[2] The guild of Corpus Christi was founded in Cambridge in 1349 by William Horwode, Henry de Tangmere, and John Hardy[8] in response to the Black Death.

The united guilds acquired land in the centre of town and their patron, the Duke of Lancaster,[8] applied to King Edward III for a licence to found a new college, which was granted in 1352.

[10] Construction of a single modest court near the parish church began immediately and in 1356 it was ready to house the Master and two fellows.

[15] The revolt, which ironically took place during the Corpus Christi week, focused on the college as centre of discontent due to its rigid collection of "candle rents".

At the same time the Master, Thomas Cosyn, built the college's first chapel and a passageway between Old Court and St Bene't's Church.

Notable are William Sowode who cancelled the Corpus Christi procession, St Richard Reynolds who was martyred by Henry VIII, and Thomas Dusgate and George Wishart who were both burned as Protestants.

Although little is known about his time there, it is often believed that it was during his study for his MA that he began his work as a spy, a claim based on only a single cryptic statement by the Privy Council.

In 1578 Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, who had already endowed several scholarships to the college, donated £200 (roughly £30,000 now) for the construction of a new chapel.

[6][11] Corpus maintains an impressive collection of silver as it was the only college not to sell its silverware in support of either side during the Civil War.

[23] During the war there were fewer undergraduates in residence, but the space was taken up by cadets and officers of the armed services taking short courses.

The Eagle is also well known as a haunt for RAF officers in World War Two; renovations revealed hundreds of signatures, drawings and messages written, or even burnt, onto the walls and ceilings.

[26] It also has strong links with New Zealand, taking a student on a full scholarship from the country each year, paid for by the Worshipful Company of Girdlers.

Built in the 1350s, Old Court contains some of Cambridge's oldest buildings, and retains many of its original features, such as sills and jambs used to hold oil-soaked linen in the days prior to the arrival of glass.

The court is the oldest continually inhabited courtyard in the country (a claim disputed by Merton College, Oxford, which says the same of its Mob Quad).

In 1919 the ivy was removed from Old Court and a roughcast rendering was put in its place, followed by a major restoration in 1952 paid for by donations from old members.

[33] There is a large plaque, on the northern wall, dedicated to Christopher Marlowe and John Fletcher, both famous playwrights who studied at Corpus.

[11] The tower of St Bene't's is the oldest building in Cambridge dating back to before the Norman Conquest, built in the late Anglo-Saxon period.

Although he went on to design the curtain wall in front of King's College, Cambridge and the National Gallery in London, he considered Corpus to be his favourite work and requested to be buried in the Chapel.

[43] The Chapel was extended in the late 19th century to make room for increasing student numbers, and the chancel dates from this time.

[53][54] While the outer facade of the bank building facing onto Trumpington Street, designed by architect Horace Francis,[52] is Grade II listed, the interior was not.

It is situated about a mile west of the main College site (which is traditionally referred to by postgraduate students as the 'Old House', to differentiate it from Leckhampton), just outside the city centre and is set off Grange Road.

[citation needed] The Robert Beldam Building, adjacent to Bene't Street Hostel, is a modern accommodation block completed in the 1990s.

All have been reclaimed by the college for use as student rooms or part of the Library except for the block used by the Trumpington Street Medical Practice.

It is notable for the mulberry tree which was given to the college by King James I as part of his abortive attempt to found a silk industry in England.

As with all Cambridge colleges, Corpus has its own student unions (combination rooms) for both undergraduates and graduates, the JCR and MCR respectively.

[67] When the ducklings hatch and are ready to leave for the water one of the porters must stop traffic on Trumpington Street to allow the duck and her offspring to cross.

Both colleges compete in many sports including football, rugby, hockey and rowing races as well as darts, table tennis, pool and board games.

Several notable performers and directors have played there including Emma Thompson, Hugh Bonneville (alumnus of Corpus Christi), Sam Mendes and Stephen Fry, who is the Playroom's patron.

Most famous, and feared, is the terrifying apparition of Henry Butts, hero of the plague of 1630, who hanged himself with his garters in the then Master's Lodge on Easter Sunday, 1632.

Before the meal starts, a gong is sounded and the attendees stand as the fellows and their guests come in from the Old Combination Room to sit at High Table.