Sidney Sussex College was founded in 1596 and named after its foundress, Lady Frances Sidney , Countess of Sussex. It is one of the Colleges that makes up the University of Cambridge. It was from its inception an avowedly Puritan foundation: some good and godlie moniment for the mainteynance of good learninge. Oliver Cromwell was among the first students, and it is rumoured that his head is buried beneath the College's chapel.
It is nicknamed by neighbouring Cambridge students "That college opposite Sainsburys" or, to the slightly more enlightened, "Sidney Sainsbury's".
Sidney Sussex has a proud history in the television show University Challenge, putting together a winning team in both 1971 and 1978 (final broadcast in 1979). The 1978 team, comprised of John Gilmore, John Adams, David Lidington, and Nick Graham, won the "Champion of Champions" University Challenge Reuninion competition in 2002.
Alumni
Famous Alumni of the College include:
Hall Court, Sidney Sussex College