Trinity College, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, is headed by a master who oversees the general operation of the college. The role is officially appointed by the monarch at the recommendation of the college, and involves presiding over meetings of the college council and its governing body, although the executive powers of the master are limited. [1] In addition, the master supports relations with students and alumni of the college, and serves as an ambassador for its global development activities. [2]
In 1546, Trinity College was founded by Henry VIII, merging the colleges of Michaelhouse and King's Hall. [3] John Redman, then Warden of King's Hall, was thus appointed first Master of Trinity College. There have been 40 appointments to the position; William Bill was appointed master twice, in 1551 and 1558. [4] The longest serving master was Richard Bentley, from 1700 until his death in 1741. He held the post despite widespread unpopularity amongst the fellows, a feud which lasted for about 30 years. During this, Bentley survived numerous criminal charges, and had his university degree rescinded between 1718 and 1724. [5] The current master, Dame Sally Davies, was appointed on 8 February 2019. She assumed the role during a ceremony on 8 October of that year, becoming the 39th Master of Trinity College, and the first woman to hold the position. [6] [7]
For much of the past, the master was required to hold a degree from the University of Cambridge, and was usually a member of Trinity College. Historical statutes also stated that the office of the master could only be held up to the age of 70 or 75, at the decision of the fellows. [1] Currently, the master holds office for a fixed term of up to eight years. There is no longer a requirement to have studied at Trinity College, or the University of Cambridge, but recent masters have usually been distinguished academics. The incumbent is always referred to as the master, regardless of gender, for historical reasons. [2]
The Master of Trinity College resides in the Master's Lodge, located in Great Court. It was originally built in 1554, and is a Grade I listed building. The entrance hall has 16th-century panelling, and the drawing room has a late 15th-century plaster ceiling. The façade of the building towards Great Court was renovated between 1841 and 1843 by Anthony Salvin. In 1892, the architect Arthur Blomfield constructed the west wing of the lodge with additional rooms for private accommodation of the master, which freed some of the historic rooms for public use. [8] The Master's Lodge is customarily the royal residence when visiting the university. [9] It includes a state bedroom that was refurbished for the 1843 visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. [10]
Several masters of the college contributed to the development of its buildings throughout history. Thomas Nevile, master of the college from 1593, remodelled the majority of the college buildings. He demolished several buildings to clear space for the Great Court, which is now reputedly the largest enclosed courtyard in Europe. [11] Upon his death, he bequeathed a sum of money that entirely paid for the construction of Nevile's Court. [12] In the late 17th century, Nevile's Court was further developed by Christopher Wren under the instruction of the master of the college, Isaac Barrow, forming the Wren Library. [13] In the 1860s, William Whewell paid for the construction of Whewell's Court, two neo-Gothic courts located on the opposite side of Trinity Street. [14]
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any Oxbridge college. Trinity performs exceptionally as measured by the Tompkins Table, coming top from 2011 to 2017. Trinity was the top-performing college for the 2020–21 undergraduate exams, obtaining the highest percentage of good honours.
William Whewell was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master at Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved distinction in both poetry and mathematics.
Isaac Todhunter FRS, was an English mathematician who is best known today for the books he wrote on mathematics and its history.
Rev. Henry William Watson FRS was a mathematician and author of a number of mathematics books. He was an ordained priest and Cambridge Apostle.
Thomas Hewitt Key, FRS was an English classical scholar.
The Ascension Parish Burial Ground, formerly known as the burial ground for the parish of St Giles and St Peter's, is a cemetery off Huntingdon Road in Cambridge, England. Many notable University of Cambridge academics are buried there, including three Nobel Prize winners.
John James Stewart Perowne was an English Anglican bishop. Born in Burdwan, Bengal, Perowne was a member of a notable clerical family, whose origins were Huguenot.
Francis John Hyde Wollaston FRS was an English natural philosopher and Jacksonian Professor at the University of Cambridge.
Sir Thomas Clarke was a British judge who served as Master of the Rolls. He was the son of a carpenter and a pawnbroker from St Giles in the Fields, and was educated at Westminster School between 1715 and 1721 thanks to the help of Zachary Pearce. On 10 June 1721 he matriculated to Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with a BA in 1724. He became a fellow of Trinity College in 1727, and a member of Gray's Inn the same year. Clarke was evidently knowledgeable in Roman law, and was mentioned in a poem called the causidicade as a possible Solicitor General in 1742. He became a King's Counsel (KC) in 1740, and in 1742 left Gray's Inn to join Lincoln's Inn, which he became a bencher of in 1754.
John Sheepshanks was an English Anglican Bishop in the last decade of the 19th century and the first one of the 20th.
Sir Robert Romer was a British judge. He was a High Court judge (1890–1899), and a Lord Justice of Appeal (1899–1906) when he was known as Lord Justice Romer.
Newcome's School was a fashionable boys' school in Hackney, then to the east of London, founded in the early 18th century. A number of prominent Whig families sent their sons there. The school closed in 1815, and the buildings were gutted in 1820. In 1825 the London Orphan Asylum opened on the site. Today the Clapton Girls' Academy is located here.
Sir William Wynne (1729–1815) was an English judge and academic, Dean of the Arches 1788 to 1809, and Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge from 1803.
William Cotterell (c.1698–1744) was an eighteenth-century Church of Ireland priest. He was the third son of the courtier Charles Lodowick Cotterell and his second wife, Elizabeth Chute.
Edward Montagu Butler was an English first-class cricketer and schoolmaster.