page_title: St John's College, Cambridge
section_title: Buildings and courts since 1900
hierarchical_section_title: St John's College, Cambridge / Buildings and grounds / Buildings and courts since 1900
caption_attribution_description: St John's College, Cambridge, chapel court
context_page_description: St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The aims of the college, as specified by its statutes, are the promotion of education, religion, learning and research. It is one of the larger Oxbridge colleges in terms of student numbers. For 2018, St. John's was ranked 9th of 29 colleges in the Tompkins Table with over 30 per cent of its students earning first-class honours.
  The college's alumni comprise the winners of 11 Nobel Prizes, seven prime ministers and 12 archbishops of various countries, at least two princes and three saints. The Romantic poet William Wordsworth studied at St John's, as did William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson, the two abolitionists who led the movement that brought slavery to an end in the British Empire. Prince William was affiliated with the college while undertaking a university-run course in estate management in 2014.
context_section_description: Located to the west of the chapel tower lies Chapel Court, which was constructed together with North Court' and Forecourt in the 1930s to account for an increase in student numbers. North Court is located just north of Chapel Court and Forecourt is situated to the east, facing St John's Street. The latter is used partly as a car park for fellows and night entrance to the college. All three courts were designed by the architect Edward Maufe.
  Further increases in student numbers following WWII prompted the college to again increase the number of accommodation buildings. Cripps Court was built in the late 1960s to satisfy this demand. It is located just behind New Court and forms two courts (Upper & Lower River Court). Designed by architects Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, the building is Grade II* listed having received an award from the British Architectural Institution. It is considered an exemplar of late 20th-century architectural style and is named after its main benefactor, Humphrey Cripps. In 2014, the building went through an extensive refurbishment program, which saw renovated accommodation and structural repairs, including the cleaning of the Portland stone which the building is made of.
  To the west of Cripps Court lies the School of Pythagoras. Built around 1200, it predates the college with 300 years and is both the oldest secular building in Cambridge and the oldest building continuously in use by a university in Britain. The building now serves as the location for the College Archives. Next to the School of Pythagoras lies Merton Hall. From 1266 until 1959 both the School of Pythagoras and Merton Hall were property of Merton College, Oxford. Merton Court is the college's eleventh and westernmost court.
  In 1987 the construction of the Fisher Building was completed. Named after Cardinal John Fisher, the building contains teaching rooms, conference facilities, and the student-run college cinema. It was designed by the architect Peter Boston.
  Located directly opposite the college's Great Gate is All Saints' Yard. The complex is formed from the buildings of the so-called "Triangle Site", a collection of structures owned by the college. An extensive renovation project finished in Michaelmas Term 2012 had a budget of approximately £9.75 million. The centrepiece of the Yard is Corfield Court, named after the project's chief benefactor, Charles Corfield. The site can be entered through one of two card-activated gates, or through the School of Divinity. The School of Divinity is the largest building on the site, and was built between 1878 and 1879 by Basil Champneys for the University of Cambridge's divinity faculty on land leased by St John's College. Control of the building reverted to St John's when the faculty of divinity moved to a new building on the Sidgwick site in 2000.
caption: Chapel Court
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