Sidney Sussex College

Sidney Sussex College stands on the site of Cambridge’s former Franciscan friary, built in the 13th century and dissolved in the 1530s. The college was founded in 1596 by the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex, who left £5,000 and plate to establish a Protestant college. Her executors, Sir John Harington and Henry Grey, 6th Earl of Kent, worked with Archbishop John Whitgift to create the college seven years after her death. The first intake in 1598 numbered only 40 students, growing slowly before reaching over 100 residents by 1617. Oliver Cromwell studied here in 1616–17, sharing a single chamber with one other student. The college remains one of Cambridge’s smaller institutions, with around 355 undergraduates, 275 postgraduates, and 80 fellows today. The college’s buildings reflect centuries of change. The original red-brick structures were refaced in the 1820s and 1830s under Master William Chafy, and a new wing, Cloister Court, was added in 1891 by John Loughborough Pearson. The chapel was rebuilt in the 18th century and expanded in the early 20th century with a richly carved interior in late 17th-century style. Beneath Hall Court lie medieval cellars from the friary, discovered during 1950s excavations that uncovered skeletons, stained glass, and a Saxon jar. The dining hall, redesigned in 1752 by Sir James Burrough, features Rococo plasterwork and a portrait of the founder above the high table. Two courtyards, Chapel Court and Hall Court, are surrounded by Grade I listed buildings. Chapel Court houses the wood-panelled chapel, extended in the 19th and 20th centuries, with memorials to the two world wars and former masters. The antechapel marks the burial site of Oliver Cromwell’s head with a 1960s tablet. Hall Court centres on the dining hall, with its elaborate rococo ceiling and decorated pillars. Cloister Court, designed in Gothic revival style, incorporates Franciscan elements. The college choir performs regularly in chapel and has toured internationally, while student life is centred on the Junior Common Room, which organises events and welfare support.