The Chapel

The Chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, who was evidently influenced by the thirteenth-century Sainte Chapelle in Paris, apart from the tower, which was an afterthought made possible by the promise of a former member of the College to pay for it - a promise unfulfilled because of his early death in a railway accident.

Features to notice:

  • the stained glass windows by the nineteenth century firm of Clayton and Bell, which show scenes from the life of Christ, in which St. John, who is always shown in deep red and green, is depicted. The great west window in the antechapel portrays the Last Judgement: St. Michael in the centre holds the scales of justice, with the damned below on his left hand falling into hell, the blessed above his right hand being received into paradise. One of the angelic choir appears to be playing a banjo, and it is perhaps unfortunate that, the window having been donated by former members of the College, the words JUNIORES COLLEGII ALUMNI occur immediately under the damned being shovelled into the flames!
  • the painted ceiling, restored in 1982, which shows figures of notable Christians of each century. It is a particularly good example of this kind of Victorian art.
  • the painting by Anton Raphael Mengs (c. 1777) hanging on the south wall of the antechapel, which shows the Deposition from the Cross.
  • the tomb of Hugh Ashton (d. 1522), one of the first Fellows of the College. In the north transept he is shown twice on the tomb; above clad in academic robes and below as an emaciated corpse - a macabre device common at that time. On the railings round the tomb is his `rebus' or punning badge: an ash tree growing out of a tun (or barrel) which gives `Ash-tun'.

The west door leads to Chapel Court.