About

The College was founded in 1352 by members of two Cambridge guilds, the Guild of Corpus Christi and the Guild of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was primarily intended to train priests. It bears the distinction of being the only college in Oxford or Cambridge to have been founded by local citizens. The earliest building used by the College was the 14th century Old Court, which still stands. The adjacent parish church of St. Benet, whose living (the right to appoint its priest) belonged to the College, served as the chapel, until Corpus acquired its own chapel, for lectures as well as prayers, in 1577.

The first of a series of scholarships was endowed to the College in 1489 by Elizabeth, duchess of Norfolk, in memory of her sister, Eleanor. Its greatest benefactor was the one time Corpus undergraduate and later Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker, who was Master 1544-53, and entrusted his manuscripts and printed books to the college in 1574.

The Old Court remained the main part of the college until the construction of New Court in the 1820s. The latter was designed by William Wilkins, who had recently completed major works at Downing, King’s, and Trinity. It was completed in 1827, at the expense, sadly, of the old chapel, which was replaced by a new one opposite the main entrance of the court. The library he built to house Matthew Parker’s collection forms the upper floor of one side of New Court, opposite the Hall.

To learn more, visit the College website at https://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/