The Carmelite or White Friars
The Carmelite or White Friars
The north windows of the Old Library contain stained glass which includes ten portraits of members of the Carmelite, or white Friars, who occupied the land now comprising Walnut Tree and Friars Court.
These portraits are believed to date between 1470 and 1500 and they represent one of the finest collections of 15th century English roundels in existence. The individual faces are stunning and sensitive contemporary portraits.
The Convent of the Carmelite Friars was established in 1292 and apart from the roundels little visible evidence of it remains. Much of the land on which it existed was acquired by the College in 1538. The buildings comprised a church, a cloister, a chapter house and bell tower with adjoining chapel, a hall, a dormitory and a kitchen. Remains of these buildings and a number of skeletons have been found in Walnut Tree Court and Friars' Court and the wall between King's and Queens' Colleges is the remains of the north wall of the Carmelite Priory Church, with the Friars Building built on the site of the church itself.