J1 Cain killing Abel
• J2 The betrayal
• J3 Shimei cursing David
• J4 Christ mocked

• K1 Jerimiah imprisoned
• K2 Christ before Annas
• K3 The shame of Noah
• K4 Christ before Herod

• L1 Job tormented
• L2 Christ scourged
• L3 Solomon crowned
• L4 Chist crowned with thorns

• M1 Christ nailed to the cross
• M2 The Crucifixion
• M3 The Deposition
• M4 Ecco homo
• M5 Pilate washing his hands
• M6 Christ bearing the cross

• N1 Moses and teh Brazen serpent (Hedgeland 1845)
• N2 Naomi and her daughters-in-law bewailing Elimelech
• N3 as N1
• N4 Christ bewailed

• O1 Joseph cast into the pit
• O2 The entombment
• O3 The Exodus
• O4 The Harrowing of Hell

• P1 Jonah cast up by the whale
• P2 The Resurrection
• P3 Tobias returning to his mother
• P4 Christ appearing to the Virgin

• Q1 Reuben seeks Joseph
• Q2 The three Marys at Sepulchre
• Q3 Darius finds Daniel alice in the Den of Lions
• Q4 Christ recognised by St Mary Magadalene

• R1 The Angel Raphael meets Tobias
• R2 Christ on the way to Emmaus
• R3 Habbakuk feeding Daniel in the Den
• R4 The Supper of Emmaus

• S1 The return of the prodigal son
• S2 The Incredulity of St Thomas
• S3 The meeting of Joseph and Jacob
• S4 Christ appearing to the Apostles

• T1 Elijah carried up to Heaven
• T2 The Ascension
• T3 Moses receives the Law
• T4 The Descent of the Holy Spirit

• U1 St Peter and St John heal the lame man
• U2 St Peter and the Apostles going to the Temple
• U3 The Apostles arrested
• U4 The death of Ananias

• V1 The Conversion of St Paul
• V2 St Paul saying farewell at Philippi
• V3 St Paul at Damascus
• V4 St Paul stoned at Lystra

• W1 St Paul at Philippi exorcises the woman with the spirit divination
• W2 St Paul saying farewell at Philippi
• W3 St Paul before the Chief Captain Lysias
• W4 St Paul before Nero

• X1 The death of Tobit
• X2 The death of the Virgin
• X3 The burial of Jacob
• X4 The funeral of the Virgin

• Y1 The translation of Enoch
• Y2 The Assumption of the Virgin
• Y3 Solomon and Bath-sheba
• Y4 The Coronation of the Virigin

• Z (The West Window) The Last Judgement (Clayton and Bell, 1879)

References

• King's College Chapel Cambridge: The Story and the Restoration, Rodney Tibbs (1970), Terence Dalton Limited.

---

UK Post box design

• http://www.wicks.org/pulp/part1.html
• http://www.bathpostalmuseum.org/postbox.html