Jesus College & Sidney Sussex College

After Tuesday's Coffee Morning, Julie was again treated to another tour given by our guide, June. This was the last tour of the Lent term. Those of us who have been on June's tours will certainly miss her during her month-long hiatus. June took us to Sidney Sussex College and Jesus College (in the rain, no less).



To get to this courtyard of Sidney Sussex, we actually walked through the alleyway where Borders is located. You would never guess that these beautiful courtyards were here.











Here is another of Sidney Sussex's courtyards. The college was built on the site of a Franciscan friary before the Dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.














These are the gardens. I can't wait to see them in the spring.














Here is another courtyard. The red and white brick faces of the courtyard buildings really is beautiful.














The chapel lies in this courtyard. The head of Oliver Cromwell is buried somewhere in the antechapel. He studied at Sidney Sussex for only one year, 1616.














This walled path through the gate at Jesus College is called 'The Chimney.' Jesus College was the first college to take over the site of an old medieval priory. The college is built around the plan of the original nunnery buildings.














This picture shows one of the inner courtyards.













This is First Courtyard, directly past the gate in the picture above.












This is a picture of Cloister Court. You can really tell that it was a cloister in earlier times.

















This beautiful detail was on a door in the Cloister hallway.














These arches are somewhat sunken, and were certainly a part of the original cloister.

A few famous 'Jesus men' were Thomas Cranmer, S. T. Coleridge and Alistair Cooke.