Re-founding of Christ's College, Cambridge
- When
- 1505
- Where
- Christ's College, Cambridge
- Episodes
- 2
In 1505, God's House in Cambridge was refounded as Christ's College. The institution received a new royal charter from the king and a substantial endowment from Lady Margaret Beaufort, becoming the twelfth modern Cambridge college.
Episodes
- Granting of Charter and Endowment
The college received a new royal charter from the king and a substantial endowment from Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1505.
- Renaming to Christ's College
The institution was renamed Christ's College, becoming the twelfth modern Cambridge college, possibly on the advice of Bishop John Fisher.
Background and detail
Background. Christ's College originated as God's House, founded by William Byngham in 1437. By 1505, the institution was refounded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII. She provided a substantial endowment to the college, which had previously operated under its original name.
The 1505 Refounding. In 1505, the college was granted a new royal charter by the king. Lady Margaret Beaufort provided a significant endowment and refounded the institution. This process changed the name from God's House to Christ's College, establishing it as the twelfth of Cambridge's colleges in its modern form.
Naming and Context. The new name, Christ's College, was adopted during the 1505 refounding. Sources suggest this name may have been at the suggestion of Lady Margaret Beaufort's confessor, Bishop John Fisher. The renaming formalized the college's new identity following the endowment and charter.
People involved
- Lady Margaret Beaufort · Refounder and Benefactor
- William Byngham · Original Founder of God's House
- John Fisher · Confessor and Suggested Name Origin
Sources
- Christ's College, Cambridge Wikipedia
- Lady Margaret Beaufort Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-12
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.