284 



CAMBRIDGE. 



Cambridge, was begun in 1341, but was not finally endowed un- 

 <.i-"K- til 1356, when it received a master, eight fellows, 

 three bible-clerks, and six scholars. This edifice is 

 now much decayed, and it is intended to rebuild it 

 upon a new and elegant plan, which is already de- 

 signed, and shewn for inspection. A legacy of 

 L.I 000 left by Dr Thomas Herring, archbishop of 

 Canterbury, and a still larger one by Dr Mathias 

 Mawson, master of the college, and bishop of Ely, 

 are appropriated to that purpose. The library of 

 this college contains a collection of very rare and va- 

 luable manuicripts, chiefly relating to ecclesiastical 

 affairs. It was left by Archbishop Parker, with 

 this particular restriction, that if at any time twenty- 

 five books are missing, and cannot be found in six 

 months, the whole devolves by rotation upon Caius 

 College and Trinity Hall, who, however, retain 

 them only upon the same condition. This library is 

 consequently kept with great care, and is annually 

 visited and examined by the masters of these col- 

 leges. 



Gonvilc and Caius College, or, as it is usually cal- 

 led, Key's College, was originally founded in 134-8 

 by Edmund Gonvile, near the gardens of St B- 

 ne't's ; but this gentleman dying soon after it was 

 begun, left a sum of money at the disposal of Bi- 

 ehop Bateman, for finishing and endowing it. The 

 Bishop, who was then engaged with his own foun- 

 dation of Trinity Hall, deferred, for a time, the 

 completion of his friend's plan ; and afterwards, ha- 

 ving removed its site, he fixed it near his own, and 

 endowed it with lands and tenements for a master, 

 four fellows, and two scholars. It formerly consist- 

 ed of only two courts; but, in 1557, Dr John Caius, 

 physician to Queen Mary, built a third, and pro- 

 cured a charter of incorporation under its present 

 name. He also erected an elegant gate to each court. 

 The first, which is opposite the street, is very sim- 

 ple, with the inscription, " Humilitatis ;" the se- 

 cond, in the middle of the college, is in a very fine 

 style of architecture, and has on one side, the in- 

 scription " rirtutis," and on the other, " Jo. Caius 

 Posuit Sapientia;" the third, which leads to the 

 senate-house, is more ornamented, exhibiting speci- 

 mens of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, 

 and has " Honoris" inscribed upon it. In the chapel 

 is a grand tomb, erected to the memory of Dr Caius, 

 with the following epitaph : 



Fui CAIUS 



VIVIT POST FUNERA VIRTUS. 



Trinity-Hall, as we have already observed, owed 

 its foundation as a college, to William Bateman, 

 bishop of Norwich, who endowed it for a master, 

 three fellows, and two scholars, to be students in 

 the canon and civil law, and one fellow to study 

 divinity. This college was originally one of the 

 hotels for the accommodation of the students. It 

 consists of a large court, and other buildings, and is 

 handsomely built with stone, and uniformly sashed. 

 Among the benefactions made to Trinity- hall, is one 

 of 20,000, left in 1747, by Dr John Andrews, 

 for the erection of two spacious wings, which are 

 to extend from the preaent building towards the 



river ; but the appropriation of the money to this Cambridge, 

 object, awaits the decease of two maiden sisters. In - r ~~ --' 

 the chapel is a fine painting of the " Presentation in 

 the Temple," by Stella. 



King's College owes its origin to the piety and li- 

 terature of Henry VI. who in 1441 instituted a small 

 seminary for a rector and 12 fellows, which he de- 

 dicated to the Virgin Mary and St Nicholas. About 

 two years after, he laid the foundation of the pre- 

 sent building, and endowed it for a provost, 70 fel r 

 lows and scholars, to be supplied from Eton, 3 chap- 

 lains, 6 clerks, 16 choristers and a music master, 16 offi- 

 cers of the foundation, 12 servitors for the senior fel- 

 lows, and six poor scholars. Had this building been 

 finished according to its original plan, it would have 

 equalled, if not surpassed, the most splendid palaces 

 in Europe. But its completion was delayed by the 

 disturbances of the state, which diverted the atten- 

 tion of the monarch to more important concerns, and 

 was at last prevented by his death, and the injustice 

 of his successor. For though Henry left bequests 

 sufficient for the complete execution of his plan, Ed- 

 ward IV. deprived the college of many valuable 

 estates, from which the expence of the building 

 was to be defrayed. As it at present stands, how- 

 ever, it sufficiently evinces the munificence of its 

 founder, and its chapel displays, perhaps the most 

 perfect specimen of Gothic architecture now remain- 

 ing in Europe. This building, so justly admired 

 by every artist for the sublimity, elegance, and in- 

 genuity of its construction, is 316 feet in length, and 

 84 in breadth. On each side are eleven immense but- 

 tresses, terminating in elegant pinnacles ; and on 

 each corner is an octangular tower, 146^ feet high, 

 and crowned with a beautiful dome. Its open work- 

 ed battlements also give an airiness and elegance to 

 its appearance, and exhibits a fine contrast to the 

 massive materials of which it is composed. The in- 

 terior of the building is yet more striking, and its 

 vast stone roof, unsupported by a single pillar* is an 

 object of astonishment to every beholder. It is in 

 the form of a Gothic arch, but somewhat flattened 

 at the centre, and is divided into twelve parts, sepa- 

 rated from each other by the eleven principal arches, 

 which spring from the buttresses. Each division of the 

 roof is formed of elegant groined arches of beautifully 

 carved work, and in the centre is suspended a massy- 

 stone, of above a ton in weight, and finely ornamented 

 with roses and portcullisses. The inside walls are also 

 wholly covered with numerous sculptured ornaments 

 of exquisite and almost inimitable workmanship. These 

 chiefly represent the arms of the houses of York 

 and Lancaster, with a vast number of crowns, roses, 

 portcullisses, and fleurs de lis. Some of the sup- 

 porters, though cut in^tone, display the hand of a 

 skilful master, and equal in expression and character 

 almost any marble sculpture. On a pannel, at the 

 upper part of the screen which separates the anti- 

 chapel from the choir, is a small piece of sculpture, 

 in very bold relief, representing the Almighty hurl- 

 ing the rebel angels from Heaven, which is univer- 

 sally admired ; and on the altar-piece, is a fine paint- 

 ing of the " Taking down from the Cross,'* which 

 was presented by the Earl of Carlisle, and is sup- 

 posed by some connoisseurs to be a production of 



