Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Corpus Christi College (full name: The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary) is a College of the University of Cambridge. It is notable for being the only college to have been founded by Cambridge townspeople, having been founded in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the second-smallest college (after Peterhouse).

Oddities, traditions and legends

As with all old institutions, Corpus has many legends, traditions and general oddities. Here is a sampling:

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• In Corpus slang, a bop is called a 'slack'.
• Corpus owns the Eagle pub (though it is managed by Greene King). Watson and Crick are said to have refreshed themselves in this pub while deliberating over the structure of DNA.
• The College is said to be haunted by a number of ghosts. Most famous, and feared, is the terrifying apparition of Henry Butts, hero of the plague of 1630, who was hounded to suicide two years later. Another is that of Elisabeth Spencer, daughter of the master, and her young lover (both dead in 1667). Their ghosts are said to walk on Christmas Eve.
• A college legend, no doubt scurrilous and unfounded, is that Scullion, the head porter in Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue was modelled on the legendary Albert Jaggard, head porter of Corpus Christi at the time the book was written. Jaggard is remembered in a number of legends still repeated in hushed tones in the small hours of the morning.
• According to student legend, Leckhampton House is the least haunted house in England. Early in its history, the house was home to an enthusiastic experimenter in parapsychology, whose activities are said to have permanently scared off whatever might be inclined to haunt the place.
• The mathematics society is named "T. Baterby" after the last Corpus recipient of the wooden spoon. The spoon is still in the college's possession.
• The law society is named after Nicholas Bacon.
• While the College is known for playwright Christopher Marlowe, its drama society is named the Fletcher Players.
• Corpus was the only college not to sell its silverware in support of either side during the Civil War. That - and it's unrivaled collection of manuscripts - fuels rumous that it is Cambridge's richest college per student. This is a moot point, since these assets cannot be sold and most cannot be valued.
• The nickname 'Old House' applies to the whole college, but is most often used to designate the main college buildings, as opposed to outlying places like Leckhampton. (eg. "After my morning swim at Leckers, I'm going to eat lunch at Old House")
• Members of the college often refer to themselves as 'Corpuscles'.
• It is also said that during the Second World War, the Master was a high ranking agent from Military Intelligence and that in the event of an invasion by the Germans, Corpus Christi was to become the centre of operations for resistence for the whole of East Anglia.