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Time line | 1352 | 1489 | 1533-1553 | 1570s | 1569-1603 | 1630 | 1642-1648 | 1700-1800 | 1820s | 1904 | 1906 | 1919-1939 | 1960s | 1962 | 1983 | Corpus boasts a colourful history incorporating beautiful architecture, town versus gown riots, famous ex-students and even a ghost. This is a potted history of the College with key dates to give you a flavour of the last 650 years since its establishment … 1352
Foundation of a college: unusually, Corpus was formed by townspeople, members of two Cambridge guilds - the Guild of Corpus Christi and the Guild of the Blessed Virgin Mary, primarily to train priests. Edward III is ruler. Priests are in short supply, as in 1348 the catastrophic Black Death had arrived in Britain, wiping out whole communities. Over the next 20 years it will reduce Europe's population by a third. back to top » 1381
Town versus gown: A mob led by the city's mayor stormed the College in protest against its rigid exaction of "candle rents" or rent charges assessed upon houses in its ownership, according to the number of wax-tapers found. A wage freeze and a new poll tax ignites the 'Peasant's Revolt'. Led by Wat Tyler, the peasants march on London to protest, but young King Richard's forces behead Tyler and the uprising is swiftly crushed. back to top » 1489
Endowment of first scholarship: Although the first of a series of scholarships was endowed to the college, money was still short, so the half-built shell of the bakehouse was used as a tennis court! Henry VII, the first Tudor king, is on the throne and during his reign Christopher Columbus 'discovers' America in 1492. back to top » 1533-1553
Greatest benefactor: one time Corpus undergraduate and future Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker was Master. He obtained some of the greatest Anglo-Saxon books from monasteries that had fallen foul of the reformation and left them all to Corpus. Henry VIII is now Supreme head of the Church of England following the break with Rome, and his second wife Anne Boleyn gives birth to the future Queen Elizabeth (1533) back to top » 1570s
College rules: New rules in 1573 require that Latin is spoken at all times during Full Term, or a scholar would be "subject to the heaviest penalties for speaking English." Being "beaten at the buttery hatch" - was a regular punishment for various misdemeanors. In 1577 Corpus gets its own Chapel, for lectures as well as prayers. Elizabeth I rules while her cousin Mary Stuart, 'Queen of Scots', who had fled Scotland, languishes in a succession of secure castles in England in case she becomes the focus of a Catholic plot to seize the throne. back to top » 1569-1603
Troubles with the Mastership: Religious strife in the country was bound to affect a college founded to educate Clergymen. Every Master's appointment was strongly disputed within the college. In the end, the Queen imposed a new master by Royal mandate, suspending the Fellows' right to elections for quite some time. The north of England is mainly Catholic, the south mainly Protestant. In 1569 the Northern Rebellion ushers in seven year's instability in Elizabethan England. War with Spain looks ever more likely, fuelled by England's seizure of their treasure ships. back to top » 1630
The Plague returns: everyone fled but the Master, Dr Butts, who stayed at his post in an attempt to stop the pestilence spreading and to organise supplies and relief. He described himself as "alone, a destitute and forsaken man; not a scholar with me in college." In 1632 he was found hanging in his garters from the strain of it all. Charles 1 is in the midst of a power struggle with Parliament, who refuse to grant him subsidies for a war with France unless he agrees to a list of basic rights for every man. Although it weakens his Royal Prerogative, he signs it. back to top » 1642-1648
Civil War: While many colleges surrendered their silver to one side or the other, Corpus' collection was left largely intact as it had been distributed to Fellows who were given leave of absence. In 1644, the two Senior Fellows were evicted and three Presbyterians put in their place, only to be ejected in their turn and replaced by Independents in 1650. At Edgehill, Warwickshire, the first major battle of the Civil War begins between King Charles' Royalist forces and the Parliamentarians or 'Roundheads'. By the end of 1648 it is all over; Cromwell, leader of the New Model Army, is ruler, and Charles Stuart is beheaded. England becomes a Republic for the next 12 years. back to top » 1700-1800
Peaceful times: 18th century life seems to have been relatively peaceful. A chief topic of conversation in College at the time was matrimony: no Fellow was allowed to marry until well into the 19th century. Corpus was famous for the Benedectine Antiquaries, some dozen Corpus men, all well known for their antiquarian researches, including Stukeley and Gough. In 1707, the Act of Union with Scotland becomes law. In 1727 Walpole becomes Britain's first Prime Minister. In 1746 after the Battle of Culloden Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender to the English throne, escapes in a boat to the Isle of Skye disguised as a woman. In 1775 the American War of Independence begins. 1789 sees the French revolution. William Pitt introduces the first Income Tax. back to top » 1820s
A New Court for Corpus: The chosen architect William Wilkins, also responsible for the National Gallery, cited New Court as his favourite building, and requested to be buried there. Work was completed in 1827, at the expense, sadly, of the old chapel. The 1820's begins and ends with George IV on the throne. This is the decade of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. It is also a period of reform: the laws barring Jewish people, Roman Catholics and Dissenters from enjoying a university education or holding political office are swept away. back to top » 1904
Ghostly goings-on: Like any respectable old building Corpus had its very own ghost. Some say it's the ghost of Dr. Butts who committed suicide after the plague; others believe it's the ghost of a master's daughter, or her lover. The ghost was last sighted in the Easter term of 1904. Three undergraduates then try to exorcise the tortured soul - it seems to have worked, so far … By 1904 there are so many cars on the road that number plates have to be introduced; but although increased prosperity is evident, 250,000 people still live in workhouses and 800,000 are claiming Poor Relief. back to top » 1906
A layman for Master: Colonel Caldwell was elected Master. He was determined to retrieve the college's flagging fortunes. An influx of new blood followed this, a new and wider admittance policy allowed a far broader intake. Corpus was no longer a seminary for the production of clergymen. In 1906 Britain 'owns' 20 per cent of the globe and Edward VII is King to more than 40 million people in 35 countries. A war between France and Germany over Morocco is only narrowly averted and Britain avoids having to wade in to support France. back to top » 1919-1939
A golden age at Corpus: In the inter-war years, Corpus produced a host of distinguished men. These included two mayors of Cambridge, emphasising anew the original intent of Corpus to bridge the gap between town and university; and two Burgesses for the University, one of whom, Geoffrey Butler, gave his name to the newly built undergraduate library. In 1919 Professor Ernest Rutherford splits the atom, a science will eventually end the Second World War with an atomic bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Between the wars, the Irish Free State is created; women aged 21 and over are given the vote; Britain goes through the Great Depression; and Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. back to top » 1960s
A Bar is born: improvements continued throughout the sixties. An extraordinarily cold winter resulted in the gradual extension of the college central heating system; the choir became mixed, women were gradually allowed into college to dine, and, most importantly, in 1963 a bar was opened on the bottom of C-staircase. 1963 is the year in which President Kennedy is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald; in Britain, 'Beeching's axe' falls on the nation's railways closing 50 per cent of stations and a third of the lines to save Government money. back to top » 1962
A growing community: the development of the Leckhampton site as a home for research students was a vastly important event and was the brainchild of the then Tutor, M. W. McCrum. It enabled graduate members to increase from forty to nearly a hundred, and has attracted graduates from around the world ever since. The world is on the brink of a nuclear war as Kennedy demands that the Soviet Union dismantles missile sites in the newly declared socialist state of Cuba; Khrushchev backs down and the US lifts the island blockade. On a lighter note, the first James Bond film, Dr No, is released starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress. back to top » 1983
First woman matriculates: It wasn't until 1980 that Corpus made the momentous decision to admit women undergraduates, the first of whom matriculated in 1983. It caused quite a furore at the time, but all Colleges now admit both men and women. In 1979 Girton College, established for women only, had already become mixed. Margaret Thatcher calls a General Election earlier than she needs to, capitalising on victory in the Falklands, and leads the Conservatives to an overwhelming 144 seat majority. Britain gets its first pound coin and the wearing of seat belts for front seat passengers becomes compulsory. back to top »
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