King’s College Chapel is one of the most iconic buildings in Cambridge and took over half a century to build! King’s College and its chapel were founded by Henry VI in 1446, who is believed to have laid the first stone on St. James’ Day on 25^th July, 1446.

However, Henry never saw the completed chapel, as the main structure of the building wasn’t finished until nearly 70 years later in 1515, during the reign of Henry VIII. The construction of the chapel had a number of hiccups along the way, including wars and funding problems, as Henry VI’s grand designs were very expensive!

In 1508 work on the chapel restarted and although Henry VII died in 1509, money from his will ensured that the building work continued. In 1515 the whole building was complete, including the beautiful fan vault ceiling, which was designed by architect John Wastell and took just 3 years to create. This impressive ceiling is still the largest fan vault ceiling in the world!

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