Jesus College

The Benedictine nunnery of St Mary and St Radegund was founded on pasture called "Greencroft" about 1133, and enlarged by Malcolm IV., King of Scotland and Earl of Cambridge.

The nunnery, having fallen into decay, was dissolved, and, by permission of Henry VII. and Pope Julius, Jesus College was founded upon its site, and to some extent in its buildings, in 1496, by John Alcock, Bishop of Ely. It was endowed with the revenues of the nunnery.

Alcock had great taste and skill as an architect, which is proved by various parts of the College, more especially the entrance-gateway, the oriel window in the hall and the entrance to the cloisters from the first court, as well as by Great St Mary's Church, and by his chapel in Ely Cathedral.

Besides the College proper, which was contained in the cloister court, Alcock's foundation included a grammar school for boys which was placed in the range westward from the gate-tower. The College is pleasantly situated apart from the other Colleges, among the meadows, and it has more peculiarity in its construction than any other College, which is due to its arrangement having been adapted from the nunnery.

It is entered by a road leading from Jesus Lane, between the Master's garden and the Fellows' garden, to Alcock 's gateway, which is a lighter and more elegant architectural composition than the gateways of the other Colleges, and has no flanking turrets. The archway is surmounted by a graceful ogee-canopy, in the niche above which is a statue of the founder and his rebus or name device-a cock standing on a ball.

The first and chief court, in Gothic style of red brick, is an illustration of the great advantage of having one side open, which, together with its position and its ivy-covered walls, gives it a very pleasing appearance. The southern range dates mainly from the founder's time; the building opposite from the reign of Charles I.

A handsome Perpendicular doorway on the eastern side, with the ogee-canopy and cock and ball, leads to the cloister-court, which occupies the position of the nuns' cloister, and was modified from it. This was Alcock's quadrangle.

In the eastern walk of the cloister is the very beautiful entrance to the nuns' chapter-house, the date of which is approximately 1200.

The Hall on the north side is substantially the refectory of the nuns, altered and refaced by Alcock. Unlike other Cambridge Halls It is on an upper floor, the usual place of a monastic refectory. It is a well proportioned room, with an elegant oriel window, fitted with stained glass, and having delicate tracery above. The cock appears on the corbels which support the timber roof, and in the windows.

There are portraits of Rustat, by Sir Peter Lely ; of Archbishop Sterne, of his great-grandson, Laurence Sterne, and of S. T. Coleridge. The hall was lengthened by moving the screen and the entrance to it, and the arrangement of the butteries and adjacent parts was altered by Waterhouse, in 1875.

The Combination Room is on the east of the hall, and contains portraits of Cranmer (reputed to be by Holbein, but of later date), of Henry VIII. and of Mary Queen of Scots, also one by Nicholas Maas, bearing the name of Harvey.

The hall-staircase leads to the library, which occupies the upper storey of the east side of the first court. It is a good room with timber roof and oak stalls, the original contents of which are still in many instances indicated by inscription on panes in the stained glass placed by the founder in the adjoining windows. It is rich chiefly in theological works of the 16th century, and it contains a human skeleton in a wooden case with glass doors.

The Master's Lodge, on the east of the entrance gateway, includes the western portion of the conventual church; other parts of the lodge are contained in the portion of the Nunnery allotted to the prioress.

A handsome new wing was built, in 1885, on the east side of the college, of red brick with stone facings, after the style of Alcock's quadrangle and gateway, Carpenter and Ingelow being the architects. The building on the north side of the third court was erected by Waterlow in 1870.

The Chapel, formed from the conventual church, has undergone many and great alterations at various times. It affords an example of the transition from Norman into Early English, and is one of the most beautiful and interesting structures in Cambridge. It is entered from the cloister by a door cut in the west wall of the north transept. This transept is the oldest part of the building, dating about 1150.

A turret-staircase in the north-eastern angle of this transept leads to the clerestory-gallery; and in the north wall is a square-headed doorway (blocked), which probably led to the dormitory staircase of the nuns. All the aisles of the chancel and of the nave were pulled down by Alcock, who blocked the several pier-arches and other arches so as to leave little trace of them ; and he placed the Perpendicular windows of his own date in the walls.

An arcade of round arches, discovered in 1884, may be seen on the outer or cloister side of the north transept. The nave is considered to be the next oldest in order of antiquity to the transepts, but it was greatly altered and curtailed in size when Alcock converted the church into a College chapel.

The western portion, which once served as the church of the long extinct parish of St Radegund, was turned into college rooms and now forms a part of the Master's lodge.

Alcock also destroyed the pier-arches, filled up the Early English arcades and inserted plain Perpendicular windows in the upper part of the walls. Portions of the Early English western doorway of the Nuns' Church were discovered, in 1885, close to the garden entrance to the lodge. The south transept has been treated in like manner with the nave. Near the south-eastern corner of it is a tombstone bearing the date, in Arabic figures, 1261, and the inscription, "Moribus ornata jacet hic bona Berta rosata."

Close to it is the mutilated monument of a priest, and a flag-stone marking the grave of John de Pykenham, described in the inscription as "prior of this place." On the western wall of this transept may be noted a large monument to Tobias Rustat, yeoman of the robes to Charles II., who was a great benefactor of the College.

The original tower fell down in 1277; and the eastern and southern piers and arches of the present tower indicate that they were built soon after that date, being in good Early English style. Of the four pointed arches which sustain the tower the one towards the nave and the one towards the north transept only have the dog-tooth moulding. The uppermost part of the tower was built by Alcock.

The chancel retains on its sides the beautiful Early English work which has long been an object of attraction. The eastern wall, which had been pointed in Perpendicular style, by Alcock, was taken down in 1849 and rebuilt with a triple lancet on the plan of an ancient one, the remains of which were discovered in the wall.

The revival of taste during the nineteenth century evinced itself in the removal of many of the ugly additions which obscured the old and beautiful structure. Sir John Sutton (a fellow commoner), gave the screen, organ, lectern, three windows, the second bell, and plans for the panelled roof and the pavement; all from the designs of Pugin.

Archbishops Cranmer, Bancroft and Sterne; Bishop Pearson, John Strype, Flamstead, the first Astronomer Royal, Lawrence Sterne, Robert Maithus and S. T. Coleridge were at this college.

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