Founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1511 this college is the second largest by membership of the University colleges after Trinity. Built in and around the site of the old St. John’s Hospital in the centre of Cambridge, the college is one of the most beautiful in the city. One of the more impressive features of St. John’s is ‘the bridge of sighs’ which is named after that in Venice. The bridge connects the college sites on both sides of the River Cam. The college is responsible for producing some of the world’s greatest politicians, scientists, writers and thinkers.