Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

File:Frances Sydney Countess of Sussex.jpg, Founder of the College]]

Before Sidney's founding as a Protestant seminary, the site was home to the [https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/about-sidney/news/sidney-grey-friars-cambridge Grey Friars], or Franciscans, for nearly three centuries. In the 1950s, excavations revealed remnants of the complex, a lay graveyard with reburied skeletons, shattered stained glass, and a large Saxon jar. The medieval cellars beneath Hall Court, where Sidney's wine is stored, are remnants of this era.{{Cite web |title=College history |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/about-sidney/college-history |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}}

The college was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife of Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, and named after its foundress. It was from its inception an avowedly Protestant foundation;[http://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/aboutus/visitors/history.html Sidney Sussex College website; history] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421030350/http://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/aboutus/visitors/history.html|date=21 April 2014}} "some good and godlie moniment for the mainteynance of good learninge". In her will, Lady Frances Sidney left the sum of £5,000 together with some plate to found a new college at Cambridge University "to be called the Lady Frances Sidney Sussex College".Hearn, Karen, ed. Dynasties: Painting in Tudor and Jacobean England 1530–1630, p. 95 Her executors Sir John Harington and Henry Grey, 6th Earl of Kent, supervised by Archbishop John Whitgift, founded the college seven years after her death.

While the college's geographic size has changed little since 1596, an additional range was added to the original E-shaped buildings in the early 17th century and the appearance of the whole college was changed significantly in the 1820s and 1830s, under the leadership of the master at the time, William Chafy. By the early 19th century, the buildings' original red brick was unfashionable and the hall range was suffering serious structural problems.

The opening up of coal mines on estates left to the college in the 18th century provided extra funds, which were to be devoted to providing a new mathematical library and accommodation for mathematical exhibitioners. Also with those funds, the exterior brick was covered with a layer of cement, the existing buildings were heightened slightly, and the architectural effect was also heightened, under the supervision of Sir Jeffry Wyatville.Peter Salt, 'Wyatville's remodelling and refurbishment of Sidney Sussex College, 1820–1837', Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, 81 (1992), 115–55 {{Doi|10.5284/1073206}}File:Sidney Sussex College mascot 1991.jpg of the Sidney familyMontague-Smith, P.W. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p. 336, Viscount de L'Isle; for a history of this crest, said to have been copied from the heraldic emblem of King Louis XII by Sir William Sidney, see [https://historymagpie.com/2014/04/02/why-is-the-porcupine-part-of-the-sidney-family-crest-penshurst-kent/]{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Sidney Sussex College Cambridge: Prospectus |url=http://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/admiss/ugrad/sidneyprospectus2010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927015210/http://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/admiss/ugrad/sidneyprospectus2010.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2011 |access-date=18 May 2011 |publisher=Sidney Sussex College Cambridge}}]]In the late nineteenth century, the college's finances received a further boost from the development of the resort of Cleethorpes on college land on the Lincolnshire coast. This land had been purchased in 1616, following a bequest for the benefit of scholars and fellows by Peter Blundell, a merchant from Tiverton, Devon.R.W. Ambler and Alan Dowling, 'The growth of Cleethorpes and the prosperity of Sidney, 1616–1968', in Sidney Sussex College Cambridge: historical essays in commemoration of the quatercentenary, ed. D.E.D. Beales and H.B. Nisbet (Woodbridge: Boydell, 1996), pp. 183–8.Gerald Maclean Edwards. Sidney Sussex college. 1899. Page 51 A new wing (Cloister Court), added in 1891 to the designs of John Loughborough Pearson, is stylistically richer than the original buildings and has stone staircases, whereas the stairs in the older buildings are made of timber.Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England, Cambridgeshire (2nd edn., Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1970), p.160

In the early twentieth century, a High Church group among the fellows was instrumental in the rebuilding and enlargement of the chapel, which was provided with a richly carved interior in late seventeenth-century style, designed by Thomas Henry Lyon, and somewhat at odds with the college's original Puritan ethos.C. S. B. Pyke, 'The new chapel of Sidney Sussex College Cambridge', in Sidney Sussex College; Historical essays, pp. 235–47; Pevsner, Buildings of England, Cambridgeshire, p. 160.

Sidney's buildings blend old and new, with the latest addition, the Old Kitchen (new dining space), completed in 2021. Student rooms have kitchen access, but also have catered options.{{Cite web |title=Why Sidney |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/apply/why-sidney |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}} Sidney sits on the site of Cambridge's Franciscan friary, built in the middle of the 13th century and dissolved in the 1530s. Artefacts of the site's past lie beneath the foundations of the college buildings.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-07 |title=Before Sidney: The Grey Friars of Cambridge |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/about-sidney/news/sidney-grey-friars-cambridge |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}} Sidney Sussex has two courtyards surrounded by Grade I listed buildings dating from 1596.{{Cite web |title=Stay at Sidney |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/stay-sidney |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}}

File:Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Chapel Court.jpg

This court incorporates a number of buildings that house offices, the Junior Common Room (JCR) and a wood panelled chapel. The Chapel, for which this court is named, has gone through many forms over the years. The current building was rebuilt in the 18th century, and has been extended a number of times in subsequent centuries. The exterior was entirely remodelled in 1833 to match the Gothic style of the rest of the buildings.

The carved interior of the Chapel was installed in the early 20th century to suit the High Church tastes of a group of college fellows. The Chapel is open throughout the day as a space for the college community, regardless of faith or background.{{Cite web |title=Chapel |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/chapel |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}}

File:Hall Court, Sidney Sussex College.jpg

Hall Court is enclosed by a range of Gothic buildings incorporating the Master's Lodge, Buttery and the new Kitchen buildings, but the Court's name comes from Sidney's Dining Hall.{{Cite web |title=Eating here |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/life-sidney/food-and-facilities/eating-here |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}} The dining hall was redesigned by Sir James Burrough in 1752.{{Cite web |title=MNF618 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}} The hall had been in poor repair, and the 'elegant Rococo room' that emerged from the remodelling was seen as a way to attract students and Fellows. Sidney's Dining Hall features decorated plasterwork, pillars, and an elaborate rococo ceiling with a centrepiece of scrolls and acanthus foliage.{{Cite web |title=College history |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/about-sidney/college-history |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}} A portrait of the college's founder, Lady Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex, is mounted over the high table.{{Cite web |title=Eating here |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/life-sidney/food-and-facilities/eating-here |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}} File:Cloister Court, Sidney Sussex College - geograph.org.uk - 2466249.jpg

Cloister Court, completed in 1891, was designed by John Loughborough Pearson in the Gothic revival style,{{Cite web |title=Pearson, John Loughborough 1817 - 1897 {{!}} AHRnet |url=https://architecture.arthistoryresearch.net/architects/pearson-john-loughborough |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=architecture.arthistoryresearch.net |language=en}} incorporating elements that reflect the Franciscan heritage of the site.{{Cite web |title=The colleges and halls: Sidney Sussex {{!}} British History Online |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol3/pp481-487 |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}

File:Sidney Sussex College Chapel, Cambridge.jpg

The old chapel, built by James Essex in the 1770s, was very small at 20 by 30 feet. The old bell, bought from Pembroke Hall in 1707 and recast in 1739, was retained until 1930 when it was replaced with a new one. The work to the new chapel was completed in 1923. The antechapel now contains wall memorials to the dead of the two world wars and to three masters, Parris, Elliston and Chafy. The presence of Oliver Cromwell's head, buried somewhere nearby, is marked by a tablet installed in 1960.

The Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge is made up of six to eight sopranos, six altos (male and female), six tenors, three baritones, and three basses. During term-time the choir has a regular commitment in the chapel to Choral Evensong on Fridays and Sundays and Latin Choral Vespers on Wednesdays.

A number of choral scholarships are available for members of the Sidney Choir. In addition to singing Evensong in the chapel, the Choir has made some recordings and tours regularly in the UK and overseas. The Choir was nominated for a 2013 Gramophone Award in recognition of their disc of the music of Thomas Weelkes.[http://www.percius.co.uk/news/shortlist-for-2013-gramophone-awards I Fagiolini, Podger, Skinner and Sidney Sussex shortlisted for 2013 Gramophone Awards] 29 July 2013 The Sidney Sussex College Music Society organises concerts and recitals, and the college runs a number of instrumental and vocal ensembles. The Sidney Chapel includes a Steinway grand piano, a harpsichord, a chamber organ and a Flentrop organ.

{{Main|Sidney Sussex College Boat Club}}File:Sidney Sussex College Boathouse - geograph.org.uk - 5225025.jpg

Founded in 1837, the men's side of the club has spent most of its time in the 2nd division of the Lent and May Bumps, with brief times spent in the 1st and 3rd divisions. The men's side of the club generally crews two boats in the Lent Bumps and three boats in the May Bumps. Being a small college, the club has never had the consistency to rise to take a headship of either event, and has been as high as 6th in the Lent Bumps in 1913, and 11th in the May Bumps in 1923.

A women's crew was first formed in 1978 and has spent most of its time hovering between 1st and 2nd divisions in both the Lent and May Bumps. Sidney's 1st Women's VIII re-entered division 1 of the Lent Bumps in 2022 for the first time since 2004, and re-entered division 1 of the May Bumps in 2024 for the first time since 1998. The women's side of the club generally crews one or two boats in the Lent Bumps and two boats in the May Bumps.

In Lent Bumps 2020, Sidney Sussex were the winners of the Marconi Cup,{{Cite web |date=2020-10-30 |title=Sidney’s super blade and fighting spirit |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/about-sidney/news/sidneys-super-blade-and-fighting-spirit |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}} which is awarded to the highest performing of boat club overall. The Women's second boat were winners of blades, bumping a total of five times.

File:Sidney Sussex Chapel Court.jpg

The [https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/life-sidney/clubs-and-societies/confraternitas-historica Confraternitas Historica], or Confraternitas Historica Dominae Franciscae Comitis Sussexiae, is the history society of Sidney Sussex College and is reputed to be the longest-running student history society in Europe, having existed since 1910. In fact, no meetings were held from 1914 to 1919 but since, during the First World War, "the University itself almost ceased to function ... the hiatus of 1914–19 is not counted as a break in the continuity of the society".

The Latin name of the society reflects the tastes of Jack Reynolds, the fellow who presided over its creation, who also "endowed the Society with an elaborate Latin initiation ceremony".Derek Beales, '100 not out: the centenary of the Confrat', Sidney Sussex College Annual (2010), pp.22–4 Similarly, rather than being led by a President, the student in charge of the society is instead 'Princeps'. Other society roles include the 'Magister,' 'Tribune,' 'Pontifex Maximus,' and 'Comes'. During society meetings all attendees are referred to in an egalitarian, though still Latinate, manner. Regardless of academic standing or title, all attendees are given the title of 'soror' (sister) or 'frater' (brother).

During Lent term, Sidney holds indoor cricket training sessions, while outdoor training and matches, including the renowned inter-collegiate 'Cuppers' competition, occur in Easter term. Additionally, the college organises social events throughout the academic year.

Sidney Sussex College has a strong history on the iconic quiz show University Challenge, having won the competition in both 1971 and 1978–79. The 1978–79 team, consisting of John Gilmore, John Adams, David Lidington, and Nick Graham, not only won the original series but also claimed victory in the University Challenge Reunited competition in 2002, which brought together past winning teams.{{Cite web |date=2022-08-26 |title=‘University Challenge – Reunited’ memories |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/about-sidney/news/university-challenge-reunited-memories |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}}

During the University Challenge Reunited competition in 2002,{{Cite web |title=BBC - Press Office - University Challenge Reunited |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/03_march/12/universityreunited.shtml |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}} the 1979 team had originally secured a place in the semi-finals as the fourth highest-scoring team, with 275 points, before going on to win the competition.{{Cite web |title=BBC - Press Office - University Challenge Reunited final |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/08_august/13/university_challenge_reunited.shtml |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}} They achieved the following impressive scores to victory:{{Cite web |date=2022-08-26 |title=‘University Challenge – Reunited’ memories |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/about-sidney/news/university-challenge-reunited-memories |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}}

• First round: Sidney Sussex, 1979: 275 points, Trinity College, Oxford, 1972: 185 points
• Second round: Sidney Sussex, 1979: 390 points, Somerville College, Oxford, 2002: 90 points
• Final: Sidney Sussex, 1979: 375 points, Keele University, 1968: 185 points

David Lidington, who later became a prominent member of Theresa May's government, captained the team during the Reunited series. He also featured in a BBC documentary marking 60 years of University Challenge, reflecting on the team's experiences. Nicholas Graham fondly remembered the 2002 competition, recalling the team's initial reservations about returning after so many years but being delighted by their performance.{{Cite web |date=2022-08-16 |title=University Challenge: Seven memorable moments from over the years |url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/university-challenge-seven-memorable-moments-from-over-the-years/41916031.html |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=Irish Independent |language=en}}

Sidney Sussex last appeared on University Challenge in 2018.

File:Sidney Sussex MayBall 2024 Aerial Shot.jpg

Sidney's first May Ball was in 1894 during Charles Smith's Mastership. In 2010, the Venice-themed May Ball garnered national press attention for its unique punting setup. Recent themes have included 'Light' (2014) and 'Beyond' (2016). In 2022, an 'Arcade' theme featured Pacman, the Ghost Gang, and a neon maze in Hall Court, with the Knox-Shaw Room transformed into a retro arcade.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-02 |title=Sidney shall go to the ball! |url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/about-sidney/news/sidney-shall-go-ball |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.sid.cam.ac.uk |language=en}}

As with many of the smaller colleges, Sidney Sussex does not run a May Ball every year, instead running a biennial May Ball, on even-numbered years. On odd-numbered years, the college previously hosted an arts festival, which welcomed anyone in Cambridge to attend. Notable guest speakers at the Sidney Arts Festival have included Stephen Fry, in 2015.{{Cite news|url=http://www.varsity.co.uk/culture/8760|title=Sidney Sussex Arts Festival|newspaper=Varsity Online|access-date=10 December 2016}} The college now hosts a June Event on odd-numbered years, which is an event which is shorter, smaller and cheaper to attend than a May Ball.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-26 |title=May Ball vs June Event: Which is worth it? |url=https://thetab.com/uk/cambridge/2023/06/26/may-ball-vs-june-event-which-is-worth-it-170675 |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=University of Cambridge |language=en-GB}}

At the beginning of the 20th century, Ernest Howard Griffiths, a fellow of Sidney Sussex College in 1897{{Cite web |title=Cardiff Naturalists' Society - History 150th Anniversary |url=https://cardiffnaturalists.org.uk/htmfiles/150th-36.htm |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=cardiffnaturalists.org.uk}} wrote a ten verse song dedicated to Sidney Sussex. Each verse systematically identifies, then dismisses other Cambridge colleges for their faults, before settling on Sidney as the best college of all. The chorus exhorts the audience:{{cite web|title=Secret Sidney – A Brief Historical Sketch|url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/aboutus/visitors/history|website=Sidney Sussex College|access-date=14 December 2016}}

'Go travel round the town, my friend, whichever way you please,

From Downing up to Trinity, from Peterhouse to Caius:

Then seek a little College just beside a busy street,

Its name is Sidney Sussex, and you'll find it Bad to Beat.'

{{further|:Category:Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge|:Category:Fellows of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge|List of Honorary Fellows of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge|List of Masters of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

|label1=Alumni|label2=Fellows|label3=Honorary Fellows|label4=Masters}}

File:Oliver_Cromwell_by_Samuel_Cooper.jpg, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth]]

Oliver Cromwell, who matriculated in 1616 but did not graduate, spent his formative years at the college, where Puritan influences helped shape his religious and political beliefs. These convictions later played a key role in the English Civil War and his tenure as Lord Protector of England.{{Cite book |last=Fraser |first=Lady Antonia | author-link = Antonia Fraser |title=Cromwell, Our Chief Of Men |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson | edition = New |year=2008 |isbn=978-0753813317}} His time at Sidney is often cited as instrumental in shaping his religious and political convictions,{{Cite book |last=Morrill |first=John |title=The brave, bad man of British history |isbn=9781408186244}}{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=Christopher |title=God's Englishman: Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution |publisher=Penguin |year=1990 |isbn=978-0140137118}} Oliver Cromwell's head was interred in 1960 in a secret location near the antechapel.{{cite book |last=Fitzgibbons |first=Jonathan |year=2008 |title=Cromwell's Head |page=96 |publisher=The National Archives |location=Kew |isbn=978-1-905615-38-4}}

File:William Wollaston 1730.png]]

File:Lord Owen - Chatham House 2011.jpg]]

Other prominent alumni include theologian and philosopher William Wollaston and historian Thomas Fuller. In politics, the college has educated David Owen, former leader of the Social Democratic Party and Foreign Secretary, as well as Chris Grayling and David Lidington, both former UK Cabinet ministers.

Several Sidney Sussex members contributed to codebreaking efforts at Bletchley Park during World War II, notably Gordon Welchman, a key figure in the development of codebreaking techniques, and John Herivel, known for the "Herivel Tip," which aided Enigma codebreaking. Howard Smith, later head of MI5, was also among them.

File:Carol Vorderman Waddington Airshow 2011 -6.jpg]]

Among its cultural alumni, the college counts film director John Madden, television host and mathematician Carol Vorderman, and comedian Alex Horne. In business, Daniel Levy, chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, is a notable graduate.{{Cite news |last=Burt |first=Jason |date=2019-08-26 |title=Daniel Levy's trademark stubborn streak is both a blessing and a curse for 'unsettled' Tottenham |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/08/26/daniel-levys-trademark-stubborn-streak-blessing-curse-mauricio/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}

• List of non-ecclesiastical works by J. L. Pearson

{{r|n=sid-cam-statutes|r=

{{cite web

| title=Sidney Sussex College Statutes 2018

| author=Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

| year=2018

| language=en-GB

| url=https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Statutes%202018%20Final%20with%20hyperlinks.pdf

| url-status=live

| access-date=2022-10-19

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517143417/https://sid.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Statutes%202018%20Final%20with%20hyperlinks.pdf

| archive-date=2022-05-17

}}

}}

{{commons category}}

• [http://www.sid.cam.ac.uk Sidney Sussex College official website]
• [https://archive.today/20130222131858/http://confrat.soc.srcf.net/ Confraternitas Historica]

{{University of Cambridge}}

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Category:1596 establishments in England

Category:Colleges of the University of Cambridge

Category:Educational institutions established in the 1590s

Category:Grade I listed buildings in Cambridge

Category:Grade I listed educational buildings

Category:John Loughborough Pearson buildings