Emmanuel, Sidney Sussex and the Long Pause

2 more colleges arrived at the end of the 16th century, built on the ruins of religious institutions dissolved by Henry VIII.

Emmanuel (or "Emma") was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Elizabeth I's Chancellor of the Exchequer.

One of its famous alumni is John Harvard, who went on to found the American university.

Sidney Sussex followed in 1596, paid for by a rich aristocrat, the Countess of Sussex.

One of its most famous alumni is Oliver Cromwell - whose head is said to be buried in the college.

Fun fact : the precise spot where the head is buried is unknown to the public and said to be passed on secretly from one Master of the college to the next.

After Emma and Sidney Sussex, the university stopped founding colleges for nearly 300 years.

When Downing was founded in 1800, it was described as the "oldest of the new colleges" and the "newest of the old".