Regret has been expressed by some, that I omitted to give a description of all the windows, and that there were no illustrations in the first edition. This I have endeavoured to remedy by giving the subjects of all the windows (with here and there a special note) and inserting some pictures of the Chapel both inside and out, also the arms and supporters (a dragon and greyhound) of Henry VII, crowned rose and portcullis, from the walls of the ante-chapel and the initials H.A. from the screen. I a

On St. James' Day, July 25th, 1446, the King laid the foundation stone of the chapel, and so began a building which, as a distinguished member of the college (Lord Orford) said, would "alone be sufficient to ennoble any age." It has been classed with the chapel of Henry VII at Westminster and Saint George's collegiate church at Windsor, as one of "the three great royal chapels of the Tudor age"; but there is no edifice, except Eton College Chapel, which forms in any way a fair subject of compari

It is stated that in the year 1506 sufficient progress had been made in the building to admit of the performance of divine service, at which Henry VII and his mother, Margaret Countess of Richmond, Foundress of St. John's and Christ's Colleges, who were on a visit to Cambridge, were present; and it is said that John Fisher, President of Queens' College, Bishop of Rochester, took part as chief celebrant. Professor Willis, in The Architectural History of the University of Cambridge , takes excepti

Ample proof has been adduced that Henry VI was not only a Mason himself (having been admitted a member of the fraternity in 1450), but did a good deal for the craft; and Freemasonry has much to thank him for. In a history of Westminster Abbey, written by the late Dean Farrar, is to be found the following: "Even the geometrical designs which lie at the base of its ground plan are combinations of the triangle, the circle, and the oval." Masons' marks are to be found in various places on the walls

The windows of the Chapel contain the finest series in the world of pictures in glass on a large scale. The tracery is filled with heraldic devices. At the top of the centre light are the Royal Arms as borne by Henry VII, and the rest of the badges are Roses, Crowns, Portcullises, Hawthorn bushes and Fleur-de-lys, being all appropriate to Henry VII. There are also the initials H. E. (Henry VII and Elizabeth of York) and H. K. for Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon as Prince and Princess of Wales

The organ was put up in 1688 by René Harris, [12] taking the place of one erected in 1606 by an organ-builder named Dalham; some portions of the case date back to the time of Henry VIII. On the outer towers of the organ facing west are two angels holding trumpets. These were put up in 1859, taking the place of two pinnacles, which in their turn were substituted for two figures about the size of David on this same side. In 1859 the organ was much enlarged by Messrs. Hill, of London. The Coats of

The third chapel on the same side is Provost Brassie's Chapel , where he was buried in 1558. In the window is some fifteenth century glass, which, having been removed from the north side chapels, was repaired in 1857 and placed here. The Provost of Eton, whose knowledge of old glass makes him a competent authority, is now of opinion that it was made for the side Chapels, and was probably the gift of John Rampaine, Vice-Provost in 1495. Of the remaining chantries on the south side, the first cont

One may notice two striking features contained in this epitaph: (1) He believes in the resurrection; (2) he does not care what man thinks of him, it is God who shall decide whether he was good or bad. Money was not a dominant motive with those employed on our old buildings, but master and man worked together for a common object, with a common sympathy; and especially in our cathedrals and minsters they kept uppermost in their minds that they were working for the glory of God. "They thought not o

I cannot end this brief sketch better than by quoting Wordsworth's two famous sonnets on King's College Chapel:—...

[1] Henry was born at Windsor in the year 1421. When Henry V was informed that Catherine had borne him an heir he asked: Where was the boy born? At Windsor was the reply. Turning to his Chamberlain, he gave voice to the following prophetic utterance: [2] The preamble to the charter granted by Henry in January 1441, and confirmed by Act of Parliament in February of the same year, as translated, reads as follows:— "To the honour of Almighty God, in whose hand are the hearts of Kings; of the most b