Great Gate, St John's College

The Great Gate of St John's College, finished in fifteen sixteen, serves as the entrance to the college from St John's Street. It is a late Gothic gatehouse constructed of red Tudor brick, easily recognized by the arms of Lady Margaret Beaufort, the Tudor matriarch who founded the college, displayed in stone above the entrance. Heraldic beasts known as yales, creatures with antelope bodies and swiveling horns, flank the coat of arms. High above, a stone tabernacle houses a figure of Saint John the Evangelist, who holds a poisoned chalice.