St. John's Gateway, Cambridge, England, 1890's

The 19th century neo-Gothic New Court, probably one of the best known buildings in Cambridge, was the first major building built by any of the colleges on the west side of the river. Designed by Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson, New Court was built between 1826 and 1831 to accommodate the College's rapidly increasing numbers of students. Despite the College's original intention to get the architects to build another copy of Second Court, plans were eventually accepted for a fashionably romantic building in the 'Gothic' style. It is a three-sided court of tall Gothic Revival buildings, closed on the fourth side by an open, seven-bayed cross-vaulted cloister and gateway. It is four storeys high, has battlements and is pinnacled. The main portal has a fan vault with a large octagonal pendant, and the interior of the main building retains many of its original features including ribbed plaster ceilings in the mock-Gothic style. Its prominent location (especially when seen from the river) and flamboyant design have led it to be nicknamed "The Wedding Cake". Hutchinson was suitably proud of his creation, and it is said that he once dashed up a staircase to reprimand an undergraduate for spoiling its symmetry by sitting too near one of its windows.