King's College Chapel : Cambridge, 2017
One of the most iconic locations in Cambridge is King's College Chapel, and this was where we headed on our first day in Cambridge City, we ended up at quite a few chapels and cathedrals during the trip. We drove to the nearest car park (fair warning, driving in Cambridge is not the nicest), and then walked/was pushed to the College. On our way we wandered through the market square, stopping at a fossil seller's stall (she also had a bit of dinosaur bone she let us hold!). Whilst we were talking to her about the fossilization process a couple of science-y people (of who I am obviously not one by the fact that I called them "science-y people") walked past and joined in our conversation; one of those chance moments that turned into one of my favourite memories of the trip.
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| King's College Chapel. Photo by H. Bailey. |
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| Chapel Exterior. Photo by H. Bailey |
Tickets to the Chapel are bought in a shop across the road, as well as magnets - this information may be completely irrelevant to you but is of high importance to me as I collect magnets wherever I go. I have boxes of them sat in my wardrobe as I've run out of space to display them! Whilst you are on Trumpington Street see if you can find the Grasshopper Clock, it's oddly entrancing. We had a slight bit of confusion finding the disabled entrance to the chapel - me being in charge of the map whilst having brain fog is perhaps not the best combination! Thanks to this we got slightly rained on as the summer was being suitably English - not sunny at all.
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| The College Gatehouse. Photo by H. Bailey |
King's College was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI and he wanted to make his college, in particular the chapel, without equal in England. Only the Chapel
ended up finished and that alone took nearly a century due to the
turmoil caused by the War of the Roses (the mention of which always
makes me want to re-watch The White Queen, anyone else?). It is thanks
to the patronage of the later Kings Richard III and Henry VII that the
Chapel was completed and the confusion of patrons meant it perhaps wasn't the cohesive building Henry VI had envisioned! Due to the fragility of Henry VII's (also known as Henry Tudor) claim to
the throne he filled the Chapel with his family's symbols, such as portcullises, greyhounds, Welsh dragons and Tudor Roses, so that they would be thought of as relating to the title of King. I
started trying to keep count of them but soon gave up, so just take my word for
it - there were a lot! The Welsh dragons were quite cute, I thought. Henry VIII added the Organ Screen and
carved into it are his initials and those of his second wife, Anne
Boleyn. We found Henry's initials fairly easily but had to search a bit
for Anne's, and then we got completely distracted looking at all of the
carvings on the organ screen, how can people carve a piece of
wood to look so life-like? I want to know their secrets!
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| Exterior Detail. Photo by H. Bailey |
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| Organ. Photo by H. Bailey |
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| Organ Screen Detail. Photo by H. Bailey |
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| Fan Vaulted Ceiling, the largest in the world. Photo by H. Bailey |
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| The Adoration of the Magi. Photo by H. Bailey |
I think this chapel had the most stained glass I have ever seen (and
I've seen quite a lot). Again, how do people make these things? And 400
years ago! We got a little bit confused accessing the side room
exhibition, again brain fog and being in charge of the map are possibly
not the best combination. After a busy couple of days I didn't take much
in of this bit of the chapel. I have vague memories of enlarged stained
glass windows. In fact, they may have answered the "how do they do it?"
question, I just failed to take it in. Soon after the fatigue haze set
in and so we headed back into the city centre for something to eat.
After refueling I felt able to do a little shopping, which was perhaps
not the best idea. The £5 spent on some fabric for a cushion cover
wasn't that bad, the ridiculous (or was it?) amount spent in the
antiquarian bookshop was perhaps a little more damaging. I'm going to
blame brain fog (...it totally wasn't brain fog).
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| Stained Glass Window. Photo by H. Bailey |
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| Stained Glass Window. Photo by H. Bailey |
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| Window Detail. Photo by H. Bailey |
Accessibility (1 = not very good; 5 = brilliant!):
Wheelchair 3/5:
A separate entrance is used that isn't permanently open and we had to chase down an attendant to open it for us. (It's directly opposite the main entrance, on the nearer side, so if you are going with someone else you could stay at the disabled entrance whilst they went to the main entrance to ask for the door to be opened for you). The main body of the chapel is all accessible, using ramps. There are quite a few side rooms, all of which have steps down, and a couple of them don't have a ramp. These rooms generally had one painting (as shown above). The series of side rooms housing an exhibition were all linked, and could be accessed via a ramp, but beware the ramp was very steep and there wasn't much of a turning circle.
A separate entrance is used that isn't permanently open and we had to chase down an attendant to open it for us. (It's directly opposite the main entrance, on the nearer side, so if you are going with someone else you could stay at the disabled entrance whilst they went to the main entrance to ask for the door to be opened for you). The main body of the chapel is all accessible, using ramps. There are quite a few side rooms, all of which have steps down, and a couple of them don't have a ramp. These rooms generally had one painting (as shown above). The series of side rooms housing an exhibition were all linked, and could be accessed via a ramp, but beware the ramp was very steep and there wasn't much of a turning circle.
Sensory Input 3/5:
King's College Chapel is by no means simplistic in style (stained glass! carvings! organ screens! paintings! the list could go on) and so there is a lot to take in, especially if you want to look through the exhibit in the side room. I especially struggled with the stained glass windows, they were just so full of intense colour and lots of detail. However, to me it felt a bit more open than some other buildings similar in style, and so was slightly easier to process. It was also quieter.
King's College Chapel is by no means simplistic in style (stained glass! carvings! organ screens! paintings! the list could go on) and so there is a lot to take in, especially if you want to look through the exhibit in the side room. I especially struggled with the stained glass windows, they were just so full of intense colour and lots of detail. However, to me it felt a bit more open than some other buildings similar in style, and so was slightly easier to process. It was also quieter.
Food and other Facilities 2/5:
There aren't any toilets or eating places on site. As the college is right in the middle of Cambridge there are quite a few places relatively nearby where you could get something to eat/use the toilets.
There aren't any toilets or eating places on site. As the college is right in the middle of Cambridge there are quite a few places relatively nearby where you could get something to eat/use the toilets.
Travel 2/5:
According to King's website the Drummer Street bus station is a ten minute walk. You can also get a Park and Ride. You can get a train to Cambridge Railway Station, about 1.3 miles from King's. From there you can get a taxi or bus. These buses stop in Emmanuel Street or St Andrew's Street rather than going right into the bus station. We drove into the city centre and parked at the nearest car park (The Grand Arcade) which is a few minutes walk away. Parking in Cambridge is rather limited.
Overall 2.5/5:
Our visit was between one and one-and-a-half hours, with a ten minute drive and a few minutes walk.
According to King's website the Drummer Street bus station is a ten minute walk. You can also get a Park and Ride. You can get a train to Cambridge Railway Station, about 1.3 miles from King's. From there you can get a taxi or bus. These buses stop in Emmanuel Street or St Andrew's Street rather than going right into the bus station. We drove into the city centre and parked at the nearest car park (The Grand Arcade) which is a few minutes walk away. Parking in Cambridge is rather limited.
Overall 2.5/5:
Our visit was between one and one-and-a-half hours, with a ten minute drive and a few minutes walk.
CAMBRIDGE TRIP DAY ONE: ST ALBAN'S CATHEDRAL
*I currently have moderate ME, meaning I use a wheelchair pushed by someone else, and a walking stick. Please take into account your own physical capabilities when planning a trip, if you need to start small then start small. Look into what you can see nearby for when you're ready. Although, when at my best, I may be able to post every 1-2 weeks, that does not mean I am well enough to travel that frequently! Many of my posts come from a backlog of trips taken over the past few years.
