| Postcards of the Past |
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| Cambridge University Trinity College |
| Click here to see our collection of old postcards of the city of Cambridge. |
| Trinity is a large and very old college and thus there are very many stories, legends etc relating to it. If you would like to contribute to this page, please contact us ! Postcards, memories, anything of interest will be greatly appreciated. |
| The Great Court of Trinity College. |
Trinity College was founded in 1546 by Henry VIII when
two 14th Century colleges, Michaelhouse and King's Hall,
were merged. Most of its buildings date from the 16th and
17th Centuries with the oldest having been built as part of
King's Hall. There are of course more modern buildings.
two 14th Century colleges, Michaelhouse and King's Hall,
were merged. Most of its buildings date from the 16th and
17th Centuries with the oldest having been built as part of
King's Hall. There are of course more modern buildings.
Links:
Trinity College website. The college website, with a
good history section, including lots about the Great
Court Run.
Trinity College website. The college website, with a
good history section, including lots about the Great
Court Run.
| A lovely old postcard of the Gateway to Trinity. |
The Gateway, shown in the postcard on the left, leads to the
famous Great Court (above) which is the main court of
Trinity and which was completed by Thomas Nevile in the
17th Century.
famous Great Court (above) which is the main court of
Trinity and which was completed by Thomas Nevile in the
17th Century.
| A 1957 postcard of the Great Court. |
The Great Court Run. It is a tradition of Trinity for
the more athletic minded members of the college to
attempt the Great Court Run on the day of the
Matriculation Dinner. The run involves covering the
367 metre course around the court in less time than
the College Clock takes to chime noon - roughly 43
seconds, although this can vary depending on how
tightly the clock is wound ! The Run is a part of the
1981 David Putnam film "Chariots of Fire", but was not
filmed at Trinity. The clock, located naturally enough
in the clock tower (1726), is unusual in that it strikes
the hours twice, once in a low note and again in a
higher one. Wordsworth wrote how the clock "told the
hours twice over with a male and female voice", whilst
another legend says that the clock chimes once for
Trinity and once for St John's.
the more athletic minded members of the college to
attempt the Great Court Run on the day of the
Matriculation Dinner. The run involves covering the
367 metre course around the court in less time than
the College Clock takes to chime noon - roughly 43
seconds, although this can vary depending on how
tightly the clock is wound ! The Run is a part of the
1981 David Putnam film "Chariots of Fire", but was not
filmed at Trinity. The clock, located naturally enough
in the clock tower (1726), is unusual in that it strikes
the hours twice, once in a low note and again in a
higher one. Wordsworth wrote how the clock "told the
hours twice over with a male and female voice", whilst
another legend says that the clock chimes once for
Trinity and once for St John's.
| Trinity Bridge - a postcard mailed in 1910. |
| Three postcards of the Great Gate, none of which we can date accurately but all early to mid 20th Century. There is a statue to Henry VIII in a niche on the gate - it can be seen in the two postcards in the centre and on the right, which are from the outside looking in. Henry's sceptre was replaced by a chair-leg as a prank - the leg has remained there ever since, and when, in 1980, it was replaced by a bicycle pump, the college authorities replaced the leg ! |
Trinity is the largest of Cambridge's Colleges and has a correspondingly large number of
notable alumni, amongst whom are 14 Prime Ministers and 32 Nobel Prize Winners.
Here are just a few:
John Dee, alchemist; Francis Bacon, poet; Andrew Marvell, poet; John Dryden, poet;
Isaac Newton, physicist; Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister (assassinated); Earl Grey,
Prime Minister; Lord Melbourne, Prime Minister; Lord Byron, poet; Charles Babbage,
mathematician; William Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of photography; Alfred, Lord
Tennyson, poet; William Thackeray, novelist; William Waddington, French Prime
Minister; James Clerk Maxwell, physicist; Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister;
King Edward VII; Arthur Balfour, Prime Minister; A E Housman, poet; Stanley Baldwin,
Prime Minister; Erskine Childers, author; Ralph Vaughan Williams, composer; Prince
Ranjitsinhji, cricketer; Charles Rolls, co-founder of Rolls Royce; A A Milne, novelist; King
George VI; Vladimir Nabokov, Russian novelist; George "Gubby" Allen, cricketer; Nicholas
Monsarrat, author; Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India.
notable alumni, amongst whom are 14 Prime Ministers and 32 Nobel Prize Winners.
Here are just a few:
John Dee, alchemist; Francis Bacon, poet; Andrew Marvell, poet; John Dryden, poet;
Isaac Newton, physicist; Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister (assassinated); Earl Grey,
Prime Minister; Lord Melbourne, Prime Minister; Lord Byron, poet; Charles Babbage,
mathematician; William Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of photography; Alfred, Lord
Tennyson, poet; William Thackeray, novelist; William Waddington, French Prime
Minister; James Clerk Maxwell, physicist; Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister;
King Edward VII; Arthur Balfour, Prime Minister; A E Housman, poet; Stanley Baldwin,
Prime Minister; Erskine Childers, author; Ralph Vaughan Williams, composer; Prince
Ranjitsinhji, cricketer; Charles Rolls, co-founder of Rolls Royce; A A Milne, novelist; King
George VI; Vladimir Nabokov, Russian novelist; George "Gubby" Allen, cricketer; Nicholas
Monsarrat, author; Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India.
Trinity is reputed to maintain extensive wine cellars, the size and value of which is the
subject of rumour.
subject of rumour.
Trinity is also reputed to be a very rich college with a substantial income from its lands.
The Mallard. Another Trinity tradition concerns a duck which inhabits the rafters of the
Great Hall. The duck occasionally changes its position in the rafters with the help of a
student who is of course photographed with the bird as proof. This task is difficult as
the rafters are so high, and in addition access to the Hall other than at meal-times is
prohibited. In 2005 the Mallard was knocked off its perch by some pigeons who got in
through the windows in the pinnacle. It is currently in the custody of the College
catering staff.
Great Hall. The duck occasionally changes its position in the rafters with the help of a
student who is of course photographed with the bird as proof. This task is difficult as
the rafters are so high, and in addition access to the Hall other than at meal-times is
prohibited. In 2005 the Mallard was knocked off its perch by some pigeons who got in
through the windows in the pinnacle. It is currently in the custody of the College
catering staff.
| Christ's Clare Corpus Christi Downing Emmanuel Fitzwilliam Girton Gonville and Caius Homerton Hughes Hall Jesus King's Magdalen New Hall Newnham Pembroke Peterhouse Queen's St Catherine's St Edmund's St John's Selwyn Sidney Sussex Trinity Trinity Hall |
