Showing posts with label cambridge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cambridge. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Vacation 2010 Day 11: King's College Chapel

cam3904

While I was in Cambridge I took one of the guided walking tours on offer so I could get inside the chapel at King's College.

cam3876

It has the largest fan vault ceiling in the world as well as some wonderful stained glass.

cam3894

Construction began in 1446 and it took more than a century to complete, spanning the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV, Richard III, Henry VII, and Henry VIII.

cam3927

The Master Mason John Wastell was the architect of the ceiling which was constructed in just 3 years. It has been called "the noblest stone ceiling in existence".

cam3911

The superb organ dates from the 17th Century.

cam3916

The chapel escaped damage during WWII but the stained glass was removed and repaired as a precautionary measure.

cam3942

The detailing is also incredible.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Vacation 2010 Day 11: Cambridge

cam3777

I arrived in Cambridge to a drizzly, grey day, though it was possible to find a little color in the grounds of a small, old, church.

I had visited Cambridge once when I was a schoolkid, but I have almost no memories of it.

cam3951

One thing I do remember is punting on the River Cam.

cam3966

A lot of the colleges have nice gardens.

cam3970

Like its older counterpart in Oxford, Cambridge gets a lot of tourists, but I think Oxford gets more.

cam3974

You are never far from one of the 31 colleges that make up Cambridge University, the oldest was founded in the 13th Century.

More Nobel Prize winners hail from Cambridge University than any other single institution in the world.

cam3981

Every college has its own chapel.

cam4012

I also stopped in at the Fitzwilliam Museum.