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Sancte et Sapienter (With Holiness and Wisdom)

King's College London

When King's was founded, John Nash, the architect of Buckingham Palace, offered to design its first building for free. The college turned him down and hired Sir Robert Smirke instead, because Smirke was already the architect of Somerset House next door.

  • 4Buildings
  • 3Traditions
  • 1801Oldest · Somerset House
  • 1864Newest · Chapel of King's College London

Planning the visit

  • Fly intoHeathrow Airport (LHR)

    Heathrow lies west of central London. The Piccadilly line runs from the airport to Holborn, a short walk from the Strand Campus.

  • Getting aroundWalking / London Underground

    The Strand Campus sits between the Strand and the Thames, with Temple Underground station just along the river. The Maughan Library on Chancery Lane is an easy walk away.

  • Colors and teams

    Look out for Reggie the Lion, the students' union mascot: a papier-mâché Reggie stands on the staircase in the King's Building foyer.

4 buildings to stamp

  1. King's Building
    Photo: Salamander4000 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    King's Building

    Strand, London WC2R 2LS

    The college's founding building, designed by Sir Robert Smirke, architect of the British Museum, and built between 1829 and 1831 to complete the riverside frontage of Somerset House. Its Grade I listed Great Hall, foyer statues of Sappho and Sophocles, and chapel are still the heart of the Strand Campus.

    Built
    1831
    Architect
    Sir Robert Smirke
    Style
    Greek Revival
    Stories
    8
    Today
    Lecture theatres, Great Hall and offices
  2. Chapel of King's College London
    Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Chapel of King's College London

    King's Building, Strand, London WC2R 2LS

    Sir George Gilbert Scott rebuilt Smirke's plain chapel in 1864 as an ancient basilica, perched above the Great Hall and reached by a grand double staircase. The apse glows with a copy of a Salviati mosaic of Christ in Majesty.

    Built
    1864
    Architect
    Sir George Gilbert Scott (original by Sir Robert Smirke)
    Style
    Renaissance Revival
    Today
    College chapel
  3. Maughan Library
    Photo: FormerBBC, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Maughan Library

    Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1LR

    Once the Public Record Office, the 'strong-box of the Empire', this neo-Gothic archive was built with fireproof cell-like storerooms and no heating. King's bought it in 2001 and turned it into its largest library, with a round reading room under a painted zinc ceiling.

    Built
    1858
    Architect
    Sir James Pennethorne
    Style
    Gothic Revival
    Today
    University library
  4. Somerset House
    Photo: Anthony O'Neil, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Somerset House

    Strand, London WC2R 1LA

    Sir William Chambers' vast neoclassical palace of government offices wraps a 91-metre courtyard on the Strand, with a riverside frontage 150 metres wide. King's College London's own King's Building was built to complete that river front.

    Built
    1801
    Architect
    Sir William Chambers
    Style
    Neoclassical (Palladian)
    Stories
    6
    Today
    Arts and cultural centre

3 traditions to check off

Stamped! keeps these as a checklist, so you can tick each one off on the visit.

  • Reggie the Lion

    Reggie the Lion is the King's mascot and was once paraded at sports matches; after years of being 'lionnapped' by rival students, the original is now displayed in a glass case at the Strand campus. Visitors can see Reggie on display.

  • Choral Evensong in the College Chapel

    Choral Evensong is sung in the Grade I listed College Chapel, redesigned by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864, on Tuesdays at 5:30pm during term. Visitors can attend the service.

  • Bush House friendship inscription

    Bush House, the former BBC World Service home now part of the Strand campus, bears the inscription 'To the friendship of English speaking peoples' above two statues unveiled in 1925. Visitors can view it from Kingsway and take a photo.

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