Chapter X: An Outline of the College Story29

I have been asked to take you round Trinity College to-morrow, and by way of preface to say to-night something about its history. The first of these tasks, to anyone who lives here, is not difficult, but it is far from easy to give, in forty minutes, a sketch of a history covering centuries of academic life and involving references to the lives of many distinguished scholars and men of affairs. If I confined myself to an account of the buildings the problem would be simpler, but though they must form the chief topic of our talk to-morrow, I would prefer to-day to say something about the growth of the College. On these lines then I proceed, though necessarily in an incomplete way, to state the outline of our story.

2. Trinity College was founded in 1546, just about half-way back in the history of the University. Of those pre-Trinity days I will only say that the University arose about the end of the twelfth century, and that it was nearly a hundred years after its establishment before the first college was founded. Colleges were erected for the benefit of selected scholars who were maintained at the expense of the foundation, and throughout the middle ages, most of the students lived in Private Hostels. In Tudor times undergraduates who paid their own expenses were admitted to colleges, and finally, every student was required to be a member of one of these Houses: the peculiar collegiate character of Oxford and Cambridge dates from this change. I need hardly add that women were not (and are not) admissible as members of the University, and that in former days teachers and students alike were unmarried.

3. Towards the close of his reign, Henry VIII determined to found a college at Cambridge which should promote his views on religion and the new learning. He decided to use for the purpose the buildings and land occupied or owned by two of the chief medieval colleges, King's Hall and Michael-House. Accordingly, under parliamentary powers, he compelled those Societies to surrender to him their charters and possessions, purchased such small parts of our present Great Court as did not belong to them, and gave all this property to his new college together with large revenues from religious houses which he had recently dissolved. The proceedings were high-handed, but we may say that the result justified him. It is believed that, during these proceedings, the university careers of a few of the students, at any rate of King's Hall, were not interrupted, and that thus our academic life runs without a break from the days of Edward II to the present time. Most of the buildings of Michael-House have now disappeared, but our connection with King's Hall is still evident through the remains of its Cloister Court, our Great Gate which bears an inscription commemorating the permanent establishment of King's Hall by Edward III, and our Clock Tower on which is a statue of that monarch. To this group of buildings we must first direct attention to-morrow.

4. Trinity was far larger than the colleges to whose buildings and property it succeeded. Of course it has had ups and downs in its career, but it has generally occupied and still occupies a predominant position in the University. Thus in 1564, its residents numbered three hundred and six out of a total of one thousand two hundred and sixty-seven in the University, while last October [1905], it had five hundred and sixty-eight undergraduates out of a total of two thousand eight hundred and thirty-five in the University, and two hundred resident graduates out of one thousand and five in the University: we now confine our normal entry to under two hundred a year, and as long as this is so, our numbers cannot exceed a certain limit which we have long reached, so, as the University grows, the percentage of students on our boards decreases. The College has always recognized that it was its duty to be a centre of learning as well as one of higher education, and thanks to its traditions and the large number of resident fellows, it has been able to fulfil this double duty.

5. For the first few years after its foundation, Trinity was occupied in settling the many problems which arise in a new foundation. As far as accommodation went, the buildings of King's Hall and Michael-House were connected, and sufficed for immediate needs. Naturally the protestant character of the foundation given by Henry was emphasized by the advisers of Edward VI, the altar in the chapel being removed and a communion table set up in Huguenot fashion in the middle of the building. Queen Mary increased the foundation, and took a warm interest in its affairs; of course the Roman service was then restored. Under Elizabeth the Anglican services were resumed, and she completed the erection of the present chapel which had been begun by her sister: it stands to-day externally much in its original form, though the interior scheme of decoration is different. We may leave till to-morrow the description of it and college doings connected therewith. This first chapter of our history ends in 1560 when the constitution of the College was definitely established in a form which remained practically unaltered till 1861.

6. The next decade was critical. Many of those who had adopted the reformed religion desired further changes on presbyterian lines, and Cambridge, which had taken so prominent a part in the reformation, was their chief intellectual stronghold. Their leader was Cartwright, a fellow of Trinity, and their chief opponent was Whitgift, the master of the College: thus a contest of national importance was mixed up with college politics and carried on partly within the college walls. Whitgift's powers as master were large, and he strained them to the utmost to remove from the House those who opposed him; times, however, were revolutionary and public opinion condoned and even approved his actions. At any rate victory remained with him and his party in the College, the University, and the State, and the position of the Church of England between Rome and Geneva is that for which he fought.

7. Whitgift acted as tutor to some of the students, among whom were Francis Bacon and his brother Anthony: you will see the portrait of the former (as also that of Whitgift) to-morrow, together with those of his contemporaries, Edward Coke subsequently the great lawyer, and Robert Devereux earl of Essex the ill-fated favourite of Elizabeth. By a happy accident some of Whitgift's tutorial ledgers have been preserved, and we have in them details of the expenditure of his pupils, which, combined with information from other sources, enables us to give a fairly complete account of their daily work, prayers, meals, and amusements[30]. A usual age for commencing residence was fifteen or sixteen, and it would seem that students then (though of course subject in many things to reasonable restraints) were allowed that liberty of action which in my opinion is, even though sometimes misused, an essential feature of university education as opposed to the control of the pupil's doings in every hour of the day which is common in many schools. In 1577 Whitgift accepted a bishopric: an eloquent farewell sermon preached in College from 2 Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 2, revealed sincere affection for the place and moved his audience, "insomuch that there were scarce any drie eyes to be found amongst the whole number." He left the House prosperous and of high repute.

8. In 1593 Nevile was appointed master, and took in hand the needed reconstruction of the buildings. It had from the first been recognized that the site offered opportunities for the erection of buildings worthy of the reputation of the College, and he realized how much the effect would depend on making the court large, and above all on keeping the chamber frontage only two storeys high with attics above. The Great Court as it stands to-day is his creation; the only obvious defect in it is the ugly block built in the south-west corner in 1770 to replace Nevile's set of combination rooms which had an elevation agreeing generally with that of the master's lodge, but enriched by a large projecting trefoil oriel. The hall, kitchens, combination rooms, and lodge form another group of buildings to which we must pay attention to-morrow: the first two of these are in the form left by Nevile. The blazoned glass in the hall and our collection of pictures in these rooms, especially the portraits of Henry VIII, Mary, and Elizabeth, all of whom have played an important part in our history, will well repay your study. Nevile also built, at his own cost, part of the court situated on the west side of the hall. This too we shall see to-morrow on our way to the library: in his day, the court was closed on the river side by a low wall, in the middle of which stood the stone gateway now used as the entrance to the College from Trinity Lane, and beyond this wall were the tennis courts and paddocks.

9. The prince of Wales, afterwards Charles I, came to the College to inspect these alterations, and he was followed later by James I. These visits are commemorated by the statues of James, his wife, and Charles placed on the west side of the Great Gate. The king was so pleased with his entertainment that he repeated his visit on three subsequent occasions. Of Nevile, one of his contemporaries wrote, "He never had his like for a splendid courteous and bounteous gentleman," and the College still gratefully honours his memory. He was trusted and esteemed by Elizabeth, and when dying she selected him to carry to Scotland the fateful letter in which she nominated James I to succeed her. If you go into the dining room of the lodge you will see Nevile's portrait, hung in the place of honour over the mantelpiece, representing him as holding this letter in one hand.

10. You must not think that under Nevile's rule the energies of the College were wholly directed to material ends. In a memorandum of 1607 on the use of college emoluments for students, he was able to say that of the higher church officials of the day, eleven deans, seven bishops, and the two archbishops, were drawn from Trinity. In academic distinctions, in legal appointments, and in statesmanship its records were equally satisfactory: so the College was worthily maintaining its tradition of service in church and state. Under his immediate successors the College entered on a period of steady prosperity. In the next generation, however, the shadows of the civil disturbances of the seventeenth century began to fall; theological disputes increased, scholarship in other subjects received but scanty attention, and a general slackness in intellectual pursuits was visible, though it is fair to say that among the students of the time were three or four who later deservedly acquired reputation as poets. Among the latter I particularize George Herbert, Abraham Cowley, and Andrew Marvell; Dryden entered a few years later.

11. On the outbreak of civil war the town was occupied by the parliamentary forces, troops were quartered in the College, and a good deal of damage done to the fabric. In 1644 a large number of the fellows were expelled, their places being filled by zealots of but slight education. It may be put to the credit of a few who were left, notably Duport and Ray, that in this time of stress they devoted themselves to maintaining the standard of scholarship. On the restoration such of the expelled fellows as were still alive and unmarried resumed office. They decided that there should be no retaliations, and that all those nominated to fellowships under the commonwealth should be allowed to remain, provided only they did not preach in the chapel unless they were members of the Church of England: that was a noble reply to the wrongs suffered.

12. The College took pride in resuming at once its position in the world of letters and science, and the following years are famous for the work of Pearson and Barrow, two great divines of the time, and above all of Isaac Newton. The influence of the last-named philosopher on the studies and intellectual life of Cambridge was far reaching. His discoveries in pure mathematics, mechanics, physics, and dynamical astronomy were of the utmost importance, and made Cambridge the centre of mathematical work in England. I will show you to-morrow the rooms he occupied and in which he wrote his famous _Principia_. The staircase on which these rooms are situated has had other distinguished occupants: the rooms on the ground floor on the right-hand side on entering it were occupied by Thackeray, and subsequently by the late astronomer-royal; those on the opposite side by Macaulay; the rooms on the first floor next the gate which once had been occupied by Isaac Newton, were used later by Lightfoot, the theologian, and Jebb, the Greek scholar; and those on the opposite side by Sir James Frazer, who has done so much to investigate the beliefs of primitive man. This is an interesting group of men, but in fact there are few rooms in College which have not been inhabited at some time by those who have made their names famous.

13. Barrow held the mastership from 1673 to 1677. On his initiative the College erected, on the west side of Nevile's Court, the magnificent library which is now stored with literary treasures. This is another building to which we must pay attention to-morrow, and with it we may associate the adjoining chambers. From the close of the seventeenth century onwards we can describe life in College, especially among undergraduates, in considerable detail. The usual age of entry had risen to seventeen or eighteen. To the dons the College offered a comfortable home until an opportunity occurred of taking a college living, and it must be admitted that some were beginning to be content to consider it as nothing more. Materials for the history of the time and the following century have been published by Christopher Wordsworth.

14. Towards the close of the seventeenth century, the number of entries fell; this was attributed, and no doubt correctly, to the rise to office in College of those fellows appointed by mandatory letters from James II--he having filled every fellowship that became vacant during his reign. The history of the Society during the early years of the eighteenth century may be dismissed with the briefest notice, for college energies were largely occupied by domestic disputes, and the number of residents still further decreased: these misfortunes were mainly due to the scandals inseparably associated with the name of Bentley. Bentley held the mastership from 1700 to 1742: his critical work can hardly be over-praised, but his career here was marked by malversations and many dishonourable transactions. The only scholars of the time I need mention are Cotes and Robert Smith who were mathematicians of repute. The latter of these scholars, when master, did something to restore orderly government and discipline.

15. It was not until near the close of the century that the College recovered from the taint of Bentley's misrule, and scholarship again flourished within our walls: among the residents of the time was Porson, whose wit and conversation must have been delightful features of the High Table of his day--he lived in K 5, Great Court. Mathematics now afforded the chief avenue to distinction, but some acquaintance with classics and moral philosophy was also obligatory. This period is famous for the number of eminent judges educated in the College: the strict training in formal logic and geometry required for success in the mathematical tripos being especially favourable to legal work. Out of eleven such Trinity judges of the time the names of Tindal, Pollock, Maule, Lyndhurst, Wensleydale, and Cranworth are still remembered. Socially, manners were generally coarser than at any time during the previous century or than later; though the revival of religion under the influence of Simeon did something to ameliorate matters.

16. Unlike its predecessor the nineteenth century was one of unbroken progress in college achievements and reputation. Near its commencement two internal changes of some importance were introduced in the imposition of an entrance examination test and of a limit to the number of those admitted. None the less our numbers increased, and in 1823-25, another court (the New Court) was built on the south side of that erected by Nevile. At this time, conspicuous among the resident fellows were Sedgwick the geologist, Peacock the mathematician, Scholefield, Hare, and Thirlwall, Macaulay the historian, and Airy the astronomer: it would be difficult to exaggerate their influence on the intellectual life of the College and University. The undergraduate society a few years later also numbered a group of men of exceptional power, notably Trench afterwards archbishop of Dublin, Thackeray, Fitzgerald, Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton), Spedding, Arthur Hallam, Kinglake the historian, the three Tennysons (Alfred, Charles, and Frederick), and Thompson; while a little later came Alford, Lushington, Grote, Tom Taylor, Burnand, and Francis Galton. Materials left by these men, and books like J.M.F. Wright's _Alma Mater_, C.A. Bristed's _Five years in an English University_, Leslie Stephen's _Sketches from Cambridge by a Don_, and W. Everett's _On the Cam_, give us full information of college life during the middle of the century. In connection with the social life of the early half of the nineteenth century I should note that athletic clubs now began to be formed--the First Trinity Boat Club, constituted in 1825, being the earliest. These societies led to the formulation of definite rules for various forms of sport, and to much more attention being paid to out-door games. The subsequent growth of organized recreations of this kind, increasingly developed in recent years, will strike the future historian as one of the outstanding features of the last century.

17. In 1840 Whewell was appointed master. He was of commanding abilities and exercised extraordinary influence: to him more than to any other single individual is due that development of scientific studies at Cambridge which has been so marked in the recent history of the University. Under him, the prince of Wales, afterwards Edward VII, was entered at the College, and later showed his appreciation of its influence by sending his eldest son, the duke of Clarence, here. Whewell erected at his own cost the two courts on the east side of Trinity Street, the rents being used to encourage the study of International Law in the University. During his mastership the old order began to crumble, and new ideals of education, study, and research arose. The Elizabethan statutes were replaced by transitional statutes in 1844 and 1861, and these in turn were replaced by others in 1882, under which the College is now governed.

18. Whewell died in 1866, and was succeeded as master by Thompson, and he in 1886 by Butler. With their masterships we come to the affairs of to-day. The 1882 statutes opened a new chapter in our history; restrictions on the marriage of fellows were removed, and successful teachers thus encouraged to remain in residence; incidentally, this created a new social atmosphere. In this and other ways the conditions of academic life were considerably changed. We need not, however, shun a comparison with older times: if you want to see how freely Trinity during the late Victorian period spent itself in the public service look down any list of judges, bishops, statesmen, colonial governors, and civil servants of the time, and in all you will find many Trinity men conspicuous. Confining ourselves strictly to academic work in Cambridge and to those who have now [1906] passed away, I may mention the names of Clerk Maxwell in physics, of Cayley in mathematics, of Munro and Jebb in classics, of Thompson in Greek philosophy, of Sidgwick in ethics, and of Westcott, Lightfoot, and Hort in theology: all of these were fellows of the College, and professors in the University.

19. This is a bare summary of a complex story. Of the spirit that actuates the College, of all that makes it a living Society, I have said little. In truth, these are incapable of analysis. The charm that the place perennially exercises on those who, generation after generation, make it their home, the affection it inspires, are intangible: they exist, there are but few members of the House who have not felt them, and perhaps that is all I need say on this aspect of our history.

[Footnote 29: A paper read to a party of north-country students visiting the College in 1906.]

[Footnote 30: On some of the items in Whitgift's tutorial ledgers, see above, chapter ii, pp. 36-39: the bills are printed at length in volumes 32 and 33 of the _British Magazine_, 1847, 1848. Other information on the daily life of students of the time is given in the statutes of 1560. An interesting list of the outfit and furniture in the rooms of a fellow-commoner in 1577 was printed by C.H. Cooper, _Annals of Cambridge_, vol. II, pp. 352-356.]