Cambridge and Its CollegesThompson, A. Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton)
History
Cambridge and Its Colleges
Thompson, A. Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton)
University of Cambridge
restorers of 1845-9; it is the great defect in their work. But the eleven
perpendicular windows of the antechapel, including the enormous south
window, have been filled with glass by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and Mr
William Morris; and their magnificent, if somewhat secular, work, serves
to hide the shallowness and unoriginality of the stonework. It is a pity
that, in one or two places, the colours already show signs of decaying;
but, on the whole, the two great artists seldom collaborated to such
purpose or found such excellent material for their work. The organ at the
west end is new, and there is perhaps too little space for it. The older
organ, a small instrument with a triptych front, is in the choir aisle,
and has an appearance strongly suggestive of the bygone monasticism of
the place.
The rest of the Court, Hall, Library and Master’s Lodge are much as the
founder left them, although their outer shell has been from time to time
considerably altered. The Hall, with its dark lobby on the ground floor
and its staircase, is a fine room, occupying the position of the convent
refectory. There are some good portraits here and in the Combination
Room, including one of Cranmer in the manner of Holbein. The Hall was
wainscoted early in the last century. Since then and since the completion
of the outer court, the college has received no structural additions to
its main body.[6] Within the last thirty years, however, the need for
accommodation has increased; and we owe to it, first, Messrs Carpenter
and Ingelow’s brick range of buildings north of the college and their
houses for married tutors; and, secondly, the great building, also of
brick, which Waterhouse built about 1869 at the end of the garden east of
the chapel. His work here is better than usual, and forms a picturesque
outpost to the colleges as one crosses the end of Midsummer Common by the
Newmarket Road. The Jesus close, with its great palisade of trees and its
view of the boathouses on one side and the venerable chapel tower on the
other, almost rivals the Backs in beauty.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account