The Admissions Books of Christ's College, Cambridge

An introduction by John van Wyhe

There are three Admissions Books at Christ's College which record the admission and residence of Charles Darwin. The specific purpose of each book has not been recorded. One might have been kept by the bursar, for example, and another by the tutor. Links to the images and transcriptions of the brief entries are below. They are published here for the first time.

Reproduced by kind permission of the Master, Fellows and Scholars of Christ's College, Cambridge. Permission to further reproduce these images must be sought from the College which owns the copyright thereto. Thanks to the College Honorary Keeper of the Archives Geoffrey Thorndike Martin for making the books available and cheerfully assisting in many ways.

To learn more about Darwin's time in Cambridge see the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 1 and Charles Darwin in Cambridge, the only book on Darwin's student years, based on new research including the Record Books and other discoveries. Visit the Christ's College website to learn about visiting the Darwin statue, Darwin garden and the Darwin Portico.

John van Wyhe

August 2006

'Admissions to Christ College' Christ's College, Cambridge. Text Image Text & image CC-T.1.2

'Admissions 1818-1828' Christ's College, Cambridge. Text Image Text & image CC-T.1.4

'Admissions 1815-1852' Christ's College, Cambridge. Text Image Text & image CC-T.3.1