diff --git a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/support/AbstractApplicationContext.java b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/support/AbstractApplicationContext.java
index ed5f4c0b5b..f1a80bda42 100644
--- a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/support/AbstractApplicationContext.java
+++ b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/support/AbstractApplicationContext.java
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
 import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 
 import org.springframework.beans.BeansException;
+import org.springframework.beans.CachedIntrospectionResults;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanFactory;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.DisposableBean;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.NoSuchBeanDefinitionException;
@@ -536,6 +537,12 @@ public abstract class AbstractApplicationContext extends DefaultResourceLoader
 				// Propagate exception to caller.
 				throw ex;
 			}
+
+			finally {
+				// Reset common introspection caches in Spring's core, since we
+				// might not ever need metadata for singleton beans anymore...
+				resetCommonCaches();
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -840,6 +847,18 @@ public abstract class AbstractApplicationContext extends DefaultResourceLoader
 		this.active.set(false);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Reset Spring's common core caches, in particular the {@link ResolvableType}
+	 * and the {@link CachedIntrospectionResults} caches.
+	 * @since 4.2
+	 * @see ResolvableType#clearCache()
+	 * @see CachedIntrospectionResults#clearClassLoader(ClassLoader)
+	 */
+	protected void resetCommonCaches() {
+		ResolvableType.clearCache();
+		CachedIntrospectionResults.clearClassLoader(getClassLoader());
+	}
+
 
 	/**
 	 * Register a shutdown hook with the JVM runtime, closing this context
diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/ResolvableType.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/ResolvableType.java
index 35b88c63ab..8432d75569 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/ResolvableType.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/ResolvableType.java
@@ -1307,11 +1307,19 @@ public class ResolvableType implements Serializable {
 		return resolvableType;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Clear the internal {@code ResolvableType} cache.
+	 * @since 4.2
+	 */
+	public static void clearCache() {
+		cache.clear();
+	}
+
 
 	/**
 	 * Strategy interface used to resolve {@link TypeVariable}s.
 	 */
-	static interface VariableResolver extends Serializable {
+	interface VariableResolver extends Serializable {
 
 		/**
 		 * Return the source of the resolver (used for hashCode and equals).
@@ -1481,7 +1489,7 @@ public class ResolvableType implements Serializable {
 		/**
 		 * The various kinds of bounds.
 		 */
-		static enum Kind {UPPER, LOWER}
+		enum Kind {UPPER, LOWER}
 	}
 
 }