[10] Among the college's more notable collections are a seventeenth-century Flemish tapestry,[11] two first-edition theses by Martin Luther,[12] numerous original, signed works by Winston Churchill,[13] a 1491 edition of Dante's Divine Comedy censored by the Spanish Inquisition,[14] and Bishop Strachan's silver epergne.

King's College was effectively controlled by the Church of England and members of the elite Family Compact, and at first reflected Strachan's ambition for an institution of conservative, High Anglican character.

[19] Strachan objected to proposals for the provincial university to be without a religious affiliation, dubbing such a suggestion "atheistical, and so monstrous in its consequences that, if successfully carried out, it would destroy all that is pure and holy in morals and religion, and would lead to greater corruption than anything adopted during the madness of the French Revolution.

Strachan canvassed Great Britain and Upper Canada for donations, and although he fell short of his goal of £30,000, he received significant commitments from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Duke of Wellington, William Gladstone, and Oxford University.

[21][22][23] On April 30, 1851, now-Bishop Strachan led a parade of clergy, schoolboys, and prospective faculty from the Church of St George the Martyr to the site of the new Trinity College.

There, Strachan delivered a speech repeating his condemnation of the "destruction of King's College as a Christian institution," and promised that Trinity would fulfil the role of a church university.

Applicants for the divinity school were required to have a bachelor's degree in arts, and to pass oral exams from the Provost in the New Testament, church catechism, Latin, and Greek.

[31] Designed by Kivas Tully, the original Trinity College building was constructed in 1851 on Queen Street West, in what was then an undeveloped western end outside the Toronto city bounds.

The connections between the professional faculties and the college proper were however somewhat tenuous, as students generally took classes elsewhere in Toronto, and only came to the Queen Street campus to write exams and accept degrees.

[75] To counteract the perceived diluting influence of the University of Toronto on Trinity culture, concerned students insisted on wearing College gowns and blazers around campus to classes.

[86] In 1979, a theater was added to the Larkin Building, named after Provost George Ignatieff, which quickly replaced Cartwright Hall as the primary forum for student drama.

The front wing of the main building (often referred to as "Trinity Proper") was completed in 1925 by architectural firm Darling and Pearson, among whose other projects include the university's Convocation Hall and Varsity Arena.

[100] The architects were required to faithfully preserve the familiar characteristics of the original Trinity College building in the design of the front wing,[101] which is hence of predominantly Jacobethan architectural construction.

[102] By 1941, immediately prior to the imposition of wartime restrictions on building materials,[72] Trinity College had undertaken the construction of the eastern and western wings under Toronto architectural firm George & Moorhouse.

[100][105] Hanging on the front wall prominently behind the High Table is a large medieval tapestry provenant of Gerald Larkin's enthusiastic patronage, believed to have been woven in Flanders in the sixteenth century to depict the coming of the Queen of Sheba to the court of King Solomon.

[100] Situated in the western wing not far from Strachan Hall, the Junior Common Room (JCR) is used extensively by Trinity College's student organisations as a social and event space.

It was designed in the modified perpendicular Gothic style by renowned English architect Giles Gilbert Scott, who was also responsible for the Liverpool Cathedral and the ubiquitous red telephone boxes seen throughout Britain.

[100] Using only stone, brick, and cement, Italian stonemasons employed ancient building methods; the only steel in the construction is in the hidden girders supporting the slate roof, with the exterior walls being sandstone.

[107] In the chapel a memorial tablet in Indiana limestone designed by Allan George, with lettering and medallions by A. Scott Carter, is dedicated to the members of Trinity College who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars.

Also in 2000, Wycliffe College's theological collection merged with the Trinity library, which was renamed after Toronto lawyer and Anglican churchman John W. Graham (also father of Canadian entrepreneur Ted Rogers).

Subject strengths reflect Trinity's academic programs and interests: international relations, ethics, English literature, philosophy, theology, Anglican church history, and biblical studies.

Undergraduate students are admitted to Trinity in line with a common framework established by the University of Toronto, which sets the general principles and procedures for admission observed by its colleges.

[132] Beginning in 1837, representatives of the United Church of England and Ireland in Upper Canada met with the Society for Propagation of the Gospel to solicit support for fellowships to enable the education of local clergy.

The college hosts two black tie balls annually, and continue to celebrate British holidays including Guy Fawkes and Robbie Burns Days.

Beyond weekly meetings, the Lit organizes other events, historically including the annual Guy Fawkes bonfire, Oktoberfest, Chess in the Quad, Robbie Burns and "Bubbly" - a champagne themed formal ball.

There is also a bi-annual journal of students' short stories, photographs and poetry, called the Trinity University Review; it was first published in 1880 as Rouge et Noir (French, meaning Red and Black).

[154] Trinity is the last undergraduate college at the University of Toronto that continues the tradition of Formal Hall during the academic year; High Table dinners are usually held after Evensong on Wednesdays.

Before the meal, one of the Student Heads or another positioned member of college (in order of precedence determined by seniority) is responsible for saying the Latin grace: Quae hodie sumpturi sumus, benedicat Deus, per Iesum Christum Dominum Nostrum.

Upon a publicly announced "call" as to the alleged transgression, the assembled members of second year would stampede from their seats to the defenders, where they were given one minute to pull the targeted student off the table.

The Corporation presently consists of over 500 elected and statutory members, including alumni, faculty, staff, student leaders, the Anglican Bishops of Ontario, and representatives from each Diocese.