The buildings
You can see the placement of these buildings in the birds eye views of Queens.
Old Court
All that you see here was erected in 1448. Although there is no hard evidence, stylistic matters suggest that this was designed by the master mason Reginald Ely, who was also at the same time erecting the original Old Court of King's College (now part of the University Old Schools opposite Clare College), and the start of King's College Chapel. He was a personal friend of Andrew Dokett, the priest of this parish, who was the prime mover in founding Queens' College. The difference between his work at King's and Queens' is that:
- King's was using very expensive stone, whereas Queens' was using cheaper clunch with red brick skin;
- Queens' was finished within two years, whereas King's Old Court never was finished, and the chapel took nearly a century to build.
Cloister Court
The Cloister walks were erected in the 1490s to connect the Old Court of 1448/9 with the riverside buildings of the 1460s, thus forming the court now known as Cloister Court.
Walnut Tree Court
This building was erected 1616-18 by Gilbert Wigge and Henry Mann, at a cost to the College of £886 9s. Only the ground floor of the original construction remains: after a fire in 1777, it was rebuilt from the first floor upwards 1778-82. The battlements were added in 1823. (Similar battlements were added to Old Court as well, but they were removed again 1910-25).
There are two staircases (H and G), each with six sets. These are taken usually by third year undergraduates and Fellows.
Essex building
Essex Building, erected 1756-60, is so named after its builder, James Essex the Younger (1722-1784), a local carpenter who had earlier erected the wooden bridge. What can be seen here was only one third of the planned river frontage, which would have involved complete demolition of the medieval part of the President's Lodge.
In the 1920s, the old mills were demolished, and the bulk of the river flow was diverted around Laundress Green via new sluices from the upper river, instead of flowing straight past from the mill races. This new flow had to turn sharply in the Mill Pool to flow past Queens', with the result that the river began to scour away the foundations of Silver Street bridge and the Essex Building. By 1938, the Essex Building was so undermined that it began to collapse into the river. A major rescue operation involved underpinning the foundations with a concrete shelf below water level, and pulling the building back upright with tie-rods, the plates on the end of which can still be seen.
At about the same time in 1938, demolition of Essex Building was being considered to permit the widening of Silver Street. Sketch designs exist for a replacement building. The road widening scheme was turned down, and Essex Building survived.
The river continued to scour away the foundations of the Silver Street bridge of 1842, which eventually had to be taken down in 1959 to be replaced by the present bridge, to an earlier design by Lutyens. He modelled the balustrade of the bridge on that of the roof of Essex Building.
Dokett and Friar's
The College experienced a growth in student numbers during the 19th century, bringing with it the need for additional student accommodation. The President's second garden (now called Friars' Court) was taken as the site for a new building in 1886, to the design of W.M. Fawcett, architect, and built by Rattee & Kett. As originally constructed, Friars' Building had four staircases (M,N,O,P) each of four floors, each floor having two sets, making 32 sets in all. In the early 1950s, the ground, first, and second floors were altered: each set was subdivided into two bedsits, so as to increase the capacity of the building. In 1980, one bedsit on each staircase was converted to showers & baths, to the design of Julian Bland, architect. The building now accommodates 52 students and Fellows.
Dokett Building was built in 1912 to the design of Cecil G. Hare, architect, who had earlier been a partner of G.F. Bodley (responsible for the new Chapel and decoration of the Old Hall). The contractor was Rattee & Kett. The building is of thin red Daneshill brick with Corsham stone dressings and mullioned windows. The internal oakwork was a benefaction of the President, Dr Fitzpatrick. There are three staircases (Q,R,S). Dokett originally provided 26 sets (living room facing the court, bedroom facing Queens' Lane) and a Bursary office. Over the years, most of the sets have been converted into two bedsits.
Fisher
Fisher Building was erected in 1936 to the design of G.C. Drinkwater, architect. It continued the Queens' tradition of using red brick. The windowframes are of teak, and all internal woodwork is oak. It was the first student accommodation in Queens' to lie west of the river. It was also the first building in Queens' to have bathrooms and toilets on the staircase landings close to the student rooms. These were so clearly evident that it prompted an observer at that time to comment that the building "seemed to have been designed by a sanitary engineer". Fisher originally comprised 82 two-room sets on five staircases (T,V,W,X,Y), although alterations in the 1970s caused four sets to be lost to a new boilerhouse and Porters' Lodge. Except in the attics, each of these sets is now shared by two undergraduates, usually second years. The attic sets are still in single occupation.
The building is named after John Fisher, President of Queens' 1505 - 1508. He became Bishop of Rochester in 1504, and a Cardinal in 1535. He was executed on 22 June 1535, and canonised as StJohn Fisher by the Roman Catholic Church in 1935.
The railings and gateway with brick pillars were erected in 1994-95 to form a secure boundary to the college site.
In 1998, the sets on V staircase (except the attics) were fitted with en-suite showers and toilets, and the space thereby released by redundant toilets and bathrooms on the staircases allowed the gyp-rooms to be expanded and modernised. In 1999, it is planned to do the same on X and Y staircases.
This view shows the entrance to W staircase. Click here for a similar view in 1936.
Cripps court
Cripps Court was finished in stages between 1974 and 1980. It houses 171 student bedrooms, three Combination Rooms and a bar, three Fellows' Flats, Dining Hall and kitchens.
It was the benefaction of the Cripps Foundation, and was the largest building ever put up by the College. It enables the College to offer accommodation to undergraduates within the main college site for three years.
Architects: Powell, Moya & Partners, London
More images are available in the image gallery.