12 December 2025

Christmas at King’s: Greetings from the archives

Choir in robes singing from a circular balcony at the Bear Pit in King’s, viewed from below.

Nestled within the quiet corners of our Archives & Collections, Christmas cards dating from 1933 reveal the rich tradition of seasonal greetings across King’s. These designs chart not only the visual and cultural history of the University, but also the enduring importance of celebration and joy within our community.

We went along to see what we could learn about King's Christmas past through the medium of greeting cards.

The collection

^K/PH1/4/1

Christmas card dated c.1933 - our earliest on record. The signature on the cover image reads E. Mary Shelley, an illustrator popular around 1920, known for her 'conscientious etchings' of historic London buildings.

Religious artwork depicting a robed figure holding a child, surrounded by architectural columns and cherubs, dated 1986.

^K/ART83

This 1986 card features 'The Virgin standing with the Child and angels' c.1500, by Quentin Massys (1465-1530).

Red King’s College London Christmas card with a lion emblem on the cover and a printed holiday greeting inside with handwritten notes. (1)

^{K ART 81 01}

A greetings card showing an older version of Reggie the Lion, 1990.

Christmas card 4King’s College London Christmas card from 1992 with “Season’s Greetings” printed in red and green on a light background.

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A greetings card from 1992 with the text 'King's College London, Season's Greetings'.

Christmas card from the 1990s featuring a sculpture of Sophocles with a robin perched on the shoulder.

^{KPUB 393 01 - 03}

Card showing our very own Sophocles (seen here in a festive mood), who can be found in the entrance hall of the King's building at the Strand Campus where he is joined by Sappho. The two figures are commonly associated with the University's motto ‘Sancte et Sapienter’: ‘With holiness and wisdom’.

King’s College London Christmas card from the 1990s with decorative gold symbols Alpha, Chi-Rho, and Omega on a red background, and the text “Happy Christmas.”

^{KPUB 396 01}

The cover image for this 1990s greetings card was taken from altar frontal designs for the College Chapel.

King’s College London Christmas card from 2001 showing the Chapel interior with choir members singing and the text “Happy Christmas.”

^{KPUB 391 01 – 03}

This card reads 'Members of the King's College London Chapel Choir in the recently restored Chapel at the Strand Campus', 2001.

King’s College London Christmas card from the 2000s featuring a historic painting of the Frost Fair on the frozen River Thames, with crowds, market stalls, and activities.

^{K/ART 124}

King's Christmas Card depicting Frost Fair on the Thames, with Old London Bridge in the Distance, formerly attributed to Jan Wyck.

King’s College London Christmas card from 2006 featuring a stained-glass design of a crowned lion holding a sword, surrounded by ornate patterns.

^{KPUB 392 01 AND 03}

This photograph, taken from the runner-up in the 2003 Photo Competition, depicts a crowned lion from the east window in the Weston Room at the Maughan Library, Chancery Lane. The room stands on the former estate of the Masters of the Rolls, and fragments of mediaeval glass from their chapel were incorporated into the windows when the building was reconstructed in 1886 as part of the Public Record Office. King’s took over the building in the 1990s, restoring the glass as part of its award-winning conversion into a library for the Strand Campus, officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.

Explore the archives yourself The Archives Reading Room is open to staff, students and external researchers and opening hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10.00 - 17.00. Contact the archives team via archives@kcl.ac.uk to schedule an appointment and include proposed dates for your visit and, where possible, catalogue references for the material you would like to see.