I don’t know why, but medieval gates fascinate me. I’m not particularly interested in the fortress/protection aspect of them. However, the idea that someone would live there (or spend much of their day there)? Amazing. A grown-up tree house if you will. And as you can imagine, Cambridge is lousy with them. Many of the colleges date back to the medieval period, when gates were very much needed, and survive to this day. While there are some fairly spectacular, there is one that is my favourite. The Christ’s College gate in Cambridge is gorgeous in person, and guards one of Cambridge’s oldest college.
Christ’s College in Cambridge
Christ’s College is in the heart of medieval Cambridge, and was originally founded in 1437, called God’s House. William Byngham, a London priest, founded the school to instruct grammar school teachers. However, the college grew substantially when Lady Margaret Beaufort turned her eye to the college. After her son, Henry VII, took the throne, she helped God’s House receive a royal charter in 1505, when it was renamed as Christ’s College. (Yes, she is the woman looking down at you from the gate.) The college actually become a Puritan college in the Elizabethan period, and Puritan author John Milton would study at Christ’s College. (Oh, Paradise Lost, the hours I spent muddling through you…)
Christ’s College Gate
As soon as you are within eyesight of the gate, you will notice it. The colourful gate makes it rather hard to miss! However, it didn’t always look like this. The gate recently underwent a four year refurbishing process, that finished up in the fall of 2018. It may seem like a long time to repaint it, but the conservators worked to focus on historically accurate and suitable colours and finishing techniques. Given the outcome, I think that it certainly paid off…
Looking for what else you should do in Cambridge? Look at my guide to 48 hours in Cambridge here!
Have you seen the Christ’s College gate in Cambridge?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin’
