christ college
Many visitors to Brecon walk to the Usk bridge from where they can photograph
the Beacons. In the foreground is a group of buildings which are also worth the
visitor’s attention. At the entrance to these buildings a board tells the
visitor this is Christ College, founded by royal charter in 1541. That is only
half the story of this site which has been occupied for over seven hundred and
fifty years. The history of Christ College falls into three unequal periods. For
three hundred years it was a Dominican friary; in 1541 Henry VIII established a
school here and finally in 1855 the modern ‘public’ school was founded by Act of
Parliament. The surviving buildings reflect each of the three periods. The
Dominicans were friars who first came to Britain in 1221; they are first
mentioned as being at Brecon in 1269. Given that range of dates and the evidence
of the surviving medieval buildings, it is likely that the friary was founded
c.1250.
