Whipple College is the fifth founded college of the University of Aldergate.
Whipplers tend to be the sort of people who make you feel you've wandered into a cocktail party. Elegance and refinement, sophistication and grace. Sometimes effete, occasionally insufferable, but always charming.
History
Whipple was the first and last of the Aldergate colleges to be initially headed by its founder. The really funny thing is that Edmund Whipple was squeezed out of Curmantle precisely because of his illustrious military career under the young Prince Richard; when the Lionheart ascended to the throne, there were concerns that Whipple might be insufficiently rigid in resisting political pressure from his old commander.
In fact, the old soldier surprised everyone. Not only did the new-founded college refuse to disburse a penny to the Crown, Whipple made a point of importing artisans from across Europe and beyond to make the college as lavishly beautiful as possible. What followed is probably just a legend, but supposedly Richard popped by to hit up his old lieutenant for a bit of crusading money, and received the following answer:
"Beholde alas how all is spente, yet here my fynest bountie I do grante."
That fine bounty was a pack of Aldergate scholars, whom Whipple delegated to accompany the Lionheart on his campaigns in the Holy Land. That delegation became an early model for the agents of the Office of Invitation - they looted the local minds, whilst old Rickey looted the bodies. One of those acquisitions was Fatima al-Din, who became Whipple College Head after Edmund’s death in 1198 and took over as VC later on.
Architecture
Whipple’s Pentward face originated as perpendicular gothic, but as more and more new imports arrived it was redesigned to incorporate Moorish elements. The portal features arabesque columns,horseshoe arches and some really magnificent honeycombed vaulting,
Supposedly VC al-Din didn't really like it much, but there you are.
Initially the space within the Whipple bailey was mostly unfilled apart from the main hall. Each new building faced stringent and exacting standards – not to match or harmonize, but to be exquisite in and of itself. The most recent addition was the Ice Cube, completed in 1810, a perfect Georgian cube of white marble that now houses the College's adminsitrative offices.
There probably won't be any more new building done inside the College for the foreseeable future. The Whipple Gardens are curated like art treasures, and their caretakers are unlikely to surrender another inch.
Oh, the picture is of the Alhambra. Lovely little cloister, gives quite a good sense of the place.