Northamptonshire

Chichele College, Higham Ferrers

Only ruins survive today from the religious college founded nearly six centuries ago in a Northamptonshire village.

Chichele College, in Higham Ferrers, was founded by Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1422 as a college for secular canons. Henry Chichele, who was born in the village, also founded St. John’s College and All Souls’ College in Oxford.

The village of Higham Ferrers was held by the Earl of Derby until Robert Ferrers rebelled against Henry III in the Barons’ Revolt of 1265. The King confiscated the Earl of Derby’s possessions and gave them to his own son, Edmund, Earl of Lancaster.  It was one of the original estates creating the inheritance which later became Duchy of Lancaster.

The remains of Chichele College today are a series of structures and building foundations representing the four ranges around the College’s quadrangle. They are located in the centre of the village in College Street, north of the Market Square.

The ruins are under the guardianship of English Heritage www.english-heritage.org.uk