Summary

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 the Tudor King, Henry VI in 1446. However, Henry never saw the completed chapel, as the main building wasn’t finished until nearly 70 years later in 1515, during the reign of Henry VIII. The chapel still has the largest fan vaulted ceiling in the world and it fills visitors with awe!

Story

This history trail is narrated by the poet Michael Rosen, with script researched by Helen Weinstein and the team at Historyworks. This recording is part of a series of Cambridge history trails which have lyrics inspired by 'history beneath our feat' performed by local schoolchildren, with poems by the top poet Michael Rosen and songs by the funny team at CBBC's songwriters commissioned by Historyworks. 

King’s College Chapel is one of the most iconic buildings in Cambridge and took over 70 years to finish!

King’s College and its chapel was founded by Henry VI who lived from 1421 to 1471, but Henry never saw the completed chapel because the main structure of the building wasn’t finished until 1515, long after his death. It was the Tudor Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII who were left with the job of completing this impressive building.

The first stone is believed to have been laid on St. James’ Day on 25th July, 1446 by King Henry VI himself. However the construction of the chapel was a very slow process, largely due to funding problems, as Henry VI’s grand designs were very expensive and he was in the middle of fighting various wars.

Despite the College asking for the construction work to start again , because it looked really ugly in its semi-completed state, there was once a period of 20 years when no building work was done at all.

Finally In 1508 work on the chapel restarted under Henry VII and although he died in 1509, money from his will ensured that the building work continued under Henry VIII. In 1515 the whole building was at last complete, including the beautiful fan vault ceiling, which was designed by architect John Wastell. Amazingly, given all the previous delays, that took just 3 years to create. This impressive ceiling is still the largest fan vault ceiling in the world weighing as much as 312 elephants.

How do you think it stays up there?

Just over one hundred years after the laying of the foundation stone of King’s College Chapel, at the time of King Henry VIII’s death in 1547, the Chapel was considered to be one of the grandest and most exquisite buildings in Europe. It still is to this day. When you look up at the ceiling, do you think it looks like looking up at trees in a wood? The Chapel is very popular with tourists and costs several pounds to go round, but if your class is from a Cambridgeshire school it can arrange a free visit. Then in the Chapel you’ll be able see images representing the Tudors; there’s a carved Tudor rose and a variety of creatures. There’s a dragon for Wales - because the Tudor family came from there - and in the stained glass windows I’m told you can find a bat. Take a penny out of your pocket – on one side there’s an image of a portcullis – the gate to a castle – can you find a picture of one in the chapel? And can you find the head of someone called the “green man” ?

In 2014 a collection of Cambridge primary schools, together with the choristers of Kings College Chapel, sang and recorded a song written by composer Michael Berkeley. It was written in celebration of the foundation of the College. You can have a listen below