Look ahead and you will find a pale stone covered bridge forming a graceful arch over the water, lined with elegant Gothic windows and topped with a castellated roofline.
This is the glorious Bridge of Sighs. Completed in 1831, it was the crowning achievement of Henry Hutchinson, a brilliant architect working in the Gothic Revival style, an architectural movement that brought back the dramatic pointed arches and elaborate stonework of the Middle Ages. Tragically, Hutchinson died at just thirty-one, only months after his masterpiece was finished. Yet his work here represented a massive leap of architectural ambition. St John's was the first college to expand its footprint across the River Cam into the green meadows we explored earlier, known as the Backs.
But how did it get its melancholy name? Many attribute it to Queen Victoria. Upon visiting in the 1840s, she declared it the most picturesque view in Cambridge, noting a supposed resemblance to the famous Bridge of Sighs in Venice. Architecturally, they have almost nothing in common aside from being covered arches. Some historians suspect the college fellows were simply too polite to correct a monarch, while others playfully suggest her notoriously poor eyesight was to blame.
The students, of course, have their own folklore. A persistent legend claims the bridge earned its name from the heavy sighs of scholars trudging toward their examinations. College officials love to debunk this, pointing out that the bridge connects residential and administrative courts, not exam halls! However, it was traditionally the route to collect final grades, so those sighs might have actually been dramatic gasps of post-test relief, or perhaps, despair.
You can always find a delightful push and pull between the strict, ancient traditions of the university and the brilliant, unruly minds within it. Look closely at the heavy iron bars fitted over those beautiful windows. They were not merely decorative. They were practically designed to stop students from using the covered passage to sneak back into their rooms after the college gates were locked for the night!
That mischievous spirit never truly faded. This is the very spot where undergraduates managed that staggering logistical prank we mentioned earlier. They lashed river boats together to form a raft and hoisted a vintage Austin Seven directly under the arch! They repeated the stunt in 1968 with a three-wheeled car. Emergency crews eventually had to cut the vehicle down, resulting in a very stern warning from the college about risking the structural integrity of this Grade I listed monument.
More than a century separates the views in the app, showing the iconic covered bridge remaining steadfastly unchanged while the river below has traded Victorian tranquility for bustling tourist boats. You can also check your screen to witness the enchanting bridge illuminated beautifully against the night sky.
Beyond the pranks, it remains a site of profound romance, serving as a deeply personal landmark for former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who photographed his beloved wife here in 1947.
If you would like to step inside, the college grounds are open every day from ten in the morning until five in the evening. As we stand before this magnificent crossing, let us prepare our minds for the tour's final reflections.
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