| King's College | |
|---|---|
| University of Cambridge | |
 King's College Chapel and the Gibbs' Building | |
 Arms of King's College Arms: Sable, three roses argent,[1] a chief per pale azure and gules charged on the dexter side with a fleur-de-lis and on the sinister with a lion passant gardant or | |
| Scarf colours: royal purple, with two equally-spaced narrow white stripes | |
| Location | King's Parade, Cambridge CB2 1ST (map) |
| Coordinates | 52°12′15″N 0°06′58″E / 52.2043°N 0.1162°E |
| Full name | The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge |
| Latin name | Collegium Regale beate Marie et sancti Nicholai Cantebrigie |
| Abbreviation | K[2] |
| Founder | Henry VI |
| Established | 1441 |
| Named after | Our Lady, patron saint of Eton College Nicholas, natal saint of Henry VI |
| Sister colleges | Eton College New College, Oxford |
| Provost | Gillian Tett |
| Undergraduates | 463 (2022–23) |
| Postgraduates | 326 (2022–23) |
| Endowment | £300m (2022) |
| Visitor | Stephen Conway (Bishops of Lincoln ex officio)[3] |
| Website | www |
| Student union | www |
| Graduate society | www |
| Boat club | www |
| Map | |
  Location in Central Cambridge  Location in Cambridge | |
King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.[4] This college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city.
King's was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI soon after founding its sister institution, Eton College. Initially, King's accepted only students from Eton College. However, the king's plans for King's College were disrupted by the Wars of the Roses and the resultant scarcity of funds, and then his eventual deposition. Little progress was made on the project until 1508, when King Henry VII began to take an interest in the college, probably as a political move to legitimise his new position. The building of the college's chapel began in 1446, and was finished in 1544 during the reign of Henry VIII.
King's College Chapel is regarded as one of the finest examples of late English Gothic architecture. It has the world's largest fan vault, while its stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen are considered some of the finest from their era. The building is seen as emblematic of Cambridge.[5] It houses the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. Every year on Christmas Eve, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (a service originally devised for Truro Cathedral by Edward White Benson in 1880, adapted by the college dean Eric Milner-White in 1918) is broadcast from the chapel to millions of listeners worldwide.[6][7]
- ^ The roses are frequently represented as barbed and seeded proper as above. See pp. 54–57, The Cambridge Armorial (1985), London: Orbis.
- ^ University of Cambridge (6 March 2019). "Notice by the Editor". Cambridge University Reporter. 149 (Special No 5): 1. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
kings-cam-statuteswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Walker, Timea (2 February 2022). "King's College". www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ see e.g. the logo of the city council, "Cambridge City Council". Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ^ "History of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols". King's College, Cambridge. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ^ Blake, Heidi (24 December 2012). "Hundreds queue overnight to watch Kings College Choir in Christmas concert". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2012.