Trinity Great Court
 |
Trinity's Great Court looking north, showing the King's Gate, Chapel, Fountain and the Great Gate |
Great Court is the main
court of
Trinity College, Cambridge, and reputed to be the largest enclosed court in Europe.
The court was completed by
Thomas Nevile, master of the college, in the early years of the
17th century, when he rearranged the existing buildings to form a single court.
Starting in the northeast corner at E staircase, in which
Isaac Newton had his rooms, and moving clockwise, one first reaches the Porters' Lodge and Great Gate, begun in
1490 as the entrance to
King's Hall and completed in
1535. The Great Gate is home to the famous statue of founder
Henry VIII whose
sceptre was replaced by a chair leg by students in the 19th century. Next comes the East Range, and staircases F-K (with J omitted out of tradition) that contain the college
bursary and rooms principally housing fellows of the college. Staircase I leads to Angel Court, containing rooms for students and fellows, and to the college bar.
|
Trinity's main entrance, the Great Gate, leading to the Great Court |
The South Range runs from staircases L-Q with rooms for students and fellows, with Queen's Gate (named after
Elizabeth I) as its centrepiece. The West Range is dominated by the Great Hall, the college's dining hall modelled on that of
Middle Temple, and the Master's Lodge.
The fourth side begins with staircases A-C, before reaching King's Gate (also called
Edward III Gateway), and the entrance to the oldest part of the college, the remaining surviving buildings of King's Hall. King's Gate also houses the famous clock that chimes every 15 minutes and strikes the hour twice. Originally built on the site of the current sundial in the middle of the court, Nevile moved it 20 metres north when completing the court.
Many have tried to run the 367 metres around the court in the 43 seconds that it takes to strike 12 o'clock, a feat recreated in the
1981 film
Chariots of Fire (though filmed in
Eton College not Trinity). Known as the Great Court Run, students traditionally attempt to complete the circuit on the day of the Matriculation Dinner. The only people believed to have actually completed the run in time are
Lord Burghley in
1927 and
Sebastian Coe when he beat
Steve Cram in a charity race in October
1988.
The final part of the court is completed by the chapel, begun by
Mary I in
1554 in memory of her father. The ante-chapel contains statues of many famous Trinity men, including
Roubiliac's sculpture of
Isaac Newton, and the altarpiece is
Benjamin West's
St Michael and the Devil.
In the centre of the court is an ornate fountain, built during Nevile's time, and traditionally fed by a pipe from Conduit Head in west Cambridge.
 |
Clock tower in Great Court |
The exact dimensions of the four sides of Great Court are:
* South - 87.8m
* West - 105.2m
* North - 78.3m
* East - 99.4mwhich enclose an area of approximately 1.8 acres (7300 square metres).
*
Panorama of the Great Court*
Great Court Run
