THE COLLEGE OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST
St. John's College. France modern quartering England with a border gobony argent and azure.
Foundation and Early Years.
St.
John's College (fn. 1) owes its foundation to the Lady
Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII; but
with her name must be joined that of John Fisher,
Bishop of Rochester. (fn. 2) A plan to convert St. John's
Hospital in Cambridge (fn. 3) into a college seems to have
been in Fisher's mind, and to have been discussed
at his instigation by the Lady
Margaret's council, as early as
1505. (fn. 4) It also seems to have been
Fisher, as the Lady Margaret's
chaplain, who persuaded her to
embrace the scheme. In the last
year or two of her life she talked
much about it. About twelve
months before she died she summoned the Bishop of Ely to Hatfield to discuss the suppression
of the hospital and its conversion
into a college, and on 10 March
1509 she entered into a preliminary agreement with him to
dissolve the hospital. (fn. 5) She had not, however, at
the time of her death on 29 June 1509 made provision in her written testament for carrying out her
intentions, a circumstance which gave rise to 'much
ground for cavil'. Thenceforward it was due to
Fisher that her design was carried through to completion in the face of many difficulties and obstructions. (fn. 6) He procured papal, royal, and episcopal
licences for the dissolution of the hospital and the
foundation of the College; and on 12 March 1511
the remaining inhabitants of the hospital 'departed
from Cambridge towards Ely . . . at iiij of the clokke
at afternoone by water'. (fn. 7) A few weeks before,
800,000 bricks had been ordered from Richard
Reculver of Greenwich; (fn. 8) and on 9 April 1511 the
College's foundation charter was given by the Lady
Margaret's executors, naming Robert Shorton as
first Master. (fn. 9) Under his direction the building of the
College proceeded rapidly; and he was soon giving
thought to those who would be its members, sending
to Fisher 'the namys of such personis as is thought
good, vertuose, and lerned, and men tractabyll'. (fn. 10)
On or about 29 July 1516 the College was opened
with Alan Percy as its second Master, (fn. 11) though the
buildings were not completed until 1520 when
Percy had been succeeded in turn by Nicholas
Metcalfe, Fisher's chaplain and Archdeacon of
Rochester.
The buildings erected during this period occupied
the easternmost end of the site of the hospital, with
their front on the High Street, now St. John's Street,
and were bounded on the north by St. John's Lane (fn. 12)
and on the south by the Back or Kitchen Lane. They
comprised around one court all that was needed for
collegiate life. A gatehouse containing a porter's
lodge and treasury faced the High Street, with a
library to the south of it. North of the gate, beneath
the library and along the south side of the court were
living chambers. On the west side of the court were
the kitchens, with chambers above; a hall for eating,
College exercises, and entertainments; and a combination-room. Most of this remains, though the
southern range was heightened and faced with stone
in 1772. The north side of the original court, however, was demolished in 1863–9. Here was the old
hospital chapel, (fn. 13) repaired and refurbished for collegiate use, and the Master's Lodging; and behind
them, along St. John's Lane, the hospital infirmary
which was used at first as a stable and storehouse.
The marshy ground between the court and the river,
over which the College was later to spread, was
occupied with gardens and trees and by some remains of the hospital buildings. Beyond the river,
across a wooden bridge, lay the hospital fishponds
to the north and St. John's meadow to the south,
separated by St. John's Ditch which joined the Bin
Brook to the river. (fn. 14) The cost of the work which
raised a college where the hospital had been seems
to have been in the neighbourhood of £5,000, 'a
round sum in that age'. (fn. 15)
Financial difficulties, in the meantime, had made
this round sum all the harder to raise and had increased the problem of providing the College with
adequate endowments—without which, as Fisher
said, 'heare wolde have beyne butt a poure college'. (fn. 16)
The hospital revenues transferred to the College
were small, amounting only to about £50 yearly. (fn. 17)
The Lady Margaret's intention seems to have been
that her executors should be able to call upon the
revenues of her estates in Somerset, Devon, and
Northamptonshire, (fn. 18) already put in feoffment for
the fulfilment of her will, for the purpose of establishing the College. The fact, however, that the project of founding the College did not find a place in
her written testament was the first of the difficulties
Fisher encountered. Nevertheless, he secured the
proof of the Lady Margaret's expressed intentions
in the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury on
22 October 1512 and had them embodied in a codicil
added to her will; and he obtained an order from the
court of Chancery permitting the executors to receive the revenues from her lands in feoffment so
that they might be bestowed upon the building and
endowment of the College and its equipment with
books and ornaments. Very soon, however, Fisher
was being called upon 'to shew cause whi we shulde
keape the Kinges inheritance from hym to the valow
of CCCC li yerly'. In the end 'we warre more straitlie handelide and so long delaide and weriede and
fatigate that we must nedes lett the londe go'. (fn. 19) In
other words, King Henry VIII, as the Lady Margaret's heir-at-law, resumed his inheritance—an act
which gave rise to a hardy legend in the College that
he had robbed it of properties which his grandmother had designed for its endowment. (fn. 20)
In fact, of course, the Lady Margaret had no such
intention. The College had a claim only upon the
revenues accruing from her lands and then only up
to the point when it had been built, endowed, and
equipped. Henry VIII, however, seems to have displayed a sense that he had somewhat anticipated this
point when he resumed his grandmother's properties. He apparently promised the College a sum of
£2,800 to complete its foundation, but only £1,200
of this was actually received. (fn. 21) Fisher was therefore
compelled to look elsewhere if he was to assure the
College of an adequate endowment. He expended on
its behalf money he received from the Lady Margaret and substantial sums from his own resources;
and he secured for it in 1516 and 1524 the properties
of three small religious houses—the Maison Dieu at
Ospringe (Kent) and the nunneries of Lilliechurch
in Higham (Kent) and Broomhall (Berks.). Soon,
however, 'private founders were crowding in', (fn. 22)
and where they gave money this was faithfully invested in real property. The result of this good
husbandry can be read in the steady rise of the
College's income from £224 in 1518 to £507 in 1534
and £537 in 1543. Even so this was none too ample,
a circumstance which probably explains the growth
of the legend that Henry VIII had deprived the
College of its expectations from the estate of the
Lady Margaret. When Elizabeth I visited the College
in 1564, she 'was put in mind of her relation to the
foundress, and intimation given of the College
losses'; but the queen remained unmoved by these
promptings. (fn. 23)
Meanwhile the College had grown in numbers
until it was the largest in the University, and Fisher
had taken care for its government. On 20 March
1516 the other executors of the Lady Margaret had
commissioned him to prepare statutes for the College; and he provided it with no fewer than three
codes in 1516, 1524, and 1530. (fn. 24) In their final form,
these statutes entrusted the government of the
College to a Master elected by the fellows, with a
president to act as his deputy. In all major matters
the Master was to act with the concurrence of the
seven senior fellows; and the College was to be
subject to visitation by the Bishop of Ely (a power
which the Bishops still retain). The basic establishment of the College consisted of 28 Foundress's
fellows and 22 Foundress's scholars, at least half of
whom were to be drawn from the nine northern
counties, and after that from Lincolnshire, Norfolk,
Essex, Middlesex, Cambridgeshire, and Kent. This
body was increasingly supplemented by fellows and
scholars on private foundations, (fn. 25) the selection of
whom was likewise normally limited by birth or
other qualification. (fn. 26) The fellows were to be at least
B.A.s, and were obliged to take orders and to proceed to the B.D. degree within a specified period. (fn. 27)
They vacated their fellowships on marriage or on
taking ecclesiastical preferment. The scholars were
selected from amongst students in residence after
examination by one of the seniors in singing and
letters. The administration of the College was in the
hands of two deans and two bursars; and the teaching staff consisted of a principal and two sublecturers, four mathematical lecturers, and examiners
in classics, mathematics, logic, and philosophy, together with a Greek lecturer for the junior members
of the College and a Hebrew lecturer for the fellows.
Necessities were provided for: the fellows were
allowed 1s. a week and the scholars 7d. for commons; (fn. 28)
a fellow's stipend was 13s. 4d. yearly, the Master's
£6 13s. 4d., the principal lecturer's £2 13s. 4d., and
so forth. Standards of comfort were likewise low.
We are told that there were to be in each chamber a
high bed and a low truckle bed, the one for a fellow
and the other for one or even two scholars. (fn. 29) This
living together of fellows and pupils went on long
after this time. In the 17th century chambers were
normally assigned only to fellows: ground-floor
rooms to junior fellows, and the 'middle chambers'
(with the rooms and garrets above them for the
accommodation of a greater number of pupils) to
their seniors. (fn. 30) Instruction in those days was an
intimate affair.
Here may conclude the account of how John
Fisher executed the last will and testament of the
Lady Margaret. When he was disgraced by Henry
VIII, the Master and some of the fellows showed a
due sense of their obligation to him by attending
several times upon him in his imprisonment. They
also wrote to him a letter containing these words:
'Tu nobis pater, doctor, praeceptor, legislator, omnis
denique virtutis et sanctitatis exemplar. Tibi victum,
tibi doctrinam, tibi quicquid est quod boni vel habemus vel scimus nos debere fatemur.' (fn. 31) Thus fittingly
the College said farewell to 'the greatest patron the
College ever had to this day'. (fn. 32)
The Reformation to the Civil War.
Nicholas Metcalfe, who must take much of the
credit for the practical realization of Fisher's plans,
did not long outlast his mentor. Faithful to the old
religion, he was jostled into retirement in 1537 'by
the young fry of fellows of St. John's', (fn. 33) to be remembered affectionately by Roger Ascham and
pithily by Fuller: 'Metcalfe with Themistocles could
not fiddle, yet he could make a little College a great
one.' (fn. 34) This greatness was not a matter of wealth or
numbers, but of men. It was the 'good learning' of
scholars like John Cheke, John Redman, and
Thomas Smith, and particularly their leadership in
the new Greek learning, which led Ascham into 'a
sweet remembrance' of his time at the College; and
to recall that Metcalfe 'left such a company of fellows
and scholars at St. John's College as can scarce be
found now in some whole university'. (fn. 35) This flourishing of scholarship was not accompanied, however, by
academic calm. For the next century and more
the history of the College faithfully reflected the
bitter religious controversies of the country at large.
Its community was generally divided against itself;
its Masters were the nominees of a faction or, more
commonly, imposed by the government of the day.
It is hardly surprising that their tenures were short,
or that the College should have developed some expertise in getting rid of unpopular Masters. (fn. 36) Nor is
it surprising that government intervention in its
affairs was frequent, particularly in Burghley's day;
for Burghley was a Johnian and nourished a real
concern for his 'dear College of St. John's'. (fn. 37)
Metcalfe's departure opened the door to the
growth of Puritanism in the College. True, the
fellows chose a Catholic successor, but he wisely
refused acceptance; and Day, the next Master, was
first of all a courtier. He was succeeded by Taylor,
a Lutheran and one of the compilers of the Book of
Common Prayer, (fn. 38) imposed upon the College by
royal authority. It was during his tenure that
Henry VIII gave new statutes in 1545. These
strengthened the hand of the Master in the government of the College, and abolished the majority of
northern fellows, still mainly Catholic in sympathy,
which Fisher's statutes had prescribed. In future
they were to constitute at most half of the total body,
not half at least as in the earlier statutes. (fn. 39) This
change, no doubt, helped the progress of ultraprotestant tendencies in the College, until, during
Thomas Lever's mastership, they became supreme. (fn. 40)
In consequence, the Catholic reaction in Queen
Mary's reign affected St. John's particularly severely.
Lever and at least 14 fellows went into exile, provoking Ascham to observe that 'more perfect
scholars were dispersed from there in a month than
many years can rear up again'. (fn. 41) Under Elizabeth I,
however, the exiles returned, imbued now with the
spirit of Calvin. There is evidence enough of this in
the acts of the early Elizabethan Masters. In 1563
'Popish trash' was removed from the chapel and
sold, and ten Geneva psalters were purchased for the
chapel services. (fn. 42) Naturally enough, the ever-watchful Cecil was much perturbed by these ecclesiastical
tendencies in his old College, and perturbed still
more in 1565 when many of the fellows and scholars
appeared in chapel devoid of surplices. (fn. 43) Naturally,
too, an opposition party appeared in the College,
which bombarded the queen's minister with petitions
and remonstrances against their Masters.
Between 1569 and 1586, the tide turned. Not one
of the Masters of that period was an outstanding
figure; but they had Whitgift and Cecil behind them,
and the new statutes of 1580, which governed the
College down to the 19th century, strengthened
their hold upon the College. (fn. 44) Under Shepherd, the
use of Geneva psalters was discontinued; and, though
Puritanism revived in Whitaker's time, it seems to
have been 'in great measure rooted out' during
Clayton's mastership. So complete was the transformation that, by 1633, the College was ruled by
a thoroughgoing Laudian in the person of William
Beale. Under him, St. John's was the College in
which Laud's ecclesiastical precepts were most completely carried out. (fn. 45) Needless to say the College was
also royalist; and Robert Waideson, who lost his
fellowship for his Puritan sympathies, found it 'so
fermented with the old Traditions' that he 'could
not digest their sowre belches against the Parliament'. (fn. 46) All the College plate was sent to Charles I
in 1642; (fn. 47) and the penalty for this ultra-loyalism had
to be paid in 1644 when Beale was deprived and
arrested, 29 fellows were ejected, and the First Court
was turned into a prison for 'malignants' amongst
the University body. (fn. 48) For the next sixteen years a
Puritan government gave Puritan Masters to the
College; and filled vacant fellowships with men of
Puritan sympathies, to whom College offices were
more or less restricted, though there remained a
fairly strong opposition within the College of Church
or Royalist tendency. (fn. 49) Yet even Baker cannot quite
condemn the dispensation of the Puritan Masters:
'their government was so good and the discipline
under them so strict and regular that learning then
flourished, and it was under them that some of those
great men had their education that were afterwards
the ornaments of the following age'. (fn. 50) Puritan
Masters and fellows alike were swept away at the
Restoration; but they had bridged the gap far from
unworthily between the Anglican College of the
earlier and of the later 17th century.
Through all these vicissitudes, the size and reputation of the College had grown. Its membership in
1545 had been 152, but this had risen to 287 in
1565 and reached 373 in 1672. (fn. 51) These numbers
embraced, furthermore, a very fair cross-section of
the community. In the first place, in the late 16th
century, St. John's was one of the colleges which
attracted the new men of the Elizabethan age; (fn. 52) for
as one letter-writer put it in 1606: 'for my part I
hould St. John's Colledge to be omni exceptione
majus; not inferior to any Colledge for the bringinge
up of yonge gentlemen'. (fn. 53) In the years immediately
preceding the Civil War, in fact, about one-third
of the undergraduates seem to have been sons of
noblemen and landed gentlemen. Some of these,
like the Cecils or Howards, Thomas Wentworth or
Thomas Fairfax, came as fellow-commoners and
might even live in considerable style. Nor were all
of them enthusiastic students, as is evident enough
from a letter from Robert Cecil's son: 'I never was
out of love with my booke, knowinge learninge to be
a necessary and an excellent qualyty in any gentleman. For my staying heere it must be as longe as
your Lordship thinkes good, but if your lordship do
leave it to mine owne choice I coulde be very well
content to goe from hense as soon as might be.' (fn. 54)
The sons of the well-to-do, however, were a minority
in the undergraduate body; a fifth of which was recruited from the sons of clergymen in the decade
1630–40, and a third from boys from relatively
poor homes who were brought to the College by
scholarships and sizarships. Sizars, indeed, who received the benefit of a University education in return
for a certain amount of service upon fellows and
fellow-commoners, account for about half the total
admissions at this time. (fn. 55) They had already included
in their ranks men of such diverse talent as John
Williams, who rose to be Lord Keeper, Bishop of
Lincoln, and Archbishop of York, (fn. 56) and Thomas
Nashe, who could remember the College as 'the
sweetest nurse of knowledge in all that University'. (fn. 57)
The growing numbers and reputation of the College posed a problem of accommodation. Already in
1528 Metcalfe had built a small additional court in
what is now the south-east corner of Second Court; (fn. 58)
but in 1579 Howland was urging Burghley that the
number of Foundress's scholars should not be increased 'considering especially that our nombre
alreadie is over great for the recept of our howse, and
the lyving (for these daies) verie small'. (fn. 59) In 1584–5
the old infirmary was converted into 'three floors of
very bad students' rooms', (fn. 60) which were linked in
1636–7 to the first court by a passage constructed
round the east end of the chapel. (fn. 61) In 1588–9 additional accommodation was found in a house called
the Pensionary on the opposite side of the High
Street from the College. (fn. 62) A more satisfactory solution to these difficulties was reached, however, when
Mary, Countess of Shrewsbury, promised to finance
a second court. Built in 1598–1602, it cost £3,600, of
which the countess, owing to her misfortunes, contributed only £2,700. (fn. 63) In essentials it stands today
as it was then erected, despite gloomy prognostications as to its durability; (fn. 64) and it contains in the
combination-room the finest interior in Cambridge.
The building of the Second Court was followed
close by the beginnings of a third. In 1623 an
anonymous benefactor, who later proved to be the
Lord Keeper Williams, enabled the College to erect
a building running down to the river, with chambers
on the ground floor and a library above. The cost
was in the region of £3,000, of which Williams provided about two-thirds. (fn. 65) Long since the library
has spread down to the ground floor; (fn. 66) but the upper
library remains much as it was when Williams, in
1628, came down from his palace at Buckden to
inspect the results of his generosity. Its contents, of
course, have been enriched by the gifts of many
benefactors. (fn. 67) One great collection which might have
been there the College never received; for Fisher had
given his library to St. John's, but it was dispersed
by Cromwell after his arrest. (fn. 68) Of many others which
did come, two or three deserve mention. Between
1626 and 1635 the College received from Henry,
Earl of Southampton, the library he had purchased
from William Crashaw, including the main bulk of
its manuscript collection. Then, in 1740, the death
of Thomas Baker brought his library of well over
1,000 volumes; and Dr. Newcome, in 1765, left
some 60 volumes, mainly early editions of the
classics, purchased from the Harleian collection.
There have been many others who have helped to
build up an assembly of some 70,000 volumes.
The Anglican and Tory college.
Such was the College when Charles II came home
again. In the 65 years which followed, in sharp contrast with the period which had gone before, there
were but four Masters, all of whom displayed a
striking unanimity in matters of doctrine and politics. (fn. 69) Gunning had been expelled from Cambridge
in 1644 for preaching against the Covenant; Turner
was the son of Laud's chaplain, while Gower lived
down his Puritan past; and Jenkin followed close in
the tradition which they established. These were the
men who made St. John's 'the home of high-bred
Anglican doctrine and sentiment'. (fn. 70) This Anglicanism, it is true, could be tried too sorely. Thomas
Smoult, (fn. 71) prominent in rebutting the claims of
James II upon the University, had been a member
of the College; and so were three of the seven
bishops who petitioned the Crown in 1688 against
the Declaration of Indulgence. (fn. 72) With William of
Orange upon the throne, however, the High Anglican
temper of the College became manifest. St. John's
'sent forth a number of Non-jurors equal to that
produced by all the colleges of Oxford and the rest
of those of Cambridge combined'. (fn. 73) In 1693 a
mandamus was issued by the King's Bench for the
exclusion of 20 of the fellows on this ground. Its
execution was prevented at that time on technical
grounds (fn. 74) and delayed until 1717, by which time
only 6 of the 20 remained fellows, though this
remnant had then been joined by 4 others from
amongst the junior fellows. One of the 6 was Thomas
Baker, the historian of the College; but, though he
subscribed himself 'socius ejectus' from that time
forward, he was allowed to retain his rooms for
23 years more until his death. His gratitude is still
evident upon the shelves of the College library.
Despite this departure of the rump of the Nonjurors, St. John's remained the home of Anglican
Toryism in a Whig University, (fn. 75) though this sentiment moderated with the passage of time and
commanded less unanimous adherence. Newcome,
indeed, may have become Master in 1735 as the
nominee of a Whig party which had grown up in the
College. If that be so, this group was not strong
enough in 1765 to prevent the election of Powell
'with old Newcastle at his back' and probably the
Townshends too, (fn. 76) and the restoration of the High
Church and Tory tradition. Through all this period
of apparent calm, meantime, the physical growth of
the College had gone on. The third court was begun
in Gunning's time and completed in 1674 at a cost
of £5,256, raised apparently by public subscription. (fn. 77)
This was linked with the grounds beyond the river
in 1697 by a stone bridge, based upon a design
furnished by Christopher Wren. (fn. 78) The grounds
themselves had been much extended about a century
earlier by the acquisition of the land which now
forms the fellows' garden from the Borough and
Corpus Christi College; and much was done in laying them out in 1602–3 and again in 1688. In the
18th 'century there was little change, save that, in
all probability, the College acted on the advice of
'Capability' Brown in turning the fellows' garden
from a formal into a natural garden. (fn. 79)
These changes may have implied, perhaps, a
somewhat more spacious style of living than in
earlier days. The steady increase in numbers, however, was not maintained; for, though still the largest
College in the University for much of the 18th
century, St. John's had been overhauled by Trinity
before the end of it. (fn. 80) Average yearly entries, indeed,
fell fairly steadily from 65 between 1661 and 1680 to
35 a century later. In consequence, the undergraduate
body had declined, by the end of the 18th century,
to somewhere in the region of 120. (fn. 81) It may still have
been true that no College did more for the poor man,
but the admission registers of the 18th century suggest that the proportion of such entrants was declining. It is significant of this tendency that sizars, who
had accounted for half the admissions in 1630–9,
were less than one-fifth of the entrants to the College
in 1792–1802; that the last menial duties of the
sizars were abolished in 1786; (fn. 82) and that this award
had come to resemble an entrance scholarship more
than anything else. (fn. 83) The sizars' position by this
time, indeed, must have been very similar to that
described by J. W. Colenso in 1832. His privileges
'indeed are not very great at present—as they only
provide for certainty your dinners gratis; but you
have a great chance of being allowed somewhat on
the rent of your rooms. . . . We get our meat from
the Fellows' table, and though their joints are not
very hot when they reach us, yet we manage to make
very capital dinners, for they take care to get the
best of meat etc.' (fn. 84) Another feature of the period
was some alleviation of the cramped circumstances
in which the members of the College had lived in
earlier days. At the beginning of the 18th century
we still hear of two and even three 'chums' sharing
a chamber. (fn. 85) Wordsworth, on the other hand,
though admitted a sizar, had his own rooms over the
kitchen; and even James Wood, the son of a poor
weaver, had a garret called the Tub in Second Court,
to which the only access was a trapdoor in the floor. (fn. 86)
That was exiguous enough, but in general the 'small
living' of 16th-century St. John's had given place to
more room.
Easier circumstances, however, did not necessarily
mean greater application. The conditions of entry do
not seem to have been severe. Abraham de la Pryme
tells us that, arriving in Cambridge on 1 May 1690,
'I was admitted a member of St. John's College the
day following. First I was examined by my tutor,
then by the senior dean, then by the junior dean and
then by the Master, who all made me but construe a
verse or two apiece in the Greek Testament, except
the Master, who ask'd me both in that and in Plautus
and Horace too.' (fn. 87) Nor do the demands made upon
the student appear to have been particularly great,
either in Pryme's time or in Wordsworth's a century
later. The man of curiosity might indeed follow his
bent with profit, as Pryme did in the study of science
and magic or Wordsworth in the study of classical
and contemporary European literature. (fn. 88) A considerable number of men, however, went down without a degree, and only about a third of Wordsworth's
contemporaries completed an honours course. It was
perhaps only to be expected that some fellow-commoners, like Castlereagh, should find little satisfaction in being 'immured in Cambridge and plodding
for fame'; (fn. 89) but others, like William Wilberforce,
found that even those who should have been their
mentors conspired to encourage idleness. 'I was a
good classic,' he tells us, 'and acquitted myself
well in the College examinations; but mathematics,
which my mind greatly needed, I almost entirely
neglected, and was told that I was too clever to
require them.' (fn. 90) Mathematics, however, might be a
stumbling block to others for different reasons.
George Tennyson, father of the Poet Laureate,
found this subject little to his taste; for to excel
therein, he told his father, 'would require such continual application and exertion, as would neither
suit my health, time, nor inclination. The anxiety
I should suffer and the deprivation of better knowledge, could only be compensated by the hope of an
uncertain and at best a transitory honour.' (fn. 91) None
the less, the steady growth of mathematical studies
in the College is a feature of the times, evidenced
by the long list of Johnian successes in the newly
established Mathematical Tripos, and by the establishment of an observatory on the west tower of the
Second Court in 1765–7. It was perhaps not inappropriate that, in 1789, St. John's came under the rule
of a Master who had been a wrangler.
One other change in the organization of the College belied the appearance of stagnation in the
18th century. With little basis in the statutes or in
College orders, the office of tutor had acquired
something of its modern character by Wordsworth's
time. (fn. 92) The title was known from the beginning, (fn. 93)
and the Elizabethan statutes had laid down that every
undergraduate must have a tutor who would be
responsible for the discharge of his obligations to the
College. (fn. 94) The tutor's responsibilities in the early
17th century were comprehensive. A correspondent
asked Dr. Gwynne in 1615 to appoint a tutor for a
young man 'who will strictly hould him in obedience,
diligently reade unto him, and keepe him in contineuall exercise'; and in another case the Master
was desired 'to chardge his Tutor to have a speciall
care of hym, as well for his conversacon as his
learninge, especially that he avoyde the company of
Tobacco takers, Drinkers and Swaggereres'. (fn. 95) Thus
a tutor was responsible both for a man's conduct and
for his studies; and Ambrose Bonwicke a century
later pays a glowing tribute to his tutor's performance
of these duties. (fn. 96) Only slowly, however, did the
tutorship become an office. In early times all fellows
might stand as tutors to a few pupils. Gradually, the
number of fellows performing this office contracted
until, in the later 17th century, it is clear that three
tutors, Watson, Roper, and Orchard, had charge of
a large proportion of the undergraduates in the
College. In the 18th century there seem normally to
have been only two or three tutors, who looked after
both the welfare of their pupils and the direction of
their studies. They arranged for assistants to do
much of the actual work of teaching, and collected
fees from their pupils from which the stipends of
most of the College teachers were defrayed. (fn. 97) Despite the silence of the statutes, the tutors became in
this way amongst the most important of College
officers.
Later History.
Even in the 18th century,
therefore, at a time which Henry Gunning described
as the very worst part of the University's history, (fn. 98)
change was not entirely absent. Thenceforward
change was to become more rapid and more farreaching. Much of the impulse came from outside:
from the University or from the government. But
such external influences did not stand alone; and the
watershed may even lie in the 18th century, during
Powell's Mastership. In two directions he persuaded
the College to undertake important reforms. He
overhauled the methods of accounting for the College revenues, (fn. 99) and instituted in 1765 twice-yearly
examinations in which he took himself a notable
part. (fn. 100) The result may not have been striking, but at
least the College had shown some capacity to deal
with the torpor of the times. Not long afterwards,
during Wood's Mastership, another important
change took place. Though Wood is reckoned to
have been old-fashioned in his views (not least on
the ground that, as Vice-Chancellor, he suspended
the Union Society for presuming to discuss political
questions), (fn. 101) it was under him that the first tentative
revision was made in the Elizabethan statutes which
had governed the College for so long. Under these
statutes and under the terms of most private foundations, the great majority of fellowships were limited
to candidates born in the counties to which each
fellowship was specifically attached. The disadvantages of these restrictions had long been recognized. Richard Bentley, who was to be Master of
Trinity, never secured a fellowship at St. John's
because when he took his degree the Yorkshire
fellowships were all full; (fn. 102) and much earlier, in 1588,
the College itself had pointed out that 'the seniors
are many tymes dryven to this inconvenyence,
namely, to refuse a most mete scholler very well
qualifyed in every respect, and to admitt another
farre more insufficyent every way'. (fn. 103) Yet nothing was
done to remedy this situation; though the Platt
fellowships (fn. 104) and, in the 17th century, the royal dispensing power (fn. 105) did something to mitigate the worst
consequences of the statutes. In 1815, however, the
College sought counsel's opinion on the possibility
of changing them; and, despite some discouragement
from that quarter, secured an amendment to them
in 1820 removing all restrictions upon the choice of
Foundress's fellows. Private foundations were not
touched, but it was made possible to transfer
Foundress's fellows to vacant private fellowships,
thus leaving a fellowship vacant which could be
freely filled. (fn. 106)
Under Wood's rule, meanwhile, other large enterprises were undertaken. The inclosure of St. Giles
parish and an exchange with Merton College in 1805
made possible the laying out of the grounds in 1822–
3 in something like their present form. It remained
only to take in the College playing fields beyond
Queen's Road in 1858, and to extend them southwards to the boundary of Trinity fellows' garden in
1933. Since then the main event of note has been
the replanning and replanting of the whole of the
grounds under the direction of Dr. Thomas Sharp
in 1950–2. (fn. 107) Meantime, the College itself had spread
across the river with the erection of the New Court
in 1827–31, a 'perpendicular Gothic' building designed by Rickman and Hutchinson and built at a
cost of £78,000. (fn. 108) It was connected with the older
courts by an 'ingeniously contrived bridge', commonly called 'the Bridge of Sighs'. (fn. 109) Wood looked
still further ahead: money he left to the College provided the nucleus of a building fund which was
somewhat unhappily expended in the years 1861–9.
The old hospital infirmary and chapel were demolished, and the harmony of the First Court was
destroyed. A new 'early decorated' chapel, designed
by Sir Gilbert Scott, was built along the north side
of the court and was somewhat austerely adjudged
by Professor T. G. Bonney to be from first to last
a failure. (fn. 110) At the same time, the hall was extended
some 40 feet northwards, the old Master's Lodge
was destroyed, and a new lodge was built running
parallel to the line of Bridge Street. (fn. 111) The College's
present accommodation was completed by the construction of the western range of Chapel Court after
a design by Penrose in 1885–6; and by the completion of that court and the building of North Court,
involving the demolition of part of Bridge Street, to
Sir Edward Maufe's design in 1940. (fn. 112)
The changes of the period were far from restricted
to the outward appearance of the College. Government intervention in its affairs was becoming more
normal than had been usual since Tudor and Stuart
times; but the College itself showed much more
signs of welcoming, and even taking the lead in, the
new liberal tendencies of the times. A great part in
this was probably played by Bateson, senior bursar
1846–57 and Master 1857–81, who took an important
share in the work of the commissions which were
appointed to consider the state of the University in
1850 and 1881. The College, at any rate, took the
initiative in the matter of reform. In 1848 it petitioned the queen to sanction revised statutes, since
those in force appeared to 'require to be modified
and amended in order that they may be made more
conformable to the present state of learning and
science, better suited to modern practice, usages and
manners, and more in unison with the course of
study now pursued in the University'. (fn. 113) The new
statutes, however, were hardly radical: they were
still in Latin, (fn. 114) and reproduced much of the Elizabethan statutes verbatim. They did, however, give
more explicit recognition to the office of tutor; and
they included the abolition of county restrictions for
the Foundress's fellowships which the College had
secured in 1820.
The report of the Royal Commission on the
University in 1852 necessitated more far-reaching
changes. At once, in 1853, four new College lecturerships were established, including lecturerships
in moral and natural sciences; and a chemical
laboratory was built behind the New Court for G. D.
Liveing. (fn. 115) The importance of this last step was best
summed up by Liveing himself nearly 70 years
later. (fn. 116)
The College built me the chemical laboratory,
which was the first seed sown towards the growth of a
large chemical school. When I vacated my fellowship
by marrying, I vacated, of course, my lecturership
as well, and the charge of the Chemical Laboratory.
The College, however, created a new post for me:
it made me the Director of the Laboratory and,
what is more, helped me materially by paying me a
salary. . . . When I became professor [of chemistry in
1861] the College again helped me—they continued
me in my last post because there was no other laboratory in which I could give instruction in practical
work.
Thus the natural sciences found a home in the
College side by side with the older subjects—classics,
mathematics, and theology; and from this time the
steady increase in the number of College lecturerships began. In 1871 there were lecturers in Hebrew,
moral science, natural science, law, and modern
history; (fn. 117) today there is one or more lecturer engaged
in College instruction for most of the increasingly
numerous branches of study for which the University provides facilities. The Report of 1852,
furthermore, compelled the College to draw up new
statutes, which were sanctioned during the years
1857–61. (fn. 118) For the first time they were in English;
they abolished all county or other preferences
attached to scholarships and fellowships; they permitted the election of professors and University
lecturers into fellowships without the obligation of
taking orders, an obligation which had forced J. C.
Adams, the discoverer of the planet Neptune, to
abandon his fellowship in 1852; most of the College
officers were likewise freed from this obligation, while
in the case of University officers marriage was no
longer a bar to tenure of their fellowships. (fn. 119) In a
small way, too, entrance scholarships, four in number, were inaugurated in addition to the 60 foundation scholarships awarded to men already in
residence. The foundation scholars, together with
the Master, 56 fellows, and 9 sizars, constituted
the minimum establishment of the College.
These statutes were hardly in time to keep pace
with changing times; and already in 1882 a new set
became necessary. They provided for the complete
abolition of the obligation upon fellows to take
orders and of all restrictions upon matrimony. The
government of the College was vested in the Master
and a Council of twelve members elected by the
fellows, which replaced the old Seniority. (fn. 120) The
tenure of fellowships was restricted to a period of
six years save where its holder also held a qualifying
College office (tutorship, lecturership, and so on). (fn. 121)
The statutes of 1882, in turn, were the basis for those
of 1926, which govern the College today and which
followed upon the Report of the Royal Commission
upon Oxford and Cambridge Universities in 1922.
The present statutes no longer specify a minimum
number of fellows or scholars; and they place the
government of the College in the hands of a Governing Body consisting of the Master and all the fellows
(though as before administrative authority is vested
in a Council elected by the Governing Body). The
fellows are divided into five classes, the two most
numerous of which are fellows under Title A (with
limited tenure and a prime obligation of research)
and fellows under Title B (whose tenure is associated with a qualifying College or University
office). These statutes, of course, also bear the mark
of the general change made in 1926 which transferred the control of public teaching to the University; and transformed the duty of the College lecturer
into one of conducting individual and class teaching
within the College in the form of 'supervision'.
In the last hundred years, therefore, the College
has been radically transformed. Its government has
been remodelled. The body of fellows has been
metamorphosed from a group of celibate clergy,
most of whom would depart sooner or later to
matrimony and a College living, into a mainly lay
group of men engaged in the teaching activities of
the College and University as a lifelong career.
Their numbers have grown somewhat, particularly
in very recent years, from 56 in 1860 to about 70
at the present time. The undergraduate body has
grown more rapidly still. If it had fallen to small
proportions at the beginning of the 19th century,
there was a fairly steady rise in the number of men
entering the College each year between 1800 and
1850. In 1851 there were 371 men in residence, of
whom 133 had already spread outside the College
walls to lodgings in the town. (fn. 122) At that date about
90 freshmen were coming up each year, a figure
which rose to 104 by 1880. Thereafter annual
entries declined to about 65 in 1906, but recovery
had already begun before 1914. After 1918 the rate
of increase was very rapid. The numbers of men
entering the College were about 140 in 1920 and
1930, and 156 in 1938. (fn. 123) This expansion reached its
height in the years immediately after the Second
World War, when there were almost 700 men in
residence and the 'doubling up' of men in sets once
again became necessary.
Other changes are much less easy to define. When
Samuel Butler came into residence in 1854 or W. E.
Heitland in 1867, the vestiges of the 18th-century
College were still evident. Butler belonged to one of
the last generations of students which took part in the
traditional Latin disputations in the college chapel.
Social distinctions were still far more noticeable than
they have come to be in more recent times, despite
Bateson's efforts as an undergraduate, for example,
to prevent sizars being excluded from the College
boat and cricket clubs. (fn. 124) There were still fellowcommoners, and still sizars dining at a separate table.
There was still a pretty clear distinction between
those who were, and those who were not, 'reading
men'; though Butler did not find 'reading' incompatible with watching cricket by way of recreation
or with membership of the Lady Margaret Boat
Club. (fn. 125) By the 20th century, however, these vestiges
had all but disappeared. The undergraduate body
has once again become much more representative of
all sections of the community than it had been in the
18th century. In that sense, there has been something of a return to the past; and to those principles
which Fisher laid down for the selection of scholars:
'Proviso semper quod doctiores indoctioribus ceteris
paribus praeferantur, inter quos et inopes praeponi
volumus, modo fuerint in ceteris condicionibus
pares.'
During the greater part of the
College's history, it has depended for the income to
maintain its fabric and to provide for the Master,
fellows, and scholars who lived within its walls, upon
an endowment consisting of real property and of
agricultural land in particular. For generations no
other sort of investment was thought to assure the
regular return indispensable to the College as a community, a corporation which did not die. In the
main, therefore, the history of the endowments of
the College is the history of the accumulation and
management of its agricultural estates.
The initial endowment was transferred from the
old Hospital of St. John the Evangelist. It consisted
of house property in Cambridge and Newnham, and
lands in Babraham, sold 1878, Coton, augmented by
purchase in 1652, Horningsea, and Toft, with outlying plots in Comberton and Hardwick, all sold
1945, in Cambridgeshire; land at Ashwell (Herts.),
where the manor was purchased later in the century
and the property sold in 1945, Clavering and Langley (Essex), sold in 1944, and Great Bradley (Suff.),
augmented by purchase a few years later, and part
sold 1945; and the patronage of Horningsea vicarage.
How the inadequacy of this endowment led to
efforts on Fisher's part to supplement it has been
discussed in connexion with the general history of
the College. Bassingbourne manor in Fordham
came from the Lady Margaret's estate, and money
she bequeathed to the College was used to purchase
additional property at Great Bradley (Suff.) and the
manor of Great Stukeley (Hunts.) in 1517–18 (part
of this property was sold in 1944 together with a
farm acquired there in 1894). Fisher himself, moreover, made substantial benefactions to the College
between 1518 and 1530, including properties in
Holbeach, Moulton, and Whaplode (Lincs.), Ridgewell manor and a moiety of Rawreth Hall manor
(Essex; the other moiety was purchased by the
College in 1684; most of this property was sold in
1954), the manors of Blunham (Beds.) and Ramerick
(Herts.), and land at Weston Colville, sold in 1945.
Finally, he secured for the College the properties
of the Maison Dieu at Ospringe in 1516, and the
nunneries of Higham (Kent) and Broomhall (Berks.)
in 1524. From Ospringe came Headcorn manor
(augmented by two farms bought in 1719 and 1817,
but sold in 1945–6; and by Moat Farm bought by
Dr. Wood for the College in 1823); Triamstone
manor in Burmarsh; Down manor in Ash, Steeple,
Wingham, &c. (augmented by purchases in 1863
and 1871); Elverland manor in Ospringe (the
greater part sold 1954); and the vicarage of Ospringe
—all in Kent. The Higham properties were the
manors of Higham and Lilliechurch and Higham
vicarage (Kent); while from Broomhall came the
manors of Windlesham (Surr.) and of Broomhall
and Chawridge (Berks.); considerable portions of
these estates were sold off in the 1860's, together
with the vicarages of Aldworth and Sunninghill
(Berks.) and of North Stoke and Ipsden (Oxon.).
Meanwhile, 'private founders were crowding in.
. . . Lands were given by these founders or purchases were faithfully made with their moneys.' (fn. 127)
Dr. Dowman, for example, in 1525 gave land at
Kennythorpe (Yorks., sold 1899) and Staveley
(Derb., gradually sold for development in recent
years); and Sir Marmaduke Constable in 1520 the
manor of Millington (Yorks., the greater part sold
1951–4). Other acquisitions at this time were lands
in Cambridgeshire at Cottenham, Fen Drayton
(1525, augmented by purchase in 1729 and sold
1944), Long Stowe (augmented by purchase 1711–
12 and sold 1940), Meldreth (1513), Melbourn
(1519), Steeple Morden, and a moiety of the Barrington manor in Thriplow (1525: the other moiety
was bequeathed to the College by Humphrey Gower
in 1711, and the whole sold in 1914); the manor and
rectory of Thorrington (Essex, 1530); in Huntingdonshire the manor of Little Paxton (c. 1527, sold
1919) and land at Great Gransden (sold 1848) and
Hilton (1530); land at Cranwell (Lincs., c. 1530,
sold 1919–21); in Nottinghamshire the manor of
West Markham and land at Tuxford (sold 1943);
and in Yorkshire lands at Atwick (1530), Danthorpe (sold 1920), Marfleet (1530, much sold in
recent years for development), Paull, Preston, and
Skeffling.
Thenceforward, the rate at which the College
estates grew slackened somewhat, bursars being
preoccupied, not only with the acquisition of property, but also with the problems of its management
during a period of violent inflation. Practically all
the College estates were leased out at rates which the
rise in prices soon rendered highly beneficial to the
lessee. The revenues of the College were safeguarded,
however, partly by a statute (fn. 128) providing for onethird of rents to be paid in corn, which appreciated
with rising grain prices, (fn. 129) and partly by scaling up
fines for new leases, renewals, and reversions. Thus
it was possible both to augment fellows' stipends by
payment of a 'dividend' (i.e. a share in revenues
surplus each year to necessary expenditure) and to
purchase property out of income as well as benefactions. The main acquisitions, apart from those
listed above in connexion with estates acquired
earlier, between the mid-16th and the mid-18th
century are as follows: land at Muggington (Derb.),
1590, sold 1866; Radwinter (Essex), 1690–10, sold
1920; Steeple and Southminster (Essex), 1623, sold
1918; Little Stonham (Suff.), 1634, sold 1920;
Leighfield (Rut.), 1640; Birchington (Kent), 1642;
Little Raveley (Hunts.), 1650, exchanged for property in Great Stukeley, 1894; Addingham (Cumb.),
1681–2; the manor of Wootton Rivers (Wilts.) and
land at March (Cambs.) from Sarah, Duchess of
Somerset (1682–6); land in Marton-cum-Grafton
(Yorks.), 1684; Kentish Town (London), c. 1684,
by bequest of William Platt, which formed the
endowment of the Platt fellowships; (fn. 130) Deeping St.
James (Lincs.), 1692, sold 1847–56; Thorley and
Sawbridgeworth (Herts.), 1699, sold 1899; Hothersall
(Lancs.), 1712, sold 1870; Woodchurch (Kent), 1725,
sold 1952; Somersham (Hunts.), 1726, sold 1944;
and Granham's manor in Great Shelford (Cambs.),
1714.
In the meantime the College was rapidly accumulating ecclesiastical benefices, with the very practical
purpose of providing openings for fellows who
wished to retire from their fellowships upon marriage
or for other reasons. Down to about 1885 notices of
vacancies in these livings were read out in hall by the
College butler, and an opportunity to apply for them
was given to fellows in strict order of seniority. (fn. 131)
A chronological list will illustrate the building up of
this form of endowment. Bainton rectory (Yorks.)
was given by Sir William Gee in 1612 (since lost);
Cherry Marham vicarage (Norf.) by Sir Ralph Hare
in 1623; the rectories of Aberdaron (Carnarvon,
given up 1911), St. Florence (Pembroke, given up
1914), Souldern (Oxon.), and Freshwater (I.W.)
by Archbishop Williams in 1624. The vicarage of
Holme on Spalding Moor (Yorks.) was bequeathed
by Richard Whittington (1628) and soon afterwards
the College purchased the rectory. Snoring rectory
(Norf.) was purchased in 1690; Brinkley and Fulbourn St. Vigor rectories (Cambs.) were given by
Bishop Thomas Watson of St. David's in 1691-5;
and the College acquired the right of alternate
presentation to the rectory of Wootton Rivers
(Wilts.) from the Duchess of Somerset in 1692.
Pierce Brackenbury gave the vicarage of Martoncum-Grafton (Yorks.) 1692, and John Boughton the
rectory of Barrow (Suff.) 1693; while about this time
the College purchased Ufford-cum-Bainton rectory
(Northants.) 1692–3, Moreton rectory (Essex) 1693,
Cockfield rectory (Suff.) 1694, Medbourne-cumHolt rectory (Leics.) 1706, and Staplehurst rectory
(Kent) 1707. Other 18th-century acquisitions were
Mountsorrel St. Peter and Quorndon St. Bartholomew (Leics.) 1708, exchanged 1867–9 for the
vicarage of Fulbourn All Saints (Cambs.), Barrow on
Soar vicarage (Leics.) 1708, Lilley rectory (Herts.)
1711, Brandesburton rectory (Yorks.) 1711, Lawford
rectory (Essex) 1714, Marwood rectory (Devon)
1715–25, Great Warley (Essex) 1718, sold 1906,
Hormead Parva rectory (Herts.) 1722, Layham
rectory (Suff.) 1725, Houghton Conquest rectory
(Beds.) 1726, Oakley Magna and Frating rectories
(Essex) 1736, Marston Moretaine and Meppershall
rectories (Beds.) 1736, and Minting vicarage (Lincs.)
1736. In addition, in 1717, Richard Hill obliged his
heirs to present fellows of the College to five Norfolk
livings in their gift, failure to do so involving the
reversion of the livings to the College. In this way
the College acquired the rectories of Alburgh (1871),
Forncett St. Peter-cum-St. Mary (1909), and South
with North Lopham (1904). Other late acquisitions
were the vicarage of Hormead Magna (Herts.) 1813,
a moiety of Morton rectory (Derb.) 1817, Holt
rectory (Norf.) 1817, Murston rectory (Kent) 1826,
Rampisham-cum-Wraxall rectory (Dors.) 1845,
Black Notley rectory (Essex) 1847, Stoke Row
vicarage (Oxon.), endowed by the College, 1849,
Aldridge (Staffs.) 1860, sold 1928, and Dengie
rectory (Essex) 1913.
Although the College mainly relied upon agricultural property for its maintenance, this reliance was
ceasing to be quite exclusive by the middle of the
18th century. In 1749 the College began to invest in
securities, though long after that date such investments were regarded as temporary expedients, a
method of holding balances until they were spent or
more safely invested. There were, however, relatively few acquisitions of agricultural property between the early part of the 18th century and the
middle of the 19th; and such as there were have
generally been noted above. The most important
feature of the financial history of the College was
rather an improvement in the management of the
estates, and in particular the gradual supersession
of beneficial leases by rack-rents as the normal
condition of tenure. The change-over naturally took
time, and was only completed in the period of
Bateson's bursarship and mastership (1846–81).
Nor does this exhaust the importance of Bateson's
direction of affairs. A good deal of development
took place in the Kentish Town estate; advantage was taken of boom conditions in agriculture
to raise rents; for the first time in the College's
history certain estates were sold off, particularly to
public bodies and railway companies. At the same
time, these sales did not mark an end of the primary
dependence of the College upon the land; for they
were balanced by substantial acquisitions. Apart
from those noticed above, farms were purchased at
Girton (Cambs.) 1845, St. Nicholas at Wade (Kent)
1860–70, High Halstow (Kent) 1872, Margate (Kent)
1875, and West Wratting and Balsham (Cambs.)
1876, sold 1946.
The dangers inherent in this policy of dependence
upon agriculture were brought home by the agricultural depression of the 1880's. Arrears of rent
accumulated, rents had to be reduced, and the
College found itself from time to time with farms
upon its hands. So serious did the situation become
that the fellows' dividend, which had stood at £300
a year in 1872–8, was reduced progressively to £80
in 1894. In the end a complete reorientation of
financial policy was necessary and has gradually been
worked out in the last 50 or 60 years. The agricultural depression had made clear that 'the almost
exclusive dependence of the College on the prosperity of a single industry is financially unsound'. (fn. 132)
In consequence, there have been considerable sales
of the smaller, more scattered and less productive
properties, particularly in the years since 1918
(mostly noted above). On the other hand, with
agricultural recovery after 1900 and especially since
the early 1930's, a good deal of high quality agricultural land has been bought, most particularly in
Lincolnshire (at Fleet, Holbeach, Crowland, Frampton, Postland, Wingland, and Spalding), Leicestershire (at Drayton, Great Easton, Medbourne,
Hungerton, Hallaton, Ingarsby, and Illston-on-theHill), and Kent (in Romney Marsh). Other acquisitions during the same period have been at Reedness,
Paull, and Airmyn (Yorks.), Fordham (Cambs.),
Marston Trussell (Northants.), Fordham (Norf.),
and Addingham (Cumb.).
This redistribution of agricultural investment, in
the interests both of yield and management, is only
one aspect of recent financial policy. Another feature
had its origins before the agricultural depression.
The Universities and College Estates Act of 1858
empowered Colleges to grant building leases, and
the development of the Kentish Town estate by
this method began soon afterwards. (fn. 133) Since about
1900 similar development has taken place in Cambridge and Sunningdale, mainly the Broomhall
property. The ground rents accruing from this
development form today an important element in the
College's income. In addition, a good deal of land
has been sold for development, both in the areas
mentioned and at Marfleet and Staveley. Secondly,
there have been substantial investments in securities:
the income from this source rose from about £2,000
a year in the late 19th century to over £11,000 in
1922. Finally, in very recent years, there have been
substantial investments in commercial and industrial
properties in Luton, Tottenham, Watford, Leicester,
and Bedford.
In these ways, the College has sought to adjust
itself to modern circumstances. The revenue derived
from good agricultural land perhaps still represents
the element of stability in the College's income. But
the need to avoid too exclusive a dependence upon
this single industry, the desirability of some safeguard against agricultural crisis, and the wisdom of
taking advantage of investments which have a high
yield, though not necessarily a long life, are all
considerations which have influenced the College to
seek a wider spread in its investments and a greater
diversity in its endowments than was the case in the
19th century and in earlier times. At the same time,
the mere redistribution of investment has not stood
alone. Bequests and gifts during the donor's lifetime
have continued, as in the past, to add substantially
to the College's endowment; and have never been
more frequent than in recent times. Such accretions
have been mainly in money, though they have included accessions of real property like the Chesterton
Hall estate in Cambridge about 1920, now mainly
sold for development. These recent benefactions
are some indication of the attraction which the
College has for those desiring to promote education
and for its own members, from whom most of these
gifts and bequests have come.
The earliest portrait of the Lady
Margaret owned by the College is probably that
now in the combination-room, showing her at halflength in black and with a white coif, and holding
an open book in her hands. It is one of many versions
of the same picture (others are in the Old Schools
and Christ's College in Cambridge, and at Hatfield
House, Welbeck Abbey, and elsewhere), and may
date from about 1530. (fn. 135) Perhaps deriving from one
of these is the full-length picture, representing the
foundress kneeling under a golden canopy at a desk
with an open book upon it. This painting was discovered in the College and restored in 1874, and now
hangs in the Master's Lodge; it may date from about
the middle of the 16th century. A copy, painted by
Rowland Lockey (fn. 136) at the expense of Juliana Clippesbie of Clippesby (Norf.) about 1597, (fn. 137) hangs in the
hall; and another version of the full-length picture,
probably dating from the 18th century, is in the
Master's Lodge. These were certainly all painted
after the Lady Margaret's death. (fn. 138)
A rather crude likeness of Fisher, with a crucifix
at one side and a small skeleton in the foreground,
was perhaps clandestinely painted after his execution, and seems to derive from the Holbein drawing
in Windsor Castle Library; it hangs in the hall.
Another painting, at Longleat (Wilts.) until 1709
and now in the Master's Lodge, was considered by
Thomas Baker, to whom the 1st Viscount Weymouth gave it and who bequeathed it to the College,
to be a Holbein portrait of Fisher. It is no longer
ascribed to Holbein, however, and the picture
represents a layman, aged 74 according to the inscription, in the costume of c. 1545. (fn. 139)
A portrait of an unknown lady, of which the date of
acquisition by the College cannot be established, is
now ascribed to Hans Eworth. It is dated 1565 and
the sitter's age is given as 20; it hangs in the Master's
Lodge. William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, is shown
in two contemporary half-length portraits.
Royal favour in James I's reign no doubt accounts
for the series of royal portraits in the Master's
Lodge, including Elizabeth I, Anne of Denmark,
James I, after Van Somer, Henry Prince of Wales,
Charles I in youth, as Prince of Wales, and as king,
the last after Vandyke, and Henrietta Maria, also
after Vandyke. (fn. 140) Also dating from the same period
are portraits of the Spanish ambassador, Count
Gondomar, and of the Infanta Maria Anna whose
marriage to Charles I Gondomar tried to negotiate.
Portraits of members and benefactors of the
College also became more numerous about this
period. They include the following of which the
date of acquisition can be established: Henry
Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, after Miereveldt (1624); John Williams, Lord Keeper, Bishop
of Lincoln and Archbishop of York, by Gilbert
Jackson (1628); Sir Ralph Hare, K.B., by Marcus
Ghaeraerts the younger (1632); Thomas Morton,
Bishop of Chester, of Lichfield and of Durham,
perhaps by Simon Littlehouse (1638); (fn. 141) and Mary
Cavendish, Countess of Shrewsbury (between 1612
and 1631). (fn. 142) The dates of acquisition of the following contemporary portraits cannot be determined:
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563–1612);
Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland (1610?–1643);
Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley (1540?–
1617); Sir Robert Heath, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas (1575–1649); William Maynard, 1st
Baron Maynard of Wicklow (1586?–1640); William
Platt (d. 1637); Thomas Playfere, fellow and Lady
Margaret's Professor (1562–1609); George Villiers,
1st Duke of Buckingham (1592–1628); and William
Whitaker, Master 1548–95. A portrait of Thomas
Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1593–1641), a
version of the Vandyke at Wentworth Woodhouse
(Yorks.), was given about 1714 by his collateral
descendant, Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, together with his own portrait
by Jonathan Richardson. The picture of Thomas
Fairfax, 3rd Baron Fairfax of Cameron (1612–71),
a 17th-century painting which came in 1791, was
perhaps once the property of the Rev. C. J. Fairfax; (fn. 143)
and that of William Bendlowes (1516–84) was given
by Edward Benlowes (1603?–76), the poet, whose
portrait is also in the College's possession. (fn. 144)
After the Restoration, the series continues. The
College has paintings of all its Masters since 1661
except Lambert, Powell, and Tatham. A pair of
John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset (1627 ?–75),
and Sarah his wife (d. 1692) came in 1700. Matthew
Prior's portrait as ambassador to France painted by
Alexis Simon Belle about 1713 was bequeathed by
him to the College in his will, together with that of
Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey (1656–1711),
after Hyacinthe Rigaud, painted in 1699. (fn. 145) A portrait of Edward Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester
(1635–99), by Mary Beale was acquired in 1737; and
that of Richard Bentley (1662–1742), a copy of the
head from the painting by Sir James Thornhill in
Trinity College, perhaps about the same time.
There are three paintings of Thomas Baker (1656–
1740), all derived from an original by Charles
Brydges in the Bodleian Library, Oxford; and one
of his contemporary, Richard Hill (1655–1727), the
diplomat, by Mary Beale. Thomas Edwards, governor
of Wisbech castle (1633 ?–1725 ?), was painted by
Thomas Murray in 1712; Zachary Brooke, fellow
and Lady Margaret's Professor, by Thomas Hudson
about 1754; William Heberden, the physician (1710–
1801) by Sir William Beechey (there is another
version in the Royal College of Physicians, London);
Sir Isaac Pennington, fellow and Regius Professor
of Physic (1745–1817), perhaps by Sir Joshua Reynolds and also by an unknown artist; Samuel Parr,
'the Whig Dr. Johnson' (1747–1825), by George
Dawe; and Sir Noah Thomas, physician (1720–92),
by Romney in 1781.
There is a long list of more recent portraits, which
includes those of Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh and 2nd Marquess of Londonderry (17691822), a copy by E. M. Bennett after Sir Thomas
Lawrence; Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland (1785–1847), by Thomas Phillips; Henry John
Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784–1865), of
whom there are three; William Wilberforce (1759–
1833) by George Richmond after Sir Thomas
Lawrence; Thomas Clarkson (1760–1846) by Henry
Room; William Wordsworth, painted for the College
by H. W. Pickersgill about 1833, the study for the
head of which the College also owns; (fn. 146) John Charles
Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, painted for the College in 1824; Sir John Frederick William Herschel,
the astronomer, by H. W. Pickersgill c. 1833;
Walter Francis Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke
of Buccleuch (1806–84); and George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand, by George Richmond,
c. 1854. Of later portraits the most important are
those of John Couch Adams, the astronomer and discoverer of the planet Neptune, by T. Mogford,
1846; Samuel Butler, painted by himself 1878, of
whose landscapes and other paintings the College
owns a large collection given by H. Festing Jones;
Benjamin Hall Kennedy, fellow and Professor of
Greek, by W. W. Ouless, 1885; George Downing
Liveing, fellow and Professor of Chemistry, by Sir
George Reid, 1901; Alfred Marshall, fellow and
Professor of Political Economy, by Sir William
Rothenstein, 1908; John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor,
fellow and Professor of Latin, by Sir Hubert von
Herkomer, 1891; and of the following fellows—
Joseph Bickersteth Mayor (by Sir William Orpen,
1907), William Halse Rivers Rivers (by W. Shields),
and Sir John Edwin Sandys (Public Orator), by
H. M. Brock. There are also portrait drawings of
recent members of the College by Professor Randolph Schwabe and Mr. Henry Lamb.
The College owns a collection of over 420 engravings, of all dates from the 17th century to the present
day, of members of the College, as well as a large
collection of drawings and engravings illustrating
the history of its buildings.
In all there are about 140 oil portraits. There is
also a number of other paintings, including some of
the 17th century given by Edward Benlowes, probably Flemish; a curious drawing of a Lord Chancellor
(perhaps the 1st Earl of Hardwicke) in his robes,
lying on a sofa in the style of Kent, in gouache; and,
also in gouache, 4 drawings of Roman ruins by one
of the Pannini family, which formerly belonged to
James Wood, Master.
None of the early plate of the College
survives. Only inventories, dating from soon after
the foundation, tell of silver given by the foundress,
'redeemed' by her after being pledged by the hospital,
or given by Fisher, Ashton, and other early benefactors. Much of it was ecclesiastical, and it included
'images' which may well have disappeared at the
Reformation.
In 1569 the Master and Seniors decreed that every
fellow-commoner should give, on admission, 'a silver
potte or goblette . . . in weight X ownces' (which
might be engraved with his name and arms); and in
1576 imposed a payment of 33s. 4d. 'to buy plate
or bookes' within a month of admission. This, no
doubt, marks the beginning of a custom of giving
plate which lasted until fellow-commoners disappeared in the 19th century. In 1638 the decree of
1569 was repeated, except that 'in valew worth
foure pounds' was substituted for the weight.
Little benefit accrued from this raising of the
standard, however, save that in 1635 the College
could afford to sell 22 pieces to pay for the redecoration of the chapel. For in 1642, 2,065¾ ounces
'grocer's weight' were sent to Charles I. The list (fn. 148)
includes 'the Fowndresse's bowle parcell guilt with
cover', a 'bason in ewre' weighing 108¼ ounces,
41 other 'standing pieces', and 22 'potts with two
ears'. In 1649, when the Plate Book (fn. 149) was started,
the College owned 34 tankards, pots, and cans, I
great bowl, 2 little bowls, 2 flagons, and 21 spoons.
Of these, the flagons given in 1634 by Charles,
Viscount Cranborne, and his brother Robert survive; and the great bowl may be that given by John
Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, which was melted
down in 1774. (fn. 150) A silver-gilt standing cup and cover,
without inscription but traditionally known as the
Booth cup, is the oldest piece of plate now in the
College's possession; it may have been bought with
the legacy of Robert Booth (fellow 1573), who died
about 1616–17.
After the Restoration gifts from fellow-commoners
were resumed and much plate survives from that
date onwards. In general, there seems to have been
a fashion in the objects given. Tankards were most
common before 1700, the earliest which survives
was made in 1677/8, followed by another given by
Mark Milbanke in 1679/80; punchbowls and cups
from 1700 until about 1750; and cups, candlesticks,
soup-tureens, and table plate after that date.
The rosewater-dish given by William Heveningham (1665–6) lost its ewer in 1770, when it was sent
to be melted. (fn. 151) On the other hand, both dishes and
ewers survive of the gifts of Edward Villiers, 1st
Earl of Jersey, in 1671, and of Thomas Watson
Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, in 1717–
18. In 1939 the College had a dish made in memory
of L. J. White-Thomson, Bishop of Ely.
Of post-Restoration cups, the earliest and most
notable is that, engraved with chinoiseries, given by
James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury (1683–4). Others
that are worthy of mention were the gifts of Soame
Jenyns (1725–6); Nicholas Leeke (1733–4); Peter
Burrell, 1st Baron Gwydir (1776–7); Sir John
Chetwode (1784–5: this 'Adam cup' has an unusual
stand, like a salver); John, 3rd Baron Henniker, and
his son John, 1st Baron Hartismere (a pair, 1821–3);
and Sir Percival Horton-Smith-Hartley (1936–7).
The chapel plate, apart from the flagons already
mentioned, consists of 2 chalices and 1 paten
(? c. 1670–5), and a fine service, consisting of 4
chalices, 4 patens, 2 flagons, and a large alms-dish
given by Brownlow Cecil, 8th Earl of Exeter (1728–
9). There are also a handsome pair of candlesticks
given by Lord George Augustus Cavendish (1748–
9), and a large Gothic cross given by Mrs. S. Parkinson (1892–3).
The earliest punch-bowl was given by William, 3rd
Baron Craven (1717–18). A similar bowl (1722–3) was
given by George, 1st Marquis Townshend. An unusual
bowl, with a ladle, lid, and handles, and standing on
four feet (1728–9), was given by Sir Rowland Hill.
In addition, the College owns a great quantity of
domestic plate, mostly 18th-century. It includes
some fine soup-tureens and coffee pots, 12 unusual
flat round sauce boats, a long series of mugs and
beakers, beer-jugs, salvers, inkstands, candelabra,
wall sconces, and nearly 100 pairs of candlesticks.
Worthy of mention among these smaller pieces are:
a caudle-cup or porringer (1683–4) given by Brathwait Otway; an oval tobacco-box (1699–1700) given
by Christopher Blakiston; two castors of about the
same date given by Francis Davis; and an inkstand
(1753–4) given by John Green, Bishop of Lincoln,
and William Heberden, M.D.
Seals.
The College seal is of silver, (fn. 152) mounted on
a block of boxwood, and is 2 5/16 in. in diameter. It
was ordered by the Foundress's executors in 1511,
and cost 40s. 10d. (14s. 2d. for 4 oz. of silver and
26s. 8d. for the engraving). (fn. 153) The design consists of
a seated figure of St. John the Evangelist under a
canopy, with various armorial devices referring to
the Lady Margaret around it. The seemingly ungrammatical legend reads: s collegii sa iohanis
evangeliste et margaretam richmot.
There is also a smaller double-ended seal, of
silver, known as 'the Master's seal'. It was probably
made in 1650 'to be used in sealing letters and testimonialls sent from the Colledge' at a cost of £2 5s. (fn. 154)
In form it is a shaped and faceted bar of metal 2½ in.
long, which spreads to engraved ends 1¼ and 1 in. in
diameter. The larger end is cut with a simplified
version of the College seal, the smaller with the
Beaufort badge, a portcullis.
Masters of St. John's College
Robert Shorton: 9 Apr. 1511, to July 1516. (fn. 155)
Alan Percy: July 1516, to Nov. 1518.
Nicholas Metcalfe: 3 (?) Dec. 1518, to 4 July 1537.
George Day: 27 July 1537, to 6 (?) June 1538.
John Taylor: 4 July 1538, to 10 Mar. (?) 1546.
William Bill: 10 Mar. 1546, to 10 Dec. 1551.
Thomas Lever: 10 Dec. 1551, to 28 Sept. (?) 1553.
Thomas Watson: 28 Sept. 1553, to 12 May (?)
1554.
George Bullock: 12 May 1554, to 20 July 1559.
James Pilkington: 20 July 1559, to 19 Oct. (?)
1561.
Leonard Pilkington: 19 Oct. 1561, to 11 May (?)
1564.
Richard Longworth: 11 May 1564, to 17 Dec. (?)
1569.
Nicholas Shepherd: 17 Dec. 1569, to 21 July (?)
1574.
John Still: 21 July 1574, to 1577.
Richard Howland: 21 July 1577, to 25 Feb. (?)
1587.
William Whitaker: 25 Feb. 1587, to 4 Dec. 1595.
Richard Clayton: 22 Dec. 1595, to 2 May 1612.
Owen Gwyn: 16 May 1612, to 1634.
William Beale: 20 Feb. 1634, to 1644.
John Arrowsmith: 11 Apr. 1644, to May 1653.
Anthony Tuckney: 3 June 1653, to 25 June (?)
1661.
Peter Gunning: 25 June 1661, to 6 Mar. 1670.
Francis Turner: 11 Apr. 1670, to 3 Dec. (?) 1679.
Humphrey Gower: 3 Dec. 1679, to 27 Mar. 1711.
Robert Jenkin: 13 Apr. 1711, to 7 Apr. 1727.
Robert Lambert: 21 Apr. 1727, to 24 Jan. 1735.
John Newcome: 6 Feb. 1735, to 10 Jan. 1765.
William Samuel Powell: 25 Jan. 1765, to 19 Jan.
1775.
John Chevallier: 1 Feb. 1775, to 14 Mar. 1789.
William Craven: 29 Mar. 1789, to 28 Jan. 1815.
James Wood: 11 Feb. 1815, to 23 Apr. 1839.
Ralph Tatham: 7 May 1839, to 19 Jan. 1857.
William Henry Bateson: 2 Feb. 1857, to 27 Mar.
1881.
Charles Taylor: 12 Apr. 1881, to 12 Aug. 1908.
Sir Robert Forsyth Scott: 21 Aug. 1908, to
18 Nov. 1933.
Ernest Alfred Benians: 7 Dec. 1933, to 13 Feb.
1952.
James Mann Wordie: 13 Dec. 1952.