King's College Cambridge & Fitzwilliam Museum

 

With a world famous Chapel and Choir, King's College Cambridge was founded by King Henry VI in 1441, but finished in 1544 during the reign of King Henry VIII. Regarded as one of the finest examples of late English Gothic architecture, King's College Chapel has the world's largest fan vaulted ceiling, and its stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen are considered some of the finest from their era. Every year on Christmas Eve, King's College Choir's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is broadcast from the chapel to millions of listeners worldwide. Taking a 2-hour tour with Max, an accredited Cambridge City Blue Badge Guide, we were given an in-depth history of Cambridge then escorted through King' College Chapel and Choir, before departing for lunch at The Garden House Restaurant on the banks of the River Cam. 

After lunch we visited the Fitzwilliam Museum, and spent the afternoon exploring the more than 4,000 years of art and antiquities in the grand setting of its monumental 19th-century building. Fondly dubbed 'the Fitz' by locals, this colossal neoclassical pile was one of the first public art museums in Britain, built to house the fabulous treasures that the seventh Viscount Fitzwilliam bequeathed to his old university, with its world-renowned collection of over half a million beautiful works of art, paintings and historical artefacts spanning from antiquity to the present day. Two special exhibitions caught our eye — 'Women in Japanese Prints' and 'Paris 1924: Sport, Art and the Body', highlights the extraordinary achievements of the Cambridge University students who won no fewer than 11 Olympic medals for Great Britain that year, including the sprinter Harold Abrahams whose story inspired the award-winning film ‘Chariots of Fire’.

Interior stonework of the chapel's west end with the coat of arms of King Henry VII

King's College Chapel has the world's largest fan vaulted ceiling 

Kings' College Chapel is a showcase for some of Britain's finest stained glass windows

Built and erected in 1532-36, the exquisite wooden rood screen was built in honour of 

King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn

King's College Chapel magnificent organ was first built by Henry Willis in 1866, and subsequently rebuilt by the Willis firm in 1932, and then by Bishop & Son in 1977 and 1992

Peter Paul Rubens's Adoration of the Magi behind the chapel altar was a gift of property millionaire 

Alfred Ernest Allnatt to King's College Chapel which he purchased in 1959 for a world-record price

16th Century bronze lectern with statue of King Henry VI in the Chapel

16th century thickly carved dark-wood choir stalls in King's College Chapel are the most exquisite pieces of Italian decoration surviving in England

Every year on Christmas Eve, King's College Choir sings the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols 

which is broadcast from the chapel to millions of listeners worldwide

Dating from the mid 15th century, the imposing English Gothic exterior of King's College Chapel 

is one of the finest examples of medieval architecture

King's College Bridge crosses the River Cam in front of King's College Chapel and connects it to the Backs, a green lawn area on either side of the river in Cambridge

Founder's Fountain located in the Front Court was built in 1879 by H. H. Armstead, 

and features founder of the College Henry VI

Novelist E M Forster came up to King’s in 1897, and lived on the second floor 

in the Wilkins' Building for thirty years

The beautiful Clock Tower over the front gate of King's College also houses the Porter's Lodge

The Garden House Restaurant 

The Green Restaurant Bar features special cocktails, champagnes and 

a very nice wine list

The outdoor garden overlooking the River Cam offers lighter fare

Glass of Moët & Chandon Impérial Brut Champagne

Special Robata Grill Menu

Sourdough Bread and Salted Butter

Gavi di Gavi

The kitchen is focussed on open flame cooking and seasonal East Anglian produce

Robata Grilled Herb Fed Chicken with lemon, mustard and garlic, mixed salad and frites

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Beer Battered Haddock with hand cut chips, crushed minted peas and tartare sauce 

The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge

The Mosaic at the Fitzwilliam once decorated a Roman villa in Baiae, 

near Naples in Italy and dates back to between AD50-70

Jamie Coreth’s painting of Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge

at the Fitzwilliam Museum

The magnificent interior of the Fitzwilliam

'Uncle Dominique' by Paul Cézanne 1866

'The Braddyll Family' by Sir Joshua Reynolds 1879

'Cordelia's Potion' by Ford Maddox Brown 1867

'Joan of Arc' by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1882

'Danse Espagnol' Bronze by Edgar Degas, modelled in 1880s

'Apples and Walnuts' by Pierre Auguste Renoir 1865

'The Gust of Wind' by Jean Auguste Renoir 1872

'Virgin and Child' by Pietro Perugino, c. 1450-1523

Fitzwilliam Museum second floor with special Japanese Print Exhibition

from August -September 2024

'Shopping at Ebisu-ya' by Utagawa Kunisada 1842

Twelve Double Page woodblock prints in each volume by Utagawa Toyokuni, in Edo 1802

'Elegant Music for a Cherry Blossom Festival' by Yashima Gakutei 1820s

From the series 'Star Actors of Edo' by Toyhara Kunichika 1864

Program cover of the 1924 Paris Olympics, by Italo Orsi

Poster for the Eighth Olympiad, colour litho on paper 1924

Scottish Athlete Eric Lidell paraded by students around Edinburgh University

after returning victorious after 1924 Summer Olympics

French Tennis Champion Suzanne Lenglen highjacking during doubles match

at Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, 1924

'The Runners' by Robert Delaunay, which he painted after watching runners 

at the 1924 Olympic Games

'Helen Wills' by Alexander Calder, wire and wood, after her olympic victory in 1924

Zinc sculpture of Paavo Nurmi by Waino Aaltonen, 1950

Photo of Johnny Weissmuller and Duke Kahanamoku at Paris 1024 Olympic Games

Tarzan Poster featuring Johnny Weissmuller, who following his retirement from swimming, 

played Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan in twelve feature films from 1932 to 1948

fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk