Photo: David Gruar · CC BY-SA 2.0
Central · Founded 1352
Corpus Christi College
The only Cambridge college founded by the town keeps the university's oldest court and, in the Parker Library, one of the world's great collections of medieval manuscripts.
The college
A closer
look.
Central — Trumpington Street
Founded 1352. Founded in 1352 by the town guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary in the aftermath of the Black Death, making it the only Cambridge college founded by the townspeople rather than by crown, church or wealthy patron.
Old Court, built in the 1350s, survives as the oldest continuously inhabited medieval court in Cambridge, reached past William Wilkins's Gothic revival New Court and street front of the 1820s; on the Bene't Street corner, the gold-plated Corpus Clock and its time-devouring Chronophage have stopped passers-by since 2008.
On a visit
Don’t miss.
- 01The Corpus Clock and Chronophage
- 02Old Court of the 1350s
- 03Parker Library exhibitions
- 04Wilkins's New Court
- 05St Bene't's Church beside the college
Connected to
Notable
names.
- Christopher Marlowe, undergraduate
- John Fletcher, undergraduate
- Matthew Parker, Master and Archbishop of Canterbury
- John C. Taylor, alumnus and creator of the Corpus Clock
- Oliver Rackham, ecologist and Master
Before you go
Visiting Corpus Christi College
In the summer months the college is open to visitors between 10.30 and 16.30, with admission of £5 for adults and all visitors reporting first to the Porters' Lodge; access outside those hours or in term time cannot be assumed, and the Parker Library is visited via booked tours and exhibitions.
Opening hours, admission and access change often — check the official site before you travel.
- Founded
- 1352
- Area
- Central — Trumpington Street
- Type
- College
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