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'St John's College' is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1511. It is Cambridge's third largest college by size of its membership, after Trinity College and Homerton College. It is one of the richest colleges with fixed assets of £504,109,000 and an annual income from endowments estimated at £7,000,000. A substantial portion of this income is used for activities that benefit students from other colleges; for example John's runs several University women's sports clubs and supports the running costs of New Hall, which was built on its land.
Eight Nobel Prizes have been awarded to members of John's. John's is also famous for what is generally acknowledged to be one of the finest collegiate choirs in the world.

Contents

History

Choir

College life

St John's and the abolition of the British slave trade

Famous alumni

Politics

Science, mathematics, and technology

Literature

Other

References

External links

History

The college was founded on the site of the 13th century Hospital of St John in Cambridge at the suggestion of Saint John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and chaplain to Lady Margaret. However, Lady Margaret died without having mentioned the foundation of St John's in her will, and it was largely the work of Fisher that ensured that the college was founded. He had to obtain the approval of King Henry VIII of England, the Pope through the intermediary Polydore Vergil, and the Bishop of Ely to suppress the religious hospital and convert it to a college. The college received its charter on April 9 1511. Further complications arose in obtaining money from the estate of Lady Margaret to pay for the foundation and it was not until October 22 1512 that a codicil was obtained in the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. In November 1512 the Court of Chancery allowed Lady Margaret's executors to pay for the foundation of the college from her estates.
The First Court was converted from the hospital on the foundation of the college. It has since been gradually changed, and the original 13th century hospital chapel and other buildings were demolished in the middle of the 19th century. The new chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and includes in its interior some pieces saved from the original chapel. The original chapel foundations can still be seen in the First Court. The First Court was used as a prison in 1643 during the English Civil War, when the college was on the Royalist side, while the city of Cambridge was largely on the Parliamentary side.

Second Court, built from 1589 to 1599, has been described as 'the finest Tudor court in England'. Reputedly under the Oriel window in the north range of the court the treaty between England and France was signed that established the marriage of King Charles I of England to Queen Henrietta Maria. Parts of the D-day landings are also said to have been planned here. Now the Senior Combination Room, but before the 19th century part of the Master's Lodge, the first-floor gallery along the north range has the largest unsupported ceiling in Cambridge. The college has blocked the installation of electrical power sockets and lighting (as well as smoke alarms) in the room, and all meals held after dark are lit with large numbers of candles.
The Old Library was built in 1624, largely with funds donated by John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln. It includes a very fine bay window overlooking the River Cam that has the letters ILCS on it, standing for Iohannes Lincolniensis Custos Sigilli, or John of Lincoln, Keeper of the Seal. The remaining parts of Third Court were added in 1669 - 1672.

Connecting Third Court to New Court is New Bridge, commonly known as the Bridge of Sighs. It is named after the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, which it resembles. The other bridge over the river, the Kitchen Bridge (named after the lane it followed the line of, Kitchen Lane), which is to the south of the Bridge of Sighs, was partly based on plans made by Sir Christopher Wren, and is therefore also known as the Wren Bridge.
The 19th century Gothic New Court, probably one of the most famous buildings in Cambridge, was the first College building on the west side of the river. It was built mainly as a result of the need to accommodate the increased numbers of students. Its prominent location (especially when seen from the river) and flamboyant design have led it to be nicknamed the "wedding cake."
New Court connects to the Fisher Building, named after John Fisher; the Cripps Building, named after its benefactor, the Cripps Foundation (see Sir Humphrey Cripps); the School of Pythagoras; and Merton Hall.
The Fisher Building was designed by Peter Boston and completed in 1987.
The Cripps Building was built in 1966-67 to meet a post-1945 expansion in the numbers of students. It has two courts, and was designed by architects Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya. The building received many awards, and has become a famous example of later 20th-century architectural style.
The School of Pythagoras was built around 1200, predating the foundation of the College (1511). Merton Hall is so called because from 1266^[1] until 1959 both the School of Pythagoras and Merton Hall were property of Merton College, Oxford.

Choir

Main articles: Choir of St John's College, Cambridge

The choir has a distinguished tradition of religious music and since the 1670s has sung the daily services in the College Chapel during the University Term. The services follow the cathedral tradition of the Church of England, Evensong being sung during Term six days a week and Sung Eucharist on Sunday mornings. The boys of the choir are all educated at the St John's College School.
During university vacations the choir carries out engagements elsewhere. Recent tours have taken it to places including Holland, the USA and France. The choir has made a large number of recordings.
The men of the choir, or choral scholars, also form their own world renowned close harmony group, The Gentlemen of St John's. Their repertoire spans the 15th century through to the modern day, and concert tours have taken them to Europe, the USA and Japan. Providing a mixture of classical a capella music and folksongs, as well as covers of recently chart hits and light-hearted entertainment, they are highly in demand for private functions and public concerts.

College life

The College is on the Backs, the area of college parkland on the banks of the river Cam, providing a particularly beautiful setting. This allows the college to maintain a significant fleet of punts in its purpose-built punt pool behind the Cripps Building, and in the summer College members frequently enjoy the sunshine on the grass by the river or in front of New Court.
The School of Pythagoras predates was originally a private house. It is said to be the oldest building continuously in use by a university in Britain.
St John's has a good academic reputation. In addition to its Nobel prize winners, it is usually placed highly in the Tompkins Table of undergraduate degree results.


John's features heavily in the sports rivalries of the university. It is considered by some members of the university to be ungenerous with its accumulated wealth although this assertion has been contested (see statistics above), and is the subject of a song: "I would rather be at Oxford than at John's", which is sung by students of neighbouring colleges to the tune of "She'll be coming round the mountains":
:''I'd rather be at Oxford than at John's''
:''Ohh - I'd rather be at Oxford than at John's''
::''I'd rather be at Oxford''
::''Rather be at Oxford''
:''I'd rather be at Oxford than at John's''
The lyrics are based on the widely-held belief at Cambridge that Oxford should be viewed with disdain (see Oxbridge rivalry).
The song sung in response by students at John's is "You'll Never Be at John's" to the tune of "You'll never walk alone":
:''Apply, apply, with hope in your hearts''
:''But you'll never be at John's''
::''You'll never be at John's''
:''Sign on, sign on''
The College cocktail is the ''Red Boy'', which is made of a bottle of Diamond White, grenadine, and a mixture of shots (usually Archers (Peach Schnapps) and vodka).
The 'Red Boys' is the nickname of the 1^st XV Men's Rugby Team, and the Red Boy is the name of the red jumper they wear. The 'Red Girls' is the nickname of the 1^st Women's Rugby Team. St John's College Men's Rugby Club has won the Division One League title for the last six years in a row and the cuppers trophy for the last three making it one of the most successful collegiate rugby teams in Cambridge's history. The women's team has also experienced success this year with them securing the league title.
Members of college may take to the Cam and row for the Lady Margaret Boat Club (LMBC), which was founded in 1825. Despite many gruesome rumours concerning the name of the club, it was merely the most successful of the many boat clubs established in the College in the 19th century. In a similar fashion the traditional rival of the LMBC, the Boat Club of Trinity College, is known as 'First and Third' in a reference to its formation from two original clubs.
The college has an active Film Society, which shows films twice a week during the university term.
Every year the college awards prestigious and generous scholarships to a handful of graduate students under the Benefactors’ Scholarships Scheme. The scholarships include the Craik Scholarship, the J.C. Hall Scholarship, the Luisa Aldobrandini Studentship Competition, the Paskin Scholarship and the Pelling Scholarship. Competition for these scholarships is very fierce as students from any country reading for any graduate degree - not only members of the college - can apply.

St John's and the abolition of the British slave trade

Several of St John's graduates were deeply involved in the efforts to abolish the British Slave Trade which culminated in the Act of 1807. In particular, Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce, Thomas Gisborne and Thomas Babington were active in the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and other abolitionist efforts[1].
As part of the commemoration of the bicentenary of the 1807 Act, and as a representative of one of the Ivy League universities offering American historical perspective on the Triangular Trade, President Ruth J. Simmons of Brown University (herself a direct descendant of American slaves) gave a public lecture at St John's College entitled "Hidden in Plain Sight: Slavery and Justice in Rhode Island"[2] on February 16 2007. St John's College hosted some of the key events relating to the commemoration,[3]including an academic conference and a Gospel Mass in the College Chapel with the London Adventist Chorale.

Famous alumni

''See also ''

''See also ''

Politics

★ William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, chief advisor to Queen Elizabeth I of England

★ Thomas Clarkson, abolitionist (1760–1846)

★ Nigel Dodds, Democratic Unionist Party MP, MLA

★ Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Baron Fairfax of Cameron, English Civil War General and Commander-in-Chief

★ George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister (1852–55)

★ The Hon and Rev Richard Hill of Hawkstone, diplomatist, statesman and public servant (1655–1727)

★ Suematsu Kencho, Japanese Minister of Communication and the Interior, statesman, journalist and historian

★ Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon, as 1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister (1827–28)

★ Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby, politician

★ Sir Francis Bell (New Zealand Prime Minister), Prime Minister of New Zealand

★ Sir Michael Scholar, former Permanent Secretary at the Department of Trade and Industry, now President of St John's College, Oxford

★ Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India (2004– )

★ Robert Stewart, 1st Viscount Castlereagh, politician

★ Malcolm Moss, Conservative Member of Parliament for North East Cambridgeshire (1987-)(Parliamentary Under-Secretary Northern Ireland Office 1994-1997)

★ Sarah Teather, MP for Brent East, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesman

★ Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Prime Minister (1855–58 and 1859–65)

★ George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, English diplomat and statesman

★ Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Prime Minister (1765–66 and 1782)

★ Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, notable English statesman during the reign of Charles I

★ William Wilberforce, Member of Parliament, abolitionist

★ John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln (1621–41), Lord Chancellor (1621–25), Archbishop of York (1641–50)

Science, mathematics, and technology

★ John Couch Adams, mathematician and discoverer of Neptune

★ Sir Edward Appleton, winner of the Nobel prize for Physics, for discovering the Appleton layer

★ George Barnard, statistician known for his work on the foundations of statistics.

★ John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, FRS; former Chief Executive of BP

★ Sir John Cockcroft KCB, Nobel prize-winning physicist, who first split the atom

★ Allan Cormack, Nobel laureate in Medicine or Physiology for the invention of the CAT scan

★ Sir David Cox, prominent statistician

★ John Dee, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I

★ Paul Dirac, Nobel laureate in Physics and one of the founders of Quantum Mechanics

★ Thomas Fink, physicist and author

★ William Gilbert, physician and natural philosopher

★ David Harvey, Marxist geographer, social scientist

★ William Heberden, British physician, who gave the first clinical description (1768) of angina pectoris and demonstrated that chicken pox was different from smallpox

★ John Herschel, mathematician and astronomer

★ Sir Fred Hoyle, pioneering but controversial cosmologist who first used the term 'Big Bang'.

★ Sir Harold Jeffreys, applied mathematician and geophysicist

★ Joseph Larmor, mathematician and physicist

★ Alfred Marshall, economist

★ Nevill Francis Mott, awarded Nobel prize for Physics for work on the behaviour of electrons in magnetic solids

★ Sir Charles Algernon Parsons, inventor of the steam turbine

★ Sir Roger Penrose, mathematical physicist and philosopher

★ Abdus Salam, Nobel laureate in Physics, for unifying the electromagnetic force and the weak force

★ Frederick Sanger, molecular biologist and one of only four double Nobel Prize winners

★ Vikram Sarabhai, father of the Indian space programme

★ James Joseph Sylvester, mathematician

★ Brook Taylor, mathematician

★ Sir Maurice Wilkes, one of the founding fathers of modern computer science

★ Maurice Wilkins, awarded Nobel prize for Medicine or Physiology with Watson and Crick for discovering the structure of DNA

Literature

★ Douglas Adams, author

★ Samuel Butler (1835-1902), author

★ William Wordsworth, poet

★ Thomas Nashe, pamphleteer, satirist & playwright

★ Robert Herrick, poet.

★ Louis Cha, famous Chinese novelist and newspaper editor

★ Frederic Raphael, screenwriter, novelist and journalist

Other

★ There is a list on the St John's website [4]

★ Jamie Bamber, actor

★ Sir Cecil Beaton, photographer

★ Chris Brasher, Olympic gold medallist runner, founder of the London Marathon

★ Mike Brearley, cricketer, England Captain

★ Logie Bruce Lockhart, Scotland rugby footballer

★ Damon Buffini, head of private equity firm Permira

★ William George Constable, art historian

★ Rob Andrew, England rugby footballer

★ Kikuchi Dairoku, first Japanese graduate of Cambridge University

★ Rt Rev Dr Peter Carnley, Archbishop of Perth 1981-2005, Primate of Australia 2000-2005

★ Rt Rev and Rt Hon Dr Frederick Donald Coggan, Baron Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury 1974-1980

★ Andrew Gilligan, controversial journalist

★ Saint Richard Gwyn, martyr

★ Sir Harry Hinsley, historian and World War II codebreaker

★ George Guest, Welsh choral conductor, college organist 1951-1991

★ Herbert Howells, English composer, college organist during WWII.

★ Sir Derek Jacobi, actor

★ Donald MacAlister, physician and academic

★ Dr Jonathan Miller, physician, theatre and opera director and television presenter

★ Rt Rev Prof Stephen Sykes, theologian, former Dean of St John's and Bishop of Ely, and principal of St John's College, Durham

★ Kenneth Thomson, of Canada's wealthiest family and Thomson Corp. (information services)

★ Sir Thomas Wyatt 1503-1542, courtier and poet

★ Edward Latymer

★ G. R. S. Mead

References

1. A History of Merton College, Martin, G.H, , , Oxford University Press, 1997,

External links

★ St Johns College on Google maps

★ St John's College

★ Choir of St John's College webcasts

★ A history of St John's choir school and choristers

★ St John's College JCR Website