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The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain.

 

Comment about Kings College Chapel, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

I have been twice to Cambridge, for a total of two hours in this university city. In no way does that make me an authority on what to see, where to go, how to get there, etc. But, it was enough time for me to fall in love with Kings College Chapel.

Breathtaking, dizziness, clammy hands, gasps of air, euphoria...what other adjectives can be used to describe this tremendous piece of Tudor architecture? Yes, it was founded by Henry VI but it is more truly an effort by Henry VII and his son Henry VIII.

Their stamp is everywhere - the crowned Tudor Rose, the crowned Beaufort Portcullis, the Tudor Coat of Arms. A set of initials for Anne Boleyn can still be seen on the choir screen, overlooked during the time period when any reminder of Henry's doomed second queen were erased. Henry himself is thought to be here, on a stained glass window, appearing as King Solomon. It is believed that the Queen of Sheba kneeling at his feet is actually a portrait of his fifth wife, Katherine Howard.

The fan vaulting of this chapel, the narrowness of the building with walls that go straight to heaven, the command of detail; the essence of strength is truly magnified in this building. This is a grand piece of late-English architecture.


'Tudor Rose', Florida, U.S.A.

this is the best collage iv ever saw in my life

chloe davies Thu 17th Feb 2011

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