King’s College Chapel at England’s Cambridge University

Along each side of the 289-foot-long King's College Chapel are 12 massive, symmetrical windows. Each window has a pointed, or ogival-arched, frame holding stained glass windows. At each corner are ornamented buttresses. On each side are 11 smaller spires emerging from the buttresses. Courtesy of Benjamin Sheen

The central point and showpiece of the centuries-old Cambridge University campus in England is its chapel. King’s College Chapel, planned by Henry VI in 1515, is a colossal, freestanding stone structure conveying the Gothic style of the medieval age. Gothic architecture, which emerged from Romanesque architecture, is distinguished by its distinctly pointed arches, as opposed to the rounded arches of its Romanesque predecessor. Gothic architecture is also ecclesiastical in nature, meaning it suited the goal of churches to architecturally reach upward with extraordinarily tall rooftops, spires, and pinnacles.

King’s College Chapel is a regular house of worship for the students at Cambridge University and the residents of Cambridge, England. People today enter regularly and marvel at the exceptional architecture and craftsmanship in stone, wood, and glasswork achieved centuries ago.

Armorials, or coats of arms, representing royal families, are carved in stone in several places inside and outside the chapel. This one, featuring the fleur-de-lis symbol, denoting purity, is topped with an elaborate crown and is featured above the chapel’s gate. A band of repeated tracery designs featuring rosettes is carved into stone above the crown. Brian Maudsley/Shutterstock

The choir stall is dominated by elaborate carvings in dark-stained oak. The facing choir stalls lead to the organ, which sits atop a carved dark-stained oak screen that separates this area from the rest of the chapel. Natural light floods the nave through abundant and multihued stained-glass windows. Courtesy of Benjamin Sheen

At least 25 biblical scenes, from the Nativity scene to Paul on the Damascus Road, are depicted in the stained-glass windows. The bat-wing-shaped organ from the 1600s has some pipes large enough for an adult to climb into. The gleaming gold-colored pipes contrast with the rich, carved oak in which they are set. Courtesy of Benjamin Sheen

The chapel ceiling’s carved stone fan vault is considered the world’s largest, at 40 feet in width and extending the length of the interior. The multilayered fan design emerges from fluted columns in between stained-glass windows, and each assemblage of arrow-topped “fans” converges to meet embellished medallions. The top parts of all the stained-glass windows convey the tracery (cut out) design element common in Gothic architecture. Courtesy of Benjamin Sheen

In the tradition of a monastic campus, the Chapel is near other buildings, such as the Gibbs next door. This building was completed 300 years ago and is more Palladian in design, focusing on symmetrical Roman architecture. Gibbs’s main architectural adornments are the pediments over the doorway, the classical columns treated with dentil molding, and the keystones over each window. The Gibbs is used for housing and administrative offices. Courtesy of Benjamin Sheen

The structure was made of two types of limestone: white magnesian from Yorkshire, England, and oolitic from Northamptonshire, England. The chapel rises 94 feet and its beauty, and the depth of the stone cutters’ skill, can be seen when it is illuminated at night. Courtesy of Benjamin Sheen

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