Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Corpus Christi College (full name: The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary) is a College of the University of Cambridge. It is notable for being the only college to have been founded by Cambridge townspeople, having been founded in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the second-smallest college (after Peterhouse).

History

The licence to build an eighth college in the University of Cambridge was granted by Edward III in 1352 to the newly merged guilds of Corpus Christi and St Mary in the parish of St Bene't's. They immediately began the construction of a single modest court near the parish church and in 1356 it was ready to house a Master and two fellows, who drew up the college's statutes. Continuing their studies in theology and Canon law, they served as chaplains to the guild.

The college's first couple of centuries saw its wealth increase, which was put on display as part of the Corpus Christi guild's annual procession. This involved parading through the streets to Magdalene bridge, before returning for an extravagant dinner. The parade continued until Henry VIII put a stop to it in 1535.

Corpus is exceptionally rich in silver, but its greatest treasure is the Parker Library, one of the finest and most important collections of medieval manuscripts in the world. Its most famous possession is the Canterbury Gospels, probably brought to England in 597 AD by St. Augustine, when he was sent by Pope Gregory I to convert the people of Britain. However, it also contains the principal manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, works by Matthew Paris and Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, to name only a few.

Christopher Marlowe was perhaps the college's most-celebrated son, having matriculated to Corpus in 1580. Although little is known about his time there, it is often believed that it was during his study for his MA that he began his work as a spy, a claim based on only a single cryptic statement by the Privy Council. In 1953 during renovation of the Master's Lodge a portrait of a man "in the 21st year of his age" was discovered. As the painting is dated 1585, the year Marlowe was 21, it is inevitable that it has been claimed as a portrait of the playwright himself.

In recent years, the College has spearheaded the Northern Ireland Initiative which was set up to encourage students from Northern Ireland to apply to Oxbridge, but particularly Cambridge. They hold "Cambridge Taster Days" across the province and Dr. Melanie Taylor spends much of her year travelling around Northern Ireland talking to prospective students and allaying their fears over the interviews and other myths that have appeared over the years.

Buildings

Old Court, built in the 1350s, is one of Cambridge's oldest buildings and retains many of its original features, including sills and jambs to hold oil-soaked linen in the days prior to the arrival of glass. The court was possibly built from the core of an even older building and is the oldest courtyard in Oxford or Cambridge (a claim disputed by Merton College, Oxford who say the same of their Mob Quad) as well as, some say, the oldest continually inhabited courtyard in the country. A new library complex is in the process of being built.

St Bene't's church next door is itself the oldest building in the city, and served as the college's chapel until one was built in around 1500.

New Court (completed 1827) was designed by William Wilkins, who is buried in the college chapel. New Court is also the site of the Parker Library, which was begun in 1376 and much improved by a bequest from Matthew Parker, the college's Master between 1544 and 1553, who as Archbishop of Canterbury formed a fine collection of manuscripts from the libraries of dissolved monasteries. This court also houses Butler Library, which is the college's main library used by students.

There are also several outlying college properties. This includes Benet Street Hostel and Robert Beldam Building, which is just above the famous The Eagle pub, Newnham House which is located near to Newnham College and 2 houses (Nos 6 & 8) in Trumpington Street which is almost directly opposite to Cambridge University Engineering Department. There is also a graduate campus of Leckhampton, which is situated at the west, just outside the city centre. Here there are playing fields, 9½ acres (38,000 m²) of gardens, a swimming pool and some of the best graduate housing in the University.

Oddities, traditions, and legends

As with all old institutions, Corpus has many legends, traditions and general oddities. Here is a sampling:

In Corpus slang, a bop is called a 'slack'.
Corpus owns the Eagle pub (though it is managed by Greene King). Watson and Crick are said to have refreshed themselves in this pub while deliberating over the structure of DNA.
The College is said to be haunted by a number of ghosts. Most famous, and feared, is the terrifying apparition of Henry Butts, hero of the plague of 1630, who (it is said) hanged himself with his garters in the then Master's Lodge. Another is that of Elisabeth Spencer, daughter of the master, and her young lover (both dead in 1667). Their ghosts are said to walk on Christmas Eve. Both sets of apparitions are said to walk through the Parker Room. It is also said to be a "sending down" offence to report a sighting of this apparition.
The College porters are said to refuse to walk through the Great Hall when it is dark and the lights are off. Due to what terrifying spectre, no-one is sure.
A college legend, no doubt scurrilous and unfounded, is that Skullion, the head porter in Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue was modelled on the legendary Albert Jaggard, head porter of Corpus Christi at the time the book was written. Jaggard is remembered in a number of legends still repeated in hushed tones in the small hours of the morning, although some alumni can report detection of a soft centre.
The chapel's three windows by the same stained-glass artist appear at the beginning of a story by M.R. James, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas.
According to student legend, Leckhampton House is the least haunted house in England. Early in its history, the house was home to an enthusiastic experimenter in parapsychology, whose activities are said to have permanently scared off whatever might be inclined to haunt the place.
The Corpus gentlemen's sporting and dining society are known as the Pelicans. The society emerged when the notorious Chess Club was pressured to disband in the 1980s, due to their unacceptable social outings. Members sport beige slacks, with blue shirts and a distinct maroon tie upon which a pelican has been hand sewn. Membership is restricted to those who have represented the college at Cuppers standard in at least three sports, or who have represented the University.
Each Lent term, a one day series of competitions is held against Corpus Cambridge's sister college, Corpus Christi College, Oxford. This competition, the Corpus Challenge, encompasses a number of different field and bar sports and is alternately hosted at Cambridge and Oxford. The 2006 challenge was held in Cambridge and was won by Cambridge for the first time since 1998, with victories in mixed lacrosse, mens hockey, mixed hockey, ladies football and mixed netball.
The mathematics society is named "T. Batterby" after the last Corpus recipient of the wooden spoon. The spoon is still in the college's possession.
The law society is named after Nicholas Bacon.
While the College is known for playwright Christopher Marlowe, its drama society is named the Fletcher Players, after John Fletcher.
Corpus was the only college not to sell its silverware in support of either side during the Civil War. That — and its unrivaled collection of manuscripts and massive collection or rare wines and ports — fuels rumours that it is Cambridge's richest college per student. This is a moot point, since these assets cannot be sold and most cannot be valued.
Part of one of the college's buildings, Botolph Court, which houses some 30 students, is said to be built on top of a 17th century plague pit and slowly sinking into it. This rumour is supported by the old basement under the building, sloping walls and floors and that the building lies just outside the old city wall. The other part is medieval.
The nickname 'Old House' has historically been used to refer to the whole college, but most usually (if, nowadays, at all) to designate the main college buildings, as opposed to outlying places like Leckhampton (e.g. "After my morning swim at Leckers, I'm going to eat lunch at Old House"). It is no longer in common usage among undergraduates (save for in the Latin form, Floreat antiqua domus, in the college toast), although it is still used by some fellows and old members.
Members of the college often refer to themselves as 'Corpuscles'.
There is a persistent myth that during the Second World War, the Master was a high ranking agent from Military Intelligence and that in the event of an invasion by the Germans, Corpus Christi was to become the centre of operations for resistance for the whole of East Anglia. This is untrue. While Cambridge was to be a centre of military government, the address of the command centre was elsewhere in the town.

Famous alumni

Name	Birth	Death	Career
Matthew Parker	1504	1575	Archbishop of Canterbury
Nicholas Bacon	1509	1579	Politician
Thomas Cavendish	1555	1592
John Greenwood		1593	Puritan and Separatist
Christopher Marlowe	1564	1593	Dramatist, poet, translator
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork	1566	1643
John Fletcher	1579	1625	Playwright
Thomas Tenison	1636	1715	Archbishop of Canterbury
Stephen Hales	1677	1761	Physiologist, chemist and inventor
William Stukeley	1687	1765	Antiquary
Richard Rigby			Paymaster of the Forces
Richard Gough	1735	1809	Antiquarian
John James Stewart Perowne	1823	1904	Thelogian
John Cowper Powys	1872	1963	Writer, lecturer, philosopher
Llewelyn Powys	1884	1939	Writer
B.H. Liddell Hart	1895	1970	Military historian
Edward Upward	1903		Novelist
Christopher Isherwood	1904	1986	Novelist
Campbell Adamson	1922	2000	Director General of the CBI
E.P. Thompson	1924	1993	Historian, socialist, peace campaigner
Alan Wilson	1939		Scientist
Francis Maude	1953		Chairman of the Conservative Party
Bernard Jenkin	1959		Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
Simon Heffer	1960		Journalist and writer

External links

http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/jcr - JCR page
http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/mcr - MCR page

Colleges of the University of Cambridge | 1352 establishments

Corpus Christi College (Cambridge) | Corpus Christi College (Cambridge)

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History

Buildings

Oddities, traditions, and legends

Famous alumni

See also

External links