The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868

OXFORD, {comprising the parishes of St. Giles, St. Aldate, St. Mary, and many others,} it is a city and parliamentary borough, the capital, assize, sessions, polling, and election town of the county of Oxfordshire. It is the seat of an episcopal see and one of the two principal English universities, and stands on a gentle eminence near the junction of the river Isis, which is a branch of the Thames, with the Cherwell. It returns to parliament four members, of whom two sit for the city and two for the university. The representation of the latter is a much-coveted distinction which is usually conferred upon eminent public men hence it is generally styled the “blue ribbon of the House of Commons.” There are two railway stations, belonging respectively to the London and Great Western and the London and North-Western companies. That - on the former is on a branch line from Didcot, and is 63¼ miles, while that of the latter is 77¾ miles distant from London. The city, the extent of which is about 2 miles from E. to W. by about 14 mile from N. to S., is situated in a sort of an amphitheatre surrounded on the W., S., and E. by well-wooded hills and fertile meadows, while to the N. it is flat and less thickly planted. It contains the following fifteen parishes, viz: St. Aldate's (usually pronounced St. Old's), Binsey, St. Ebbe's, All Saints', St. Giles's, Holywell, St. Clement's, St. John's, St, Mary the Virgin, St. Michael's, St. Mary Magdalene's, St. Martin's, St. Peter-le-Bailey, St. Peter in the East, and St. Thomas. Each of these parishes has its own church, those of St. Thomas and St. Ebbe having each a district church; also St. Paul's at “Jericho,” as that part of the city is called which lies near the New Clarendon and Worcester College, belongs to the former, and Trinity church, in the Blackfriars'-road, to the latter. There are six Dissenting places of worship, belonging to the Roman Catholics, Methodists, and Baptists, in the city. The name of Oxford has been derived from the fact of its having been situated originally on a branch of the river which was fordable for oxen, and we are told that from this circumstance it was called by the ancient Britons Rhyd-ychen; and by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who flourished in the 12th century, and other early writers, it is hence termed the vadum bovum. Other authorities derive its name from the fact of a ford having existed at Oseney, a site lying about a quarter of a mile to the W. of the city, where there was an abbey founded by Robert D'Oyley in 1129, on an island formed by branches of the Isis. These latter writers assert that it is absurd to imagine that a ford for oxen only would have given a name to the city, but that a general ford might have done so; hence that the ford at Oseney, or Osney ford became gradually corrupted into Oxford. Whatever may have been the derivation of the word, it is certain that it existed in nearly its present form at a very early period, as the word Orsnaforda appears on coins of King Alfred, and on those of William the Conqueror and William II., Oxsneford and Oxenoford. In the Saxon chronicle Oxnaford is used, and in Domes day Book, Oxenefscyre, while Oxeneford constantly occurs in leases and legal instruments 200 years later. The earliest history of the city of Oxford is involved in much obscurity, and has given rise to a great deal of learned conjecture. It has been asserted that it was originally built by Memphries, King of the Britons, B.C. 1009, and that from him it was for some time called Caer-Memphries; that afterwards the name of Bellositum was given to it by the Romans on account of the beauty of its situation, and that it was for the same reason known in later times as the British Caer-pen-halgoed, which signifies a city placed on an eminence between two rivers, and surrounded with woods and groves. However this may be, Oxford is certainly noticed by Apion, who flourished A.D. 125, as one of the most eminent cities of Britain; and Cyprian, who was martyred A.D. 258, also mentions it in his index to the British cities. After this very little is heard of it till the time of Vortigern, A.D. 474. This prince is said to have made it a royal residence under the name of Caer-Vortigern, which title, however, it-lost soon after, when it became subject to the power of the Saxons. After the death of Cadwallader, the last king of the Britons, in A.D. 689, and the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity, Oxford, by the end of the 7th century, appears to have been fixed upon as a place to be in some sort devoted to the cultivation of learning, and in 730 St. Frideswide's nunnery was founded by Didan, the Saxon, notably for the purpose of religious instruction. It is to this institution that the origin of the university may be traced, and the particulars connected with it will be treated of more fully hereafter. From the death of St. Frideswide, in 740, no circumstance worthy of note appears to have taken place in regard to the history of the city for about a century. The unsettled state of the kingdom, owing to the contests between the various monarchs of the Heptarchy and the incursions of the Danes rendered the materials for the history of this period very meagre and uncertain, and it is not till the reign of Alfred (849-901) that we obtain any authentic records of the city. It is stated that this king himself, with his three sons, resided in Oxford and founded the University; and there is no doubt that a mint existed there in his time. In 976 the city was burnt by the Danes, who were massacred there in 1002, but again set fire to it in 1009 and destroyed a great portion of it. It was, however, soon rebuilt, and in 1013 and 1015 the Saxons made it the place of assemblage for their national councils or parliaments. In 1016 Edmund Ironsides was murdered there; and in 1018 Canute held a council for the purpose of confirming the laws as promulgated by King Edward the Elder in 915. In 1022 and 1026 he held a fresh council, at which he enjoined the observance of the laws of King Edgar as set forth circa 965; and in 1036 another council was held here to settle the succession to the throne. The choice fell upon Harold Harefoot in opposition to Hardicanute, whose cause was espoused by Earl Godwin and the princes of West Saxony. Harold was accordingly crowned at Oxford, where he died in 1040, but was buried at Westminster. In 1069, Oxford having refused submission to William the Conqueror, was stormed by him and easily reduced to obedience. The king gave the greatest part of the city, which then contained 721 houses, to his favourite, Robert D'Oyley, and fearing lest the inhabitants should revolt, ordered him to build a castle on the W. side of the walls, and on the site of an old Saxon fortification. D'Oyley immediately complied with the commands of his royal master, and by 1071 the castle was completed. It occupied the site on which the county gaol and house of correction now stand. At the completion of the Domesday Survey in 1086, there were 775 houses in the city and 20 mural manions, which were so called because their inhabitants were placed in them rent free by the king on the express condition of their keeping the walls in repair. The city was rated at £60. The burgesses had a common pasture ground outside the walls, lying to the N.W. of the city, and now known by the name of “Port Meadow,” and 20 of them were to accompany the king whenever he went to war under a penalty of £20. In 1088 William Rufus held a council in Oxford, and the next king, Henry I., was, as Wood the historian asserts, educated there. Whether this, is really the case or not, certain it is that this sovereign showed considerable favour to the city, and greatly improved and embellished it. He granted a charter to it, by which he placed the citizens upon the same footing with those of London in respect of all customs, laws, privileges, and liberties to be enjoyed by them; and in 1129 he built himself a palace called Beaumont Palace, which stood on a spot of ground now forming the junction of Beaumont and St. John streets, and was used as a royal residence as late as the reign of Edward II. This monarch, however, surrendered it to a body of Carmelite friars for a monastery, and the last fragment of it was removed in 1830, to make a passage for the W. side of St. John-street. In 1136 Stephen kept court in Oxford. He held a council for the purpose of restoring the laws of Edward the Confessor and remitting the Danegelt, which had hitherto been levied on the city. In 1142 he besieged the Empress Matilda, or Maud, in the castle so closely that she only escaped falling into his hands by crossing the Isis, which was frozen over, and going on foot through the snow to Abingdon, which is 6 miles off. There she procured a horse and arrived safely at Wallingford Castle, from whence she ultimately went to Normandy. In this reign the arrest of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury; Nigel, Bishop of Ely; and Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, took place at Oxford. The first-named prelate was especially powerful, and his wealth and abilities, which had rendered him obnoxious to Stephen, led to those quarrels in which Oxford, which espoused the cause of the empress-queen, became involved. Henry II. (1154-1189) showed great favour to the city. He confirmed the charter granted to it by Henry I., and gave the mayor the privilege of attending upon the sovereign upon all festive occasions. Hence, up to the present day, the mayor of Oxford has the right of acting as under-butler at the coronation of any of the English monarchs. In this reign the University became known as a distinct feature of Oxford, and lectures upon Roman law and other subjects were given by teachers who established themselves there for the express purpose of receiving pupils. In this reign a guildhall, or public hall, was built for the meetings of the burgesses, near the spot where Carfax church now stands. In 1157 Richard I. was born at Oxford. In 1180 Henry received the Welsh chiefs there, after having reduced their country to submission. In 1162 he issued from thence his decree against the “Publicans,” who were a sect of the Waldenses; and in 1172 held a parliament for the purpose of settling what was to be done with Ireland, of which he afterwards made his youngest son, John, viceroy, under the title of “Lord of Ireland,” with the design of ultimately making him king. In 1185 another parliament or council was held here; and in 1189, Richard, upon his accession to the throne, not only confirmed to the city all its ancient rights and privileges, but granted it several new ones, in gratitude for which the citizens contributed largely to his ransom when he was taken prisoner in Austria, on his return from the Holy Land in 1192. King John, who was also born at Oxford in 1166, held parliaments there in 1203 and 1207. In 1209 there are said to have been as many as 3,000 students there, but owing to a dispute with the townspeople they left and went to Cambridge and elsewhere. Henry III. (1216-1272) kept Christmas at Osney Abbey; and in 1222 Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, summoned a synod here for reforming the clergy; and in 1225 two men were crucified, each for asserting that he was Jesus Christ; and two women were starved to death for pretending that they were respectively the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. In 1240 another serious collision took place between the students and the townspeople, and many of the former again migrated to Cambridge. From this time to 1257 several councils were held, and in 1258 the Statutes of Oxford were passed by what is known as the “mad parliament.” By these it was settled that all foreigners should quit the kingdom, and that 24 persons should be chosen, 12 by the king and 12 by the barons, to represent the people in the three parliaments which, by the sixth statute, were to be held annually. This is the first clear account we have of the sitting of a house of commons, and the general use of the word “parliament,” although Coke, in his Institutes, asserts that this word was used as early as the reign of Edward the Confessor in 1041. During this reign Duns Scotus lectured, and Roger Bacon died at Oxford. In 1326 Isabella, the queen of Edward II., resided here while engaged in her war against the king and his favourites, the Spensers. During the reign of Edward III., who was educated at Oxford, and afterwards went to reside at Woodstock (where Edward the Black Prince was born in 1327), a most dreadful riot broke out between the scholars and the townspeople. It began on the feast of St. Scholastica, 10th February, 1354, at a tavern called the “Mermaid,” which stood at a spot called “Pennyless,” or “Butter-Bench,” near the E. end of old Carfax church. The fighting and tumult lasted for three days, and some of the students were killed and others severely wounded. The consequence of this was that the citizens lost several of their privileges, and were debarred from the rights of the Church. In addition to this they were heavily fined, and enjoined to perform certain acts of penance annually to the University authorities, and it was not until 1825 that the statute enforcing these laws was finally repealed. In this reign the poet Chaucer flourished, and from his “Canterbury Pilgrims” we learn that Oxford was, even in his time, devoted to those studies for which she is so renowned. In Richard II.'s reign (1377-1399) John Wycliffe was master of Balliol College (1361). In 1399 preparations were made for a grand tournament at Oxford, at which the Earls of Huntingdon, Kent, Salisbury, and Rutland, with Sir Thomas Blount and others, intended to seize the king, Henry IV., and to restore Richard. Their plot, however, was discovered, and Sir Thomas Blount, Sir Bennet Shelley, and 18 others were executed in the Greenditch at Oxford in 1400, while the rebel lords and their accomplices suffered elsewhere. Henry V. was educated at Oxford, and in Henry VI.'s reign his son, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, gave a sum of money for building a portion of that renowned library which is now known as the “Bodleian.” It acquired its present name from Sir Thomas Bodley, who was its most munificent patronage and endowed it both with lands and money in 1598, but in a letter written to the Duke of Gloucester by the University in 1445, he is styled its founder, and at his death in 1447 he left to it several MSS., and £100 for the completion of that portion of the building which he had begun. Cardinal Beaufort; John Kempe, Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor; Thomas Kempe, Bishop of London; John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor, and other distinguished persons contributed to its enlargement and improvement; but before the end of the reign of-Edward IV., in 1483, it had been so mismanaged and neglected, that, literally, not one single volume was left in it. In fact, it had become so thoroughly plundered that it was quite useless, and the University finding, in 1556, that the losses had never been replaced, and that the building still remained desolate and unavailable for all purposes of study, sold off the benches, bookcases, furniture, &c., and left merely the bare walls. In this state it remained till 1598, when Thomas Bodley, a fellow of Merton College, resolved to restore it. By contributions of books and money from himself and his friends, he secured it an endowment, and towards the end of 1602 it possessed upwards of 2,000 volumes, and was then again thrown open, to students. In 1481 the city was visited by Edward IV., and in 1483 by Richard III., and by Prince Arthur in 1496. In 1498 Erasmus was resident there, and associated with Linn��us, Latimer, Sir Thomas More, and several of the most eminent men of the period. In 1510 it was visited by Henry VIII., and by Queen Katherine in 1518. In 1525 Christ Church was founded by Cardinal Wolsey, and in 1542 the diocese of Oxford was separated from that of Lincoln, and was formed by the king into a separate see, the seat of the episcopate, which at first was the church of the Abbey of Osney, having been removed to Oxford in 1545. At the dissolution of the monasteries Oxford suffered considerably, both in its influence and its revenues. In 1550 commissioners were appointed by Edward VI. to visit and reform the University, and a great many valuable books and MSS. were destroyed by them in their zeal to abolish everything which seemed to tend towards the weakening of the principles of the Reformers. In Mary's reign a commission was sent down to Oxford to re-establish Popish rites and observances there, and to dispute publicly with Archbishop Cranmer and bishops Latimer and Ridley upon various points of doctrine. The end of the matter was, that when these prelates refused to recant the Protestant opinions which they had professed, the convocation sentenced them to be burned. This sentence was accordingly carried out in 1555-6 in the modern Broad-street, which was then called Canditch, and a stone opposite the door of the lodgings of the Master of Balliol still marks the spot on which they suffered. An Eleanor cross, called the “Martyrs' Memorial,” standing at the N. end of St. Mary Magdalene's church, and an appropriately decorated “martyrs' aisle,” added to the church in 1841, now serve to commemorate the event. In 1564 Robert Dudley, the notorious Earl of Leicester, was made Chancellor of Oxford, and in 1566 his royal mistress, Elizabeth, visited the city. She was received at Carfax church, when a professor made a speech in Greek, and her Majesty replied in the same language. She remained in Oxford five days, hearing plays and attending public disputations on science, logic, and politics, and honoured the city again with her presence in 1592, when similar proceedings took place. In 1605 King James I. visited the city (accompanied by the queen and the Prince of Wales), and again went there in 1614. In this reign Prince Charles, the Prince Palatine, and the French and Spanish ambassadors were received there; and a full account of all the entertainments given at their receptions, and those of Elizabeth and James I., will be found in Nichols's “Progresses” of these two sovereigns. During the succeeding reign the Archbishop of Canterbury, as Chancellor of the University, received the king, the queen, the Elector Palatine and his brother, Prince Rupert, at an academial entertainment in 1636; and during the troublous times of this period the parliament often sat at Oxford, whilst at the commencement of the parliamentary war, Lord Say drove away Sir John Byron, and held the city for the parliament. After the battle of Edgehill, Charles I. seized it and made it his headquarters. Sir Thomas Fairfax afterwards reduced it by famine, and during the plague in 1665 the parliament and the law courts sat here. Again in 1681 a parliament sat here, but only for a few days. In 1687 James II. held a parliament in Oxford, and in the same year, in consequence of the disputes which arose with respect to the presidency of Magdalen College-the king having commanded the fellows to elect Dr. Parker, a Papist-his Majesty went in person to the University. The upshot of the matter was that the king's orders were executed, the college being filled with Roman Catholics. This state of things, however, was not allowed to continue long, and in the ensuing year the college was restored to its rights. In 1702 Queen Anne visited the University. In 1714 Dr. John Radcliffe left £40,000 to the University of Oxford; and a library and observatory, still called after his name, are among the notable objects of the city. In 1715 the cause of the Pretender was warmly espoused in many parts of the kingdom, and several persons, suspected of being favourable to him, were seized in Oxford by General Pepper, who had occupied it on behalf of the king. Towards the end of 1731 a valuable collection of MSS., written by Sir Henry Spelman, and others, upon political, ecclesiastical, and University questions, was added to the Bodleian. In 1768 the mayor and several members of the corporation of Oxford were sent to Newgate for malpractices at the election of the city members. In 1787 a very large and curious conduit, adorned with allegorical figures and inscriptions-which was built for the purpose of distributing through the town water from the Isis, and stood at Carfax (a word derived from quatuor facies, as it faced the feur ways or roads, which meet at this point)-was taken down for the enlargement and improvement of the High-street, and removed to Nuneham Park. On 2nd January, 1790, the Oxford canal was opened for the first time, and on 14th August, 1795, a very severe thunderstorm burst over the city, which injured the spire of St. Mary's Church, destroyed two private houses, and wounded many of the inhabitants. In 1799 the Duke of York visited the city, and after holding a review of the university and city volunteers, was made an honorary D.C.L., and was presented with the freedom of the city in a gold box. Similar honours were conferred upon the Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia, the Prince Regent, and other distinguished personages, in 1814. Upon that occasion they were royally entertained by the University; and great rejoicings took place not only in Oxford, but throughout the kingdom, in consequence of the peace, which was proclaimed on 20th June in that year. In 1839 the Royal Agricultural Society of England held its show at Oxford, and in 1847 the British Association met there. In 1841 the city was visited by Queen Victoria; and in 1860 the Prince of Wales matriculated as a member of the University, and resided during his academical career at Frewen's Hall, in New Inn Hall-lane. The city has four principal entrances: one from the E. by the coach road from London over the Magdalen Bridge; a second from the N. by Worcester and Birmingham roads along St. Giles's-street; another from the railway stations over Folly Bridge, which crosses the Isis on the southern side; and the fourth along what is termed the “Sevenbridge-road,” on the western side of the city. The latter entrance is from the Bath road, and the name given to it arises from the fact that it consists of a causeway built along low-lying meadows, which are so intersected by the Isis, that its various branches have to be crossed by seven stone bridges in the space of 1 mile. Of these four entrances into the city the first-named is the most remarkable, and the view which it, presents to the spectator is unsurpassed for beauty by that of any city in the world. Upon passing over Magdalen Bridge, a stone structure crossing the river Cherwell, we have on the right the tower of Magdalen College, and on the left the Botanic Gardens. From this point commences the High-street, a thoroughfare of which it has been justly remarked that “for variety and magnificence of public buildings no city in Europe can oiler a competition with it.” It continues in a graceful curve up to Carfax (or the City) Church, having on the right Queen's College, All Souls' College, St. Mary's (or the University) Church, and All Saints' Church, while on the left is University College, and the rest of the street both on the right and left is occupied with shops, dwelling-houses, and an old-established and well-known hotel called the “Mitre.” The northern entrance into the city is also exceedingly fine, and leads along a wide street, having rows of trees planted on each side, past St. John's College; on the left the Taylor and Randolph buildings, a noble institution, founded for the cultivation of modern languages and the fine arts, and the Randolph Hotel, built in 1865 by a company in consequence of the Great Western railway having decided on making Oxford the site of their railway manufactory. Opposite to these are the back buildings of Balliol College, and in the centre of the street the Martyrs' Memorial and St. Mary Magdalene Church. Near the S. front of this church, and the tower of that of St. Michael's, formerly stood the celebrated Bocardo, the name given to the N. gate of the city. When the fortification fell down the room over the gateway was used as a prison, and here it was that Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer were confined previous to their execution. From this point a street of shops and hotels, called Corn Market-street, runs southward to Carfax. Here it joins the High street, which lies to its E., and Queen's-street, which runs W. Here these three streets are joined by St. Aldate's, still running S., and thus are formed the four ways, which, as has been already stated, give the name to Carfax. At the northern end of St. Aldate's, on the left-hand side proceeding from Corn Market-street, are the townhall and the post-office, and on the same side, at the southern end, stands the magnificent college of Christ Church, and nearly opposite to it St. Aldate's Church and Pembroke College. Returning to the N. end of Corn Market-street, a street called Broad-street runs eastward, having Balliol and Trinity Colleges on the left, and on the right a narrow street called Turl-street, which connects it with the High-street. In this latter street are Jesus College on the right and Exeter and Lincoln on the left, while at the corner of the street where it joins the High-street stands All Saints' Church on the left, and on the right the Mitre Hotel. Still proceeding along Broad-street, we have on the right, adjoining a portion of Exeter College, the Ashmolean Museum, the Sheldonian Theatre; and the Clarendon. Contiguous to this latter are the “Schools” and the Bodleian Library, having behind them a large square, with the circular building of the Radcliffe Library within it, while to the W. lies Brasenose College, to the E. part of All Souls', and to the S. St. Mary's Church and the High-street. At the back of All Souls' stands Magdalen Hall, and behind that again is New College-lane, leading to New College, the gardens of which extend to Holywell-street and the “Long Wall.” From New College the lane bends southwards, and after passing the side of Queen's College and St. Edmund Hall, runs as Queen's-lane into High-street, having Logiclane opposite to it. From the end of Broad-street, Park-street runs northwards, having Trinity and St. John's Gardens on the left and Wadham College on the right, while still further on, but standing back from the main road, is the University Museum. A street of private houses, called Holywell-street, runs from the King's Arms Hotel, at the S.E. corner of Park-street, and, continuing in a semicircular form as Long Wall, leads past the “Grove” of Magdalen College to the foot of the High-street, close to Magdalen College and bridges. Crossing the High-street, we have a walk leading to Christ Church Meadows and Merton Fields, while still further westward, a street called King-street leads from High-street into Merton-street. Here are situated St. Alban Hall, Merton College, with its celebrated chapel, which is also the parish church of St. John; while at the end of the street, and abutting upon the back of Christ Church, stands Corpus Christi College. From hence Oriel-street leads again northwards into the High-street, having Oriel College and St. Mary Hall on the right and Bear-lane on the left. This latter leads into Alfred-street, in which the Masonic Hall is situated, and Blue Boarlane, which runs into St. Aldate's at the S. corner of the post-office. Again, going northwards along St. Aldate's, and crossing the High-street, the first street on the W. side of Corn Market is New Inn Hall street, which takes a sharp bond to the S. about midway. Between this bend and the church of St. Peter-le-Bailey, which stands at the S.W. extremity of the street, stands New Inn Hall, and close by are Frewen's Hall, already noticed as having been the residence of the Prince of Wales, and the buildings of the Union Society, or reading and debating rooms of the members of the University, which latter, however, are entered by a court leading from Corn Market-street. After passing the end of a narrow street, called George-street, we come to Gloucester-green, on which stands the city gaol, and beyond that is Beaumont-street, at the end of which stands Worcester College. The street which runs in front of Worcester College is called Worcester-street to the S., and runs down to the canal and the Seven-bridge-road, while to the N. it runs as Walton-place to the workhouse, the University printing-office, and St. Paul's Church. Hence a street running eastward leads into St. Giles's, close by the Radcliffe Infirmary and Observatory. All the colleges have their own halls, in which the members dine daily in common, and their own chapels, at which a certain number of attendances during the week is required from the members. At some of them, such as Christ Church, Exeter, St. John's, New College, and Magdalen, choral service is performed, and the two latter attract numerous visitors, not only from the excellence of the choirs and organs and the magnificence of their chapels, but also from the extent and beauty of their gardens and the general character of the colleges themselves. Exeter and Balliol Chapels also, which have been rebuilt within a few years, are remarkable for the splendour of their architecture and decorations, and are objects well worthy of being seen. The hail of Christ Church, the cathedral, which stands just behind it, and, in fact, the whole of this noble institution, should be visited by all who wish to see the “lions” of Oxford, as also should Christ Church walks and meadows, which lie close by the river. Hero are moored the boats and barges belonging to the various colleges and members of the University, and during the spring and summer boat-races take place between picked crews from the various colleges. At these periods Christ Church walks and the side of the river opposite, down as far as Iffley, from whence the boats start, are crowded with men, each eager for the success of his own college; the stream is covered with skiffs, punts, and wherries, and various other kinds of boats; their occupants are clad in regular rowing costume; and the beauty of the spot, the excitement, in a word, the tout ensemble, makes this a scene which should be witnessed by all who wish to study the peculiarities of our English universities, as it is a sight which can never be seen elsewhere, and when once seen will not easily be forgotten. At the main entrance of Christ Church stands “Tom” Tower, so called from the great bell which it contains, and which tolls 101 times at nine o'clock every night during term time, to give notice to the undergraduates to return to their colleges, the gates being closed at that time. In the Sheldonian Theatre, in Broad-street, takes place annually the Encoenia, or annual commemoration of the founders and benefactors of the University. The building was founded by Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, and was finished in 1669, under the superintendence of Sir Christopher Wren, and a part of it was originally occupied by the University printing-presses. Hence the books printed by the University bear upon them for nearly a century the imprimatur of e Typographia “Sheldoniana,” or e Theatro Sheldoniano. In 1759 the last printing-press was removed, since which time the public meetings of the University, viz: the Comitia and the Encunia, have been held there, the latter being celebrated once a year, just before the commencement of the long vacation. The area is 80 feet by 70, and the building is capable of containing 4,000 persons. It has a dome 40 feet high from the roof, and the ceiling is represented open in imitation of the ancient Greek and Roman theatres. The interior consists of an area and galleries, with rostra for the recitation of the essays and poems to which the University prizes have been adjudged annually. These recitations take place at the commemoration, and then it is that honorary degrees are conferred on distinguished personages, and the theatre presents the imposing appearance to which reference has already been made. The vice-chancellor, doctors, proctors, noblemen, and all the high dignitaries of the University, in the full robes of their respective offices, occupy a semicircular row of seats at one end of the room, raised above the area, which is occupied by masters of arts and gentlemen introduced by them. The lower gallery is occupied entirely by ladies, and the upper by the undergraduates, who express their sentiments upon the leading topics and characters of the day, the appearance of the candidates for the honorary degrees, the ladies present, and a variety of other subjects, in shouts of approbation, or the reverse, which frequently impart a very noisy, and sometimes almost a riotous, complexion to a great portion of the proceedings. The commemoration is also celebrated by a procession of the boats, a promenade of the notabilities of the University in the “Broad Walk” of Christ Church Meadows, entertainments at the colleges, balls, and other festivities, which make the week one continued round of amusement and gaiety to those who are partaking of the hospitality of the University during that period. The public entrance into the theatre is from Broad-street, and in front of it is an iron railing, with pillars surmounted by busts, which are now much dilapidated, and are said to represent either the C��sars or some of the sages of antiquity. To the S. of the theatre is the Bodleian Library, which was first opened for the use of the University on 8th November, 1602, on which day an annual visitation is made in commemoration of the event. The library contains several valuable portraits, among which are those of Sir Thomas Bodley, the founder, by Cornelius Jansen; one of Selden, by Mytens, and others. Here also are deposited the celebrated collection of 200 Greek MSS. collected by Giacomo Barocci, a Venetian nobleman, and presented in 1629 by William Herbert, third Earl of Pembroke, who was then Chancellor of the University; the celebrated Oppenheim Library, consisting of the most valuable Hebrew and Rabbinical printed books and MSS. ever brought together in one collection; the important Latin and English MSS. given by Sir Kenelm Digby; and the European and Oriental collection presented by Archbishop Laud, who was Chancellor of the University in 1631, and in 1636 founded the “Laudian Professorship of Arabic.” Shortly after this a western wing was added to the original building for the purpose of receiving the valuable library of the celebrated John Selden, who was the representative of the University in the “Long Parliament.” He died in 1654, and his executors presented his collection, of upwards of 8,000 volumes of MSS. and printed books, to the University. Since that time many valuable donations have been made to the Bodleian, such as the collection of early English plays and poetry, made by Malone and presented by Lord Sunderland; and those of Richard Gough, the celebrated antiquary; and of Francis Douce, the eminent connoisseur in various departments of art and science. All these, and many other treasures deposited there, make the Bodleian one of the most renowned libraries in the world, and scholars from all countries may be seen pursuing their labours amongst its ample and varied stores. All members of the University who have taken a degree are allowed to study here, but no books may be removed from the premises. Strangers and non-members of the university obtain access by a personal introduction to the keeper of the Bodleian, through an M.A. or some one who is personally known to the keeper, and who will vouch for the fitness of the person applying for admission. Under the Act of Parliament for securing copyright the Bodleian receives a copy of every printed work that is entered at Stationers' Hall, and the funds are kept up by small fees paid at matriculation, and upon taking the degree of B.A., besides a grant of £2,000 per annum for the purchase of various works in literature and art in this and other countries. The library contains upwards of 250,000 volumes, and is open, with some few specified exceptions, every weekday from 9 to 4, between Lady Day and Michaelmas, and from 10 to 3 from Michaelmas to Lady Day. Besides its literary treasures, the Bodleian contains also a picture-gallery, in which are portraits of the chief founders, benefactors, chancellors, and other notables of the University, and some curiosities, together with a collection of busts, casts, and architectural models. Adjoining the Bodleian are the “schools,” one of which was originally devoted to each faculty or science taught in the University. In early times the quadrangle where the present building now stands was used as a garden and a pig-market; but, in 1554, the University obtained a grant of the site from the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church, and in 1612 the first stone of the present structure was laid. Inscriptions over the doors show the various branches of study to which the “schools” were respectively devoted, as medicine, anatomy, and natural philosophy on the S. side, civil law on the N., geometry, arithmetic, and metaphysics on the E., and so on. With the exception, however, of those devoted to medicine and natural philosophy, they are no longer appropriated to their original purposes, but have been partly absorbed into the Bodleian Library, while another portion is used as a gallery for the celebrated marbles presented to the University in 1677 by Henry Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, and known as the “Arundel Marbles;” while at the N.E. corner are the rooms which are now called par excellence the “schools,” in which the public examinations of the students are held for “little-go,” moderations, and “great-go.” The principal entrance to the schools is from Catherine-street, opposite to Magdalen Hall, under a groined archway with carved oak folding-doors. The arch is surmounted by a tower composed of the five orders of architecture, and containing four rooms or stories; the first and second of these form part of the Bodleian Library and picture-gallery; the third is the Archive Room, in which are deposited the muniments, registers, and various other public documents belonging to the University; while the fourth, which was originally designed as an observatory, is now used as a classroom by the reader in experimental philosophy. On the western side of the schools' quadrangle is the divinity school. This building, which was the basement story of the first, or Duke Humphrey's library, was commenced in 1427, and finished in 1480. It is a fine specimen of Gothic architecture, with a vaulted roof and pendants, and an exceedingly handsome entrance doorway. By the time of Edward VI. it had become so dilapidated that weeds and nettles grew in it, and a pound was erected close by its side. In 1625, however, it was repaired so far as to be available for the sittings of the House of Commons-the House of Lords sitting in the picture-gallery, while the Privy Council met at Christ Church, when the court was driven from London in consequence of the plague. During the Civil War it was used as a granary, and at the end of the 17th century it was restored to its present state, under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, who opened the door on the N. side, both to add to the effect and give greater facilities for the entrance into the theatre. The school is now used for the recitation of the exercises prescribed by the University for the degrees of B.D. and D.D., and is bisected by a carved rail, the upper part being reserved for the examiners and disputants, and the lower for the audience. At the W. end of the divinity school is the Convocation House, which was built in 1639, and forms the basement story to the Selden portion of the Bodleian. Its name indicates its use, and the principal public business of the University is carried on here. Here, also, degrees are conferred upon those who have “got through the schools,” or, in other words, passed their examinations, and in the vestibule adjoining the vice-chancellor matriculates newly-admitted students, and gentlemen are robed before going in to take their degrees, and to give their votes at certain elections which sometimes are held in the Convocation House. On these occasions the vice-chancellor and the proctors occupy seats at the upper end of the room, where also are seats for heads of houses and doctors, and the side benches are reserved for masters of arts and the general public. Upon the occasion of conferring degrees, when a candidate's name is proposed the proctors walk once up and down the room, one on each side. Should any one wish to stop the degree, they do so by pulling at a certain part of the proctor's gown as he is passing, and from this the word “plucking” has been applied to the refusal of a “testamur,” or certificate of having passed, to those who have failed to satisfy the examiners in the public schools. To the N. of the schools, at the corner of Broad-street and Catherine-street, and directly opposite to the S. end of Park-street, are the Clarendon Buildings, which are so called from having been founded out of the money raised by the sale of Lord Clarendon's “History of the Rebellion,” the copyright of which was vested in the University by the author's son in the reign of Queen Anne. The “Clarendon” was finished in 1713, from the designs of Sir John Vanbrugh, and was used as the University printing-office till 1830, when, owing to the want of sufficient space to meet the increasing demand for books issued by the University, the business of the office was removed to the present premises, opposite St. Paul's Church, and near Worcester College. The N. side of this building-the frontage of which is 250 feet, the wings being 288 feet long by 33 wide is devoted to the printing of classical and miscellaneous works issued under the authority of a certain number of heads of houses and professors chosen by convocation, under the name of the “delegates of the press,” while the S. side is reserved exclusively for the printing of Bibles and prayer-books. A printed list of the works printed at the “Clarendon,” as the University printing-house is still styled (although the original building is now used for other purposes), is given in the Oxford University Calendar, and will be found to comprise very valuable editions of grammars, lexicons, Greek and Latin classics, the Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, ecclesiastical history and biography, and various other subjects which have been deemed worthy of a place among the standard literature of the country. Besides this the University documents, such as the examination papers, class lists, public notices, &c., are printed at the Clarendon, and all works printed for the University since 1863, and those only, have the words e Typographeo Clarendoniano, or “at the Clarendon Press,” in the imprint, whereas from 1829 up to 1863 the imprint was e Typographeo Academico, or “at the University Press.” The old Clarendon building now contains offices for the use of the registrar of the University; the “delegates” room, in which the meetings of the Hebdomadal Council and of delegacies take place; the vice-chancellor's justice-room; public lecture-rooms; rooms for the professor of experimental philosophy, and the readers in mineralogy and geology; and in the basement some rooms appropriated to the police, and an office for the inspector of weights and measures. Besides these apartments there are some others in the western portion of the building, which are used as showrooms for a geological and mineralogical museum, which was presented to the Ashmolean museum in 1800 and 1832. The latter-named building, however, being found too small to receive it, it was transferred to its present site, where it may be seen every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 10 till 4 o'clock. The Ashmolean Museum stands to the W. of the Clarendon, being separated from it by the theatre. It owes its origin to Elias Ashmole, who presented to the university his own medals, coins, books, and MSS., together with a collection of natural curiosities bequeathed to him by John Tradescant and his son in 1662. For the reception of these the present building was erected, at the expense of the University, in 1683, under the superintendence of Sir C. Wren. It contains, amongst other things, the library of William Lily, the celebrated astrologer, the MSS. of Sir W. Dugdale, Antony-a-Wood, and others, besides a collection of coins, medals, antiquities, minerals, shells, specimens of natural history, casts, models, and original portraits and pictures. In the building there are also some rooms used as lecture-rooms by the professor of chemistry, and a laboratory for the use of himself and his classes. The Radcliffe library, which lies to the rear of the schools, is now used as a reading-room. It was completed in 1747, in accordance with the will of its founder, John Radcliffe, M.D., Fellow of Lincoln College, who left his property to trustees for charitable purposes. He directed them, however, first to accumulate £40,000 for the purchase of this site and the erection of his library, and he left £100 per annum for the maintenance of the fabric, and £150 per annum as a stipend for the librarian. Since the opening of the University museum the trustees have allowed the books upon natural science to be removed to that institution, but the other volumes remain, and the library is regarded as a sort of branch of the Bodleian. The structure is circular in form, and a spacious dome rising from its centre gives it quite a distinctive feature among all the other public buildings of Oxford. It has a rustic basement 100 feet in diameter, and the ascent to the library is by a spiral stone staircase. Over the entrance is a portrait (said to be the only original one of him) of the founder, by Sir Godfrey Kneller, and round the room is a gallery supported by Ionic pilasters. It contains casts of celebrated ancient busts and statues, the “Corsi” marbles, several modern casts, busts, statues, and models, and from the outer balustrade surrounding the library a panoramic view of the city can be obtained. Besides this library, Dr. Radcliffe's bequests founded the observatory and the infirmary, and he left to University College, of which he was once a member, large sums for repairs and new buildings, whilst he also left £600 per annum for two “travelling fellowships ”-which number, however, has since been increased by the University Commissioners, under the Act of 1854, to three, each of the annual value of £200, and tenable for three years. Dr. Radcliffe also gave the painted window at the E. end of University College Chapel, 5200 to be equally divided in restoring parts of All Saints' Church and Peckwater Quadrangle in Christ Church, and the asylum on Headington Hill, which lies over Magdalen Bridge, about a mile to the N. E. of the city, has been, with the sanction of his trustees, so much benefited by the funds left by him for charitable objects that the committee have given it the name of the Radcliffe Asylum. The University Museum was commenced in 1855, and by 1860 was so far completed that the British Association for the advancement of Science held its first meeting there in the June of that year., It is ornamented with elaborate iron-work and decorative sculpture, both within and without: the latter has been liberally presented to it by various benefactors -the Queen having given the statues of five eminent philosophers which stand in the area, the gentlemen of the city of Oxford having erected the statue of the late Prince Consort which faces the entrance, and many private persons having contributed to its utility or ornamentation by placing in it works illustrative of science and art. The building contains lecture-rooms, work-rooms, laboratories (of which there is a spacious one for the use of students in chemistry at the south-western angle), a library and reading-room, and at the back a small observatory for the use of the classes of the professor of astronomy. The museum was designed for the promotion of the study of natural science, and in the area and corridors are placed various collections illustrative of the different subjects of education taught within its walls, such as models and instruments of experimental physics, a pathological series in the medical department, zoological and mineralogical specimens, a large collection of shells, and various other objects, a great part of which are arranged for exhibition, and are open to the inspection of students and visitors. It is in the charge of the keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, who has an official residence adjoining the S.E., and is open to members of the University from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. in winter, and till 5 p.m. in summer. Visitors are not admitted till after 2 p.m., in order that the students may not be disturbed, and the library is open two evenings in each week during term time. There is no fee charged, either to members of the university or to strangers, for admission to view the collections. The “Taylor and Randolph Institution” is so called from its founders. Sir Robert Taylor, Kt., was a sculptor and architect of some eminence, who in 1788 bequeathed the bulk of his property, after accumulating for a certain period, for the purpose of “erecting a proper edifice and establishing a foundation for the teaching and improving in the European languages.” In 1760 Dr. Francis Randolph, principal of St. Alban's Hall, left money for “erecting a building for the reception of the Pomfret statues belonging to the university of Oxford, and for paintings, engravings, and other curiosities which may occasionally be left to that learned body.” The union of these bequests and a grant from the funds of the University resulted in the erection of the present building, at the corner of Beaumont and St. Giles's streets, and close by the Martyrs' Memorial. It was commenced in 1841, and completed in 1845, from the designs of Professor Cockerell, D.C.L. Its entire extent is 240 feet by 102, and to give elevation to it the whole of it is raised upon a terrace, by which a light and spacious crypt, or basement, is obtained. Although the building is of the Palladian or Italian school in its disposition, its order is Sonic, and its details and ornamentation are taken from the temple of Apollo Epicurius, at Basso, near Phigalea, in Arcadia. The pediment of the portico is surmounted by a figure of Apollo, and on the side of each wing, facing the fore court, are four attached Ionic columns, with entablatures and vases, while at the entrance to the Taylor Institute, in St. Giles's-street, are four sculptured figures emblematical of the four European continental languages of Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, and having engraved at their bases the names of the most celebrated literary characters of the countries which they respectively represent. The centre portico opens into the principal sculpture-gallery, an apartment 90 feet by 28, and containing casts from celebrated antique statues (such as the Laocoon, the Torso Belvidere, the Florentine Boar, the Nine Muses, &c.) and busts, together with a portion of the collection of marbles presented by the Countess of Pomfret. Leading from this room and forming a wing to it is the “Chantrey Gallery,” measuring 180 feet by 28, and containing the original models for the principal works of the late eminent English sculptor, Sir Francis Chantrey, and the remainder of the Pomfret marbles. Upstairs are the Raffaelle and Angelo gallery, containing about 190 original drawings by the former artist, and about 87 by the latter, the whole having been purchased by subscription for £7,000. The picture-gallery is 96 feet long by 28 wide, and 28 feet high. It contains copies of Raffaelle's cartoons, his “School of Athens,” and other paintings and portraits, and a considerable number of modern busts, models, and statues. In the Taylor Institution there is a library, which is open between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., except during the long vacation, when it is closed at 4 p.m. All members of the University have free access to it, and resident graduates may take out of it books for perusal in their own rooms. There are also lying on the table the leading newspapers and periodicals of Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. The Randolph galleries are open every day to members of the University and persons introduced by them, without any fee, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., except for a few weeks during the long vacation for the purpose of cleaning. On Thursdays they are thrown open to the public without any restriction, no introduction whatever being required. The Botanical Gardens, which now occupy a site used in ancient times as a Jewish burial-ground, are entered by a gateway designed by Inigo Jones. Outside the walls on the left is the porter's lodge, and near it the professor's official residence and some lecture-rooms, in which there is a valuable library of rare works upon botany and natural history. The gardens are well supplied with British and foreign plants, flowers, and shrubs, have commodious conservatories, greenhouses, and hothouses, and as they are constantly receiving additions by subscriptions and donations, will eventually rank among the first in England. All the various public institutions which have just been described are under the care and superintendence of delegates, curators, librarians, and other officers appointed by the governing bodies of the University, and paid either out of the university or by special bequests left for the purpose by their founders and benefactors, and some have professorships attached to them, whose duty it is to lecture upon and illustrate the objects committed to their charge. The UNIVERSITY OF Oxford is a corporation holding its title and privileges under an Act passed 13 Elizabeth, and confirmed by several acts up to the present reign. It is governed by official persons chosen out of its own body, acting together under the title of the “chancellor, masters, and scholars, of the University of Oxford,” and having a common seal. The chancellor is the chief officer of the University. He is always a person of distinction, is elected for life, and is non-resident. He appoints a high steward, whose duties, however, are now merely nominal, as they consist in trying grave criminal cases, such as felony, treason, &c., committed by the members of the University. The next in rank is the vice-chancellor. This functionary is chosen from among the heads of the colleges every year, and he it is who presides over the meetings, and transacts the actual business of the University, except on some special occasions, when the chancellor himself presides. To assist him in his duties he appoints four pro-vice-chancellors, and, according to a certain rota established in 1859, two proctors are chosen annually from the colleges and halls to maintain discipline among the undergraduates. The proctors are ex-officio magistrates, and each of them appoints two pro-proctors, whose duties are similar to their own. The University marshal acts under the directions of the proctors, and has under him certain attendants, who are termed by the students “bull-dogs.” The marshal and the “bull-dogs” frequently walk behind the proctors as they are perambulating the streets, which they do at certain periods of the day, and at and after 9 o'clock in the evening, for the purpose of seeing that no irregularities are taking place. These lower functionaries are employed in case of any resistance being made to the authority of the proctors to arrest the offending parties, who are punished in various ways, according to their positions and the nature of their offence; members of the University being confined to their colleges, fined, set to do impositions, rusticated, or expelled; and loose and disorderly persons, not being members of the University, being locked up and imprisoned for various periods. Almost all causes, whether criminal, civil, or spiritual, in which members of the University, resident in it, or its precincts, are concerned, are tried in the chancellor's court, which is held every Friday, during term, in the apodyterium of the convocation house. The vice-chancellor sits as presiding judge, and the two proctors are assessors. As these latter named officials, however, have so many other duties to perform, and are not usually skilled in law, the vice-chancellor appoints some bachelor or doctor of civil law to assist him as assessor, and to act as judge in his absence. Appeals may be made from this court, first to the House of Congregation, next to the House of Convocation (from which delegates are chosen annually for the express purpose of hearing appeals), and if these three bodies disagree, finally to the Queen in Chancery. Besides these officers, there is a registrar and two “proctors ad lites,” who are appointed by the vice-chancellor to practise in the court. There are various other officers, such as the public orator, the registrar, the bedells, the delegates of the press, of privileges, of accounts, and of estates, &c., detailed lists of whose duties and names are to be found in the “Oxford University Calendar,” which is printed annually, and contains an account of all the principal matters relating to the University and its government. The whole of the actual corporate business of the university is transacted in two assemblies, called respectively the House of Congregation and the House of Convocation. The former consists of doctors of every faculty resident in the University, the heads of the colleges and halls, professors, public lecturers, and examiners, the masters of the schools, and resident regent masters of arts. The House of Congregation, however, as thus constituted, now exercises its functions almost exclusively to the granting of degrees, for in 1854 an Act of Parliament added a new -louse of Congregation, consisting of certain resident official persons, without any restrictions as to number. A register of the members is made and published by the vice-chancellor annually on or before the 25th September. The House of Convocation consists of all the same members as the House of Congregation, with the addition of non-regent masters of arts, i.e., of persons who have been admitted to regency, and still keep their names on the books, and pay the fees, but are not resident at the University. The two representatives of the university, or “burgesses,” as they are properly styled, are chosen by the vice-chancellor, the doctors, the regent and non-regent masters of arts in convocation, and non-resident members are allowed to vote by means of papers forwarded to them at their residences, which when they have been duly filled up and attested by a magistrate, are returned to the committees of the respective candidates. There is another body connected with the management of the University, styled the Hebdomadal Council. This consists of some members ex-officio, and some elected by the congregation. The business of this board is to deliberate on all matters connected with the University, such as its rights, privileges, the maintenance of the statutes, customs, and discipline; in a word, to discuss every measure which may affect the University, before such measure is laid before the whole academical body in convocation. Thus the hebdomadal council has the initiative in all University legislation, as, without its sanction, no measure whatever can be submitted to convocation. The control of the market, which lies nearly at the W. end of the High-street, close to the Mitre hotel, with Market-street separating it from Jesus College in the rear, was granted to the Chancellor by Edward III. in 1355. The supervision of weights and measures, and the general regulations of the market are now entrusted to two “clerks of the market,” who are appointed annually, one by the chancellor, the other by the vice-chancellor. They must be either principals of halls, masters of arts, or bachelors of divinity, medicine, or law. These gentlemen, however, do not generally act themselves, but appoint a deputy clerk to inspect the corn returns, the provisions sent to market, and to manage the other duties of the office. There is a market every day. The University embraces 19 colleges and 6 halls. These latter are not corporate bodies, they have no endowments, and all their property is held in trust for them by the University. In early times the number of halls was very large, as they were originally lodging houses in which the students took up their abode, elected their own principal, and removed from one to another at their pleasure. Of such houses, or halls, there are said once to have been as many as 300; but the colleges, by offering greater advantages, attracted most of the students to them, and gradually occupied the sites of the halls, so that by the reign of Elizabeth only eight remained open, and three of these subsequently became colleges. By a statute made in 1855 any member of convocation above the age of 28 was entitled, under certain conditions, to open a private hall for the reception of students, who are admissible to all the privileges of the University. Of such halls, which are subject to all the University statutes, there is at present only one, which is called “Charsley's Hall,” from the name of its licensed master. It is situated in St. Giles's. The ancient halls, which were originally called also inns, hostels, and courts, were rude buildings covered with thatch, and were known by very extraordinary names, such as “ale,” “beef,” “physic,” “pill,” “pittance,” and many other similar sobriquets. Some few of the disused halls still remain, as Frewen's Hall, already mentioned, and Kettle Hall, in Broad-street. But about the middle of the 11th century a great improvement commenced in all the buildings designed for the reception of students, and from that time down to the middle of the 13th century the halls afforded them better accommodation, and attracted a greater number of residents. The commencement, however, of the collegiate system, and of the recognition of Oxford as a regularly organised university, commenced with the establishment of UNIVERSITY COLLEGE. There is indeed a legend which asserts that this college was founded by Alfred the Great in 872, but its authenticated foundation took place in 1249, when William of Durham died and bequeathed a sum of money for its establishment. The first purchase was made in accordance with his will in 1253, when a master and three fellows were appointed and paid out of the funds left by him for the purpose. The next college in point of antiquity is BALLIOL, founded by John Balliol, of Bernard Castle, Durham and Dervorguilla his wife (parents of John Baliol, King of Scotland), between 1263 and 1268. The S. front of the college is in a very dilapidated state, but a new chapel, which has been built as a memorial to Dr. Jenkyns, its late master, is highly ornamented in its interior decorations, and is one of the objects visited by those who wish to sec all that is remarkable in Oxford:-MERTON COLLEGE was originally located at Malden, in Surrey, where it was founded in 1264 by Walter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester and Lord High Chancellor of -England, and transferred by him to Oxford in 1274. One of the smaller, quadrangles of this college, in which the library stands, is said to be the most perfect specimen of an ancient quadrangle in Oxford. The chapel is worthy of inspection, and contains eight finely toned bells, a handsome E. window and ceiling, some ancient tapestry, and some good stained glass. EXETER COLLEGE was founded by Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter, and Lord High Treasurer of England, who removed to it his scholars, who up to this time were at Hart Hall. In 1404 Edmund Stafford, Bishop of Exeter, added 12 fellowships, and obtained leave to give the college its present name. The chapel, which has been recently erected, a very fine building, and beautifully decorated, is another object which should by no means be passed over by visitors. ORIEL COLLEGE was founded by Edward II. in 1326, at the suggestion of Adam de Brome, his almoner, who was also Rector of St. Mary's, where his tomb still remains in the Lady chapel, on the N. side of the church, in that part which is called “Adam de Brome's chapel,” from the fact of his having been buried there. The original building stood between the W. side, or Oriel-street, and the High-street, where a portion of the original crypt now remains, and was called. St. Mary's College, having been dedicated to the Virgin. The king framed new statutes for the society, and gave it the advowson of St. Mary's church, the piece of ground upon which St. Mary's Hall now stands; but it was not till the reign of Edward III. (who may almost be regarded as its second founder) that the college obtained the site upon which it now stands. The term “Oriel,” as applied to this college, has given rise to some controversy among philologists. According to some it is derived from an eastern window which formed a recess in the interior. Others derive it from oriolumn, a porch or entrance gate, while another opinion is that it comes from aul royal, a translation of aula regalis, which is the term applied to the college in some early deeds relating to it, in which it is described as being commonly known as the domes Beats? Mari�� Virginis, Oxon. Collegii de Oryell, alias aul�� regalis. In consequence of its royal foundation the sovereign still continues the visitor of the college. QUEEN'S COLLEGE derives its name from Philippa, queen of Edward III., who encouraged and assisted her confessor and chaplain, Robert de Eglesfield, who founded it in 1340. It occupies an area of 2,300 feet in length, by 220 in breadth, and its principal front is built in the style of the Luxembourg Palace. It has two spacious quadrangles divided by the chapel and the hall, both of which were erected from the designs of Sir C. Wren. The former is 100 feet long by 30 feet broad, and has some magnificent painted windows, while the latter is 60 feet long by 30 broad, and contains an ancient marble chimney-piece and several portraits. On Christmas Day an old English dinner is served up in the hall, when a boar's head is taken up to the high table in solemn procession, the bearers singing an old monkish song. The library of Queen's College is considered one of the finest in the University. It is 123 feet in length and 55 feet in height, and contains a collection of MSS., printed books, portraits, and stone carvings. Under it is a second, or “lower library,” formed by enclosing the cloisters, and the two libraries together contain above 60,000 volumes, exclusive of the MSS. New College was founded in 1380 by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester and Lord High Chancellor of England (who also founded Winchester College), and it has served as the model for the foundation of all similar societies, both in Oxford and Cambridge, ever since. Previously to this time the six colleges which had been already established were little more than halls on a large scale, but upon the opening of New College, in 1386, on 14th April, being the vigil of Palm-Sunday, the first warden and fellows entered the college at 3 of the clock in the morning, and with solemn procession and litanies commended themselves and their studies to the care and protection of the Almighty.” The chapel, hall, cloister, groined gateways, doors, and windows remain pretty nearly as they were when it was first built, except in the principal quadrangle and the garden court; the latter of which was finished in 1684, from designs, it is supposed, copied from the palace of Versailles, while the former had a third and an upper story added to it in 1675. The chapel lies on the left of the main quadrangle, and the choral services which take place there attract vast numbers of persons to hear them. The antechapel, which is 80 feet long by 35 broad, is supported down the middle by two staff moulded pillars, and contains some very curious old monuments in brass and stone, some modern tablets and monuments in marble, and some ancient stained windows representing patriarchs, prophets, saints, and martyrs, placed here by the founder. The W. window was executed by Jervais in 1777, from cartoons by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and contains in the upper part stained-glass representing events in the life of Jesus, and in the lower, which is divided into seven compartments, allegorical figures of the four cardinal and three Christian virtues of Temperance, Fortitude, Justice, Prudence, Faith, Hope, and Charity. The Gothic screen over the organ loft is beautiful both in design and execution, and on each side of the organ (which is considered one of the finest in England) are the carved stalls of the warden and the sub-warden, while in front of the stalls, round the chapel, are placed the ancient carved-oak seats, which have been in use since the college was founded. The inner chapel contains some splendid painted windows, those on the left having been executed by Peebitt, of York, while those on the right are principally Flemish, and are said to have been painted from designs by Rubens' pupils. The communion-table, which is of dove-coloured marble, is 12 feet long by 3 broad, and stands upon a flight of marble steps extending the whole width of the chapel. Over it are compartments in marble, containing sculptures in alto relieve representing the Salutation, the Nativity, the Descent from the Cross, and the Resurrection, by Westmacott. Carved and sculptured canopies and pinnacles occupy the rest of the E. wall, and in the left-hand corner stands the richly ornamented silver-gilt crozier of the founder. Adjacent to the chapel are the cloisters, surrounding an area 130 feet long by 85 broad, and containing many curious old stone carvings, pillars, and monuments. N. of the cloisters is the tower, which was built on the site of one of the bastions of the city wall, not only as a belfry, but for purposes of defence in case of need, and having its wall 6 feet in thickness at the base. The ball is a spacious room, 78 feet by 35, and is adorned with some paintings (one by Annibal Carracci) and numerous portraits, while the canopied cornice at the upper end of the apartment, the screen of draperied panel-work at the bottom, and the wainscot and windows round it, are richly emblazoned and decorated with the arms and escutcheons of the founder and the various benefactors of the society. The library is on the E. side of the quadrangle, over the gateway which divides the old and new buildings. It consists of two rooms, 70 feet long by 22 broad, and contains some very fine printed books and MSS. The garden-court is separated by an iron gate and palisading, extending 130 feet in length from the gardens. These are surrounded by a terrace, well stocked with various shrubs, plants, and flowers, and studded with groups of trees. On the S. side is a bowling-green, now principally used for archery; and views are obtained from the gardens of St. Peter's Church, Magdalen Tower, and the remains of the old city wall, by which the college is partly surrounded. LINCOLN COLLEGE was founded by Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1427, and was greatly augmented by Thomas Scott, alias Rotheram, Bishop of Lincoln, afterwards Archbishop of York and Lord High Chancellor of England, who in 1479 added five fellowships, and gave a fresh body of statutes to the society. ALL SOULS' COLLEGE was founded in 1437 by Henry Chichele, successively Bishop of St. David's and Archbishop of Canterbury. Its principal front is 194 feet in length, and has a tower gateway, with statues of the founder and of Henry VI. The first quadrangle is 124 feet long by 72 broad, and has in it an ingenious sun-dial contrived by Sir Christopher Wren. The chapel lies to the N. of the quadrangle, and is about 70 feet long by 30 broad. It contains some fine portraits and paintings by Sir James Thornhill, and over the communion-table is an altar-piece, executed at Rome by Raphael Mengs, the subject being the “Noli me tangere” in the garden. The roof is divided into compartments, carved and gilded, and much of the original work remains, many of the corbels, the angel-propped banner beams, the stalls, desks, and “misereres,” in the choir, and various specimens of the ancient carving, being still in excellent preservation. The ante-chapel, which is of the same proportions as the chapel, contains several brasses and monuments, the principal one being the celebrated marble statue, by Bacon, of Sir William Blackstone, the first Vinerian Professor of Common Law in the University. The second quadrangle is 172 feet long by 155 broad, having the library on its N. side. This building occupies the whole side of the square, and is 30.5 feet wide by 40 in height. In it stands a marble statue of Colonel Codrington, the founder of the library, and it contains a collection of upwards of 40,000 volumes, to which additions are constantly being made from funds which are in the hands of the society for the purpose of increasing and improving the library. The room is decorated with bronze vases, portraits, busts, pictures, and painted windows, and an original sketch by Mengs of the head of Jesus. There are also some portraits in the hall of eminent members of the college, and in the Buttery some curious specimens of ancient plate, and a remarkable arched and fretted roof. MAGDALEN COLLEGE was founded in 1457 by William Patten, Bishop of Winchester and Lord High Chancellor of England, who was born at Waynflete, in Lincolnshire, and is hence generally known as William of Waynflete. It stands on the site and lands of a dissolved hospital of St. John the Baptist, and, including its buildings (which occupy 11 acres), its grove, garden-walk, and other grounds adjacent, extends over an area of about 100 acres. The entrance to the college is by a Gothic gateway, erected in 1844 from a design by Pugin. The exterior is ornamented with richly canopied niches, containing figures of St. John Baptist, Mary Magdalene, and the founder; the arms of Henry VI., and those of the founder; a Latin inscription over the gate, and in the interior is a niehe with the figure of the Virgin and Child, the whole gateway being surmounted by a handsomely designed cross. Opposite to the entrance is the W. window of the chapel, with a shallow porch, over which are niches containing figures of saints, &c., and on the right is a curious stone pulpit, from which the University sermon was formerly preached on St. John's ,Day. To the left of the entrance to the cloisters is a curious stained window composed of very small pieces of glass, and to the right the door of the chapel, which is one of the most beautiful in the University. Here, too, as well as at New College, the musical services are very fine, and attract a considerable number of visitors, who assemble not only to hear them, but to admire the various architectural beauties of the college, or to wander among its grounds. In the ante-chapel are two Corinthian pillars, some monuments, and windows containing painted glass, representing saints, benefactors of the college and University, and events in the life of Jesus. The great W. window, representing the Last Judgment, was originally painted after a design by Christopher Schwartz, and was repaired in 1740 at a cost of £800. The chapel (the choir of which has ten painted windows, and is paved with Dorsetshire marble) contains a communion-table, of the Corinthian order, standing on marble steps, and having as an altar-piece a picture of Christ bearing His Cross, brought from Vigo in 1702, and executed, in all probability, by Ribalta. Above the table is a stone carving of Christ appearing to Mary in the garden, and the space between this and the table is filled up by sculptured marble. On the left of the communion-table is a small chapel, which has been admirably restored, and contains an alabaster tomb of Richard Patten, the founder's father. Service is performed every day at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., except on Sundays and holydays, when the morning service begins at 8. The organ is a remarkably fine instrument; and the large brass eagle, which serves as a lectern, was placed in the choir in 1633. The stone altar-screen and old oak seats and stalls are richly and appropriately carved. The cloisters surround the great quadrangle, the interior of which is adorned with grotesque figures and carvings of lions, pelicans, a hippopotamus, and other beasts, besides a lawyer, a schoolmaster, a divine, a physician, David conquering Goliath, &c. These are all explained in a MS. in the library as being symbolical of the arts, sciences, and virtues, which ought to be cultivated in a college, as well as of those pursuits and habits which are to be avoided. Thus the lion typifies courage, the pelican parental affection and care, the hyena represents fraud, the panther treachery, the griffin covetousness, the hippopotamus, which carries his cub upon his shoulders, signifies the tutors and fellows of the college, who support the junior members of the society in their passage through the troubled waters of an university career, and so on through the whole series, the meaning of each figure and group being duly set forth in the “OEdipus Magdalenensis,” as the MS. above mentioned is styled. The hall contains some good portraits, and in the wainscot at the upper end are some curiously carved figures, illustrative of the history of St. Mary Magdalene. The new buildings lie through a narrow passage in the N. side of the cloisters. They were founded in 1733, are 300 feet in length, and consist of three stories of apartments or rooms for the members of the college. To the left of these buildings is the Grove (in which there are some fine elm trees and a herd of deer), which is bounded by the old second, or outer, city wall. To Magdalen College also belongs a much-frequented water-walk on the bank of the river Cherwell, the entrance to which is through an iron gate to the right of the new quadrangle. It is bordered by lofty trees, the foliage of which entirely overhang it, and make it a delightful retreat from the heat of the sun. A portion of it is termed “Addison's Walk,” from the fact that that great writer, who was himself a member of the college, passed much of his time, and composed (it is said) many of his works here. Magdalen Tower, which is one of the most elegant structures in the University, was commenced in 1492 and completed about 1505. It is about 150 feet in height, and contains a peal of ten bells. On its summit a hymn, composed for the occasion, is sung by members of the choir at 5 o'clock on the morning of 1st May annually. This custom has its origin from the tradition that formerly a May-day requiem was performed each year for the soul of Henry VII., in commemoration of his visit to the college in 1488. Magdalen Bridge, which crosses the Cherwell, joins the High-street with the parish of St. Clement's. It is 526 feet in length, but is considered too narrow for its length. The roads beyond it diverge to the right and the left, the former leading to the villages of Cowley, Iffley, and Littlemore; the latter to Headington (from the hill of which a view of the surrounding country is obtained) and Marston, and some other small places. Brasenose College (which, in its charter, is also styled “the King's Hall”) was founded in 1509 by William Smith, Bishop of Lincoln, and Sir Richard Sutton, Kt., of Prestbury in Cheshire. It stands on a site which was in former times occupied by four of the ancient halls, and its name is said by some to be derived from brasinium, “a brewery,” which is asserted to have stood near a hall built by Alfred the Great at the N.E. angle of the more modern building. Another derivation of the term is held to be a piece of brass in the shape of a nose, and having an iron ring through it so as to form a knocker, which was brought here by some students who removed from the university of Stamford to that of Oxford, temp. Edward III. Be this as it may, certain it is that the college gateway and boat both have a brass nose displayed upon them; and it is evident that the last-given derivation of their name is that generally accepted by the members of the society. The hall is on the S. side of the first quadrangle, and is embellished with some good portraits, a modern painted window, and a handsome chimneypiece. The library contains some fine busts, especially one of Lord Grenville, Chancellor of the University in 1809, by Nollekens, and the chapel has a Gothic roof ornamented with rich fan-tracery, a marble communion-table, with a very massive pair of silver-gilt candlesticks, given by Lord Ellesmere in 1677, a good brass eagle lectern, and an E. window of stained glass representing Jesus, and SS. Mary, Matthew, Luke, and John. In the ante-chapel are several monuments. Corpus CHRISTI COLLEGE (or, as it is generally styled by members of the University, Corpus) was founded in 1516 by Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Privy Seal in the reign of Henry VIII. The entrance is by a vaulted gateway under a square tower, in front of which are three richly canopied but unoccupied niches. The quadrangle, in the centre of which is a curious cylindrical dial, erected in 1605, is 100 feet by 80, and opposite the entrance is a statue of the founder with his crozier and mitre, under a Gothic canopy. The hall, which lies on the left of the quadrangle, contains some fine carving, an ancient timber roof, and N. window, and some good portraits. The chapel is in the S.E. corner of the quadrangle, and has an arched and oak-panelled roof, with moulded ribs and carved bosses adorned with Christian emblems, and the arms of the founder in gold and colours. There is besides a cedar screen, having on it life-sized carved figures of the Evangelists, and the altar-piece is a painting of the Adoration, by Rubens, formerly belonging to the Prince of Cond�, but presented, at a cost of £2,500, by Sir R. Worsley in 1804. The library extends in a line with the chapel along the whole S. front of the quadrangle. It possesses very valuable printed books and MSS., and two ancient portraits of the founder. The new buildings, generally called Turner's Buildings, from the fact of their having been erected by Thomas Turner, president of the college, in 1706, have a frontage of 119 feet, and in the centre of them is the entrance to the college garden. From hence may be obtained a good view of the meadows belonging to the college, bounded by the Broad Walk, and the cathedral, while on the terrace may be seen several remains of the old city walls. This college possesses the crozier of the founder, which is 6 feet long, made entirely of silver gilt, and most elaborately ornamented; his gold sacramental plate; a pix, and some very curious and valuable finger-rings, spoons, crucifixes, taubards, and other utensils and ornaments. CHRIST CHURCH COLLEGE, the largest and most magnificent in the University, was founded by the celebrated Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York, in 1526, on the site of the priory of St. Frideswide, who died 19th October, 740. In her time a church, dedicated to St. Mary and All Saints, stood here. In 1012 the Saxon King Ethelred considerably enlarged the church and the religious houses attached to it, and the latter, during the following century, having fallen into the hands of some of the secular canons, they dispersed the nuns and seized the premises for themselves. They were, however, in their turn dispossessed by Guimand, or Wymand, chaplain to Henry I. He applied himself to cultivating the lands and increasing the revenues of the establishment, and this, and the quantity of presents and offerings brought to the shrine by pilgrims and devotees, made the foundation very rich and prosperous. Numerous valuable gifts and endowments were added till the time of Henry VIII., when Wolsey obtained leave from the monarch to found this college by applying the funds raised by the suppression of several smaller monasteries and priories for the purpose. In 1529 the king took possession of all the revenues belonging to the society; and in 1532, in consequence of certain restorations which he caused to be made in the college, he took the credit of its foundation to himself, and dedicated the building to the Holy Trinity, St. Mary, and St. Frideswide. 111.1546 he determined to connect the see of Oxford with his lately endowed college, and removed the seat of the bishopric from Osney Abbey to St. Frideswide's, where he finally laid the foundation, as an establishment partly cathedral and partly academical, and since that time known as Christ Church. The front of this noble building is surmounted with turrets, bastions, and battlements, and is 400 feet in length. In the centre is an octagonal Gothic tower, called “Tom Gate and Tower,” from the cupola containing the great bell, which was brought here from Osney. Upon entering, we find a quadrangle of 264 feet by 261, surrounded by a terrace walk, and having in the centre a small reservoir and fountain. The hall lies to the right of the quadrangle, and to the left is the dean's house, and in the farther corner on the same side a vaulted passage leading to Peckwater Quadrangle, so called from an ancient inn or hall kept by a person of that name. A passage in the centre of the right wing leads to the Common Room and the Anatomy School. The latter is in the “Chaplains' Quadrangle,” to the S. of the cathedral, which is said to have formed one of the earliest existing portions of the foundation. It contains a museum, anatomical preparations, wax models, &c., and is used by the Reader in Anatomy for lecture and glass rooms. The approach to the hall is by a wide stone staircase, with a stone balustrade on each side, and having a carved and vaulted stone roof of fan-work, supported on a single light pillar 80 feet high. The hall is a most noble apartment, 115 feet by 40, and being 50 feet high. The roof, which was executed in 1529, is of richly carved oak, with pendants decorated with 300 armorial devices of Henry VIII. and Wolsey. There are in it two Gothic chimney-pieces, and in a recess on the S. side a finely carved oriel window with a fretwork roof. There are on the walls 120 portraits of celebrated personages, who have been on the foundation, painted by the most distinguished painters from the time of Holbein up to the present day. The Common Room also is decorated with some fine portraits and engravings. On the left of a flight of steps at the bottom of the hall staircase is the cathedral, which, without doubt, formed a part of the original church of St. Frideswide's Priory. The choir, the dormitory, the Latin chapel, and the nave have each their own distinctive architectural and decorative features; and in the latter, on certain appointed days, the University sermon (which is ordinarily preached at St. Mary's) is preached here. The vice-chancellor's seat and the pulpit were both brought from Osney Abbey, and the whole of this sacred edifice abounds with ancient and modern monuments, carvings, stained glass, heraldic devices and various ecclesiastical monuments, a detailed description of which would demand a volume, and which will be found amply treated of, for all occasional visitors, in the Oxford guidebooks, and more fully and scientifically in those works which especially treat of English cathedrals. Choral service is performed in the choir at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and in the nave on Good Friday, Ascension Day, Christmas Day, and those occasions when the University sermon is preached at Christ Church. The cloisters exhibit the different dates at which they were erected, and contain specimens both of early Norman and Saxon architecture. The Chapter House, built about the 13th century, is of early English work, and contains a few good portraits. On the S. side of Peckwater Quadrangle is the library, which was commenced in 1716, and finished in 1761. It extends 161 feet, and the whole of the ground-floor forms a picture gallery, containing a most valuable collection of paintings by the most celebrated masters especially those of the Italian school-and some good busts. This gallery is well worthy of inspection, and a catalogue of its treasures can be procured from the college porter. On the staircase, leading to the upper room, which is 142 feet long by 30 broad, and 37 high, is a marble statue of Locke, by Roubillac; and in the room itself is a very fine collection of rare books, MSS., and coins, bequeathed by Archbishop Wake, Canon Barton, Dr. Brown, Regius Professor of Hebrew, in 1780, and others; and some paintings and marble and bronze busts and figures. On turning to the right from the Library, and adjoining Peckwater on the E., is Canterbury Quadrangle and Gate, which were built in 1773. Canterterbury Hall, which stood here, was founded by Archbishop Islip in 1363, as a nursery for the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury; but Henry VIII. transferred it to the college, and it is now devoted to the occupation of the undergraduate noblemen of the college. The way to Christ Church meadows and walks lies through the cloisters from the Chapter House. The Broadwalk is quite straight, a quarter of a mile in length, proportionately wide, and planted on each side with elms, which entirely overarch it and form an arcade; while another walk which meets it at each end describes a circuit, and forms one of the banks of the Isis and Cherwell. There is also a path on the opposite side of the latter river, and ferry-boats are in attendance to convey passengers across. TRINITY COLLEGE was founded by Sir Thomas Pope in 1554. Its original foundation, however, dates as far back as the time of Edward III., from whom it received an endowment, as it did subsequently from Richard II. and the priors of Durham, from whom it received the name of Durham College. Being, however, suppressed at the Reformation, in consequence of its connection with the Benedictines, it received a new set of statutes, and was dedicated by Sir Thomas Pope to the “Holy and Undivided Trinity.” It was erected on the ruins of Durham College, and some of the old buildings still remain. The college has before it a spacious grass-plot, separated from Broad Street by a lofty iron palisading, with a gate in the centre. The entrance tower lies some distance from the street, and is approached by a gravel walk, leading by the grass-plot past one end of Balliol College Chapel. The first quadrangle has the President's house and the library on the E., the hall and the common room on the W.; and the chapel on the S. The second quadrangle was designed by Sir C. Wren, and opens to the college gardens on the E. side. The chapel has a cedar screen and altar-piece, carved by Grinling Gibbons; and on the ceiling is an Ascension, painted by a French artist. The hall has several portraits of benefactors; and the library, which is the oldest part of the college, contains some fine ancient stained glass in the windows, and a valuable collection of books and MSS. The gardens occupy an area of 4 acres, and are well laid out with trees and shrubs. At the lower end of the centre walk is an iron gate opening on to the road, which leads to the “Parks” nearly opposite to the entrance to Wadham College. ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White, Knt., Alderman of London, by whom a provision was made for the maintenance of an organist, 6 singing men, and 8 choristers, so that choral service is performed in the chapel. The original foundation was that of Bishop Chichele, by whom the college was made over in 1436 to the monks of St. Bernard, and hence was called St. Bernard's College. At the suppression it was dissolved in precisely the same manner and for the same cause as Trinity was, and consigned by Henry VIII. to his new foundation of Christ Church, from which society it was purchased by Sir T. White, and dedicated by him to St. John the Baptist. The tower gateway, which forms the entrance and the frontage, as well as many parts of the interior of the college, belong to Chichele's period; and the statue of St. Bernard still stands in its original niche. There are two quadrangles, in the first of which stand the hall, chapel, common rooms, and part of the president's house, and in the second, which was built by Inigo Jones, at the expense of Archbishop Laud, is the library. The Hall, which was once the refectory of the monks of St. Bernard, is a well-proportioned room, with an arched roof, a screen of Portland stone, a chimney-piece of variegated marble, and some good portraits. The chapel adjoins the hall, and has some good tracery work especially in the E. window; an open roof of carved oak, and some Caen stone-carving in the panelling at the back of the stalls, the corbels which support the roof and the canopy over the communion-table. The organ is in the inner, or mortuary chapel, which is entered by two arches, and contains several monuments to the memory of former presidents of the college. The remains of Archbishop Laud lie in a stone coffin at the E. end of the chapel, and in the ante-chapel are several ancient brasses of persons who are buried there. The library consists of two rooms, each above 100 feet long, and containing several valuable books and DISS. There are also some good portraits-some by celebrated masters-and a curious picture of Charles I., with the whole Book of Psalms written in the lines of the face and the hair. There is also a piece of tapestry here representing Jesus with the disciples at Emmaus, copied from a picture by Titian, and removed from the chapel, where it was once the altar-piece. In the inner library is Laud's crozier, and some other curiosities. On the E. and W. sides of the inner quadrangle are two light colonnades in the Grecian style of architecture, having over the columns busts representing the virtues. From this quadrangle a passage with a fan-tracery ceiling leads into the gardens or groves, as they are sometimes called. These ornamental grounds occupying an area of about 5 acres, abound with horse-chestnut and other large trees, and are the most extensive and tastefully-laid-out gardens in the University. Jesus COLLEGE (or “the Welsh College,” as-it is sometimes styled from the fact of a great proportion of its members belonging to the Principality) was founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1571, on the petition of Dr. Hugh Price, treasurer of St. David's. In 1621 Sir Eubule Thelwall procured a new charter and statutes, and Sir Leoline Jenkins, who was president from 1661 to 1673, and afterwards M.P. for the University, bequeathed lands and other property to the society, of such value that he was regarded almost as a second founder, and was buried in 1685 with great pomp in the college chapel, near the steps leading to the communion-table. The chapel is oak-wainscoted, and divided into three compartments by a screen and arch leading into a kind of chancel corresponding with the ante-chapel. The altarpiece is a copy of “St. Michael overcoming the Devil,” by Guido, in the Capuchin convent at Rome, and measures 10 feet by 7. The library was built in 1677, and contains several rare books and MSS., among which is a valuable collection relating to Wales. The inner quadrangle is 90 feet by 70, and contains the bursary (in which is some valuable college plate, and a curious early picture of Queen Elizabeth) the fellows' common room, &c.; and there are two dial-plates, one of which looks into each of the two quadrangles. WADHAM COLLEGE was founded in 1613 by Nicholas Wadham, of Merifield, in Somersetshire, and Dorothy his wife. The entrance is through a towered gateway, with a groined roof, into a quadrangle 130 feet square, and having the hall, chapel, and library directly opposite to it. The chapel has a Gothic ceiling, some good stained-glass windows, a richly-carved screen, and a brass eagle lectern. It is paved with marble. The E. window was painted by Bernard Van Linge in 1621, and represents various sculptural emblems typical of Christ in the upper compartments, while in the lower are portrayed the principal events of his life, the windows to the right and left containing figures of the Twelve Apostles. In the antechapel are some specimens of modern painted glass, and the monuments are numerous. The hall is 82 feet long by 35 broad, and 37 in height. It has an oak screen, a timber roof, an oriel window with some stained glass, and its walls are adorned with numerous portraits of benefactors and distinguished members of the college. The library, which is connected with the chapel by a cloister, is 55 feet by 30, and in the common room is a painting of “Christ at the Pool of Bethesda,” executed by Dirk Van Delen in 1647, and some good portraits. Near the chapel, on the left, is the college garden, which, although not very extensive, is tastefully laid Out. PEMBROKE COLLEGE, which was originally Broadgate's Hall, was founded in 1624 by James I., at the expense of Thomas Tesdale, of Glympton, in Oxfordshire, and the Rev. Richard Wightwick, Rector of Ilsley, in Berkshire, and obtained its present name from William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, who was chancellor of the university when it was founded. It consists of two small quadrangles, in the first of which is the hall, with the library over it, and in the second the chapel; but they present no remarkable features, either of architecture or decorative beauty. WORCESTER COLLEGE, which is the latest-established collegiate society in the University, was originally Gloucester Hall, and was founded in 1714 by Sir Thomas Cookes, of Bentley, in Worcestershire. Although it is the most modern college in Oxford, it occupies the site of one of the earliest religious seminaries, for in 1283 John Giffard obtained a license from Edward I. to form an establishment of Benedictines here, for the purpose of instructing those of their order who might choose to reside there. After the suppression of the monasteries, temp. Henry VIII., when the see of Osney was removed to Oxford, it became the episcopal palace, until it was purchased in 1559 by Sir Thomas White, the founder of St. John's, and was then known as St. John the Baptist's Hall. It continued in a very flourishing condition till the time of the Rebellion, when it sunk into insignificance, and was ultimately made over to the trustees of Sir Thomas Cookes, who, in accordance with his intention, founded the present college. The ancient kitchen and buttery still remain, and many vestiges of the rooms of the Benedictines and other portions of the original architecture are still visible, and render the contrast between the old and new style of the buildings very striking. There is only one quadrangle, having the chapel, hall, and library on the E., and the gardens on the W. The chapel is 60 feet long by 30 broad, and has a richly-ornamented stucco roof and an altarpiece representing a Magdalen, supposed by some to be the work of Guido. The hall, which is 60 feet by 30, contains several portraits of benefactors and dignitaries of the college, and the library, which is 120 feet in length, possesses a valuable collection of books, among which may be mentioned some architectural works, with MS. notes, by Inigo Jones (of whom there is a bust near the window opposite the entrance), and several casts from ancient statues. In the lobby is a full- length portrait of the founder, and some good portraits and paintings are hung in the common room and the bursary. The gardens and water-walks beyond are of considerable extent and tastefully laid out, and are well adapted for the flower-shows and promenades which take place here at commemoration and upon other public occasions. Of the halls, ST. MARY is the oldest. It was the parsonage-house of the rectors of St. Mary's Church till 1325, when Edward II. gave the church, with all its appurtenances, to Oriel College. That society converted it into a separate educational establishment in 1333, and temp. Edward IV. it was enlarged by the addition of Bedell Hall, which was contiguous to it. Since that time it has received constant enlargement and improvements in its building, the last having been effected by Dr. Hampden, formerly principal, who was raised to the see of Hereford in 1848.MAGDALEN HALL was originally a school with a refectory and chambers, erected by Bishop Waynflete for students previous to their admission to Magdalen College, and was known as “St. Mary Magdalene Hall” as early as 1487. It was governed by one of the fellows of Magdalen till 1602, when it became an independent hall. It originally stood near the parent college, but in 1816 the president and fellows obtained an Act of Parliament which authorised them to remove it to its present site, which had formerly been occupied by Hart Hall, which in its turn was, in 1740, converted into Hertford College, but lapsed to the crown, 1805, in consequence of want of sufficient funds to carry it on. Magdalen Hall is more extensive than any other similar establishment in the University, and more nearly resembles a college, both in its arrangements and endowments. Magdalen Hall contains among its list of members the names of many who have become men of note, both in the University and in public life. NEW INN HALL was formerly known as “Trillech's Inn,” from the circumstance of its having belonged to John Trillech, Bishop of Hereford, in 1334. The site and premises were ultimately conveyed to William of Wykeham, who in 1392 gave them, with a messuage called Rose Hall, with a garden adjoining and three gardens on the W. side, to the warden and fellows of New College. In the time of the Civil War (1642-1646) this hall was used as a royal mint, to which the colleges and halls sent their plate to be melted down and coined for the use of the king. It was restored to the purposes of academical instruction by Dr. Cramer, who became principal in 1831, and erected at his own expense suitable apartments and offices for his own occupation and the use of students. ST. ALBAN HALL owes its name to the fact of its site having been originally the property of Robertus de Sancta Albano, a burgher of Oxford, temp. King John, who, in 1230, conveyed the tenement he had built there to the nuns at Littlemore, near Oxford. On the dissolution of Littlemore Nunnery, it was given by Henry VIII. to his physician, Dr. John Owen, and by him it was afterwards conveyed to Sir John (afterwards Lord) Williams, of Thame, and Sir Thomas Gresham. By permission of Edward VI. they assigned it over, in 1547, to John Pollard and Robert Perrot, Esqs., and they finally transferred it to the warden and fellows of Merton College, by whom it was established as a separate academical hall. The front of the hall was built in 1600, chiefly from a legacy left for the purpose by Benedict Barnham, once a member of the house, and at the N.W. corner of the quadrangle is an ancient bell-tower, which is in itself very picturesque, but has received a modern addition, which imparts to it somewhat of a grotesque appearance. ST. EDMUND'S HALL derives its name from Edmund le Riche, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1233. Ile built that part of St. Peter's church (which lies close to the hall) called the Lady chapel, and after his death was canonised by Pope Innocent V. In 1269 it was purchased by the Canons of Osney, and soon after devoted by them to the purposes of education. At the dissolution of the monasteries it was granted by Henry VIII. to two citizens of Oxford, after which it came by purchase into the possession of William Denyse, Devenysh, or Dennyon, Provost of Queen's College, and was devised by him to that society in 1557. The chapel and the library, which is over the ante-chapel, were built by Stephen Penton, a principal of the hall, and the former was consecrated by Dr. Fell, Bishop of Oxford, in 1682. The “Oxford University Calendar” contains a variety of useful information respecting all academical matters, such as an almanac with calendar of University ceremonies and other remarkable days, notices of prize subjects, professorships, terms, degrees, institutions, and fees, lists of professors, University officers, and members of the governing bodies and of the colleges, an alphabetical list of the members of the University, and various other matters, a knowledge of which is indispensable to any who may be about to enter the University, a fact which has obtained for it the sobriquet of the “freshman's Bible.” There are several maps and guide-books published for the use of visitors, and many standard works descriptive of the city and university. Among these may be mentioned the celebrated “Athen�� and Fasti Oxonienses,” by Antony a Wood, containing the lives, &c., of the most celebrated members of the University during the 16th and 17th centuries (Bliss's edition, 4 vols., 4to. London, 1813-1820); the Appendix to the “Fasti,” carried down to 1778 by John Gutch, and printed at the Clarendon in 1790; Antony a Wood's “History and Antiquities of the Colleges and Halls in the University of Oxford,” also edited, by Gutch, and printed at the Clarendon in 1786; and Ingram's “Memorials of Oxford” (which contains engravings of the various colleges, halls, public institutions, and various objects of interest in the University and city), in 3 vols., 4to., published at Oxford in 1837. 

[The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]