The study of theology and associated subjects has a long history at the University of Cambridge. There had been lectures in Divinity since the late 13th century, given for many centuries in the buildings now known as the ‘Old Schools’. The oldest professorship in the University is the Lady Margaret Professorship and this was founded in 1502, with an endowment given by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother to Henry VII. A Regius chair in Divinity was established by her grandson, Henry VIII, in 1540.
