Statutes

The foundation charter of the College provided for a President and four Fellows, and nominated a group of other people to be responsible for drafting the Statutes to govern the College. It is not known whether they ever did this: certainly no evidence survives of any such Statutes.

Thus it has become customary to credit the second foundress queen, Elizabeth Woodville, with giving the College its first Statutes, in 1475.

The first statutes of 1475 provided for twelve fellows, normally all priests, and three scholars, although the society was given leave to adjust its numbers to its material prosperity. The President was to be elected by the fellows. Not more than one fellow was to be elected from any county, nor more than two from any diocese, except Lincoln which might have three. Fellows were to study philosophy or theology. After taking the M.A. degree they might teach the elementary arts subjects for three years. Thereafter they should proceed with theological studies, unless the society gave them leave to turn to law, medicine, or letters. The President was required to reside one month a quarter, which the fellows could reduce to one month in the year. He was to be paid £3 6s. 8d. a year with 2s. a week during residence. A fellow received £6 13s. 4d. a year or if not a priest £4. A scholar received £2 13s. 4d. Fellowships were intended for the poor, and fellows were required to resign if they should acquire an assured income of £5 from other sources. The society was to elect annually two treasurers, a cantor to take charge of chapel, and two deans to preside over disputations. Every member was required to be in College by 8 p.m. in winter or 9 p.m. in summer. There were to be daily lectures on the Bible and the Sentences during three quarters of each term and in the long vacation until 8 September. At table in hall fellows were to converse in Latin, unless the President relaxed this rule at festivals. ^{[Victoria History]} 

The Statutes were revised in 1529, and confirmed by Pope Clement VII. At this stage, they contained 34 chapters.

The number of fellows was increased to 18 of whom 14 were to be priests, in accordance with the wishes of benefactors. There were to be 4 scholars. Two censors were to lecture in arts and theology respectively. Fellows were to take monthly turns as steward. All were to receive the same remuneration, £6 13s. 4d. All fellows on attaining the M.A. degree were to devote themselves to the study of Scripture in order to preach the Word to the people, except for two who might turn to civil law and medicine respectively and would then be required to provide professional advice for their colleagues. ^{[Victoria History]} 

In 1549, the Statutes were significantly revised by Commissioners of King Edward VI, a Protestant. The new Statutes contained 37 chapters.

In 1553, under Queen Mary, a Catholic, the Statutes were restored to their 1529 version, by the authority of the Chancellor, Bishop Gardiner, and confirmed in 1557 by a Visitation sent by Cardinal Pole.

As far as can be ascertained, none of the above versions of the Statutes have ever been published.

In 1559, the Statutes were again revised by Commissioners appointed by Queen Elizabeth I: these Statutes differed little from those of Edward VI, containing 37 chapters.

There were now to be 19 fellows, all in holy orders, and at least 12 to be priests. There were to be 8 scholars, a lecturer on Latin authors, and a lecturer in Greek. A censor was to lecture daily on logic or philosophy, except that festivals were to be celebrated by lectures on mathematics. Two plays were to be performed in hall during the winter. The oaths required of the President and fellows and the services in chapel were altered to suit the religious change…. The President's stipend was fixed at £5 and commons during residence, that of a fellow who was a priest at £9. A fellow was not required to vacate his fellowship until he had an income of £10 from other sources. ^{[Victoria History]} 

The 1559 Statutes remained in force for 301 years. During this period, as the provisions of the statutes fell out-of-date, the President and Fellows would interpret their meaning: for instance, the maximum allowed income of a fellow from other sources (originally £10) had been interpreted up to £120 by 1804.

In 1820–​21, there was an appeal to the Visitor (the King) by some of the Fellows that the President, Dr Godfrey, had not been properly elected in accordance with the Statutes. The court determined that Dr Godfrey was indeed the President. ^{[The Case of Queen’s College, Cambridge, Jacob 1, 37 Eng. Rep. 750]} 

The text of the 1559 Statutes, and the subsequent decrees and interpretations, are documented fully in the book Statuta Collegii Reginalis apud Cantabrigienses, anno MDLIX, a Regiis Commissaris reformata: quibus accedunt Interpretationes Statutorum a Præside et Sociis sancitæ, published by the College in 1822, edited by George Cornelius Gorham, Fellow, written entirely in Latin. It is possible that the need for this publication was triggered by litigation in 1820–​21 between the Fellows and the President, during which it emerged that there was only a single copy of the Statutes held by the President, and only a single copy held by the Fellows.^{[The Case of the President of Queen’s College, Cambridge, determined in the High Court of Chancery]} 

In 1828, there was an appeal to the Visitor (the King) by one of the Fellows that the President’s concurrence should not be necessary in college elections. The court determined otherwise. ^{[In re Queen’s College, Cambridge, 5 Russ. 64, 38 Eng. Rep. 951]} 

In 1838, the Statutes were updated by a long series of amendments confirmed by Letters Patent of Queen Victoria, dated 21 May 1838. The text of these Letters Patent was included in a revised edition of the 1822 Statuta Collegii Reginalis, published in 1850, of which a verbatim copy can be read here at pp. 65–​72. In summary, the changes were:

Statute 3: The pecuniary qualification of a person to be elected President was rescinded if the candidate was a Fellow;
Statute 6: Money due to the college could now be received by either Bursar, whether or not the President was also present;
Statute 7: the requirement for an annual supervision of the Estates was relaxed to be discretionary;
Statute 10: the fifth clause in the Fellowship oath, as savouring strongly of popery, was expunged;
Statute 11: whereby not more than one Fellow per County of origin could exist at the same time, was expunged;
Statute 12: whereby service in Chapel was required on Sundays and Feast-days only, was expunged, and in lieu it was enjoined that service be performed twice a day, and that penalties for non-attendance would be at the discretion of the President;
Statute 13: whereby not more than one Scholar per County of origin could exist at the same time, was expunged;
Statute 14: requiring Fellows to converse in Latin at dinner and supper, was expunged;
Statute 15: relating to the Stewards of the Commons, was expunged;
Statute 16: relating to the absence of Fellows and Scholars from college, was expunged;
Statute 17: relating to the times of closure of the College Gates, was expunged: in lieu, the times of closure of the gates, and the penalties for late entry, would be at the discretion of the President and Fellows;
Statute 18: the parts relating to Money and Plate being kept in the Treasury was dispensed with, and the Sealing Book was to be allowed out of the Treasury at the discretion of the President and Fellows;
Statutes 23, 24: relating to persons in Commons and not on the Foundation, were expunged;
Statute 25: the part relating to feasts at the end of each term was dispensed with;
Statute 28: the part requiring the Statutes to be read twice per year was dispensed with, as the Statutes were now printed and readily knowable;
Statute 34: the part stipulating the stipends of the Clerk to the Audit, the Cook, and the Scullion, was dispensed with;
Statute 35: the Officers to be elected annually (previously two Bursars, one Dean, two Censors, one Examiner, one Greek Professor) to be two Bursars, one Dean, and one Philosophical Censor;
Statute 36: referring to Lectures, was entirely expunged.

Many matters, such as rules of behaviour, the stipends of College officers, and the provision of lectures, were left to the discretion of the society, and fellowships and scholarships were thrown open to the whole country. ^{[Victoria History]} 

Given that the pre-1838 Statutes were in Latin, and the 1838 amendments were in English, a definitive edition of the post-1838 Statutes appears not to have been made.

In 1850, a Royal Commission was set up to inquire into the State, Discipline, Studies, and Revenues of the University and Colleges of Cambridge. The Royal Commission reported in 1852, both with a Report, and with Documents relating to the University and Colleges of Cambridge in three volumes, of which the third includes a transcript of the Foundation Charter of the College, as confirmed by Edward VI, and a verbatim reproduction of the 1850 version of Statuta Collegii Reginalis, including the 1838 Letters Patent.

A consequence of the Royal Commission Report was the Cambridge University Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict c. 88), which set up Statutory Commissioners with powers to revise the Statutes of the University and all the Colleges. On 22 February 1860, the Commissioners sealed their new Statutes for Queen’s College, and the full text of the proposed Statutes was published in the London Gazette, 16 May 1860, Issue 22386, pp. 1905–​11. On 23 October, the Commissioners sealed a repeal of all pre-existing statutes with effect from the approval of the new statutes by Order in Council, and the full text of the repeal was published in the London Gazette 12 February 1861, Issue 22479, p. 601. The text of the repeal has a reference to an Order in Council dated 30 June 1860, which we take to be the date on which the new Statutes had been approved. A collection of all Statutes framed by the Commissioners for the University and Colleges was made from the House of Commons papers. The Commissioners submitted their final report in January 1861: their summary of the changes unique to Queens’ was:

At QUEEN’S COLLEGE, limited tenure has been adopted as the rule. A Fellowship is vacated at the end of ten years from the Master of Arts degree, except in the case of a Fellow holding a Professorship under the value of 500l. a year, or the office of Public Orator in the University. But it is provided that in the case of a Fellow holding the Tutorship or one of the Lectureships in the College and unmarried, the years during which he holds such office shall not be counted as part of the ten years.
    There is no obligation to enter into Orders; but a Fellow who has taken Orders within two years from the Master of Arts degree is allowed to hold his Fellowship after the expiration of the period above limited, until he has been instituted to a benefice of above 300l. a year.
    Power is also given to the President and Fellows (by a vote of two-thirds of their number) to continue a Fellow in his Fellowship (while resident and unmarried) on account of his learning or scientific labours, as well as to elect into a Fellowship (whether married or not) a Professor in the University, or a person of eminent distinction for science or learning.
    A Fellowship is not vacated by marriage; but in the case of a married Fellow the limitation of time is to be strictly enforced, the only exceptions allowed being those of a Professor or the Public Orator, or a person specially elected as a mark of distinction.

The 1860 Statutes for Queens’ College remained in Latin, except for a final clause on the preservation of existing interests. The reforms already made in 1838 meant that the reformers of 1860 had less to do at Queens’ than at some other colleges.

The foundation was now fixed at 14 fellows and 14 scholars, the society being authorized to increase or, by leave of the Visitor, the Crown, to diminish these numbers. The President was to be a priest, though a layman could be elected by a two-thirds majority. The President was required to reside for two-thirds of each term, since he was now no longer a distinguished absentee, but a working head of the house. Chapel services, hitherto celebrated on Sundays and festivals, were increased by the daily recitation of matins and evensong during term. The President was to receive £2, and each fellow 10s. with his dinners in hall, each week during residence. The net income of the College was to be divided into 20 parts, of which the President received 3 and each fellow 1, the remaining 3 forming a scholarship fund. The chief innovation was the cautious provision for the admission of laymen and married men to fellowships, though the clergyman and the celibate still retained privileges. Thus the normal requirement of procedure to holy orders and degrees in divinity was dropped. Fellows could marry, though a married man could not be elected into a fellowship. A married fellow could not reside in College or be tutor. A fellow had to relinquish his fellowship ten years after the date of his M.A. degree; but a celibate fellow, resident in College, having received holy orders within two years of his M.A. degree, could retain his fellowship until he accepted a benefice worth at least £300 a year. Protected by these provisions Queens' was among the first colleges to permit fellows to marry. ^{[Victoria History]} 

The Universities Tests Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 26) provided: any provision … in any statute or ordinance of the said universities or colleges, so far as it is inconsistent with this Act, shall be repealed.

In 1872, another Royal Commission was set up to inquire into the Property and Income of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and of the Colleges and Halls therein. It reported in 1874, with the details for Queens’ in Volume 3, pp. 235–​49.

The Royal Commission Report was followed by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act 1877, (40 & 41 Vict c. 48), setting up Statutory Commissioners to reform the statutes of the University and colleges. The Commission sealed its new Statutes for Queen’s College on 19 March 1881, and submitted them to Queen in Council on 2 May 1881. They were published with full text in the London Gazette on 6 May 1881, Issue 24970, pp. 2266–​74. Petitions on them were heard, and dismissed. They were approved by Queen in Council on 29 June 1882 (O.C. 7720). These were the first Statutes for Queens’ written entirely in English. The approved and published form can be read in Statutes for the University of Cambridge and for the Colleges within it…, pp. 339–​68.

The statutes of 1882, the first composed in English, with subsequent amendments, reduced the minimum number of fellowships to 11, with provision for the suspension of 3 of these if the corporate income were severely diminished. The scholars, however, were increased to 21. For fellowships the requirements of celibacy, Anglicanism and previous membership of the University disappeared. To meet the dangers of widespread matrimony it was provided that at least two College officers should reside in College during term. A fellowship was to lapse after six years, unless held in conjunction with a College administrative or teaching office or a professorship. Thereafter the society normally elected to fellowships only men prepared to take part in the educational work of the College. ^{[Victoria History]} 

An assessment of the overall effect of parliamentary legislation on Oxford and Cambridge universities in the period 1850–​82 is given in sections 16–​18 of the 1919 Commissioners’ Report of 1922, pp. 19–​25.

Under their powers in the 1877 Act, the Governing Body made amendments to the 1881 Statutes in 1890, 1892, 1897, and 1914, which are detailed in the table below.

The Statutes in their 1882 form, as amended 1890, 1892, and 1897 were published in a booklet, either in 1909, or reprinted in 1909.

In 1919, on November 14th, a third Royal Commission was set up to inquire into the financial resources of the Universities and of the Colleges and Halls therein, into the administration and application of those resources, into the government of the Universities, and into the relations of the Colleges and Halls to the Universities and to each other. This Royal Commission was prompted by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge having asked for state financial assistance after the First World War. The Commission reported on 1 March 1922 (Cmd. 1588), with recommendations, and a separate volume of Appendices.

The 1919 Royal Commission Report was followed by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act 1923, (13 & 14 Geo 5 c. 33), appointing Statutory Commissioners with powers to amend the Statutes of the Universities and Colleges. The Commissioners sealed their proposals for new Statutes for Queens’ on 17 November 1925, and their submission to Queen in Council was announced (without full text) in the London Gazette of 15 December 1925, Issue 33114 p. 8277. They were approved by Queen in Council on 30 April 1926, to come into effect on 1 August 1926.

The statutes of 1926, with their subsequent amendments, further emphasized the educational function of the College and the increased authority of the University. Fellowships were divided into three classes. First the normal, stipendiary fellowships, tenable with a College or University teaching or administrative office. In accordance with University Statutes one half such fellowships were to be reserved for University officers. Secondly research fellowships, of three or six years' duration, for young graduates. And thirdly two non-stipendiary fellowships for professors. The general provisions for retirement and contributory pensions were adopted, the President retiring at 70 years of age, or 75 by a two-thirds vote of the society, fellows, and College officers at 65. … The College officers included the bursar and junior bursar, steward, dean, chaplain, librarian, three tutors, praelector, and lecturers, and to these was subsequently added the keeper of the College records. ^{[Victoria History]} 

The Statutes in their 1926 condition were published in a booklet.

In 1927, the Statutory Commissioners proposed a further Statute on benefactions and endowments, announced in the London Gazette on 10 June 1927, Issue 33283 p. 3759, but it has not been discovered whatever happened to that proposal.

In 1932, on 5 May, the Governing Body resolved to make a few small amendments to the Statutes. The amendments were published with full text in the London Gazette on 10 May 1932 May 10, Issue 33824 pp. 3049–50. However, two of the proposals were disallowed by the Universities Committee of the Privy Council by Order in Council on 24 July 1933, and the final Order in Council on 9 October 1933 excluded approval of the disallowed proposals.

In 1937, the Statutes in their 1926 form, as amended 1933, were published in a booklet.

In 1938, on June 20, the Governing Body resolved to amend the Statutes so as to improve the value of Exhibitions: this was approved by Order in Council on 2nd February 1939.

In 1939, on November 16, the Governing Body resolved to amend the Statutes, backdated to 1939 September 1, under the authority of the Universities and Colleges (Emergency Provisions) Act 1939, c. 106. This was to make temporary provisions for the administration of the college during wartime.

In 1941, on 28 February, the Governing Body resolved to amend the Statutes for the Dean and for the Chaplain. The available text does not make it clear whether these amendments were made under the Emergency Provisions powers: there is no record of the changes being made by any other route.

In 1953, the Governing Body undertook a complete re-draft of the Statutes, rather than proceeding by amendments to the current set. The draft of the complete new Statutes was approved by the Governing Body on 12 January 1954, and notice of their submission to Queen in Council was published in the London Gazette on 19 January 1954, Issue 40078 p. 447. The new Statutes were approved by Order in Council on 29 April 1954, to come into effect on 1 January 1955.

Before coming into effect, the new Statutes were amended by Governing Body resolution of 5 November 1954, which was approved by Order in Council on 24 February 1955.

The Statutes in their 1955 form, as amended as noted above, were published in a booklet.

There were further amendments in 1956, 1962, 1966, 1975 and 1978, as detailed in the table below. The 1978 amendments enabled the admission of women in 1980.

In 1981, the Statutes, as amended down to 1980, were published in a booklet.

There were further amendments in 1987 and 1989, as detailed in the table below.

[1987] The purpose of the Statute is to provide for the appointment of the Junior Bursar, Steward, Chaplain and Librarian for more than one year at a time.

[1989] The purpose of the amendment is to permit the election of women as President of the College; to alter the rules regarding the tenure and retirement of the President; to allow a Bye-Fellow to hold office for up to 12 years; to remove the reference to the payment of residence money; to bring pensions regulations into line with national legislation; and to remove the present requirement of Pernoctation.

The Education Reform Act 1988 (c. 40), ss. 202–​7 set up University Commissioners with the power to make statutes at Universities and Colleges. The Commissioners sent colleges a Model Statute on Academic Staff, on which each college proposed minor revisions appropriate to their particular circumstances, without changing the intent. The Commissioners agreed the proposals from Queens’ on 21 October 1993, and they were approved by Order in Council on 26 July 1995 as SI 1995/1861. The statutes resulting after incorporating these amendments are available here.

In 2005–​6, the Statutes were further amended, as detailed in the table below.

The purpose of the amending statute is to: degender Statutes language; change the wording for the admission of the President-elect and Fellows-elect in recognition of a multi-faith community; abolish probationary periods, and standardise initial periods for the tenure of Fellowships and for the appointment of College Officers; delete obsolete references to vacant Fellowships; and revise the appointment criteria for Senior College Officers.

In 2006, the Statutes, as amended down to that date, were published in a booklet.

In 2016, the Governing Body approved a set of amendments, which were approved by Order in Council on 15 February 2017 as a version with the amendments incorporated.

The purpose of the proposed amendments are to make a statutory provision for a separate Dean of College, transfer responsibility for the maintenance of discipline of the members of the College to the Dean of the Tutors; delete obsolete provision following the University’s recision of the quota system for the number of Professorial Fellowships maintained by each College; greater flexibility in the appointment or duties of the Bursars, Dean of Chapel, Chaplain, Steward and Tutors; and, update provisions for the terms and conditions of employment of members of the academic staff.

In 2017, the new Statutes were published in a booklet.

Further reading

1704: Statuta collegii reginalis, etc. (OCLC 792992518) [Yale University, Beinecke MS 11] 

1821: The Case of Queen’s College, Cambridge, Jacob 1, 37 Eng. Rep. 750. [appeal to Visitor]

1821: The Case of the President of Queen’s College, Cambridge, determined in the High Court of Chancery, edited by Charles Bowdler.

1822: Statuta Collegii Reginalis apud Cantabrigienses …, edited by George Cornelius Gorham. [published by the college]
1850: Another edition [including Letters Patent of 1838 from Queen Victoria amending the Statutes] 

1828: In re Queen’s College, Cambridge, 5 Russ. 64, 38 Eng. Rep. 951. [appeal to Visitor]

1852: Documents relating to the University and Colleges of Cambridge, published by the Royal Commission of 1850, Vol. 1;
1852: ditto, Vol. 2;
1852: ditto, Vol. 3. [including Queens’ pp. 1–​73, reproducing Charter, and Statutes edition of 1850: see 1822 above]

1852: Report of Her Majesty’s Commissioners appointed to inquire into the State, Discipline, Studies, and Revenues of the University and Colleges of Cambridge, by the Royal Commission of 1850.

1856: Cambridge University Act 1856, 19 & 20 Vict c. 88. [see also Report of 1861]

1860: Statutes … for … Queen’s College, in Statutes framed by the Cambridge University Commissioners …, pp. 52–​71. [see Cambridge University Act 1856]. (OCLC 941788540)
1860: Repeal of the previously existing Statutes of Queen’s College, in Statutes framed by the Cambridge University Commissioners …, pp. 166–​7. (OCLC 926388190)

1860: Statuta Collegii Reginalis in Cantabrigia [Statutes of 1860] 

1861: Report of the Cambridge University Commissioners, Command Paper 2852. [see Cambridge University Act 1856] (OCLC 941805513)

1861: Collection of Statutes framed by the Cambridge University Commissioners 1857–​61, House of Commons papers. (OCLC 55861741) [Queens’ statutes at ff. 135v–​144v, repeal at ff. 319v–​320r]

1871: Universities Tests Act 1871, 34 & 35 Vict. c. 26.

1874: Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Property and Income of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and of the Colleges and Halls therein, by the Royal Commission of 1872, Vol. 1;
1874: ditto, Vol. 2 (Oxford);
1874: ditto, Vol. 3 (Cambridge). [Queens’ pp. 235–​49]

1877: Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act 1877, 40 & 41 Vict c. 48.

1880: Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (Limited Tenures) Act 1880, 43 & 44 Vict. Ch. 11.

1881: Statutes for Queen’s College …, in Statutes made by the University of Cambridge Commissioners …, pp. 72–​82. (OCLC 941830797)
1890: Statutes … of Queen’s College … altering and amending the existing Statutes…. (OCLC…941836172)
1892: Statutes … of Queen’s College … to add to, alter, and amend the Statutes…. (OCLC 941865896)
1897: Statutes … of Queen’s College … altering and amending the Statutes…. (OCLC 926513010)
1914: Statutes … of Queens’ College … amending Statutes XIII, XIV, and XXII, of the existing Statutes.... (OCLC 781408358)

1882: Statutes of the University of Cambridge with some Acts of Parliament relating to the University. (OCLC 85060988)

1883: Statutes for the University of Cambridge and for the Colleges within it…, [Queens’ at pp. 339–​68] (OCLC 85060994)

1897: Statutes of Queens’ College, Cambridge 1882 as altered 1891, 1893, 1897. [possibly first printed, or re-printed, in 1909] 

1915: Universities and Colleges (Emergency Provisions) Act 1915, Ch. 22.

1922: Royal Commission on Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Report, Cmd. 1588. (OCLC 55555379)
1922: ditto: Appendices. (OCLC 559259901)

1923: Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act 1923, 13 & 14 Geo 5 c. 33

1925: Universities and College Estates Act 1925, 15 & 16 Geo 5 c. 24.
1943: Universities and Colleges (Trusts) Act 1943, 6 & 7 Geo 6 c. 9
1964: Universities and College Estates Act 1964, c. 51.
1978: Universities and College Estates Act 1925 (Amendment) Regulations 1978, SI 1978 No. 443.

1926: Statutes of Queens’ College in the University of Cambridge, by University of Cambridge Commissioners. (OCLC 499698056)

1937: Statutes of Queens’ College in the University of Cambridge 1926 as amended 1933.

1939: Universities and Colleges (Emergency Provisions) Act 1939, c. 106.

1955: Statutes of Queens’ College in the University of Cambridge 1955. (OCLC 53782959)

1959: Queens’ College, by R.G.D. Laffan ^[Fellow] in A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3, the City and University of Cambridge, ed. John P.C. Roach, pp. 408–​15. (OCLC 10778399)

1981: Statutes of Queens’ College in the University of Cambridge 1955 as amended to 1980.

1992: University Commissioners of 1988 : Cambridge Colleges : Model Statute : Academic Staff.

2001: Statutes of Queens’ College in the University of Cambridge 1955 as amended to 2001. [unpublished electronic version] 

2006: Statutes of Queens’ College in the University of Cambridge 1955 as amended to 2006.

2008: Revising the Statutes, by John Allison ^[Fellow], in Queens’ College Record, 2008, pp. 10–​12.

2017: Statutes of Queens’ College in the University of Cambridge 2017.