List of masters of Trinity College, Cambridge

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The Master's lodge is located in Great Court, Trinity College.

The Master of Trinity College, Cambridge oversees the general operation of the college. This involves presiding over meetings of the college council and its governing body, although the executive powers of the master are limited. The role is officially appointmented by the monarch, at the recommendation of the college.[1]

In 1546, Trinity College was founded by Henry VIII, from merging the colleges of Michaelhouse and King's Hall.[2] John Redman, then Warden of King's hall, was thus appointed first Master of Trinity College, and there has always been a master of the college since. For much of the past, the master was required to hold a degree from the University of Cambridge, and was usually a member of Trinity College. The office of the master could be held until the age of seventy, although this could be extended to seventy-five, by decree of the Fellowship.[1]

Currently, the master holds office for a fixed term of up to eight years. There is no longer any restriction on the affiliated institutions a person must have. Recent masters have usually been distinguished academics. The current master, Dame Sally Davies, was appointed on 8 February 2019. She assumed the role during a ceremony on 8 October of that year, becoming the 39th Master of Trinity College, and the first woman to hold the position.[3][4] There have been 40 appointments to the position; William Bill was appointed master twice, in 1551 and 1558.[5] However, the role is always referred to as the master, regardless of whether the incumbent is male or female.

The Master of Trinity College resides in the Master's Lodge, located directly opposite the main gate in Great Court. It was originally built in 1554, and is a Grade I listed building. The entrance hall has 16th century panelling, and the drawing room has a late 15th century plaster ceiling. In 1892, the architect Arthur Blomfield constructed additional rooms for private accomodation of the master, which freed some of the historic rooms for public use.[6]

Several masters of the college contributed to the development of its buildings throughout history. Thomas Nevile, master of the college from 1593, remodelled the majority of the college buildings. He demolished several buildings to clear space for Great Court, reputedly the largest enclosed courtyard in Europe.[7] Upon his death, he bequeathed a sum of money which entirely paid for the construction of Nevile's Court.[8] In the late 17th century, Nevile's Court was further developed by Christopher Wren under the instruction of the master of the college, Isaac Barrow, forming the Wren Library.[9] In the 1860s, William Whewell paid for the construction of Whewhell's Court, two neo-Gothic courts located on the opposite side of Trinity Street.[10]

List of masters[edit]

17th century grass court surrounded by cloistered buildings
Nevile's Court, Trinity College
Man wearing brown robes and long grey hair
Isaac Newton, student of Isaac Barrow
Interior of a chapel with black and white tiled floor, wooden benches, white walls and a wooden beam roof
Trinity College Chapel, the resting place of some masters of the college
Grass lawn with small statue in centre, surrounded by neo-Gothic stone buildings with Elizabethan bay windows
Whewhell's Court, Trinity College
Portrait Name Term of office Notes Ref
— John Redman 1546–1551 Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity (1538–1542), Public Orator of Cambridge (1537–1538), Warden of King's Hall (1542–1546), later forming Trinity College [11]
William Bill 1551–1553 Master of St John's College (1547–1551?), Vice-Chancellor (1548), Provost of Eton College (1558–1561), Dean of Westminster (1560–1561). [12]
— John Christopherson 1553–1558 Chaplain and confessor to Mary I, Dean of Norwich (1554–1557), Bishop of Chichester (1557–1558) [13]
William Bill 1558–1561 Second term as Master of Trinity College
— Robert Beaumont 1561–1567 Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity (1559–1561), Vice-Chancellor (1564 and 1566) [14]
John Whitgift 1567–1577 Archbishop of Canterbury (1583–1604) [15]
John Still 1577–1593 Master of St John's College (1574–1577), Vice-Chancellor (1575 and 1592), Bishop of Bath and Wells (1593–1608) [16]
Thomas Nevile 1593–1615 Dean of Peterborough (1591–1597) and Dean of Canterbury (1597–1615), Master of Magdalene College (1582–1593); significantly developed Trinity College, including expanding Great Court and building Nevile's Court [17]
John Richardson 1615–1625 Biblical scholar, Regius Professor of Divinity (1607–1617), Master of Peterhouse (1609–1615), Vice-Chancellor (1617) [18]
— Leonard Mawe 1625–1629 Bishop of Bath and Wells (1628–1629), Master of Peterhouse (1617–1625) [19]
— Samuel Brooke 1629–1631 Gresham Professor of Divinity (1612–1629) [20]
Thomas Comber 1631–1645 Linguist, Dean of Carlisle (1629–1654) [21]
— Thomas Hill 1645–1653 Master of Emmanuel College (1644–1645), Vice-Chancellor (1646) [22]
— John Arrowsmith 1653–1659 Theologian, Master of St John's College (1644–1653), Vice-Chancellor (1647), Regius Professor of Divinity (1651–1656) [23]
John Wilkins 1659–1660 Natural philosopher, cofounder of the Royal Society, Warden of Wadham College, Oxford (1648–1659), Bishop of Chester (1668–1672) [24]
— Henry Ferne 1660–1662 Dean of Ely (1661–1662), Bishop of Chester (1662) [25]
John Pearson 1662–1672 Theologian, Master of Jesus College (1660–1662), Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity (1661–1673), Bishop of Chester (1673–1686) [26]
Isaac Barrow 1672–1677 Christian theologian and mathematician, known for early development of infinitesimal calculus; Regius Professor of Greek (1660–1663), first Lucasian Professor of Mathematics (1663–1669), academic advisor of Isaac Newton [27]
— John North 1677–1683 Regius Professor of Greek (1672–1674), buried in Trinity College Chapel [28]
John Montagu 1683–1699 Dean of Durham (1700?–1728), benefactor to the college [29]
Richard Bentley 1700–1742 Classical scholar, critic, theologian, Regius Professor of Divinity (1717–1742) [30]
Robert Smith 1742–1768 Mathematician, Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy (1716–1760), buried in Trinity College Chapel [31]
John Hinchliffe 1768–1789 Bishop of Peterborough (1769–1794), Dean of Durham (1788–1794) [32]
Thomas Postlethwaite 1789–1798 Vice-Chancellor (1791) [33]
William Lort Mansel 1798–1820 Public Orator of Cambridge (1788–1798), Vice-Chancellor (1799), Bishop of Bristol (1808–1820) [34]
Christopher Wordsworth 1820–1841 Vice-Chancellor (1820 and 1826), youngest brother of the poet William Wordsworth [35]
William Whewell 1841–1866 Polymath, scientist, theologian, mathematician, poet; funded the construction of Whewhell's Court [36]
William Hepworth Thompson 1866–1886 Classical scholar, Regius Professor of Greek (1853–1867), reformer of Trinity College and the University of Cambridge [37]
Henry Montagu Butler 1886–1918 Headmaster of Harrow School (1860–85), Dean of Gloucester (1885–86) [38]
Sir Joseph John Thomson 1918–1940 Physicist, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physics (1906), known for discovery of the electron [39]
George Macaulay Trevelyan 1940–1951 Historian and author, Regius Professor of History (1927–1943), Chancellor of Durham University (1950–1957) [40]
Edgar Adrian 1951–1965 Electrophysiologist, laureate of Nobel Prize for Physiology (1932) for work on the function of neurons, President of the Royal Society (1950–1955), president of the Royal Society of Medicine (1960–1962), Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (1967–1975) [41]
Rab Butler 1965–1978 Conservative Party politician, Deputy Prime Minister (1962–1963) [42]
Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin 1978–1984 Physiologist and biophysicist, joint winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1963), awarded Copley Medal (1965), later becoming President of the Royal Society (1970–1975) [43]
Sir Andrew Huxley 1984–1990 Physiologist and biophysicist, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1963), President of the Royal Society (1980–1985) [44]
Sir Michael Atiyah 1990–1997 Mathematician, Savilian Professor of Geometry (1963–1969), laureate of Fields Medal (1966) and Abel Prize (2004), President of the Royal Society (1990–1995) [45]
Amartya Sen 1998–2004 Economist and philosopher, laureate of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1998), recipient of the Bharat Ratna (1999) [46]
Martin Rees 2004–2012 Cosmologist and astrophysicist, fifteenth Astronomer Royal (appointed 1995), President of the Royal Society (2005–2010) [47]
Sir Gregory Winter 2012–2019 Molecular biologist, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2018), known for work on the therapeutic use of monoclonal antibodies [48]
Dame Sally Davies FMedSci DBE FRS Dame Sally Davies 2019–present Haematologist, Chief Medical Officer (2010–2019), Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health (2004–2016) [4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "The Master of Trinity". Trinity College Cambridge. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Historical Overview". Trinity College Cambridge. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Master of Trinity College, Cambridge: Professor Dame Sally Davies". GOV.UK. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Dame Sally installed as Master". Trinity College. University of Cambridge. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  5. ^ fionaholland (8 February 2019). "Professor Dame Sally Davies appointed Master of Trinity". Trinity College Cambridge. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  6. ^ Historic England. "Trinity College: The Buildings surrounding Great Court, Nevile's Court and New Court, and including King's Hostel (Grade I) (1106371)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  7. ^ Stephen Brewer, Donald Olson (2006). Best Day Trips from London: 25 Great Escapes by Train, Bus Or Car. Frommer's. p. 56. ISBN 0-470-04453-5.
  8. ^ Stourton, Edward; Lonsdale, John (2011). Trinity: A Portrait. Third Millenium Pub. ISBN 978-1-906507-31-2.
  9. ^ McKitterick, David (27 July 1995). The Making of the Wren Library: Trinity College, Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44305-0.
  10. ^ Historic England. "Whewell's Court, Trinity College (Grade II) (1331806)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Redman, John (RDMN525J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  12. ^ "Bill, William (BL532W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  13. ^ "Christopherson, John (CHRR540J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  14. ^ "Beaumont, Robert (d.1567)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  15. ^ "Whitgift, John (WHTT550J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  16. ^ "Still, John (STL559J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  17. ^ "Nevill, Thomas (NVL564T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  18. ^ "Richardson, John (RCRT578J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  19. ^ "Mawe, Leonard (MW588L)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  20. ^ "Brooke, Samuel (BRK592S)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  21. ^ "Comber, Thomas (CMR592T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  22. ^ "Hill, Thomas (HL618T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  23. ^ "Arrowsmith, John (ARWT616J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  24. ^ Shapiro, Barbara J. (1969). John Wilkins, 1614-1672; an intellectual biography. Internet Archive. Berkeley, University of California Press.
  25. ^ "Ferne, Henry (FN620H)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  26. ^ "Pearson, John (PR632J2)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  27. ^ Feingold, Mordechai (30 March 1990). Before Newton: The Life and Times of Isaac Barrow. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-30694-2.
  28. ^ "North, John (NRT660J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  29. ^ "Trinity College Chapel - John Montagu shield". trinitycollegechapel.com. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  30. ^ De Quehen, Hugh (2004). "Bentley, Richard (1662–1742), philologist and classical scholar". In Matthew, Henry Colin Gray; Harrison, Brian Howard (eds.). Belle - Blackman. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: from the earliest times to the year 2000. Vol. 5. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  31. ^ "Smith, Robert (SMT708R)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  32. ^ "Hinchliffe, John (HNCF750J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  33. ^ "Postlethwaite, Thomas (PSTT749T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  34. ^ "Mansel, William Lort (MNSL770WL)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  35. ^ "Wordsworth, Christopher (WRDT791C)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  36. ^ Douglas, Janet Mary (1881). The life and selections from the correspondence of William Whewell [microform]. University of California Libraries. London : Kegan Paul, Trench.
  37. ^ "Thompson, William Hepworth (THM828WH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  38. ^ "Butler, Henry Montagu (BTLR850HM)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  39. ^ Rayleigh (1941). "Joseph John Thomson. 1856–1940". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 3 (10): 586–609. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1941.0024.
  40. ^ Hernon, Joseph M. (1976). "The Last Whig Historian and Consensus History: George Macaulay Trevelyan, 1876-1962". The American Historical Review. 81 (1): 66. doi:10.2307/1863741.
  41. ^ Hodgkin, Alan (1979). "Edgar Douglas Adrian, Baron Adrian of Cambridge, 30 November 1889 - 4 August 1977". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 25: 1–73. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1979.0002. ISSN 0080-4606.
  42. ^ Howard, Anthony (1987). Rab: the life of R. A. Butler. London: Cape. ISBN 978-0-224-01862-3.
  43. ^ Huxley, Andrew (2000). "Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, O.M., K.B.E. 5 February 1914 – 20 December 1998: Elected F.R.S. 1948". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 46: 219–241. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1999.0081.
  44. ^ Goldman, Yale E.; Franzini-Armstrong, Clara; Armstrong, Clay M. (2012). "Andrew Fielding Huxley (1917–2012)". Nature. 486 (7404): 474. Bibcode:2012Natur.486..474G. doi:10.1038/486474a. PMID 22739307.
  45. ^ Atiyah 2004, p. ix
  46. ^ fionaholland (11 October 2021). "At home with Professor Amartya Sen". Trinity College Cambridge. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  47. ^ "Rees of Ludlow, Baron, (Martin John Rees) (born 23 June 1942)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  48. ^ Fry, Matthew (3 October 2018). "Greg Winter wins 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry". MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
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