Oxford - Colleges

Beyond The Queen's College is All Souls College, a college for postgraduate study only, with many members prominent in public life. The college was founded in 1438 by Archbishop Chichele of Canterbury in memory of those who had fallen in the Hundred Years War. The chapel is particularly notable for its hammer-beam roof (15th century) with angels. To the north is the Codrington Library, with a sundial by Wren.

Queen's Lane leads to St Edmund's Hall, the first mention of which is in 1317. It was named after St Edmund of Abingdon, Archbishop of Canterbury (1170-1240), who studied here. This medieval students' hall of residence was for centuries used by The Queen's College, but since 1957 has existed as a separate college. Its tiny inner courtyard with a fountain dates from the 15th century, while the remaining buildings are of later date.

The building of Balliol College, situated next to Trinity College, was undertaken in 1263 by John de Balliol, as a penance for having taken the Bishop of Durham prisoner, the foundation of the college being secured with the help of bequests from his wife in 1282. The present buildings are however 19th century. The library has an outstanding collection of medieval manuscripts. Balliol is traditionally preferred by Scottish students.

Distinguished members of the college have included John Wycliffe, who taught here in 1361; Adam Smith (1723-90), the philosopher and economist, who founded classical political economy; Robert Southey (1774-1843), Poet Laureate, who produced over 100 volumes of poems and ballads; Charles Algernon Swinburne (1837-1909), a poet of epics and ballads; and more recently, the prime ministers Harold Macmillan and Edward Heath, King Olaf of Norway and the novelist Graham Greene (b. 1904).

Near the Church of St Mary the Virgin is Brasenose College, founded in 1509, which derives its name from the brass door-knocker with a lion's head over the gate, while another one dating from the 13th century can be seen in the hall.

On the right-hand side of Merton Street is Corpus Christi College, founded by Richard Foxe, Bishop of Winchester, in 1517. It is notable particularly for its beautiful gardens, and in the inner courtyard a sundial of 1581 with a pelican, the college symbol, and a perpetual calendar.

In Turl Street is Exeter College, founded by Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter, in 1314. The college today is characterized by much later building in the Victorian style.

In Cattle Street, opposite the Bodleian Library, stands Hertford College, on a site previously occupied by Hart Hall, founded in 1301. The Bridge of Sighs over New College Lane joins the old and new buildings of Hertford College.

Opposite Exeter College is Jesus College, founded by Elizabeth I in 1571, which has traditionally had a high proportion of students from Wales. The rear quadrangle (1670) is particularly fine. Members of Jesus College have included the former prime minister, Harold Wilson, the adventurer, Lawrence of Arabia, the dandy, "Beau" Nash, and the chemist, Thomas Vaughan.

South of Jesus College is Lincoln College, which was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln, "to defend the true faith". The north quadrangle dates from the period of the original foundation. The chapel, with its numerous wood-carvings, is also of interest. A famous past student was the Methodist preacher, John Wesley (1703-91).

Opposite Corpus Christi stands Oriel College, founded by Edward II in 1326. It takes its name from a house known as La Oriole which previously stood on the site. The 16th and 17th century buildings are well-proportioned, but a newer block built in 1911, with a statue of Cecil Rhodes, a member of the college, is less attractive.

The 19th century Tractarian movement originated in Oriel. It took its name from the "Tracts for the Times" written here by John Henry Newman (1801-90), an Anglican priest who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement but became a Catholic in 1845 and was made a cardinal in 1879.

Beyond St Aldate's Church on the right-hand side is Pembroke College, which was founded in 1624, although its origins date back to 1446. It is now housed in neo-Gothic buildings which date from the 19th century. The critic and lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709-84) was a student here in 1728-29.

Opposite the Examination Schools lies The Queen's College, founded in 1340 by Robert de Eglesfield and rebuilt in Palladian style between 1692 and 1730. A statue of Queen Caroline commemorates her gift of £1000 to the college.

Until 1993, when men were finally admitted, Somerville College on Walton Street had been exclusively a women's college since its inception in 1894. Its list of famous members includes Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, the writer Dorothy Sayers, the Nobel prizewinner for chemistry, Dorothy Hadgkin, and the soprano Kiri te Kanawa.

A pretty bridge over the River Cherwell leads from Manor Road to St Catherine's College, built in 1960-64 on part of Holywell Great Meadow.

In St Giles, the wide handsome street which runs north from the Martyrs' Memorial, is St John's College, founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White, a wealthy merchant who was Lord Mayor of London in 1553. Part of the buildings actually consists of the remains of St Bernard's College, a Cistercian establishment built in 1437. The chapel contains the tomb of Archbishop Laud (beheaded 1645), who was member and later master of the college. A fan-vaulted passage leads into Canterbury Quadrangle, mainly built by Laud (1631-36), with attractive colonnades. The gardens are among the most beautiful in Oxford.

Famous members of St John's College include the U.S. foreign minister Dean Rusk and the writer Robert Graves.

To the north of Broad Street can be found other university colleges, each with its own points of interest. Beyond the New Bodleian Library we come to Trinity College, founded by Sir Thomas Pope in 1555.

On the south side of High Street is the group of buildings forming University College. Its original name was the Great Hall of the University, but to students it is merely known as "Univ". Although money for the foundation of a college was initially made available as early as 1249, the actual building of the college did not begin until 1280. The buildings which exist today are in the Late Gothic style, some of them not having been erected until the 17th century. In a small domed building there is a marble statue of Shelley, who was expelled from the college for atheism.

From New College returning along New College Road and turning into Parks Road, we come to Wadham College, little changed since its foundation in 1610. The hall ranks as one of the finest in Oxford, the chapel has good stained glass and the gardens are particularly beautiful. Famous members of Wadham have included Admiral Blake (1599-1657), Admiral of the Fleet under Oliver Cromwell from 1649, and Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), the architect of many churches and castles.

Wadham College is the founding place of the scientific group of minds known as the Royal Society.

Worcester College, at the end of Beaumont Street, was founded in 1714. It incorporates parts of Gloucester College, which was founded for Benedictine students in 1283. On the south side of the college site there are six 15th century cottages, and there are three other cottages on the north side. The college gardens are some of the largest in Oxford and contain a lake.