28 chapters
3 hour read
Selected Chapters
28 chapters
OLDEST OXFORD
OLDEST OXFORD
O XFORD is so naturally associated with the idea of a University, and the Collegiate buildings which confront one at every turn have such an ancient appearance, that a stranger might be excused for thinking that the University is older than the town, and that the latter grew up as an adjunct to the former. Of course, the slightest examination of facts suffices to dissipate this notion. Oxford is a town of great antiquity, which may well have been in existence in Alfred the Great's time, though t
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE UNIVERSITY AND ITS BUILDINGS
THE UNIVERSITY AND ITS BUILDINGS
W HEN did the University come into existence? That is a question which many people would like to have answered, but which still, like Brutus, "pauses for a reply." It is to the last degree improbable that we shall ever know. There were teachers and learners in Oxford at an early date, but so there were in many other English towns; the plant struck deeper in Oxford than elsewhere, that is all that one can say. There are various indications that in the twelfth century the town had acquired a name
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ST. MARY'S CHURCH
ST. MARY'S CHURCH
A LTHOUGH St. Mary's, being a parish Church, cannot be numbered among the buildings which are University property, it has been almost as closely connected as any of them with the life and history of the University. Cobham's Chapel, as has been already said, was the first House of Congregation; and in the room above it the University kept its manuscripts, until Duke Humphrey's Library was built. The chancel and nave, moreover, were used by the gownsmen for both religious and secular purposes; and
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE CATHEDRAL
THE CATHEDRAL
A T the east end of the choir aisle of the Cathedral there is a portion of the wall which is possibly the oldest piece of masonry in Oxford, for it is thought to be a part of the original Church of St. Frideswyde, on whose site the Cathedral Church of Christ (to give its full title) now stands. Even so it is not possible to speak with historical certainty of the saint or of the date of her Church, which was built for her by her father, so the legend says, when she took the veil; though the year
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE STREETS OF OXFORD
THE STREETS OF OXFORD
W HERE is the centre, the ὀμφαλὸς γῆς of Oxford? The average undergraduate will probably place it within the walls of his own College; but we, detached observers whose salad days, presumably, are over, look for a definition worthy of more catholic acceptance. To us Oxford is not a city of Colleges only, but of noble streets and wide spaces. Them it is our purpose to explore, not with the hasty stride of one bound for lecture-room, or cricket-ground, or river, but leisurely and with discriminatio
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE RIVER
THE RIVER
I F the "towers of Julius" are, as Gray called them, "London's lasting shame," the River is the lasting pride of Oxford. When does "The River" cease to be Isis and become Thames? One might as well ask when it ceases to be Thames and becomes Isis. The term is probably not used out of Oxford, and with much vagueness there. Matthew Arnold speaks of "the stripling Thames at Bablock-Hythe" (a very lovely ferry higher up than Oxford), and at Abingdon nobody talks about the Isis. The use of the name is
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MERTON COLLEGE
MERTON COLLEGE
M ERTON is in several respects the most interesting of the Colleges of Oxford. In the first place, it is the oldest; for though the original endowments of University and Balliol were bestowed a little earlier, Merton was the first College to have a corporate existence, regulated and defined by statute. With the granting of Merton's statutes in 1264, a new era of University life began. From being casual sojourners in lodgings and Halls, students from this date tended more and more to be gathered
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
I T was long and hotly maintained that University College was founded by Alfred the Great, and by celebrating its thousandth anniversary in 1872 the College would seem to have accepted this pious opinion. The claim was raised as far back as 1387, when the College, being engaged in a lawsuit about a part of its estates, tried to ingratiate itself with Richard II. by representing that its founder was his predecessor, Alfred, and that Bede and John of Beverley had been among its students. Now, Bede
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BALLIOL COLLEGE
BALLIOL COLLEGE
T HIS College was originated about 1260 by John de Balliol, a baron of Durham, whose son for four years occupied the throne of Scotland. But inasmuch as John de Balliol only made provision for four students, and that as penance for an outrage, the greater credit attaches to his wife Dervorguilla, who endowed a dozen more and hired them a lodging close to St. Mary Magdalen Church, on the site where part of the present College stands. Devorguilla gave her scholars their first statutes in 1282. She
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
EXETER COLLEGE
EXETER COLLEGE
T HIS College," wrote Fuller the historian, in words which Exeter men will approve, "consisteth chiefly of Cornish and Devonshire men, the gentry of which latter, Queen Elizabeth used to say, were courtiers by their birth. And as these western men do bear away the bell for might and sleight in wrestling, so the scholars here have always acquitted themselves with credit in Palæstra literaria!' The western College was founded in 1314 by Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter, who twelve years later
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ORIEL COLLEGE
ORIEL COLLEGE
O RIEL COLLEGE was founded by Adam de Brome, almoner to King Edward II., in 1324. He was Rector of St. Mary's, whose spire forms with the dome of the Radcliffe a background to the view of Oriel Street, and obtained leave from the king to transfer the Church and its revenues to his College. The College originally had the same title as the Church, but five years after its foundation it received from King Edward III. a messuage known as La Oriole (a title of disputed meaning), and from this date wa
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
QUEEN'S COLLEGE
QUEEN'S COLLEGE
O PINIONS will differ as to whether the Italian style, of which this College is a fine example, is as suitable for collegiate buildings as the Gothic, and whether the contrast which Queen's presents to its neighbour, University, is not more striking than pleasing; but the intrinsic splendour of its façade, as viewed from "The High," is indisputable. "No spectacle," said Dr. Johnson, "is nobler than a blaze"; and those who saw the west wing of the Front Quadrangle of Queen's in flames, one summer
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ST. EDMUND HALL
ST. EDMUND HALL
H ALLS for the accommodation of students existed in Oxford before Colleges were founded, and a few were established subsequently; of these St. Edmund Hall is the only one which retains its independence. The quaintness and irregular beauty of its buildings may plead with stern reformers for its continued survival. Opposite to the side entrance of Queen's, St. Edmund Hall is in another respect under the wing of that College; for Queen's has the right of nominating its Principal. The origin of St.
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
NEW COLLEGE
NEW COLLEGE
T HIS College, in respect of its buildings and its endowments, is one of the most splendid in the University. Its founder, William of Wykeham, rose through the favour of Edward III. to high positions in Church and State, being made Bishop of Winchester in 1366 and Chancellor of England in the following year. He was a man of affairs, liberal and tolerant, who took delight in building, and had himself great skill in architecture. He had already, before he designed New College, as Clerk of the Work
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
LINCOLN COLLEGE
LINCOLN COLLEGE
J OHN FLEMMYNGE, Bishop of Lincoln, was for the greater part of his life a sympathiser with the Lollards; but on changing his opinions—for what reason is not known—he founded a College for the express purpose of training divines who should confute their doctrines. Such was the origin of Lincoln College, in the year 1429. Mr. Matthison's first picture shews the entrance to the College, as seen from Turl Street. Farther on is a part of the front of Exeter, and the spire of its Chapel, with Trinity
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ALL SOULS COLLEGE
ALL SOULS COLLEGE
C OLLEGIUM Omnium Animarum Fidelium defunctorum de Oxon . This title expresses one of the purposes for which All Souls was founded. It was a Chantry first, a home of learning afterwards. An obligation was imposed upon the Society to pray for the good estate of the Founders, during their lives, and for their souls after their decease; also for the souls of Henry V. and the Duke of Clarence, together with those of all the dukes, earls, barons, knights, esquires, and other subjects of the Crown of
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MAGDALEN COLLEGE
MAGDALEN COLLEGE
W ILLIAM OF WAYNFLETE, who founded this College, was brought up in the traditions of William of Wykeham, and maintained them most worthily. A member of Wykeham's school, and perhaps of New College, he became Headmaster of Winchester, only leaving it to act as first Headmaster of Eton, on the foundation of that College by Henry VI. Like Wykeham he lived through troubled times, and like him occupied the see of Winchester and was Chancellor of England. The latter post he resigned in the last year o
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BRASENOSE COLLEGE
BRASENOSE COLLEGE
T HE first thing about this College to excite a stranger's curiosity is its name. The explanation is trivial enough. Brasenose Hall (which was in existence in the thirteenth century and became Brasenose College in 1509) was so called from the brass knocker—the head of a lion with a very prominent nose—which adorned its gateway. In 1334 the members of the Hall, from whatever reason, migrated into Lincolnshire, taking the knocker with them, and set up their rest at Stamford. "There is in Stamford,
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE
CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE
C ORPUS—as this College is universally known among Oxford men—was founded in 1516, during the days of the "new learning," by Richard Foxe, Bishop of Winchester. Zealous for education, he took care that Greek as well as Latin should be taught to his scholars, appointing two "Readers" in those tongues, whose lectures were to be open to the whole University. When, therefore, in 1853 Corpus endowed the new Latin Professorship, it was acting in the spirit of its Founder. That spirit, indeed, has anim
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHRIST CHURCH
CHRIST CHURCH
I F Magdalen is the most beautiful of Oxford Colleges, Christ Church is assuredly the most magnificent. Building was one of the favourite pursuits of Cardinal Wolsey, first Founder of Christ Church, as it was of Wykeham and Waynflete before him: it is almost mysterious how men of this type, who had the highest affairs of the State as well as of the Church upon their shoulders, found so much leisure to devote to architecture. Wolsey's plans were cut short by his fall from power, but he had alread
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
TRINITY COLLEGE
TRINITY COLLEGE
T RINITY COLLEGE was founded by Sir Thomas Pope, a rich lawyer, in 1555. The site was previously occupied by Durham College, a now extinct foundation, which existed for the training of students from the Benedictine monastery of Durham. There is much that is admirable about the buildings and grounds of Trinity; and its position is so little secluded that anyone passing down Broad Street or Parks Road can hardly help noticing its beauties. The first illustration shews the College as seen from Broa
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE
ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE
A RCHBISHOP CHICHELE'S College of St. Bernard, established by him in 1437 and suppressed by Henry VIII., occupied the site of what is now St. John's College. One reminder of the older foundation is the statue of St. Bernard, which still stands in the Tower over the Gateway. This Gateway, sketched from St. Giles', forms the subject of the second illustration. The Hall and Chapel too, though much altered in later times, were in the first instance used by the Cistercians. St. John's was founded by
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JESUS COLLEGE
JESUS COLLEGE
J ESUS COLLEGE since its birth in 1571 has always been closely connected with Wales. Queen Elizabeth, who did not forget her Welsh ancestry, and "took no scorn," perhaps, "to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy's day," was willing to accept from Hugh Price, its actual originator, the honorary title of Founder. The College possesses three portraits of this sovereign, as well as pictures of Charles I. and Charles II. (who were benefactors). The buildings are in the late Gothic style. The two illustratio
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WADHAM COLLEGE
WADHAM COLLEGE
I T can only be conjectured how long the vision of a stately building which, like Absalom's Pillar, should preserve the memory of his childless house, haunted the vacant hours of Nicholas Wadham of Merifield, in the county of Somerset. What is certain is that death cut short his day-dreams, and that he committed the accomplishment of his design to his wife Dorothy. This remarkable woman was seventy-five years of age when the task devolved upon her. She assumed its responsibilities to such good p
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PEMBROKE COLLEGE
PEMBROKE COLLEGE
P EMBROKE dates its collegiate life from 1624, but it had already existed and flourished for several centuries as Broadgates Hall. It owed its rise in the world to the benefactions of Thomas Tesdale and Richard Wightwick, burgesses of Abingdon, who desired to endow a College for the benefit of their native town, and its new name to the Earl of Pembroke, then Chancellor of Oxford. Thomas Browne, who was later to be the author of Religio Medici , being senior commoner of the Hall at this epoch, de
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WORCESTER COLLEGE
WORCESTER COLLEGE
W ORCESTER COLLEGE is the successor to Gloucester Hall, a hostel of the Benedictine Order founded in the thirteenth century. This Hall was originally designed for students from the monastery at Gloucester, but was soon thrown open to other Benedictine houses. Suppressed at the Reformation, it was called back to life in Elizabeth's reign by Sir Thomas White, who had already shewn his zeal for education by founding St. John's College, and for several generations had a successful career. Among its
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HERTFORD COLLEGE
HERTFORD COLLEGE
H ertford college consists of an anomalous collection of buildings, of various styles and dates. The eye rests with most pleasure on the Jacobean part of the Quadrangle, opposite the gateway. One view gives the interior of the Quadrangle—in which is a sloping stairway reminiscent of a larger one of the same type in Blois Castle, the other shews the College from without, and includes the new buildings recently finished. This medley of structures is suggestive of the vicissitude through which the
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
KEBLE COLLEGE
KEBLE COLLEGE
M EMBERSHIP of this College is restricted to those who belong to the Church of England. Another primary purpose of Keble is to provide a less expensive education than that afforded by other Colleges. At the moment when the scheme was formulated died John Keble, author of the Christian Year , and it was decided to name the new foundation after him, at once as a tribute to his memory and in order to enlist the active sympathies of his many admirers. An appeal for funds met with a liberal and wides
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter