C OLLE GE S - Forgotten Books

HISTORY

COLLE GE S , HALL S ,

AND

PUBLIC BU ILD INGS ,

ATTACHED TO THE

UNIVERSITY OF OX FORD ,

INCLUDING THE

LIVES OF THE FOUNDERS.

A LE X .CHALM ER S , F.S.A.

ILLU STR A TE D BY

A SER IES OF ENGRAVINGS.

O X FOR D,

PR INTED BY C OLLINGW OOD AND CO.

For: J.Coox z and J.PARKER, Oxford ; and Mess rs.LONGMAN, Hum,

REES , and 0mm,London.

18 10.

TO THE

CHANCE LLOR,

MA STE RS , AND SCHOLARS ,

OF THE

UNIVERS ITY OF OX FORD ,

THIS WORK

IS MOST RESPECTFULLY

DEDICATED

BY THEIR OBEDIENT SERVANT,

ALE X .CHALMERS.

PR E FA C E.

THE h istory ofthe Engl ish Un ivers i t ies is oneofthemost in teres t ing objects on wh ich alo verofl i terature can fix h is atten t ion. It emb racesall that is curious to the an tiquary, or impo rtan tto the scholar ; and -even to minds not deeply

affected by curios i ty or learn ing, it mus t be‘

a

del ightful object to con template thos e ex tens i veandmagn ificen t es tab l ishments , not as eme rgingfromnat ional weal th , or royal favour , butfromthe l ibe ral ity ofa series ofind ividuals in the

darker ages ofour h is to ry, who were insens ib lyled to become the benefac to rs ofsound learn ingand rel ig ion , wh i le thei r immed iate objec t , although p roceed ing fromthe mos t honourab leand benevo len t mot i ves , was to perpetuate su

pers tit ion and credul i ty.The h is tory ofthese Un i vers i ties , however ,

has no t been stud ied wi th the care bes towed on

objec ts offar infer io r interes t. Cambr idge i ss ti l l wi thout an h isto rian wo rthy ofnot ice ; andalthough Oxfo rd has been mo refo rtunate in theex tens i ve labours ofAntonyWood and o ther

ant iquaries , yet s ince the t ime ofAylifi‘

e, or

3 4

PREFACE.

perhaps Salmon , no d is tinc t and wel l-arranged

pub l ication has been al lotted to the h is to ry ofher Col leges in thei r actual s tate.An attempt to supply th is defic iency is now

offered by the Ed i tor ofthe fo l lowing pages ,who has ever regarded the Un i vers i ty ofOxford(wi th wh ich acc iden t made

'

h imvery early ac

quaint ed) wi th sent iments ofprofound venerat ion , and wi th.acur ios i ty wh ich insens ib ly ledh imto .inquire in to i ts h istory. It was duringone ofthe ~

,many v is its he has paid to th is Un ivers i ty that he firs t commun icated the ideaofah is to ry ofthe Colleges , &c.wh ich , he conceived ,should bemore ample than the common Guidesaffo rded , and yet less pro l ix and confused thanthe col lect ions ofAntonyWood. But whether

he has accompl ished this intended object in.asatisfacto ry manner , is a ques t ion wh ich hewould be afraid to ask , w ithout a rel iance on

the candour ofthose who may be.acquaintedwi th t he s tate ofthe sources ofwh ich he wasto avai l h imself, and the d isadvan tages wh ich a

person not constant ly res iden t mus t ever have

to encounter'

in s imi lar attempts.The labours ofAn tonyWood , as g i ven.to the

pub l ic some years ago by the Rev.John Gutch ,Registrar .to the Un ivers ity,

'must continue to

be thefoundation ofall future researches , andto themthe presen t wr i ter is ready to acknow

ledge his h ighes t ob l igations. Nor has he been

PREFACE. ix

les s indebted to the h is tor ies ofind i v idual Colleges , publ ished by Savage, Smi th , Lowth ,War

ton , and part icularly h is much esteemedfriend ,the Rev.Archdeacon Churton ,

whose poli te

and l iberal commun icat ions he begs leave to

acknow ledge w i th the utmos t grat itude.Y et the work would have been defic ient in

many po ints ,for wh ich no printed autho rit ies

can be consulted , had not the Ed i to r , th roughout

the whole ofhis undertak ing , been as s i s ted bymany res ident members ofthe Un i vers i ty, who

have contributedmuch valuab le informat ion wi tha k indness wh ich he is at a loss to acknow ledgeas i t

'

des erves. Th is aid was tendered in amanner so ex tremely l ibe ral , although pecul iar to

minds distinguished at oncefor intelligence andurban i ty, that ,

‘

were no o ther'

consequence to

resultfromthe Ed i tor’s labours , he would fin da conso lat ion in recol lect ing that he was ho

noured w i th a d is p lay ofth is s trik ing and

acknow ledged feature in the charac ter ofthemembers ofthe Un ivers i ty ofOxfo rd.Wi th every as s is tance, however ,fromprinted

or o ral author ities , the Ed ito r cannot presumethat he has escaped the errors to wh ich everyattemp t ofth is k ind mus t be liab le. Afewofthese have been po in ted out , and some other

correct ions , he has to lament, were commun icated too late.

PREFACE.

Wi th respect to the plan , that laid down byWood has been near lyfo l lowed ; and some informat ion , not general ly known , i t is hoped ,

has been recovered respect ing the l i ves oftheFounders ,most ofwhomhave been unaccountab ly neg lected. In the: s elect ion ofthe namesofthe eminen t scho lars ofOxfo rd , as wel l as theshort characteris tic sketches at tempted , moreregard perhaps has been paid to contemporaryfame, than to the capric ious verd ic t ofmodernand morefas t id ious t imes. Few pleasures can

surely be mo re rat ional , few sat isfac tions mo recomplete, than to be ab le to recall -thememoryofdeparted worth , and to po int out the c lass ic

ground that has been d ign ified by gen ius , wisdom, and piety,

”and wh ich none can pass

o ver wi th frig id ind ifference.”‘

A l'

though n

gleet has toofrequent ly obscured the h is to ry ofthe learned and the pious ofanc ient t imes , i tought never to befo rgotten , that our learn i ng 18

the resul t ofthei r labours , and our piety the an

swer to thei r prayers.

NewCollegeLane,June 16, 1810.

INTRODUCTION.

THE early h istory ofthe Un i vers i ty ofOxford is invo l ved in the same obscuri ty wi th the c i vi l and po li

t i cal s tate of,

our nat ion,and has been perplexed by

the same improbable and con t rad i cto ry t rad i t ions andlegend s. The spi r i t ofr i valsh ip too has had i ts share

in exci t ing d isputes , which have been perpetuated wi th

obst inacy’

; a circumstan ce themore to be regretted, asthey end in no mo re impo rtant result than a certain

deg ree ofp rior i ty in po int oft ime,fo r wh ich no li beral

mind wi l l now th ink i t ofmuch consequence to con

tend. It seems agreed upo n among the ables t an ti

quaries ofmodern t imes,that , al though thi s Un iver

s itymay be t raced to very h igh an t i qui ty, and far beyond the age ofsat i sfacto ry reco rd s or annals , the illust rionsmonarch

,who was fo rmerly suppo sed to have

founded or res to red i t, had really no share whatever in

i ts es tabli shmen t ; and i t i s certain, that no do cumen to r well-authent i cated hi story can be produced in whi ch

the name ofAlfred appears as a benefac to r to the Uni

vers i ty ofOxfo rd. And i f we can trace no credi bleinformation to h is days , i t will surely be more frui tles s to carry our researches higher, and follow,

e i therwi th doub t or credul i ty

, the absurd t rad i t ions whi chs peak ofthe state oflearn ing at Oxfo rd and Camb ridge befo re the Christ ian aera.The probabi l i ty i s , that Un i vers i ties , li ke o ther es ta

blishments,arose fromsmall beginn in gs

,and grew

x i i INTRODUCTION.

into bulk and consequence by gradat ions, some the re

sul t ofwisdom,and o thers ofacc ident. The fi rs t se

minaries ofeducat ion in Oxfo rd appear to have beenmere schools, in wh ich certain persons instructed youthin the scan t

’

y knowledge themsel ves possessed. Theseschoo ls were ei ther claustral , that i s, appendages to

convents and o ther rel igious houses , or secular, such

as were kep t by , or h i red and rented of, the inhabi tantsofOxfo rd. When many ofthese secular scho lars t e

s i ded in one house, it go t the name ofHal l , o r Hostel ,and Go verno rs or Princi pals were appo in ted o ver them,who super intended the d i scipl ine and c i v i l affai rs ofthe house. But what port ion ofsciencewas taugh t inthese

, o r how,far themode ofeducat ion was d ifferent

fromthat carried.on in rel igious houses, where proba

bly whatmay be called educat ion was first d i spensed,i t is no t easy to d iscover.- The schoo ls were d ivided

into grammar-schoo ls, soph i stry-schoo ls, ” schoo ls forarts,medi cine o r phys io-schoo ls , law-schoo ls , d i v in i tyschoo ls, 860.and were we to t rust to names on ly, theseseemadequate to a perfec t sys temofeducat ion but the

l i terary remains ofthe early ages affo rd no great presumpt ion in thei r favour. The on lymen oflearn ing,or what was cons i dered as deserv ing that name

, wereeducatedfor some ofthe orders ofthe church ; and weknow,

that , owing to the i gnorance oflaymen ofthe firstrank s, thei r soverei gns were obl i ged to employ eccles iastics in the h ighes t offices ofs tate

,and part i cularly in

the departmen t oflaw. In po int offact,i t i s d ifficult

to trace any regular p lan ofeducat ion, tend ing to thatgeneral d iffus ion oflearn ingwh ich now prevai ls

,befo re

the foundation ofthe fi rst Co llege by Walter deMer

ton,whose s tatutes afford an ex traord inary instance of

INTRODUCTION. x i i i

amatured system, and wi th very l i ttle al terat ion havebeen found to accommodate themsel ves to the pro

gres s ofsc ience, d isc i pl ine, and c i v i l economy inmorerefined ages.

Of the n iimber ofs tudents who res i ded at Oxford

in the early ages,we have

'more account s thau’

we can

rely upon wi th confidence.In the t ime ofHen ry I I I.we are to ld they amoun ted to thi rty thousand ; and

even when Merton Co llege was founded,they are sai d

to have amounted to fifteen thousand. But thi s lat ter

number wi l l appear h ighly improbable, when we inqui re into the s tate ofsoc iety and populat ion at thatt ime,and endeavour to d isco ver, or rather to conjee

ture,by what means prov i s ion could bemade in Ox

fo rdfor the accommodat ion ofa number almost fourt imes greater than ever was known s ince reco rd s have

been kept.

The Un i vers i ty, as a co rporate body, has been go

verned by s tatutes enac ted at diEeren t t imes, and con

firmed by charters granted by d ifi’

eren tmonarch s, wi thmo re o r less l i berali ty. Tho se at presen t in 'forcewere

d rawn out in 1629, and confi rmed by the -char ter ofCharles I.in The Co rpo rati on i s s tyled

,

“ THE

CHAN C E LLOR , MA STER S , A N D SCHOLAR S o r THE

Umv x n s rr v o r Ox’

roan,”and i s go verned by laws

passed in Con vocat ion.

The highes t offi cer in th is co rpo rat ion i s the CHA NC E LLOR , whose office i s ofgreat d i gn i ty and impo rtance. In the th irteenth cen tury

,the Chancello rs

were s tyled the Mas ters o r Rec to rs ofthe Schoo ls,and

appear to have deri ved thei r autho ri ty fromthe Bi

shops ofLinco ln, who were then the Diocesans ofOxford, and who confi rmed, whi le the Regents and Non

INTRODUCTION.

Regen ts nominated ; but after the reign ofEdward I I I.they were elected and confi rmed by the Regents andNon-Regen ts only.At fi rs t thei r elec t ion wasfo r one

,

two , or three years , but afterwards became perpetualuS ti l l, however, the persons chosen were res i dentmembers ofthe Un i versi ty , and always eccles iast ics , unt il

the t ime ofS i r John Mason , in 15 5 3, who was the fi rst

Lay-Chancel lo r. It was afterwards conferred ,fat the

pleasure ofthe Convocat ion , upon eccles iast i cs or laymen ; but s ince.the time ofArchbi shop Sheldon, ~ 1n

1667, upon noblemen ofd ist inc t ion , who have beenmembers ofthe Un i vers i ty.The Chancel lo r

’

s deputy was fo rmerly styled Vice»

gerent , or Commi s sary, butformany years past, VICECHA NC E L LOR.His offi ce i s annual , though general lyheld for four years. The Vice-Chancel lo r i s nominated by the Chancel lo r, on the recommendati on ofthe Heads ofCo l leges, and appo ints four Deput ies, orPro-Vice-C hancel lo rs , who mus t l i kewi se be Head s ofCo l leges. During the vacan cy ,ofChancel lo r, however, the offi ce i s executed by the Sen io r Theolo gus,o r Cancel lar ius no tus , res ident in the Un i vers i ty.The nex t office i s that ofH I GH S '

r swann , who is

appo inted hy .the Chancel lor, but cont inues for l i fe.His bus iness is t o ass i s t the Chancel lo r

,Vice-Chan.

cellor, and Proctors , to defend the pri v i leges, Ste.of

t he Un i versity, and to ho l d a court, by h is deputy,fordetermin ing causes in whi ch a scho lar or pri v i legedperson i s concerned. Thi s offi ce for some centurieshas been held by laymen or noblemen ofdi st inc t ion.The offi ce ofPROCTOR i s supposed to be coeval

with that ofChancello r, and i t i s ofgreat trus t andimportance, as the Proc tors are to i nspect the.conduc t

INTRODUCTION. x v

ofthemembers ofthe Un i vers i ty, as to'

allmatters ofd is ci pl ine and goo d o rde r, and are in fac t the actingmagist rates. Theymus t be two Mas ters ofArts , ofno t less than fo u r years s tand ing, and chosen out ofthe several Co lleges by turns , acco rd ing to a cycle in

ven ted ia 1699 by Dr.Peter Turner, Savilian Professo r, and Ro bert Heggs, ofCo rpus Co l lege, and sanc

t ioned by the statutes gi ven by Charles I.at that t ime.After thei r elec t ion , they nominate four Mas ters ofArt s to be thei r deput ies, or Pro-Proc to rs , and maydepute thei r autho ri ty to a larger number, i f ucceasary.

In 1603, James I. by d iploma, dated March 12,granted to each Un i vers i ty the pri v i lege ofchoos i ngtwo Represen tati ves in Parl iament ; ameasure wh ichwas o pposed by the House ofCommons, but ably sup

po rted by S i r Edward Coke.These are chosen by theVice-Chancel lo r, Doc to rs , and Regent and Non-Re

gent Masters , in Convocat ion.

The Un i vers i ty ofOxford now cons i sts oftwentyCo l leges and five Hal ls.Of the Co l leges , each ofwh ichi s a co rpo rat ion ofi tsel f, Merton

,Un i vers i ty

,and Bal

l iol,were founded in the thi rteen th century ; Exeter,

Oriel , Queen’

s,and New Co l lege

,in the fourteen th ;

Linco ln, All Souls , and Magdalen , in the fi fteen th ;Brasen No se, Co rpus Chr ist i , Chri s t Church , Trini ty,S t.John’s , and Jesus, in the s i x teen th ; Wadhamand

Pembroke in the seven teen th ; and Wo rces ter andHertfo rd in the ei gh teenth.Befo re these Co l leges wereerec ted , the scho lars who were educated in the Hal lsor Inns subs i s ted there at thei r own ex pence, o r thatofopulen t Prelates o r Noblemen ; but many oftheyouth ofthe k ingdom, and perhap s the greater part,

INTRODUCTION.

were educated in St.,

Frideswide’

s Prio ry, Oseney Ah

bey, and o ther rel igious houses in Oxfo rd and i ts v i‘

c in ity.As the Co l leges, however, increased in the number and value ofthei r endowments, the scholars and

dependents on rel ig ious houses began to decrease. In

Co lleges, at fi rs t, none were educated but those who

were admi tted upon the foundat ion ; but when learn

ing , and the love oflearn ing, began to bemore ex

tensively d iffused, those establ i shments were resortedto by independentmembers, under the names ofCommoners, and Gentlemen Commoners ‘.

It is the intent ion ofthe present writer, and he hopes at no greatdis tance oft ime, to enterfarmore fully into the history oftheUniversityfromthe earl iest t imes, and endeavour to detai l its rise and progress asconnected with the history ofl iterature.This wil l necessarily embraceagreat variety ofimportant circumstances , wh ich are ofa nature too

general to be included in the history ofthe respective Col leges.

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2 MERTON COLLEGE.

No tmany years ago , part ofthe chapel roo f ofth i sho spi tal remai ned , pannel led wi th the arms ofMertonCo llege in the in tersec t ions , and one ofthe Go th i cwindows s topped up ; but all th i s gave place to a new

b ri ck bui ld ing in 1778.

Acco rd ing to Mr.Denne ‘

,he occurs prebendary

ofKen t i sh town , and afterwards —had '

the s tal l ofFinsbury, bo th ofthem in the church ofS t.Paul’s ,“London.He held in 125 9 a prebend in Exeter cathe

d ral ; and, acco rd ing to BrowneWill i s, was Vi car ofPo tton in Bedfo rd shi re at the t ime ofh is p romo t ionto the see ofRoches ter. O ther accoun ts say, that he

was fi rs t Canon ofSali sbury, and afterwards Recto r of'S trat ton. He became eminen t in the court ofchancery

,fi rs t as King’s clerk , then as pro thono tary

,and?

las tly rose to be Chancel lo r ofEngland in 125 8. Of

thi s-

office he was depri ved in the same.year by the iBarons , but

‘ res tored in 1261, wi th a yearly salary of.fou r hund red mark s ; and held i t again in 1274, in 1

which year he was con secrated Bi sho p ofRoches ter.He appears to have beeri ofh igh cred i t in affai rs ofs tate

,and consul ted on allmatters ofimpo rtance

,as a»

d i v ine, a lawyer, and a financier. His death,wh ich

Was occas ioned by a fal l fromh is ho rse, in fo rd ing

a r i ver in h is d iocese, too k place Oc t.27, 1277.No twi ths tand ing his l i beral i ty , at h is death he waspo

'

sses sed ofgood s , valued , by l invento ry, at 5 i loi.,

ofwh ich he left legacies to the amount ofHis debt s amoun ted to and he had owi ng to

h imabout 62212

Customale Roffense, p.193.and Nichols‘s H ist.ofLeicestershirc,vol.ii.part i i.p.645 .

MERTON COLLEGE.

He was interred on the no rth s i de ofS t.Will iam’

s

chapel, at the no r th end ofthe cro ss ai le in Rochester

cathed ral, wi th amarble monumen t ‘, wh ich had probably been injured , or decayed , as in 15 98 the pre

sen t beaut i ful alabas ter monumen t was erec ted to h ismemo ry by the Soc iety ofMerton Co l lege, at the

sugges t ion ofthe celebrated S i r Hen ry Sav i le, thenWarden. The figure ofthe Bi shop, habi ted in pont ificals

,h is hands rai sed and jo ined , l ies on an al tar

tomb,on the fron t ofwhich is the fo l lowing insc rip

t ion,in two tablets, in Roman cap i tals:Waltero de Merton, Cancellario Anglia sub Hen

ri co Tert io : Epi scopo Roffensi sub Edwardo Primorege : Un ius exemplo , omn ium quo tquo t ex tan t

Co lleg iorumFundatori : max imo rumEuropaato t iusingeniorumfaelic iss imo parent i : Cus tos et scholaresdomus scholariumde hi erton in Un ivers i tate Oxon.

Thismust have been once avery cost ly spec imen ofart.Mr.Cough,in h is Sepulchral Monuments , (vo l.iv.p. bri ngs to light an ac

count of401.5 8.6d.fo r the enamel led wo rk ofth is monument.‘

E na

melling flourished in the twelft h century, part icularly at Limoges inFrance , and was much employed in ornamen t ing tombs. Mr.LeonardYate, Fellow ofMert on, and afterwards Rector ofCuxham, info rmedMr.Wood , in 165 9, that when , on removing the s tone, the Founder’sg rave was opened , the portrai ture ofhi s body was di scovered, and hisperson seen to be tal l and prOper : that be had in one hand acros ier staff,wh ich , when touched , fell to p ieces ; that he had in the other asi lverchalice, wh ich would ho ldmore than aquarter ofap int : that the Warden and Fe llows caused it to be sent to the Col lege, and t o be put

i n thei r dat ajocalz'

um; but that the Fellows in thei r z eal somet imesdr inking wine out ofit , th is their so valued rel ic was broken and de

st royed.MS.A.Wood , quoted by the late Rev.Jos.K ilner, in h is Ao

count ofPyt hago ras’s Schoo l in Cambri dge as in Mr.G rose's An t iquit ies ofEngland and Wales , and ot her not ices.” Th is work waspr inted some years ago , but never published. I amindebted to itformany in terest ingmemorandares pect ing Merton Co llege.

3 2

‘

MERTON COLLEGE.

commuuibus co llegu impens is, debit ilm pietat is

monumentumposuere, anno Domi n i 15 98.Henri coSav i le Cus tode. Obi i t in v igi l ia S imo '

n i s et Judas,

anno Domi n i 1277, Edward i P r imi quinto.Inchoaverat co l legiumMaldon iae in ' agro Surr.anno Do

min i Henri ci Tert i i quadrages imo oc tavoCui dein , salubri cons i l io Oxon ium,

anno 1270 trans

lato,ex t remamanus fmlic iss imis , ut cred i par est ,

auspic iis acces s i t anno 1274 ,ips is Kalendis Augus t i

anno regn i regi s Edward i Primi secundo.Magne senex t i tulis

,Musarumsede sacrata

Maj o r Merton idummax ima progen ie :Haec ti b i g ratan tes , pos t secula sera, nepo tes

‘

En vo t i va locan tmarmo ra,sanc te

In 1662, when th is monumen t was repai red by theCo l lege

,after the i njuries i t had received frompopu

lar fury during the c i v i l war , the fo l lowing inscr ip t ion'

was placed o n a separate tablet.

Hunc Tumulumfanat icorum rab ie (quae durani

t'

e

nupero plusquamc i v i l i bel lo , prout in ,ipsa.Templa

s ic in Heroum,Sanc torumque rel iquias i bidempie

recond itas,imman iter saeviebat) defo rmatumatque

fere deletum,Cus to s et scho lares domus Scholarium

de Merton in Academia Oxon ien s i pro sua erga.

fund itorem p ietate et grat i tud ine red in tegrabant,

anno Domin i 1662, Cus tode Domino Thoma Clayton Equite.

”

Thi s monumen t was again repai red in 1770, by the

d i rect io n ofthe Soc iety, and freed froma thick co ver

ing ofwh i te-wash , appl ied by some unski lful beaut i“ fier ;

”and a sumofmoney has been regularly ap

propriatedfo r i ts preservat ion.Wi th respec t to the foundat ion ofthi s Co l lege, an

MERTON COLLEGE.

o p in ion has long prevai led , which the inqui ries ofsome recent an t iquaries have rendered doub tful." It

was s tated by Wood and o thers, that Wal ter dé Mer

ton fi rs t founded a Co l lege at hlaldon, as a.nursery

fo r that at Oxfo rd ; that at a certain age the Sc ho lars

were remo ved fromMaldon to Oxfo rd, where the

Founder p rov ided a house fo r themon the s i te ofthe presen t Co llege ; and that the who le es tabli shmen twas no t remo ved fromMaldon to Ox fo rd unt i l the

year 1274, when the th i rd and las t charter was oh

tained. On the co n trary, h is o riginal in tent ion ap

pears to have been to es tabl i sh a re l i gious house at

Maldon, cons i st ing ofa Warden and Pries ts , who

were to appropriate cer tain funds , wi th which he en

t rus ted them, to the main tenance and educat ion of

twen ty Scho lars,at Oxfo rd o r elsewhere ; and that

when he founded Merton Co l lege, he remo ved the

Warden and Pries ts thi ther. What seems to co nfirmth is accoun t is , that the Founder appo in ted a Fel low

ofMerton Co llege to i ns truct such ofh is S tuden tsas were i gno rant ofgrammar

,whi ch could no t have

been the case had they been brought froma prepara.

to ry schoo l '

No thing could bemo re sat i sfacto ry than to be ableto t race the progress ofthi s great wo rk fromthesesmal l beginn ings ; but all that can be now co l lected

i s , that , hav ing purchased several tenements on the

ground where the Co llege s tands, he began his erec

t ion, and, by charter dated Jan.7, 1264, es tabli shed i tby the name ofD omus Scholariumde e rton. Th is

Wood'

s Annals , vol.11.p.712.Lvson s’s Envi rons , art.Maiden; andMann ing’s Surry.

6 MERTON COLLEGE.

fi rst charter,wi th the s tatutes prescribed in i t, con

t inned in fo rce un t i l 1270, when i t was confi rmed by asecond

,in which great addi t ions weremade to the en

dowment by es tates in Oxfo rd, Oxfordshi re, and o ther

coun t ies ; the Scho lars were i ncreased , and the termfratres became used as a farther step towards the

presen t fo rm.. A th i rd charter was granted in 1274

All these which respect the creat ion in 1264, the en

largement in 1270, and the complet ion in 1274, and

refer to and confirmone ano ther, are now preserved

in the l i brary, and were consul ted as preceden ts in the

foundat ion ofPeter-house,the earl iest Co l lege ofthe

s is ter Un i vers i ty, and probably ofo thers in bo th Un i svers it ies. The fi rs t offi cers ofMerton were appo in ted

in 1276.It yet remains to be no t i ced , that Wal ter de

Bi erton’s preference ofOxford is though t to have

been owing to h is better acquain tance wi th the place ;there being a t rad i t ion

,that he s tud ied some t ime

among the Canons regular ofC seney, or in Manger

Hal l,in S t.Mart in’

s par i sh , Oxfo rd.

The o ther benefac to rs to thi s Co l lege were, E la.

Longspee, Coun tess ofWarwi ck , about the year 1295 ,whose monument was d i sco vered in Rewly abbey in1705 , and placed by Hearne in the Bodleian : John

W i llyo tt, Chancello r ofExeter, in 1380,who p rov ided

by certain lands and tenements for a number ofex

The al lowance to Scholars , accord ing to the statutes , was fifty sh ilol ings per annumfor all necessaries.Wh en A rchbishop Peckhani had , att heir importun ity ,made asmall addit ionfor wood , he was obl iged to revoke the grant , as not having well cons idered the Founder’s statutes.

Transcript ofArchbishop Peckham’

s Register by Twyne, in the Schools 't ower, quoted by Smith , in H ist.ofUnivers ity Co llege, p.25 .In t heyear 15 35 , when the Univers i ty was visited by Henry VI I I.the averageal lowance was only 4l.68.8d.

M ERTON COLLEGE. 7

h ibi tioners , afterwards cal led Poflioiu'

sm,or Post

masters. On the bui ld ing ofthe chapel , these Post‘mas ters ofi ciated as cho ris ters, and had a salary ofs ixs hi ll ings and four-pence per ammmfor th is serv i ce ;but there was at that t ime no regular cho i r. These

e xhib i t io ners res i ded in a hall oppo s i te to the Co l

lege,which had been gi ven to i t by Peter de Abing

d on,o r Habendon, the fi rst Warden ; and here they

remained unt il the lat ter end ofQueen El i zabeth’sreign , when they were taken in to Co l lege. Thi s hal l,o r a part ofit , became afterwards the p roperty of‘

An

thouy Woo d’

s father, and the bi rth-plac e ofthatindefat igable ant i quary

,Dec.17, 1632 : and here in

1642 John Lord Colepepper, Mas ter ofthe Ro l ls, ando thers ofh is Majes ty’s (Charles the Fi rs t) pri vy counci l , took up thei r res idence, duri ng the sho rt periodthat Oxford was enabled to main tain i ts loyal ty.The p rov i s ionfor the Po s tmas ters was augmen tedby Dr.Thomas Jes sop , phys i c ian in 15 95 , and by

John Chamber,Fellow ofEton , and Canon ofWind;

sor, in the beginn ing ofK ing James the Fi rs t's rei gn,who increased thei r number fromtwel ve to fourteen;Dr.Higgins

,S i r John Sed ley, Bart.Edward Wo rth

,

M.D.the Rev.George Vernon , Rec to r and PatronofBourton-on -the-Water in Glouces tershi re

,are als o

among the mo re recent contr i buto rs to the maintenance ofthese exh ib i t ioners.

Will iamRed '

e,Bi shop ofChichester, and S i r Thomas

Bodley, left a fund to be oc cas ional ly bo rrowed by theFel lows

,on proper securi ty ; and the fo rmer bui lt a l i

b rary, wh ich be furn i shed wi th book s. James Leche,aFellow, and Grifii n Higgs , Dean ofLi tchfield , werealso contr i buto rs in books ; and the former, in

n 4

MERTON COLLEGE.

purchased land in Cheshi re,to enable the nat i ves of

t hat coun ty to become el igi ble in to the Co l lege. Be

s ides Henry Sever andR ichard Fi tz-James , who werevery ex tens i ve benefac to rs , the name ofthe Rev.

Henry Jack son, Mino r Canon ofS t.Paul ’s , deserveshonourable no t i ce. On h is foundat ion four Scho larswere added

,who are to be nat ives ofOxfo rd. He

d ied in 1727; but ,for whatever reason, h is benefact iond id no t pass in to effect un t i l the year 175 3;

Among the l i v i ngs , now the property ofthis Co l lege,by the l i beral i ty ofi ts Founder and Benefac to rs

,are

the Rector ies ofCuxham, Oxfo rdshi re ; Farley , Surry ;Ipstone, Bucks ; Kibwo r th-Beauchamp , Lei ces tershi re ; and Lapwo rth , Warwi ck shi re : and the Vicar

ages ofDidd ington , Hun t ingdonsh i re ; Elham, Ken t ;Embleton ,

No rthumberland Ki bwo rth-Harcourt,Lei

ces tersh ire ; Maldon ,Surry ; S t.Peter in the Eas t ,

Holiwell, and Wo l verco t,Oxford ; Pon teland , No rth

umberland ; S tratton S t.Margaret , Wilts ; and G reatWo l fo rd

,Warwi ck. Of these the Co l lege has been

i n the posses s ion ofElli am,Farley

,Wo l fo rd

, ’

and

Lapwo rth , fromi ts foundat ion.The number ofS tuden ts in Merton Co l lege appears

to have been regulated by the variat ions which o c

curred ih i ts revenues. At presen t i t con s i s ts ofachief by the t i tle.ofWarden , twen ty- four Fel lows , twoChaplains , fourteen Pos tmas ters, four Scho lars , andtwo Clerk s.In 15 92 , the ren ts were es t imated at 4001.and in 1612, the Society cons i s ted ofn inety- three persons.In the elect ion ofaWarden , the Fellows choo sethree ofthei r number, whomthey presen t to the Vi

s i to r, the Archbisli Op ofCanterbury, who appo in ts oneofthem.

MERTON COLLEGE.

carried on thei r proceed ings , ejec t ing all members ofthe Uni vers i ty who would no t submi t to thei r antha

fity. The bui ld ing o ver the k i tchen , wi th i ts Go thicw indows , and the gal lery o ver the Warden’s apart

ments, are ev iden tly coeval wi th the foundat ion but i t

js'

not 5 9 ,Clear to what purposes they were appl ied.

{1119for_mer ,was Founder’s pri vate

chapel, as i t st i ll retains the chapel p ro port ions.

Themost ancient part ofthe Co l lege was bui lt bySever and Fi tz-James, two ofthe Wardens

,andmen

ofsuch l iberal i ty and sk i ll, as to d i v ide the honoursoffow dersh ip wi thWalter de Merton.

The outer court opens by a noble arch into the

larger, inner, or garden court, wh ich i s one b undred

and ten feet long, and one hundred in 5 bread th , andwas completed at the ex pence ofthe College '

in 1610,

As a tasteformi xed arch i tecture was at th i s t ime prevalen t, We are no t surprised to find the south gate ofthis quadrangle surmounted by a spec imen ofthe Corinthian, Dori c, Ion ic, and Tuseauorders.The terraceformed on the c i ty-wal l in the.garden admi ts the

spectator to the v iew ofvery r ich scenery along the

meadows, &cThe th ird or smal l court brings us again back to

ancient t imes. It was probablybui lt about the samet ime wi th the L I BRARY ,wh i ch forms nearly thesouthand west s ides ofi t. Thi s L ibrary was founded in1376, by lVilliamRede, Bi shop ofChiches ter

,an

arch i tect ofgreat sk i ll. It was built froma plan

furn ished by h im, and is l i ghted by two serieS ofwindows , the upper ofthe bay-k ind, project ing fromthe outer roo f in three compartments :.thé lower ser ies are ob long and very narrow, and in bo th are

M ERTON COLLEGE. 11'

painted arms ofthe benefac to rs , Ste. The Wainscot

t ing at one end i s curious ly cut in smal l archi tecturalfigures , probably ofa later date than the res t ofthebuildi ng ; the roo f .i s ofwood in angular d i v i s ions.

But whatever may be though t ofth is Library as awo rk of-art , i t canno t fai l to be con templated wi th

veneration by the ant i quary, as the mos tancien t Li brary in the k ingdom.Befo re.the establ ish ,

men t ofCo lleges , there was no d i s t inct bui ld ing under

the name ofLibrary. In monas teries and o ther re

ligious houses , which were the only repos i to ries oflearn ing, book s were kep t in ches ts, where mos t con;ven ien t. Merton, therefo re, wh ich exh ib i ted the fi rst

regular College, gave also the fi rst exemplar ofaLi brary.

Bi shop Rede contributed the fi rst part ofthe col

lect ion ofbook s,which has s ince been augmen ted

,

bo th in MSS.and printed book s , by the l i beral i ty ofmany succeed ing scho lars. In 15 5 0, when the wo rk

ofrefo rmat ion was pursued , in some ins tances , wi thmo re zeal than judgmen t, many valuable MSS.weretaken fromth i s Library, part i cularly such as related

to d i vin i ty,as tronomy

,and matli emat icks , and were

the product ion ofthe Fellows ofthe Co l lege. Someperi shed in the general devas tat ion ; but o thers were

reco vered , purchased by pri vate ind i v i duals , and gi vento the publi c Library, when i t was resto red by S i r

Thomas Bodley. O ther l i braries suffered in propo rt ion on thi s occas ion

,as wel l as at o ther tumul tuary

period s ; and i t is to these desolat ions that we owe our

pres ent uncertain ty as to the res pec t i ve meri ts ofthe '

founders , benefactors , and art i s ts employed in erec t ing"

themo re anc ient colleges.

12 MERTON COLLEGE.

We enter the HA L L by an ancient doo r, the h inge:ofwh ich are made to cover the who le in various

figures,as was the mode before pannels were “ in

ven ted , in the fourteen th century. Thi s Hal l , bes ides

the arms in '

the windows,i s deco rated wi th the POI?

t rai ts ofthe Founder, ofthe presen t Bi sho p ofDurham, and the late Mr.Jus t i ce Rooke.The po rtrai t ofhe Founder was the gift ofDr.Berdmore, late War-1

zlen, and was p resen ted to the Society in the 5 22d

year from the foundat ion ofthe Co llege. At the

lower end is a large h i sto ri cal pain t ing, represent ing

the Founder s i t ti ng in h is epi scopal robes andmi tre,and po i nt ing to a v iew ofh is Co l lege. The tr iumphofsound learn ing over supers t i t ion and bigo try is d isplayed in al lego ri cal figures. Thi s p iece was given to

the Society by Dr.Wal l ofWo rces ter, who d ied in

1776. He was o riginal ly a Scho lar ofWo rces ter Col

lege,and afterwards a Fel low ofMerton ; a man

ofgreat medi cal sk i ll,and ofcons iderable taste in

pain t ing. Some ofh is co rrespondence wi th Shen

s tone the poet has been publ ished.

When Queen Eli zabeth v i s i ted the Un i vers i ty in

15 92, her pri vy counc i l , wi th many noblemen and

o thers belonging to the court,were en ter tained at

d inner in th i s Hal l , and after d inner were farther en

tertained wi th d i sputat ions perfo rmed by the '

Fello

But long before thi s, in 15 18, Merton Co l lege had thehonour ofa royal v i s i t fromCatharine, wi fe to HenryVI I I.who , as Wood quain tly says , vouchsafed to

condescend so low as to dine wi th the Merton ians,

for the sake ofthe late Warden Rawlyns , at this

t ime Almoner to the King, no twi th s tand ing she was

“expec ted by o ther co l leges.” During the greater

r4 MERTON COLLEGE.

deb ted about thi s t imefor o ther bui ldings,was alsothe arch i tect here. The who le exh ibi ts a specimen ofr i ch Goth i c workmansh i p, not infei io r in i ts princ ipalfeatures to themos t celebrated s truc tures in th i s s tyle,and in h igher preservat ion than we general ly

’

find

bui ld ings ofthe same age. It appears, however,tofo rmbut a part ofthe arch i tect’s o ri ginal des ign. As

in the bes t days ofour ancien t arch i tecture the col leg iate church , or the cathedral , and the insulated cha

pél were bui l t on fixed and d i st inc t plans,and as We

find here a cho i r and a cross ai le, features ofthe caa

thedral s truc ture, i t has been very justly suppo sed

that the arch i tect’s des ign.

was to have erec ted a

much more ex tens i ve edifice on the latter p lan, but

that he was enabled to complete on ly the cho i r;which is the longes t ofany, (excep t that ofNewCollege

,) and the cross ai le.

The cho i r is i l luminated by seven windows on each

s ide, r ichly o rnamen ted wi th painted glass ofsaints ,m'

artyrs , 8t c.the co lours ofwh ich are remarkably v i v id.‘

The north, west , and south windows ofthe cros s ai leare noble specimens ofthe o riginal arch i tecture ; but

the great east window in the cho i r wi l l p robably attract

most atten t ion , fromthe exqui s i te propo rt ion s ofthe:mul l ions and t racery, and the beauti ful pain t ings inthe interst i ces. The body ofthi s window i s fi l led upwi th a series ofscri p ture-pain t ings , executed by Pri cein 1700, and the gi ft ofAlexander Fisher, some t imesen io r

'

Fel low ofthi s Col lege. Thi s benefacto r, who

'

d ied in 1671, al so paved the Chapel , and wainsco tted

and seated i t wi th oak. The wainsco tt ing and seats,’

however, as wel l as the screen , whi ch mi gh t have de

corated amodern temple wi th propriety, are ev idently'

MERTON COLLEGEl 15

incongruous w i th the s tyle ofth i s Chapel. T he o ld

s tal ls were o rnamented w i th po rtrai ts ofthe prophets ,sain ts , and martyrs , pain ted in the rei gn ofHen ryVI I.and probably wi th a' due at ten t io n to ancien t

cos tume. The mob during the Usurpat ion daubed

themo ver with '

paint, and in 165 9 an attemp t to re

s to re themended in complete obl i terat ion. In th is

s tate Fi sher found them,and the wood-work be ing

much decayed or des t royed , he suppl ied i ts place in

the then reign ing tas te. The ex pence ofthe pain t ingin the eas t window,

to which Dr.Lydall, Warden ,“

and executo r to M r.Fi sher, l i berally con tri buted , issaid to have amounted to 260]The al tar-p iece“

,under thi s window, is a p ic ture of

the crucifix ion, supposed to be an o ri ginal by Tin toJ

ret,whi ch was gi ven afew years ago by John Sk i p,

Esq.a gentleman commoner ofMer ton. Tinto ret’

s

fines t crucifix ion i s in the ‘Albergo ofthe Scuo la d i s8 : Ro cco

,i f no t removed by the French plunderers.

It is much to be regretted , that the north windows of'th is Chapel , which are to the s treet , are frequent ly

‘

damaged by the wan tonnes s ofthe rabble. In the o ldves try

, adjo in ing to the Chapel,are many fragment s '

ofpainted glass dest royed in t imes ofpubl i c turbulence, or by the ignorance ofrepai rers , and the i nat

ten t ion ofthei r employers. Fromsuch a - s i gh t weturn wi th pleasure to amo re grat i fying subjec t, thetaste and care: ofthe late Warden

,Dr.Berdmore

,to

t

‘ During the res idence ofthe parl iamentary vis i tors , S ir Nathan ielBrent , one ofthei r number , t ook dormthe rich hangi ngs at the altar oft his Chapel , and ornamented his bed -chamber wi th them. Wood’s An

aal s , vol.i i.p.615 . There is s til lmuch ancient tapes try‘ in the o ldest

16 MERTON COLLEGE.

whomthe admi rers ofth 1s Co l lege are under great

obl igat ions.

The tower,whi ch r i ses fromthe cen tre ofthe c rosg

ai le,and to .wh ich Rodeburne is suppo sed to have

added the ex ternal pannelling and the pinnacles , is

n o t on ly a noble objec t in i tsel f,but con tributes a

very impo rtant feature in themagn ificence ofOxfo rd,when v iewed fromthe v i c in i ty. Thi s tower has s ince

undergone some,although no t very impo rtan t

, al tera

t ions. When the bells were recas t in 165 7, a newbelfry was b ui l t, and the window nex t to Co rpus was

opened. Of the cross ai le a s ingular acciden t i s t e

co rded. On Oc t.17, 165 5 , nearly half the roo f ofthesouth end adj o in ing to the tower fel l inwards , and

damaged the monumen tal s tones on the floo r : but on

the remo val ofthe rubbish , An thony Wood reco vered

the brass plates on them, and recorded the inscrip

t ions in h is valuable h i sto ry.

In th i s Chapel is themonument ofS i r Thomas Bodley, executed by Nicho las S tone in 1615 , fo r whichhe ‘

was pai d 2001. The funeral ofthi s great benefactor was

‘

conduc ted wi th a so lemn i ty and pomp becoming the Un i vers i ty wh ich he had so amply enr iched..

The body lay in s tatefo r some days in the hall ofth i s Co l lege, surrounded .by three herald s at arms,the relat ion s ofthe deceased

, h is executo rs , the Vi ce

Chancel lor, Dean ofChri st Church,the Proc to rs and

Bedels , and the who le Society ofMerton. On the

day ofthe funeral , March 97, 1613, a process ion wasfo rmed ofthe Heads ofthe several Houses , all the

d ist1nguished members ofthe Un i vers i ty,and s i x ty

seven poo r Scholars , (the number ofh is years,) cho sen

by the Heads ofHouses : the body was removed from

MERTON COLLEGE. 17

Merton Co l lege through Chri s t Church to Carfax ,and thence through the High-s treet to the Div i n i ty

Schoo l,where i t was depo s i ted , wh ile an o rat ion was

del i vered ; i t was then remo ved to S t.Mary’

s church ,where a funeral sermon was preached by Dr.Wil

liamGoodwyn,Dean ofChris t Church : and these

ceremon ies be ing o ver,the co rpse was conveyed to

Merton Co l lege ; and , after ano ther speech,i t was

in terred at the upper end ofthe cho i r, under the

no rth wal l. The who le co ncluded wi th a funeral din

ner in the hal l , at which were presen t the greater part

ofthose who fo rmed the process ion.This Chapel also con tains the monument ofS i rHenry Sav i le

,wh ich i s hono rary , as he was buried at

E ton : those ofDr.Bainbridge, Henry Briggs , the

fi rs t Savilian Pro fesso r, Dr.VVyn tle, a late Warden ,and , among o thers ofinferio r no te, t hat ofEarle

,

Bi shop ofSalisbuiy, to whomWal ton ascribes mo reinnocent wi sdom, sanc t ified learn ing

,and a mo re

p ious , peaceable, primi ti ve temper, than were to be

found in any after the death ofHooker. To thi s maybe added

,that h is Microcosmography

,which Lang

bai ne has improperly ascri bed to Blount , a book sel ler,proves himto have been a sat i ri s t ofgenuine humour.In the an techapel lie the remains ofAn tony Wood ,

a’man

,who

,by h is indefat i gable researches in to i ts

h i s to ry, ant i qui t ies, and b iography, mus t be acknow

ledged , in these respec ts , the greates t benefac to r the

Un i vers i ty ever had. It ismuch to be regretted , thathe was d i verted by h is o ther undertak ings fromthe

part i cular h is to ry ofthi s Co llege, for which he hadmade some preparat ions.

‘One ofthe fines t variety ofcrosses which Mr.0

18 MERTON COLLEGE.

C ough could reco l lec t in England i s in th i s an te-”

r

chapel , fo r John Bloxham, seventh Warden.Theflowered shaft res ts on a tabernacle inclos ing the

Ho ly Lamb, and under the two s tep s i s a scro l l,in

scri bed wi th the namcs ofthe two persons whomi t

commemo rates , Johannes Bloxhamand Johannes Wbytton. Thi s was fo rmerly placed at the bo ttomofthes tep s lead ing up to the al tar

,but was removed

, wi th

o thers , when the Chapel was paved in 1671. John

”fig/non i s omi tted by Wood among the “ d i versbenefacto rs who se gi fts were

This Co llege was fated to be a preceden t in every

appendage. The fi rs t COM M ON ROOM was fit ted uphere in 1661. Common Rooms made no part oftheplan ofthe Founders. The progress ofsociety to

wards commun i cat i ve habi ts , i nterchange Ofsen t imen ts , and mutual k indness , fi rs t produced meet ingsamong the sen io r members ofthe Co l leges , wh ichwere held by turns i n each o ther’s apartmen ts ; andthi s yielded to the superio r conven ience ofhav ing aroomin common

,to wh ich such members as con tr i

buted to the ex pence ofi ts furn i ture, 8t c.migh t have

access,and where s trangers are en tertained wi th ele

gan t ho sp i tal i ty.

The presen t WAR D E N i s the thi rty-n inth fromthe

foundat ion.Of these the mos t eminen t were,Thomas

Rodburne, a-man ofgreat learn ing and sk i l l in arch i

t ecture, who d ied B i shop OfS t.Dav id's about the

year 1442 z— Sever and Fi tz-James , al ready no t i ced asbenefac to rs ; Fi tz-James was success i vely B i shop OfRoches ter

,Chiches ter, and London , and occurs among

Gough’s Sepul ch ral Monuments ,.vol.iv.p.116.

MERTON COLLEGE. 19

the con tri buto rs to the erect ion ofS t.Mary’s church— Dr.John Chamber, who , wi th Lynac

'

re and Vic

to ria,founded the Co llege ofPhys i cians in Lon

don ; he was also a d i v ine, and the last Dean ofS t.S tephen’s Chapel

,Wes tmin s ter, where he was the ar

c hi tec t Ofa clo is ter ofexqui s i te wo rkmansh ip z— Dr.Thomas Bickley

,Bi shop ofChiches ter, and a bene

fac to r to thi s Society and to Magdalen Co l lege schoo l ;the sermon preached on May

-day in thi s Co l lege was

o ne ofh is foundat ions — Si r Henry Sav ile,a very ce

lebrated scho lar,and founder ofthe Geometry and

As tronomv Professo rshi ps ; he d ied Provo s t ofE ton ,Feb.19, —0 — S i r Nathan iel B ren t , a lawyer Ofgreat learn ing

,but unfo rtunately a deserter fromthe

laws and con s t i tut ion ofh is coun t ry in the grand

rebel l ion yet he had been kn i gh ted by King Charles ,when on a v i s i t to Oxfo rd in 1699, and the royal

party were sump tuous ly en tertai ned in thi s Co l lege in

honour ofthe newly-kn i ghted l Varden.To thesemaybe added

,the very celebrated Dr.Harvev ,

the d is

co ver'

er ofthe c i rculat io n ofthe blood ; and Dr.Reyn old s

,Dean OfChri s t Church , by autho ri ty ofthe

parl iamen t in 1648 , but o n the res to rat ion made Bishop OfNo rwi ch. The s tyle ofh is wo rk s has a v igour and po l i sh ofwhich wefi ndfew in s tances at thatperiod. In 1674 he gave to ado rn the chapel.Of the An c nms n o r s and B i s n o r s who recei ved

thei r educat io n here,the mos t eminen t names ofant i

quity are those OfBradward ine and I s l i p,Archbi shops

ofCanterbury in the fourteen th century.B redward ine,

one ofthe fi rs t mathemat i cians ofh is age, t reatedtheo logical subjec ts wi th mathemat i cal accuracy : h ist reatise agains t the Pelagians ex tended h is fame o ver

(2 2

‘20 MERTON COLLEGE.

all Europe. The learned Sav i le became h is edi tor andbiographer. The t i tle ofP rofound, bes towed on h int

by h is‘

contemporaries , appears to have been no t unmer i ted , and ofh is p iety and integri ty there are indubi~

table proofs — Rede, Bi shop ofCh i ches ter, and Rodburne, al ready no t iced r — WilliamofWainfleet , Bi

shop OfWinches ter, and Founder ofMagdalen College

,

’

i s suppo sed to have belonged to thi s Society,and Hooper, the martyred Bi shop OfGloucester andWo rces ter : but wi th more certainty Merton Co l lege

may boast ofthe p ious and excel len t Dr.Jewel l, Bi

shop OfSal i sbury ; Parkhurst , h is tuto r, a poet, and

one ofthe translato rs ofthe Bi ble ; and Dr.Carleton ,ofChichester. Dr.Robert Hun t in gd on , Provost ofTrin i ty Co l lege, Dubl in , and Bishop ofRaphoe, was aFel low ofMerton

,an

'

able o rien tal Scho lar,and a

benefacto r ofvaluable MSS.to the Bodleian Library,

the Curato rs Ofwh ich purchased the remainder ofh isco l lect ion in 1691.He d ied Sep t.2, 1701, afew daysafter being consecrated Bi shop ofRaphoe.Among scholar s ofo ther rank s

,the once celebrated

John Duns , or Duns Sco tus , as he is usual ly cal led,was educated here. England

,Sco t land

,and Ireland

con tendfor his bi rth ; but the conclus ion ofh is MSS.wo rk s in the l i brary ofthi s Co l lege gi ves the preferenceto England , and states

,that even by bi r th he was con

nected wi th Merton, hav ing been bo rn in a certainv i llage cal led Duns tan, in the pari sh ofEmildon,(Embleton ,) in the coun ty OfNo rthumberland

, be

longi ng to the house ofthe Scho lars ofMerton

Hall , in Oxfo rd.” He was t i tled D octor Subtilz

'

s,

as h is successo r and opponent in thi s Co l lege wasnamed Doctor Invincibz

'

lz’

s. Sco tus d ied in 1308 ; but

as MERTON COLLEGE.

eminence in an age that could boas t ofWill i s, Sydenham, and Lower, but who , as a phi losopher, d i d no t

keep pace wi th Boyle,Hooke, o r Newton — Antony

VVood , the Oxfo rd h i s to rian — S i r Richard S teele,the

father ofperiod ical essayi st s , was at one t ime Pos tmas ter here ; and the ingen ious ed i to r ofChaucer

,

Thomas Tyrwhi tt , took h is Master’

s degree in th i s

Society, but wi l l occur hereafter as a Scho lar ofQueen

’

s.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.

THE o rigin ofthi s Co llege has been i nvol ved in

a cons i derable degree ofobscuri ty, by the zeal ofs ome ancien t chron i c lers and hi s to rians

,who have

wi shed to carry i t so far bac k as to be beyond all

power ofi llus t rat ion fromauthen t i c reco rds. Thei r

o p in ion was, that the just ly celebrated K ing Alfred

was ei ther the founder or the res to rer ofi t. To con

firmth i s,a pet i t ion has been produced

,in wh ich

,in

the eleven th year ofRichard I I.1387, the Co llege addressed Parl iamen tfor rel ief in acertainmatter at i ssuein the cour ts oflaw, respec t ing part ofthei r es tates,and represen ted , as a fact wh ich mi gh t procure themfavour, that John ofBeverley , Archbi shop ofYo rk

,

the venerable Bede, and o ther famous Doc to rs ofanc ien t t imes

,had been s tuden ts o r scho lars here. One

consequence ofthe produc t ion ofthis pet i t ion was,

that when the Co llege came to be bui lt in a quadrangular fo rmin th e t ime ofHen ry V I.the effi gies ofJ ohn ofBeverley and ofAlfred were placed in the

windows , and served to create and perpetuate the

bel ief ofafac t, which befo re that t ime had never

been asserted , and was n o t now proved,

All , indeed , that seems necessary to remark on thi spet i t ion is , that Bede and John ofBeverley had beendead above a cen tury befo re Alfred was bo rn

, and

that 879, the year usual ly as s ignedfo r the foundat ionofthe Co llege, was the second ofthat monarch's

c 4

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.

rei gn,during wh ich he was i n vo l ved in d ifficul ties

which precluded h imfromat ten t ibn to any o ther oh

jec t s than the preservat ion ofh is thro ne and people.

He must , therefo re, acco rd ing to the Opin ion ofCamden, Powel , and Hearne, have been only the

R E STOR ER ; but what he d id res to re does no t appear

to have been a Co l lege, o r any regularly‘cons t i tuted

Society deserv ing the name ; nor,which 13 ofmo re

impo rtance, i s there to be found i n any ofthe reco rd sbelonging to the Unive1s i ty the smallest int imat ionrespect ing any benefac tions, hal ls, o r school s in Ox

fo rd , gi ven o r founded by Alfred. The mos t ancien th i s to rians

,h is con tempo raries, are equal ly s i len t ; and

Ralph Higden i s the fi rs t , who , in the fourteen th

century, in troduces h imas es tabl i shing a commonschoo l at Oxfo rd ofd i vers arts and sc iences ; but on

what autho ri ty H igden asserts'

th is , has not yet beend i sco vered. Wi th respec t to the cus tomofprayingfor King Alfred , i t is no t o lder than the rei gn ofQueen Mary, and then he was no t men t ioned in the

p rayer - as the Founder ofth i s Co l lege,but as the

Founder ofthe an honour to wh ichhe seems to have a bet ter t1tle.The h i sto rian ofthis Co l lege has very clearly

p roved , that i t was created by the l i beral i ty ofWill iamofDurham, Rec to r ofWearmouth, o r Bi shop

Wearmouth. Veryfew part i culars have been handeddown to us ofh is personal character. It is probablethat he was a nat i ve ofthe place fromwhi ch he takes

Smith’s H ist.ofUnivers ity College, p.236. The ent ire object ofth is h istory was to give the Foundersh ip to Wi lhamofDurham, o r to

the Universi ty, with h is money ; and the t rain ofproof and argument5 09ms unanswerable.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE. 25

his name, and was educated there, - o r in the monas tery ofVVearmouth adj o in ing , and afterwards sen t to

s tudyat Oxfo rd.He d ied in the year 1949, at Rouen

in No rmandy, on h is return fromthe Court ofRome,

whi ther,i t i s suppo sed , he had gonefo r the purpo se

ofso l i ci t ing the Bishopri c ofDurham,on the res ig

nation ofh is friend B i shop Farnham, wh ich too k

place in February ofthat year. Leland says, that thei ssue ofthi s journey was h is be ing appo in ted Archb i shop ofRouen

,and that he was buried in the

church ofthat see.By h is w i l l he bequeathed to the Un1vers i ty the

sumofthree hundred and ten mark s , to purchase cer

tain annual ren ts for the mamtenance often,eleven

,

twel ve, or mo re M’

asters, wh ich was at thi s t ime the

h ighes t aeadeni ical t i tle, and impl ied the h ighes t

degree in Div i n i ty, Law, Phys i c, or Arts ; and these

Masters were to be nat i ves ofDurhamo r i ts v ic in i ty

On thi s money being depo s i ted in the hands oftheChancel lo r and Mas ters ofthe Un i vers i ty, the fi rs tmode they seemto have adopted was , by lend ing i t

to Scho lars upon pro per securi ty, and upo n in teres t ,wh ich in terest they carried to the accoun t oftheMas ters to be sus tained. They then began to makepurchases

,the fi rs t ofwh ich , in 195 3, was a co rner

house in Schoo l-st reet, now part ofthe front ofBraz enose Co l lege ; the second

,in a house in

the High- s treet , oppo s i te to the presen t Co llege ;the thi rd

,in 1269 , o n the south s ide ofthe fi rs t

,

which in the survey 7Edw.I. was called Brazeno se Hal l. IVi th the fo rmer house i t now fo rms the

who le fron t ofBraz eno se Co llege,and had anc ien t ly

four schoo ls belonging to i t. In 1970, a four th and

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.

last purchase was made oftwo houses west oftheA11gel

°

Inn , in S t.Peter’

s pari sh. At thi s t ime, ten

years was the accus tomed rate ofpurchase in Oxford,

and eleven per cent.the interes t ofmoney.The ren ts ar i s ing fromthese purchases were at fi rs t

d i stri buted among Mas ters ofArts , or lent to persons'

ofrank. Such use ofthemoney appeared mo s t confo rmable to the tes tato r’s wi l l ; but many inconven ien

‘

C ies arose fromi t, especial ly as the money was gi vento s tuden ts over whomthe executo rs had no con tro l

o r inspect ion , and could no t always determine byWhomi t was best mer i ted , o r h ow lo ng the pens ion

ough t to be con tinued. They migh t l i kewise be induced to d i vert the money to a better and mo resecure purpose, fromobserv ing the plan adop ted inMerton Co llege, which was now endowed

,and no t

on ly exhib i ted an unexcep t ionable preceden t, but

con tained some ofthemost eminen tmen ofthe age.It may be here no t i ced , that wh i le Smi th , the h is

torian ofUn i vers i ty Co l lege, i s unanswerable in h isp roofs that Alfred was nei ther the founder

,res to rer

,

o r benefacto r ofi t , he i s less successful in giv ing theprio ri ty to th is Co llege

, and cen su'

ring Antony Wood

fo r preferring Mer ton. Smi th cal ls Will iamofDurhamthe fi rs t founder ofa Co llege, because he beqfieathed h is money in 1249, and adds

, that h is do

nat ion created a society,and that society ough t pro

perly to be cal led a Co l lege, wh i ch , he says, is no t

a bui ld ing made ‘

ofbrick o r s tone, ado rned wi th

gates,towers , and quadrangles, but a company, o r

soc iety, un i ted in a body, and enjoying the same o r

l i ke pr i v i leges one wi th another.” But gran t i ng

th is to be true, as a defin i t ion, i t does ‘

not apply to


the presen t case ;for the perso ns who profi ted by

Durham’

s l iberal i ty were no t a society,but chosen by

the Un i vers i ty fromvarious societ ies , as proper oh

jec ts , and remained in subo rd inat ion to the balls

o r schoo ls in wh ich they were educated. W'

i ll iamofDurhamdoes no t appear to have had a Co l lege in

contemplat ion , nor was such an ins t i tut ion known in

h is t ime ; no r was i t t i ll the year 1280 that the Un i

vers i ty,by res ign ing h is property to h is scho lars ,

took the fi rst s tep to found a Co l lege, i ndependen t in

i tsel f, and independen t ofthe mode in wh ich be prescri bed that h is money should be employed. And i t

may be further observed , that no Co l lege in Oxfo rd

was t i tled o r cons i dered as such , ei ther popularly o r

h i s to rical ly , un t i l i t had rece i ved tho se very bui ld ings

ofbri ck and s tone, gates , towers,and q uad rangles,

which Mr.Smi th seems to co ns i der as no n-es sen t ials.

In the abo ve-ment ioned year 1280, an inqui ry waso rdered by the Un i vers i ty , res pec t i ng the uses to wh ich

Will iamofDurham’

s money had been appl ied ; and

the Mas ters who were delegated to make thi s inqui ry,after a scrupulous examinat ion , appo in ted four Masters , who were to cons t i tute themanaging members ofa soc iety

,under certain cond i tions. Thi s

,whi ch ap

pears to have been the fi rs t foundat ion o r appo in t

ment ofany thing l i ke a Co l lege,was afterwards in

1292 confi rmed by a smal l body ofs tatutes,agreed

upon between the Un i vers i ty and the Scho lars , at theprocuremen t ofthe executo rs ofW'

i l l iamofDurham.Acco rd ing to these i t appeared that suffi c ien t care hadno t been taken to res t ri c t the objects ofh is l i beral i tyto the c i ty or coun ty ofDurham

,and i t was now

o rdered, that such local preference should be punc

28 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.

tually observed ; and that i f there were a deficiency

ofMas ters ofArts applyi ng,.Bachelo rs should be

p referred , and even So phi s ters,who were bo rn in o r

neares t Durham. Thei r nex t S tatutes were dated

1311, and here the same preference was confirmed ;the Fel lows were to res ide in one house, and thei r

numbers to be increased acco rd ing to the increase ofthei r revenues. In all these documen ts Wi ll iamofDurhami s recogn i zed as the Founder

,wi thout the

remo test men tion or al lus ion to Alfred,o r to any

hal l , co l lege, o r o ther i nst i tut ion made by h im, andconnected wi th thi s new foundat ion ; but as the house

where Durham’

s scholars fi rst assembled had beenmany years cal led Un iversity Hall, and those that

l i ved in i t University Scholars , in these last s tatutes i t

was spec ial ly prov ided that they should be'

called

I’Vi lliamofDurham’s Scholars.Wi th respec t, however, to the house, o r hal l , where

they fi rs tmet , there is no pos i t i ve ev idence.Hi sto rian shave generally placed themin Uni vers i ty Hal l , which

nowmakes part ofthe s i te ofBraz enose Co l lege, because that Hal l had been purchased by them; whereasthe o ther Hal ls , Braz eno se Hal l and D rowda Hal l,wh ich they had occas ional ly occupied , were only

h i red by them, and were oftoo great rent for themat presen t to affo rd.Fromth i s Hal l they ‘remo ved to the presen t s i te in

the High-s treet,ac co rd ing to themost probable c

'

alcu

lation , in 1343. On th is spo t, where the Co l lege now

s tand s,was DurhamHal l , so cal led fromAndrew of

Durham, an Alderman ofOxfo rd ; i t had afterward s

the names ofSelverneHal l , and Sp icer’s Hal l. Thi sthey purchased

,in 1332, fromthe three d aughters of

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.

s iderable add i t ion oflanded property was gi ven byG i lbert Ynglebred ; and in 1320, Phil i p ofBeverleygave ami l l and lands in Ho lderness , to suppo rt two

Scho lars or Mas ters,bo rn near Beverley. He was

Recto r ofKangham,o r Canygham, p robably a Fel

low Ofthe Co l lege, and the on ly Docto r ofDiv in i tyin the Archdeacon ry ofthe Eas t Rid ing OfYo rk shi re.After h is death he was reputed a saint

,andmi racles

were attri buted to h im. Rober t de Replyngham,Chancel lo r ofYo rk , who d ied in 1332, is also enui

merated,al though doubtful ly, among the early sup:

po rters Ofthi s house '

; but the fo l lowi ng are namedwi th mo re certain ty ; King H en ry IV.and Wal ter

S kirlaw,Bishop ofDurham,

in 1403, gave the mano rofRo thyng Margaret, o r Mark’s Hall , in Essex ,forthe main tenance ofthree Fellows , ei ther Graduates

o r Undergraduates, nat i ves ofYo rk o r Durham.S kirlaw furn ished the l i brary al so wi th some manuscrip ts. He was a nat i ve ofSk irlaw, o r Sk i riey, in

Yo rk shi re,and i s sai d to have run away fromh is

father’s house,when a boy, to the Un i vers i ty

,where

he cult i vated learn ing wi th such success , as to be'

made,firs t

,Dean ofS t.Mart in’

s,afterwards B ishop

ofLichfield and Co ven try, then ofWel ls,and las tly

”

ofDurham,where he died , Apri l , 1406. I f we may

cred i t h is biographers,his paren ts knew no thing of

h imfromthe t ime ofh is elopemen t , un t i l he arri ved

at the see ofDurham, when he found themout, and

prov idedfor themsui tably to h is rank.

Henry Percy, Earl ofNorthumberland , about the

W'

ood and Smith d ifl'cr much in their accounts ofthe first benefactors to th is College.I amnot certain that I have been able to reconci le

them.


year 1442, gave the Soc iety a quant i ty ofland , andthe advowson ofthe Rec to ry ofArncl iffe in Craven ,i n the coun ty ofYo rk ,fo r the maintenance ofthreeBachelo rs o r Mas ters ofArts , ofthe d ioceses ofDurham, Carl i s le, and Yo rk , to s tudy d i v in i ty , and to be

accoun ted Fel lows. By th is donat ion , and a sumofmoney gi ven by Henry Beaufo rt , Bishop ofWinchester, and Card i nal , the Society were enabled to bui ld a

refecto ry and o ther addi t ions to the i r house.In 15 66 ,

Joan Davys , wi fe ofRoger Hewet, c i t i z en ofOxfo rd ,gave es tates in the parish ofS t.Mart in and S t.Tho

mas,fo r the suppo rt oftwo Logic lec turers , o r one on

Logic and ano ther on Phi lo sophy, andfo r increas ingthe diet ofthe Mas ter and Fel lows. In 15 84, Fran ci s“Russel, second Earl ofBedfo rd , bequeathed 201.perarm.to be gi ven to two poo r S tuden ts in d i v in i ty

, who

were to be cal led The Earl ofBedfo rd’s Scho lars : andin 15 87, Robert Dudley, Earl ofLei ces ter, gave landsfor the maintenance oftwo Scho lars, at the rate of201.per ann.each. In 15 90, O tho Hun t, the clergy

man ofMethely in Yo rk shi re, prov ided by lands fo ra Scho lar, to be cho sen fromSwi nton , in the pari sh

ofWath , or from that parish general ly, o r the

pari shes ofMethely o r Ki rkbur ton , o r in Yo rk sh i regeneral ly, o r the places nex t adjo in ing. In 15 92,

John Freys ton , OfAl to fts in Yo rk sh i re,E sq.gave

an es tate in Pon tefract , for the main tenance ofaFellow and two Scho lars , who were to be nat i ves ofthe coun ty ; he gave money also fo r the purchase ofa house on the wes t s ide ofthe Co l lege

,now part of

the great quadrangle. In 1607, John Browne, B.D.Vicar ofBas ings toke in Hampshi re

,Fel low ofBall io l

,

and ofthis Co l lege,gave an exhi bi t ion. In 1618, the


Rev.Robert Gunsley, Recto r ofTi tsey ia'

Surry,bequeathed the recto ry and parsonage

’

ofFlams tedi n Hertfordsh i re to the Co l lege,fo r the mai n tenanceoftwoScho lars ,for a certain period

, and afterwards

oftwo mo re, ad d whomshould be chosen hy ‘

the

Mas ter and Fel lows , two out ofthe Grammar-schoo lofRoches ter, and two out ofthat ofMaids tone, allnat i ves ofKent, excep t such as mi gh t be ofh is kindred. Thei r p resent al lowance is 15 1.1)er annum, andchambers in the Co l lege ; and nearly one hal f oftheScho lars who have enj oyed th is benefac t ion appear

to have been ofthe name o r k indred ofthe tes tato r.In the same year the Rev.Charles Greenwood

,

Recto r ofTho rnhil l in Yo rk sh i re, bequeathed moneyfor the maintenance ofcer tain Fellows and Scho larsbut one ofh is executo rs hav ing d isputed thi s at law,i t was no t reco vered in such amanner as to fulfi l thein tention ofthe tes tato r. It appears

,however , that

he cont ri buted the sumof toward s rai s ing the

presen t bui ld ings, and that part ofthemwere erected

fromh is plan. In 1631, a pup i l OfMr.Greenwood’s,

S i r S imon Bennet, Bart.by wi l l , dated Augus t 15 ,

ves ted the estate ofHanley lodge and park,in Tow

ces ter hundred , Nor thamp tonshi re, in trus tees to the

use ofDame Eli zabeth h is wi fe, for the termofherl i fe

,set tl ing the revers ion on th is Co llege, , towards

complet ing the new bui ld ings , and for eigh t Fel

lowsh ips and eigh t Scho larships ; but the lands not

being so product i ve as was expec ted , the numbe rwas reduced to four each. S i r S imon purchasedthi s es tatefor 60001. It has s ince been deaffores ted,and converted in to pasture and t i llage.

By the l iberal i ty ofthese and other benefactors, the

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE. .33.

Co l lege is now in po sses s ion ofthe V I CAR A G E ofArnclitfe in Yo rkshi re the Re cr o n t n s ofNo rthCemey, Glouces tershire ; Checkendon , Oxfo rdshi re ;El ton

,Hun t ingdon sh i re ; Mels onby, .Yorksh ire ; Tar

raut Gunv i l le, Do rsetsh i re ; Headbourne Wo rthy ‘

,

Hants, Ste.and the pe rpetual Cun s c r ofFlams ted ,

to be gi ven to one ofMr.Gunsley’s Sc ho lars.In add i t ion to these benefact ionsmay bemen tioned

that ofDr.Rad cl iffe, who left to the Co l lege h is es tate

ofLin ton, near Yo rk ; and d i rec ted by his wi ll , that twotravel l ing Fel lows , to be appo in ted by the Lord Chan

cello r, the Chancello r ofthe Un i vers i ty, the Chancello r ofthe Exchequer, the Archbi shop ofCan terbury,the Bishops ofLondon and Winches ter, and the Mas

ter ofthe Ro l ls,should recei ve per annumeach ,

for ten years , the fi rst five ofwh ich they are requi red

to spend abroad ; and that the surplus ofthe es tate

should be appl ied to the purchase ofad vowsons.Dr.Browne, Mas ter ofthe Co l lege, who d ied 1764,founded two Scho larsh ips, wo rth 201.per annum,fo rnat i ves ofYo rkshi re, and increased the o ther Yo rk

sh i re Scho larsh ips to the same value.In 15 92, the ren ts ofthi s Co l lege were valued at

and in 1612, the Soc iety cons is ted ofseve ntytwo persons. It nowcons is ts ofa Mas ter, twel veFellows , and seven teen Scho lars , wi th o ther s tuden ts.The King is th e Vi s i tor.

This living, by the wil l ofDr.Radc l iffe, dated 13 Sept.1714, asoften as i t becomes vo id, is to be bes towed on aMember ofUni versi tyCo llege, to be nominated by the V ice-Chancel lor , the two D ivini tyProfesso rs , the Mast er ofUni versi ty Co llege, and the Rector ofLinco lnCo ltege,fo r the t ime being, or themajor part oftbem.

D

$4 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.

Very l i ttle i nfo rmat ion cad now be recovered respect

ing the o ri ginal BUILDINGS belonging to thi s Co l

lege, as to the t ime oferec t ion , the arch i tects, o r the

fo rm.It appears , however, that in the’

beg iun ing ofthe reignofHen ry I I.the various tenemen ts , schoo ls ,o r hal ls

,i nhabi ted by the Soc iety;were pul led down ,

and the who le re-edified in a quadrangular fo rm, but

wip

thput exac t propo r t ions,as i ts progres s depended

on thei r funds. About the'

beginn ing ofthe rei gn ofHenry VI .I I atower was added by Ralph Hams terlyo ver the publi c gateway. The who le was executedinaplain

,subs tan tial manner, but ofno great hei gh t,

wh ich was the case wi th all the o ri ginal Co l leges.

When the morean c1en t ‘ part began to decay , a new

quadrangle was projected, and bui lt at various t imes ,from

‘

the year 1634 to 1675 , wi th.the archi tectural aidsfthe befo re-men t ioned Charles Greenwood.It i s anbblaGo thic s truc ture of.an hundred feet square,c‘

o'

htain ing c n the south s ide the Chapel and Hal l.Many jud ic ious a lterat ion s have been

‘

lately made on

the ex ter io r “

ofthis square, to wh ich'

the des i gns ofDr.Griffi th

, the presen t Master, have gi ven amoredeci ded Go th ic charac ter. Abo ve the gateway.aretwo s tatues , that on

'

the outsi de ofQ ueen Anne;and that wi thin ofJames I I. the lat ter presentedto the So ciety by aRoman Catho l i c, and placed herein the Mas tershi p ofMr.Obad iah Walker.The o ther and newer court

,ofwhich this Co l lege

is‘

composed, has on ly three s ides , each about ei gh tyfeet in length , and opens to the Mas ter s garden on

the south. The north and east s ides,wh i ch were

bui lt by the .mUn ificence ofDr.Radcl iffe; contain

36 UN IVERSITY COLLEGE.

sentat ive'

s ofthe Uni vers i ty.The arms of'

most Oftheot her con tributo rs are placed on the wai nscot , togee

ther wi th the po rtrai ts ofS i r Roger Newd igate, LbrdRaduor, S i r Wi l l iamSco t t, and S i r Robert Chamabers. The south win dow contains the figures ofMoses, Elias , and Our Sav iour, in painted glas s , byHen ry G i les

,dated 1687 and the roof is deco rated

wi th the arms ofthe pr inc ipal benefacto rs.The COMMON ROOM con tains Wilton’

s excel lent

bust ofAlfred fromRysbrach’

s model , gi ven to the

Co l lege by the Earl ofRadno r : the portrai ts ofHen ryIV.and Robei t Dudley, Earl ofLei ces ter, burn t inwood by Dr.Griffi th ; amode ofdel ineat ing objects,vvh ich certainly produces a very ex t rao rd inary effect,and may be ranked among themost ingenious subst istutesfor the penci l. Fromthe same art i st, is a beanti ful d rawing ofthe High-s treet : and prints ofDr.Samuel Johnson and S i r Wi ll iamJones have latelybeen added to the deco rat i ve memo randa ofth isroom.The old L IBRAR Y was an upper roomat the west

end ofthe Chapel , and as far back as 1639, whenDr.Geo rge Abbot, the Mas ter, gave au hundred

pounds for t he purchase ofbook s, cons is ted ofacon s iderable number ; but when the old Chapel was

pul led down, the present Library Was erected on the

south s i de, and beyond the princi pal quadrangle, andfin i shed in 1669. The co l lec t ion has s ince been valud

ably enri che‘d , both in MSS.and prin ted books, byvarious presents. Wo

’

od’

s not i ce ofth i s Library ini ts infant s tate is i llustrat i ve ofthe manners and

learn ing ofthe t imes. “ A t fi rs t the Society kep t“ those books they had (wh ich were but few) in


ches ts , and on ce, somet imes twi ce in a year, made“ cho i ce for the bo rrowing ofsuch as they liked ,by g i v ing a cert ificate under their hands for the

res toring ofthemagai n to thei r p roper place‘ ”

How arduous the pursui t ofl i terature, and how s low

i ts p rogres s, befo re the invent ion ofpr in t ing"It does no t appear that, for some year s after thefoundat ion ofth is College, the Soc iety had any placefo r d i v ine servi ce belonging to themsel ves , but attended ei ther ia S t.Mary’s, or S t.Peter

’

s in the East.

About the year 1369, they possessed an Orato ry, or

CHA PEL ,wi thin thei r own premises , ofwh ich l i t tle

can be traced. The Chapel wh ich p receded the pre

sen t was fini shed and consecrated to the memo ryofS t.Cuthbert on the second ofthe Kalends ofApril, 1476.Thi s con t inued in use un t i l about the

year 1639, when a des i gn was fo rmed ofbuild ing the

p resen t Chapel on the south s ide ofthe new qua

d rangle ; but th is was interrup ted now,and again in

165 7, by the di stract ions ofthe In terregnum,and

the bui ldi ng was no t final ly completed unti l 1665 .On March 20, S t.Cuthbert

’s day, i t was consecrated

wi th great so lemni ty by Dr.Blandfo rd , then Bi shopofOxfo rd

,afterwards

‘

ofWo rces ter ; a man, says

Bumet, modest and humble even to a fault.”

The painted windows were executed by Abrahamvan Linge in 1640- 1, and as the Chapel was no t thenready to recei ve them, escaped the general des truc t ionto wh i ch most work s ofart ofthi s desc ri p t ion weredevoted. The fine eas t window,

whose co lours are

much decayed , was the work ofHenry G i les, already

Wood’s Colleges and HaBs, edi t.Gutch, vol.1.p.61.

n 3

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.

n ot i ced, a famous glass-painter ofYo rk , and was

gi ven by Dr.Radcl iffe in 1687. The cei l ing ofth i sChapel is ofGo th ic , gro ined, and ofmo re recentdate than the wal ls. The screen , as usual

, oftheCo rin thian o rder, is exqui s i tely carved by Grinlin

G ibbon sJ The altar-piece IS a copy OfCarlo Do lce’sSal vator Mund i , burnt in wood by the presen t

Mas ter. The ante-chapel has'

lately recei ved an

addi tion calculated to exc i te the highes t emo t ionsofvenerat ion , themonument ofS i r Wi l l iamJones ,from the class i cal ch i sel ofFlaxman , and presen tedby Lady Jones. The bas rel ief represen tS

' S ir Wil

l iamemployed, wi th the as s is tance ofsome Bra

mins, in preparing that great work , a d iges t oftheH indoo laws , on which he seemed to wi sh that his

fame,

'

as a publ i c benefac to r,should res t..But the

fame ofsuch aman could no t be ci rcumscribed. He

had perhaps mo re various learn ing, and mo re ex

ten s i ve knowledge,than any scho lar ofh is t ime.Thi s,

by’

comparison , i s on ly preeminence, but,’

jo ined as i t

was in‘

h imto the exquis i te sens i bi l i ty ofthe finesttaste, was truly wonderful.Amonumen t by Flaxmanhas lately been erected to the memory ofDr.‘ Wetherel l

,the late Mas ter.Wefi nd no MA STE R or Custos on reco rd before

the year 1332, wh ich is cons is tent wi th the date as

s i gned to the hab i tat ion ofDurhamHal l befo re ment ioned. The fi rs t Mas ter was Roger de A swardby,and he was succeeded in ‘

1362 by John Pock l ington ,‘

who,in Wood’s opin ion , had

" been Principal -ofBall iol

o

Hall. In thi s l i st we .find the names ofDr.Ah~

bo t, afterwards Archbishop ofCanterbury ; Dr.Bancroft, B ishop ofOxford ; and Obad iah Walker, who

U NIVERSITY COLLEGE. 39

les t h is Fellowshi p, during the Rebell ion , fo r h is adherence to the Church ofEngland , and h is bl as tership

, at the Revo lut ion , fo r hi s adherence to the

Church ofRome. Dr.Radcl iffe, who had been h ispup i l

,k indlymaintained h imun t i l hi s deat h in 1699,

and interred himin S t.Pancras church-yard , London ,wi th a sho rt epi taph , in t imat ing that he had reachedthe grave through good repo rt and i l l repo rt.” The

p resen t Mas ter i s the ’

th irty-s i x th on the l is t.

Among the ARCHB I SHOPS and B i s n o r s educated

i n Un ivers i ty Co l lege, at ten t io n i s fi rs t due to Sk irs

law, Bi shop ofDurham,al ready no t i ced as a benefac t

tor to thi s Co llege, but probably in a les s degree than

to other p laces.Bes i des the erec t ion ofseveral bridgesand gateways , and the repai rs ofchurches in his d ioo

cese, he buil t at h is own ex pence a great par t ofthetower ofYo rk Mins ter, usual ly cal led the Lan tern,He founded a chantry l ikewise in that church, erec ted

part ofthe beaut i ful C lo is ter ofDurham, and a;chapel

called fromhi s name in the pari sh ofSwine in Hol

dernes se. His wi ll affords add i t ional p roo fs ofh ismun ificen t sp i ri t. His successo r in the Bi shopri c

ofDurham,Thomas Langley, was also ofthis Co l

lege, acco rdi ng to Wood , al though Hutchi nson placeshimat Cambridge. When appo in ted to thi s Bishopri c, he res igned the seals as Lo rd Chancellor, and

afterwards was made ,a Card inal by Po pe John

XXII I. He_

was l i kewise a very ex tens i ve bene

fac to r in h is d iocese -.Richard Flemming, Bi shop of

Lincoln , an d Founder ofLinco ln Co l lege z— JohnSh irewoode, or Sherwood , Bi shop ofDurhamfrom148 5 to 1493, had the reputat ion ofa poet , and , whatwas p erhap s mo re remarkable in hi s t ime, that of

n 4


a Greek scho lar — Bishop Ridley, the martyr, wassometime Fel low here, but pr0perly

‘

belong s to Cambridge — Dr.Tobie Matthew, Archbi shop ofYo rk ,belongs bo th to Un i vers i ty and to Christ Church ;one ofthe” mos t eminen t and labo rious d i v ines ofh is t ime, and aman ofex tens i ve benevo lence and

learn ing z— Abbo t, Archbi shop ofCan terbury, whom

Bal l io l may claimas a Fel low,has al ready

‘

been no

t i ced among the Mas ters ; and to himmay be added

Bancroft, Bishop of'

Oxford ; Po tter, Bi shop ofOxfo rd and Archbi shop ofCanterbury, and autho r ofthe Grecian An t i qui t ies ; and Dr.Charle$ Lyttel ton,Bi shop ofCarl i sle, Pres i dent, and a cons i derable he ‘

nefac to r ofbooks and MSS.to the Soc iety ofAn t isquaries.

This Co l lege gave educat ion l i kewi se to Richard

S tanyhurst, a poet ofa very s ingular cast , but mo redeserv ing ofno t i ce as o ne ofour earl iest poet i cal

c ri t i cs : and i t may claim the wh o le ofthe learnedfami ly ofDigges ; Leonard and Thomas, celebrated

mathemat i c ians ; Sir Dudley, Mas ter ofthe Ro l ls,h i s son Du‘dley , and h i s bro ther Thomas,

‘

the poet.and translato r — S i r Geo rge Croke

,Chief Jus ti ce Of

England '

:— Lo rd Herber t ofCherbury,who has been

characteri sed as aman ofa mart ial sp i ri t and pro;found understand ing, and who exh i bi ts in h is wri tings the incons istencies ofa credulous infidel ; a

character les s uncommon than the p ride ofinfidelity i s d i sposed to al low z— General Laugbai

'

ne,

son ofDr.Gerard Langbaine‘

ofQueen’s, the fi rst

regular b iographer ofdramat i c wri ters, and the fi rst

co llecto r ofa dramat i c l i brary z— Dr.Du'dley Loft‘us,‘Ci v i l ian, butmo re eminent as an oriental scho lar s


Dr.John Hudson, Keeper ofthe Bod leian Library,a very learned clas s i cal ed i to r, o ri ginal ly ofQueen’

s

Co l lege, and afterwards Princi pal ofS t.Mary Hall.When Dr.Radcl iffe was i nspi red wi th the incli

nat ion , hut i rresolute as to the proper mode, Dr.Hudson is sai d to have d i rected h is at ten t ion to

those obj ects , in th is Un i vers i ty, wh ich h is mun ificence afterwards promo ted and enri ched — Flavel,

a nonconfo rmi s t wri ter ofcons iderable learn ing, andun interrupt ed populari ty -Will iamSmi th , Rec to r ofM elsonby

,who publ i shed the h i sto ry ofthi s Co llege

in 1728. He became amember ofi t in 1668 , and

was elec ted Fellow in 1675 . His h i s to ry would havebeen ofmuch higher value had he no t delayed i t to h is

las t days , when age and infirmi ty nearly o verpowered

h im; and had he made i t to embrace the who le progress ofthe Co l lege, ins tead ofconfin ing i t to the

s ingle po in t ofW il l iamofDurham’

s ri gh t to the

ho nours ofFoundersh ip z— Dr.Radcl iffe was ofth isCo llege befo re he remo ved to Li nco ln — The Rev.

Jo seph Bingham, whose Orig ines Ecclesias ticce induceus to regret that he should have been obl iged to

res ign the ad vantages deri vable fromh is Fel lowship,

a c i rcums tance wh ich the ed i to rs ofthe Biog raph iaBri tann i ca havefor some reason omi tted ; he was thetutor ofDr.Po tter, Archbi shop ofCan terbury — The

learned Wi ll iamEls tob, some t ime a Commoner ofQ ueen

’

s,

‘

was elected Fel low ofth is Co l lege by the

friendsh i p ofDr.Charlet and Dr.Hudson. His l i feand that ofh is equal ly learned s is ter were d isco veredin the Bodleian Library by Dr. VVetherell, lateMas ter ofth i s Col lege ‘. Carte, the hi storian , took

Nichols’

s Life ofBowyer, vol.iv.11.119.


h is fi rst degree here, p rev iously to h is remo v ing toCambr idge : and Iago , the poet and friend ofShens tone

hwas Serv i to r here in 1732. Among the law

scholars ofmo re recent t imes, the name ofS i rRobert Chambers wi ll readi ly o ccur, He was Vi

nerian Professo r in 1777, when he was appo in ted

second Just i ce ofthe Supreme Court ofJud icaturein Bengal. On th i s occas ion , the Un i vers i ty, in ful l

Con vocat ion , passed a vo te for appo in t ing a subs ti

tute, and al lowed S i r Robert the op t ion ofreturn ingto h is professo rsh i p wi th in three years, amark ofrespect wh ich would have been suffi c ient to fi x

the charac ter ofth i s learned and amiable man, hadwe no o ther test imon ies ofh is wo rth. ‘

S i r Wi ll iamJones has al ready been no t i ced, and canno t too o ften

be recommended to studen ts , as a pat tern ofl i teraryi ndus try, and a proo f that the mos t indefat i gablelabour i s no obs t1uct ion to the energies ofnatural

taste and gen ius.

44 BALLIOL COLLEGE.

sel f the future maintenance ofthem. But, wi thout

detract ing fromthe meri t ofher own l i beral i ty, i t

would be injurious to suppress the name ofRichardSlickbury, a Minori te Friar and her Confesso r, who

was her princi pal adv iser in thi s matter. His arguments , we are to ld ,were backed by those ofano thereccles iast i c, the Confesso r ofthe Coun tes s ofPemb roke, who had succeeded in persuadmg that lady t oendow Pembroke Hal l in Cambridge ; but the d i s tancebetween the periods renders thi s c i rcumstance somewhat improbable, as the Coun tess ofPembroke d idno t begin her foundat ion unt i l the year 1343.

John de Balliol’s lady, s tyled the Lady Dervo rg ille,

was one ofthe three daugh ters and cohei resses ofAlan 'ofGal loway, a powerful Sco tch Baron, by Margaret, the eldes t s i ster ofJohn Scot , las t Earl ofC hes ter, and one ofthe hei rs to Dav id , somet imeEarl ofHun t ingdon , younger bro ther ofWilliam,

K ing of‘Sco tland. By her marriage with John -de

Bal l io l, she became mother ofJohn de Bal l io l, thei ll-fated K ing ofSco tland.The fi rst s tep which Lady Dervorg ille took , in pro

y i d ingfor the Scho lars , was to hi re a house in Ho rse.

monger lane, afterward s cal led Cand i tch , (fromCanidida Foam) in S t.Mary Magdalen’

s pari sh , and on

the s i te where part ofthe p resen t C o l lege s tands ;and , be ing suppo rted in the des ign by her husband’se xecuto rs , con t inued the pro v i s ion wh ich he al lotted.‘In 1282, she gave thems tatutes under her seal ‘

, and

Th is seal contains a portrait ofher, the dress ofwh ich was copiedin her po rtrait in the Picture Gallery ; but the face is said to have beentaken froman Oxford b'eauty, an apothecary’s daughter ofthe name of

BALLIOL COLLEGE. 45

appo inted Hugh de Hart ipoll and Will iamde Menyle

as Procurato rs , or Governo rs ofher Scho lars. Theses tatutes , wh ich remained in fo rce fo r several years ,wi ll serve to throw some l i gh t on the modes ofco l leg iate d isci pl ine and o rder in the thi rteenth century;After the appo in tmen t ofthe Procurato rs, : the

Scho lars were enjo ined to be presen t at d i v ine offi ceson Lo rd’s days and princi pal fes t i vals , and also -at

se rmons o n tho se days, unless urgen t occas ions d i

verted them. On o ther days , they were to frequen t

the Schoo ls , and fo llow thei r s tud ies acco rd ing to thes tatutes ofthe Un i vers i ty : they were to obey herProcurato rs in all th ings which she~ had o rdered forthei r go vernmen t and good , and were to choo se fromamong themsel ves '

a Princi pal, whomall should o bey

in th ings acco rd ing to s tatutes and cus toms appro vedand used by them. The Princ i pal, after being duly

elected , was to be presen ted to the Procurato rs , to be

approved and co nfirmed by them, t i l l which t ime heshould no t exerc i se any authori ty. The Scho lars were

to procure three mas ses to be so lemnly celebratedevery year for the soul ofher husband

, the souls ofher predeces so rs , and her own heal th and safety, Sec.Every day , befo re and after d inner and supper, they

were to say a bened ic t ion , and p ray especiallyfo r thesoul ofher husband, andfo r her Procurato rs , according to a prescr ibed fo rm. In order that the poetmi ght be the bett er main tained

,the r icher Scholars

were enjo ined to l i ve so temperately,

that the said

pombe not grieved by burt hensome ex pences ;

l eeks.Commimicated byMr.Huddesford , somet ime Keeper ofthe As h :molean Museum, to Granger. See Hist.‘ofEng land , vol.i.p; 30.

46 BALLIOL COLLEGE;

and such Scho lars as murmured against th is'

and “

some other injunct io ii s respect ing ex travagance, were

to be removed immed iately, wi thout any hope ofturn ing.The Scho lars also were to speak Lat in.incommon, and in case ofd i sobed ience should be re

buked by the Principal , who , after two or th ree

admon i tions, had the power to remove them fromthe common table, to eat by themselves ,

'

and be

served las t ; and ifthey remained inco rrigible for aweek , the Procurato rs were to expel them.’ Every

o ther 'week a soph i smwas to be d i sputed and de

termined 1n the house among the Scho lars by turn s,

so that they bo th oppo se and answer ; and i f anySo ph is ter advanced sofar as to be able to determinein the Schoo l s

,the Principal was to informh imthat

he should fi rs t determine at home among h is fellows.At the end ofevery d i sputat ion , the Princi pal was toappo in t the nex t day ofd i sput ing, and was to moderate and correct the loquac ious , and appo int the so

ph ism’

nex t to be handled, and also the opponent,responden t

,and determiner, that so they migh t ‘

the

better p ro vi de themsel ves for ‘

a d isputat ion.jTheon ly o ther regulat ion wo rthy ofno t i ce was, that they‘were to have a poo r Scho lar ass igned themby the

Procurato rs, to whomthey were bound to gi ve every

day the leav ings o r broken meat ofthei r table, ’

un less

the Procurato rs should think i t fi t to be omi tted.The Scho lars appear at th i s t ime to have amountedto s i xteen.

'Ia 1284, the Lady Dervorg ille purchased a tene

ment ofa c i t i zen ofOxford , cal led Mary’s Hal l , as aperpetual sett lemen t for the Principal and Scho lars

ofthe House ofBal l io l. Th is ed ifice, after recei v ing

BALLIOL COLLEGE. 47

sui table repai rs and addi tion s;was called NewBall iolHall, and thei r fo rmer res idence then began to recei ve

the name ofOld Ball io l Hal l. The same year she

made o ver certain lands in the county ofNo rthumberland

,the greater part ofwhich was afterward s lo s t.

The fouhdation, however, was about th is t ime co n

fi rmed by Ol i ver,_

Bi shop ofLinco ln, and by the son

ofthe Founder, who was afterwards King ofScotland ,and who se consen t in th is mat ter seems to en t i tle h imto the veneration ofthe Soc iety.The revenues ofthi s Co l lege were at fi rs t very

small,yield ing on ly ei gh t-pen ce ‘

per'

tveek to each

Scho lar, or twen ty-seven pound s n ine shi l l ings and

four pen cefor the who le per annum, which was soon

found insuffi cien t. A number ofbenefac to rs , however, p romo ted the purpo ses ofthe Founder

,by en

ri ching the es tabl ishment wi th gi fts ofland , money,and church =~li ving s § and although some ofthese werelo s t by

'

various acciden ts , o r wrested fromthe Co llegeby injus t i ce, yet what remained pro ved , under jud icions management, suffi c ient to an swer the

'

liberal in

ten'

t ions ofthe benefac tors.In 1294, Hugh de Wychenbroke, or de Wyer, gave

the advowson ofS t.Lawrence Jewry, London , andsome o ther p roperty in that par ish. In 1310, Hugh

deWarkenby, Princi pal, and Wi ll iamde Go tham, a

Fel lowofthe Co llege, gave fourmessuages in '

School

st reet,for the suppo rt ofa Chaplain to ofli c iate in

the Orato ry,wh ich had been p rov i ded afew years

befo re. In 1320, Richard de Huns ingo re gave a te

nement in Oxfo rd, in S t.John’

s pari sh, which is now

As good, says Savage, as amark now

48 BALLIOL COLLEGE.

part ofAlban Hal l , and some lflfldS.’ But as with’

all

these helps the S cho lars had no mo re weekly thanthe ei gh t-pence befo re men t ioned , and that no longerthan un t i l they became Mas ters ofArts , many ofthemwere obl iged to rel inqui sh thei r s tud ies

,and

even to fo llowmechan i cal tradesfor amaintenance.The fi rst benefacto r who s tepped forward to rel ieve

themin th i s d i stress, and to suppo rt the Co l lege, was

S ir WilliamFel ton , Kut.who about the year 1340gave themthe Recto ry and mano r ofAlboldesly, o rAbbo ts ley, in Hunt ingdonsh i re ; and Pope Clemen t,who confirmed S i r Wi ll iamFel ton’

s gi ft,jo ined wi th

h im l i kewi se in i ntroducing a regulat ion , that the

Fel lowsmi gh t keep thei r place, even after becomingMas ters o r Docto rs , un t i l they succeeded to a l i v ing.

About the same t ime, bo th thei r numbers and re

.venues were augmen ted by the l i beral i ty ofS i r Ph i li pSomervyle, Lo rd ofthe Mano r ofWykenore in S taffo rdsh ire who gave the church ofMikel] Benton , orLong Benton

,wi th lands in the county ofNo rthum‘

berland,for the main tenance ofs i x Scho lars, who

were to be chosen by the s ix teen,Fel lows al ready be

longing to the Co l lege,and to be nat i ves ofthe p laces

neares t to the estates hezmade o ver to them, and such

as were the poorest, and ofthe mos t promis ing 'ab i

This benefact ion was accounted so cons i derable, asto gi ve Si r Phi li p the pri v i lege ofintroducing a new

body ofstatutes , the principal art i cles ofwhi ch Were,that the Soc iety should choose out ofthei r number

He held th ismanor ou'

conditiimofkeeping afi itch ofbacon hanging in h is hall, to be given to any couple who had been married for ayear without quarrel l ing.See Spectator, No.607.

BALLIOL COLLEGE. 49

one who“

should go vern all the House, and he and

h is succes so rs to be always cal led by the name ofMASTE R that

,after the elec t ion , he s hould be pre

sen ted , fi rs t, to the Lo rds ofthe Mano r ofWykenore,ifofthe pos teri ty ofS i r Phi l i p Somervyle ; secondly,to the Chancello r ofthe Un i vers i ty ; thi rdly , to the

Guard ian o r Warden ofDurhamCo l lege in Oxfo rd ;and, las t ly , to the ex trins i c Mas ters ofth is Co l lege,who Were to c onfirm the elect io n , and make h imswear to mai n tain the s tatutes

,Si c. ofS i r Phi l ip

Somervyle. O the r regulations were in t roduced re

spec t ing thei r s tud ies , and the week ly al lowance ofthe Fel lows and Scho lars rai sed to eleven pence

which, in case of.dearnes s ofv i ctuals , mi gh t be in

creased to fifteen pence.These new s tatutes are'

dated

Oc t; 18, 1340, and were confirmed by the Bi sho p ofDurham,

Aungervi lle, ei therasLo rd Chancello r or Lo rd

Treasurer, and by Edward Ball io l , Ki ng ofSco tland.Two years after

,Thomas .Cave

,Rec to r ofV V

el

wyke in Yo rk shi re, left one hundred pound s for the

purchase ofbenefices in Linco lnsh i re, out ofthe profits ofwhich the number ofScho lars was to be i h

creased. William Broklesby, Clerk , to whose carethis money was en t rus ted , purchased , in 134

3

, the

l i v i ngs ofFill ingham,R iseho lme, and Brokleby, o r

Brattleby, wh ich were set t led onO

the Co l lege ; but i tdoes no t appear what number ofScho lars was added.Thei r number at all t imes seems to have been regu

lated by the s tate ofthei r revenues , and to '

have fluc

According to the statutes of1289, the Head ofth is House was subordinate to the Procurators.

tH ‘As good as eigh teen shi l li ng-s and four pence now

s'

e BALLIOL COLLEGE.

B.A. Thi s lady was s i s ter to the celeb rated Lo rdBacon.

The las t cons iderable benefact ions appear to have

been sugges ted partly by a grateful remembrance ofthe favours , though d i s tan t , that were conferred on

th i s Society by themo ther ofthe King ofSco tland ,and by the King h imself, and partly to ex tend the ad

van tages ofan Engl i sh Un i vers i ty educat ion to such

ofthe nat ives ofthat k i ngdomas belonged to the

Engl i sh Church.Wi th these v iews,Dr.John Warner,

B isho p ofRoches ter, the founder ofBromley Co l lege,the fi rs t ofi ts k ind in England , gave, in 1666, part ofthe p rofi ts ofh is mano r ofSwayton in Linco lnshi re,for the main tenance offour Scho lars ofthe Sco tchnat ion , to be chosen , fromt ime to t ime, by the Archb i shop ofCanterbury and the Bi sho p ofRoches ter.Each was to have yearly unt i l M.A.when theywere to return to thei r own coun try, in holy o rders ,that theremay never be wan t ing in Sco tland somewho shal l suppo rt the eccles ias ti cal es tabl i shmen t ofEngland Owing to some demur on the part ofthi sCo l lege, these Scho lars were fi rs t placed in Glouces ter

Hal l , (nowWo rces ter Co l lege,) and there was a de

s i gn to havel'made that a Co l legefo r thei r use ; but ,

in the Mas tersh ip ofDr.Thomas Good , in 16792,

they were removed hi ther ; and the fund fo r ScotchScho lars has s ince been increased by the l i beral i ty ofJohn Snell , E sq.who gave the mano r ofUfi'

ton in

Warwi ckshi re fo r that purpose. Mr.Snel l was a

nat i ve ofthe coun ty ofAi r in Sco tland, and educated

in the Un i vers i ty ofGlasgow. He was at fi rs t Clerkto S i r Orlando Bridgman , afterwards Crier ofthe

Godwin, ap.Richardson.

BALLIOLCOLLEGE.

In the 5 6 Henry VI I I.15 35 , the rents ofthi s College were es t imated at 741.33.4d.and in 15 92, at

1001. In 16IQ , the Soc iety con s i sted ofone hundred ’

and twen ty- set en person s. It cons i sts at present ofaMas ter, (cal led Procurato r unt i l and Princi pal

o r Warden un t i l 1340, when the t i tle cfMas ter wasin troduced in Somervyle

’

s s tatutes, and confirmed by

Queen Eli zabeth’s charter in twel ve Fellows ,fourteen Scho lars , and ei gh teen Exh ib i tioners , w i th

other s tuden ts. The presen t Vis i to r 1s the Bishop ofDurham,

elected by the Co l lege, which i s the‘

only

one that enj oys the pri v i lege ofelect ing aVi s i tor.

The s i te -ofthe BUI LDINGS was o riginal ly occu

i

p ied by the tenements or hal ls already men t ioned , andwhich were purchased - by; o r.presented to , the So

c iety in i ts i nfancy. The‘fron t ofthe quadrangle

i s d i v ided by al fine Gothic gate, -onwh ich‘

are'

the'

arms ofthe Bal l io l fami ly." Bel l , B i shop ofWorces

ter, is supposed to have had some share in bui ld ingthi s gate. Part "ofthe quadrangle was bui l t in the

t ime ofHen ry VI and part in that ofHenry VI I..After var ious al terat ions and repai rs , which renderthe ancient fo rms rather o bjects ofconjecture thandescript ion, the east s ide, and the south east fromthe

gate, were en t irely rebui l t in the beg inn ing oftheei gh teenth century. The who le i s one hundred andtwenty feet long

, by ei gh ty 1n bread th.4 Bes i des thi s aadrang le, there i s an area on the

no rth-west , cons ist ing ofseveral detached lodgingsfor the s tuden ts, and purchased for thei r use by

Archbi shop Abbo t,in the beginning ofthe rei gn "

ofCharles I. They were called Caesar’s Lodgings, from

BALLI OL COLLEGE. 5 5 °

Hen ry Ce sar, (bro ther to Dr.Julius Caesar, Mas ter

ofthe Ro lls ,) who was amembe r ofthi s soc iety in

the reign ofQueen Eli zabe th , and afterwards Dean ofEly. There i s l i kewi se a new bui ld ing at the south

wes t angle, fron t ing the s treet , erected at the ex penc e

ofMr.Fisher,late Fellow ofBall io l , who enj o ined

the fo llowing inscri p t ion to be placed on the no rth

s i de, V ERB UM NON amemus — Frsus a. The fron t,

wh ich i s o ne hundred and eigh t feet long, is d i v ided

in to th ree s to ries. The ped imen t o ver the cent re hasa shield wi thin i ts flat surface, the who le surrounded

wi th a blo ck co rn i ce.

The HA L L,on the wes t s ide ofthe quadrangle

,

o riginally bui lt in the re ign ofHenry VI.once co n

tained the arms ofmany ofthe benefacto rs ; but the

p resent in terio r i s modern, and the only arms in i t

are those ofthe Co l lege.The L I BRARY, whi ch in Wood s t ime was es teemed

one ofthe bes t in the Un i vers i ty, was o ri ginal ly bui l t intwo parts

,the lower o r west part , in 14Q7, by Dr.Tho

mas Chace, and the upper o r eas t part, about the year1477,

‘ by Mr.Robert Abdy, bo th some t ime Mas ters,WilliamLambert , who was Mas ter in 1406, and Robe rtThwai tes

,who at tained the same honour in 145 1, gave

many valuable MSS.and Will iamWilto n , a Fel low,

and afterwards C hancello r ofthe Un i vers i ty ,was also

a con tri buto r ofbook s in 1499. Grey, Bishop ofEly , in 145 4, proved a mos t noble benefacto r, no t

only inmoneyfor the build ing , but in adding to the

co llect ion about two hundred manuscri pts , many ofthemr i chly i l luminated , wh ich he had purchased inEngland and I taly.In the lat ter coun t ry he employedt ranscribers and i lluminato rs, as appears by some ofhis

E 4

5 6 BALLIOL COLLEGE.

MSS.s t i l l in thi s Library ; but thi s collec tron , l i ke all

o thers , suffered by the depredat ions ofKing Edward'sVi s i to rs. Some book s, thus remo ved; are sai d tb have

been so ld by Robert ParsOns , Bursar, and Pro tes tant

boOks purchased wi th the money. He changed his

o pin ion on these mat ters afterward s , when he becameParsons the Jesui t , There is acurl ous MS.by h imnow in the Library,

'

ent i t led , Ep itome controversiarumhujus temporis. Bal l io l Li brary , about the year 15 5 0,had a supply ofbooks from DurhamCo l lege. In1673, S i r Thomas Wendy

,ofHaselingfield , in the

coun ty ofCambridge, K.B.o nce a Gent leman Cornmoner, bequeathed h is co l lec t ion

,supposed to be

wo rth and Archbishop Abbo t con t ri buted wi th

h is usual l i beral i ty,and in some measure repai red thedamages o ccas roned

‘

by the mi s taken zeal oftheVi s i to rs. The in terio r ofthi s Library was rebui lt byWyat afew years ago , in

'

a s tyle pecul iarlychas teand elegan t , in imi tat ion ofthe Go thic ; and the

wi ndows contain the arms , St e.Ofthe benefacto rs,which were formerly in the o ld

‘Library windows.

At the same t ime a‘

new Common Roomand offi cesweremade underneath.The CHA P E L was begun to be bui l t i n 15 21, and

fin i shed some t ime befo re 15 29.6

l

Theh

s i te ofthefo rmer Chapel i s doubtful , un les s i t s tood where the

Master’s lodgings noware, the beaut i ful bay wi ndowofwh ich has the arms ofBi shop Grey, who bui l tthese lodgings. There appears to have been a Chapel

as early‘as 1327, ded icated to S t.Katharine. The

Abbo t ofRead ing gave ten marks towardsthe bui lding ofi t,

'

and a g lass window wh ich cos t The

Savage.

BALLIOL COLLEGE. 5 7

p resen t Chapel , however, rose o n the mun ificence ofi ndi v idual s whose names have no t been preserved ,excep t some oftho se who con tri buted to the wi ndows.

The great eas t window,wh ich con tains the Pas s ion ,

Resurrec t ion, and Ascens ion , in glowing co lours , Was

the gi ft ofDr.Laurence S tubbs , in 15 29. It affo rdsno inco ns iderable proof ofthe value in wh ich th i sw indow was he ld

,that Wadhamoffered QOOI.fo r i t ,

wi th a v iew to place i t in h is chapel. On what o ccas io n he though t h imsel f encouraged to make thi s offerwe are no t to ld. The o ther windows are o rnamen tedw i th Scrip ture p ieces , po rt rai ts ofsain ts , and herald i cdev ices belo nging to the respec t i ve dono rs. In the

second window on the south s i de is the s to ry ofHezek iah ’s s i ckness and recovery

,by Bernard van Linge,

dated 1637, and presen ted by Dr.Pete r Wen two rth,

Fellow. Lo rd Orfo rd enumerates Van Linge amongthose who have preserved the art ofglas s-pai n t ing

,

but makes no men t ion ofth i s pi ece.S ince the foundat ion ,

this Co llege has been super

i n tended by two Procurators , ei gh t Pr incipals , o r

W ardens,and fo rty- two MA STER S. Among these

we find the name ofthe fi rs t refo rmer, as he is

usual ly reckoned , the celebrated John lV icklifl'

e,

who se real meri t has been mo re obscured by ia

temperate prai se and censure, than that ofany manwhose hi s to ry is i n teres t ing to the friends ofrel ig io nand learn ing. Of a d ifferen t s tamp was one ofh issucces so rs

,Brookes

,Bi shop ofGlouces ter, a subt le

legate fromthe Po pe, and one ofCranmer’s judges ,but who se autho ri ty

,and h is on ly

,that i l lus trious

martyr refused to own. The name ofCranmer ne

‘

cessar ily recal ls to memo ry, that he and Ridley and

5 8 BALLIOL COLLEGE.

Lat imer suffered martyrdomin Candi tch , oppos i te to,

the front of.th is Co lleges Some years ago , the s tone

on wh ich the fatal s take was placed used to be shewn

to s trangers ; but so remarkable an event seems to de.mand amore d i s tinct memo rial "

Dr.Henry Savage, who was chosen Master duringthe Usurpat ion , but co nfo rmed afterwards , publ i sheda wo rk , ent i tled, BalliOfergus, o r a Commen taryupon the Foundat ion , Founders , and Affai rs ofBa].liol Col lege, 4to.1668. Wood says he had no na

tural genyfor awo rk ofthi s k ind,

“

and has commi ttedmany blunders ; and i tmay be added, that h is s tyle isuncommonly vague, d iffus i ve, and pedan ti c. His aimwas to appear great in l i ttle things ; and the grav i ty

wi th whi ch he d i scusses theo rigin, deri vat ion , 8te.ofthe name Katherine, whether i t should be spel t wi th

aK or a C, at what t ime the h was introduced , andthe double 1 in Bal l io l , i s t ruly wonderful. One ofthe las t Masters, Dr.Theoph i lus Lei gh, who d iedJan.3, 178 5 , was aman oflearn ing and wit

, and a

remarkable instance ofacademi cal longev i ty. Heheld the office ofMas ter for° the very long termoffifty-n ine years. He took the degree ofM.A.atCo rpus in 1715 , and had been a res i dent in Oxfo rdnearly seventy years.

Ofthe PRELATE S ' educated in th i s Co l lege, some

t The publ ic spi rit ofa worthy ci tiz en ofOxford has preserved a.very interes t ing membrial ofthese i l lust rio

'

us confess’ors. Some yearsago , when the Bocardo, or prison in wh ich theywere confined previous lyt o their martyrdom, was pul led down , Mr.Alderman Fletcher (now,for the th ird time, .Mayor ofOxford) caused the door ofthei r cel l to beremoved, and fixed up in the common roomofthe c ity jai l, with asuitable inscript ion, and the portraits ofthemartyrs very ingenious ly burntin wood, by ayoungman ofthe c ity.

60 BALLIOL COLLEGE.

John Tiptoft, Earl ofWo rces ter, who flouri shed in the

reigns ofHen ry VI.and Edward IV.ajudic ious enconrager of.l i terature, by impo rt ing fromabroad those {rear-r

sures which England wanted. Tanner info rms us , thathe gavemanuscript s to thi s Un i vers i tywh ich were va

loed at five hundred mark s. He was one ofthe fi rs tEngl ish wri ters who employed the p ress ofCax ton.It .is to be .reg ret ted , however, that the so ften ing in

fluences oflearn ing d id no t enable h imto r ise supe

r io r to the barbarous prac t i ces ofh is age , and that

his v io len t d eath was in some respect ameasure ofretal iat ion. Boss ofWarwi ck , the h i s to rian , appears

to have been contempo rary wi th Tiptoft in thi s Co l

lege. Here al so were educated those d i s t ingui shed

lawyers ,.S ir John Popham, Chief Jus t i ce ofthe K ing’sBench ; Lo rd Coven try, .Lo rd Keeper ; S i r HumphreyDavenpo rt , Chief Baron ofthe Exchequer ; and S i rRobert Atkyns , who was promo ted to the same offi ce

,

and whose son ,the h i s to rian ofGloucestersh i re, was

also ofth i s Co llege To thesemay be added , Parsons ,the celebrated Jesui t, who se in trigues were so con s ider

able during the uns ett led per iod ofour nat ional rel i

gion , and who , as al ready men t ioned , began hi s career ofzeal by purging the l i brary ofPo p i sh wri tings -Dr.Thomas Ho l land , who wi l l occur hereafteras Recto r ofE x eter z— Tobias Crisp, sai d to be the

founder ofthe sect ofthe Antinomians , a part ofh ischaracter which has s ince swelled in to a con tro versy— The very learned and ingen ious John Evelyn

,to

Hugh Holland , the author or compiler ofthe Heero log ia, is said

byW'

ood , in h is H is t.Fo l io , t o have mat riculated here in 15 82 ; but heappears to confound h imwith Hugh Ho lland , a poet. The authorofthe Heerologiawas astat ioner or bookseller in London.

BALLIOL COLLEGE. 61

whose wello t imed i nterference the Un i vers i ty i s in

debted fo r the pos ses s ion ofthe Arundelian marbles ,and whose li fe, i t has been eloquen t ly said, was a

course ofi nqui ry, s tudy, curio s i ty, ins truct ion , and

benevo lence — Dr.Charles Davenan t , (son to Si r

Wi ll iamDavenant,the d ramat i c poet ,) one o f .the

earl ies t and ables t wri ters on the subjec t offinance— Dr.Dav id G regory ‘

, a b ranch ofan i l lus tr iousfami ly ofscholars bo th in England and Sco t landKei l and Bradley

,mathemat i c ians and as t ronomers of

more recen t fame — Dr’

.Wi ll iamK ing, who wi l l benot i ced among the Princi pals ofS t.Mary Hal lHutch inso n , the learned hi s to rian ofDo rse tshi reand James West, some t ime Pres iden t ofthe RoyalSoc iety, who se valuable manuscri pts were lately purchased by Parl iamen t from the hei rs ofthe firs tMarqui s ofLan sdown, and depo s i ted in the Bri t i shMuseum.

Not ascho lar ofthis Honse, but amember ofit when he came tzoOxford to succeed Dr.Bernard in the Savi l ian Professo rship.

E X ETE R COLLEGE.

VVALTER de S tapledon , Bi shop ofExeter, was theFounder ofth is Co l lege, and ofHartHal l , nowHertfo rd Co l lege. Al l we have ofh is hi s tory “ begi ns wi th

h i s advancement to the B ishopric in 1307.He is sai d

to have been ‘ of great parentage,

”the younger

son ofSi r R ichard S tapledon , Kn i ght ; but we hearno mo re ofh imun t il h is i ns tal lat ion

,which was

graced by ceremon ies ofmagn ificen t so lemn i ty. On

h is arri val at Exeter, he al i ghted fromh is ho rse

at Eas tgate, and wal ked on foo t, the ground being

smoo thed and co vered wi th black clo th , to the cathedral ; on each hand , he was accompan ied by a person ofd i st inct ion

,wh i le S i t Will iamCourtney, who

claimed the honour ofbeing s teward on thi s Occas ion ,walked befo re h im. At Broadgate he was recei ved

by the Chap ter and Cho i r. After the accustomed ceremon ies

,a grand feast was g i ven

, ofsuch ex pence, asthe revenues ofthe Bishopri c

,acco rd ing to Godwin’s

es t imation , would no t have been suffi cien t to defray”.All the ‘

s teps ofh is po l i t i cal l i fe were marked wi thhonours. He was chosen one ofthe Pri vy Counci l to

His name is local , and was taken fromStapledon in the parish ofCookberry, the ancient residence ofthe family. Prince th inks hewasborn at Annary, in the parish ofMonk legh , near Great Torrington, inDevonshire.

b Yet in Henry Iv.’s t ime i t was valued at 70001.per annum, asumscarcely credible as the ex pence ofan entertainment.

EXETER COLLEGE; 63

Edward I I.appo in ted Lo’rd Treasurer, and employed

in embas s ies, and o ther wei gh ty affai rs ofs tate, inwhich h is ab ili t ies and in tegri ty would have been

acknowledged , had he no t l i ved in a per iod oft e

markable turbulence and i njus t i ce. In 1325 he s e

compan ied the Queen to France, in o rder to negociate

a peace : but h er in ten t ion s to depose her husband

were no longer to be concealed ; and the Bishop,whose integri ty her mach inat ion s could no t co rrupt

,

co nt inued to'

attach h imself to the cause ofh is unfo’

r

tunate So verei gn, and fel l an early sacrifice to popular

fury. In 1826 he was appo inted Guard ian oftheci ty ofLondon, during the King’s absence in the

Wes t ; and whi le he was tak ingmeasures to preser vethe loyalty ofthe met ropo l i s , the populace attac ked

h im, Oc t.15 , as he was walk ing the s treets, and beheaded h imnear the no rth doo r ofS t.Paul’s , together wi th S i r R ichard S tapledon , h is b ro ther. God

t. info rms us, that they buried the Bisho p in a heapofsand at the back ofhi s house, without Temple-Bar :Wals inghamsays, they threw i t into the ri ver : but thefo rmer accoun t seems mos t con s i sten t wi th po pularmalevo lence and con tempt.Exeter-house was foundedby h imas a town res idencefor the Bishops ofthed iocese, and is sai d to

‘

have been very magn ificen t.It was afterwards alienated fromthe see, and , by achange ofowners

,became fi rs t Le i ces ter, and then

Essex-house, a name wh ich the s i te s t i ll retains. Itappears that the Queen soon after o rdered the bodyofthe murdered B ishop to 'be removed , and in terred ,

wi th that ofh is b ro ther,in Exeter cathedral. In the

3 Edward I II.1399, a synod was held at Lo ndon be~

fo re S imon, Archbi shop ofCan terbury, to make iub

64 EX ETER C OLLEGE.

qui ry into Bi shop S taplédon’

s death and h ismurderers

,.and all who were any way pri vy o r consenting to'

the crime, were executed. His monumen t, ou the

no r th ai s le ofExeter cathed ral , was erected by the

Rec tor and Fe l lows ofthi s C o l lege ; and afterwards

repai red by th i s Soc iety in the year 1733, and agatn

in 1807. -The o riginal inscript ion ,'

wh ich has b een re

mo ved , may be seen in Po lwhele’s Hi s t.ofDevon.

Among the mun iment s o fu

the Dean and Chap ter ofExeter, there is an accoun t ofthe admin i s trat ion ofh is good s , by Richard Braylegh , Dean ofExeter, andone ofh is executo rs ; by wh ich i t appears , that he

left agreatmany l egac ies to poo r scho lars, and severalsums ofmoney , fromtwen ty to s i x ty sh i ll ings;fo r therepai r ing ofbridges in the coun ty, and towards bui ld

i ng Pil ton church , 8Lc.‘

The foundat ion ofth i s -Co l leg‘e , which perhaps ,s tric tly

c speak ing , was pos terio r to that ofHer tfo rd , i s so

,invo l ved wi th to make it d iffi cul t

t o cons ider them, at least fo r some t tme, as d ifferentes tabl i shments.After he had engaged Hert

'

o r Hart

Hallfor the accommodat ion ofh is Scho lars , he purchased ‘a tenement on the s i te ofthe present Co l lege,cal led S t.S tephen

'

s Hal l, in they ear 1315 ; and hav

ing purchased also t some add i t ional premi ses” knownthen by the names ofSco t Hal l, Led ing Park Hal l,and Baltaye Hal l, he remo ved the Recto r and Sc holars ofS tapledon , o r Hart Hal l , to th i s place, in pur

suance ofthe same foundat ion charter which he hadob tained ofthe King fo r founding that

'

Hall in .thepreced ing year. Acco rd ing to the s tatutes which he

gave to thi s Soc iety , the number ofpersons to

“

be

Polwhele’

s H ist.ofDevon, p.284.

E XETER COLLEGE : 65

maintained appears to have been th i rteen ; one,

to be

ins t ruc ted in Theo logy o r Canon-law,.the res t in

J

Phi

losophy. Eigh t ofthemwere to be ofthe Arqhdeacouries ofExeter

,To tnes s , and Barnstaple ;four of

the Archdeaco nry ofCo rnwal l ; and one, a Pries t,to be nominated by the Dean and Chapter ofExeter.fromany o ther par t ofthe ki ngdom.In the art i cle ofmoney, themun ificence ofBi shop

S tapledon was soo n ai ded by o ther benefacto rs , as

Phi l i p de Skeltone, Ral ph Germayne, and RichardG renfield. In 1404, “Edmund S taffo rd , Bi shop ofExeter, refo rmed the s tatutes , c hanged the namefromStapled on to Exeter Hal l

,and gave, in benefac

tions ofmoney,abo ve two hundred marks , bes ides

book s and o rnamen ts to the Li brary and Chapel , andthe addi t ion oftwo Fellowsh ips fromthe diocese ofSal i sbury.: He was bro ther to Ralph

, the fi rs t Ear l

ofS tafford, and was Chance llo r of,England under

Henry IV. He d ied , acco rd ing to Iz acke and God

win , Sep t -4, ,

and the Scho lars ofthi s ,House

were so sens ible ofthei r obl igat ions , as to appo in t aperpetual obi tfor him.The supe rio r endowments ofth is Co llege were t e

served for the li beral sp i r i t ofano ther ben efac to r, S irWill iamPetre. Some no t i ce is due to a-man ofh isfame and accompli shments ; the founder ofthe noble

fami ly of-Petre, a s tatesman ofacknowledged abi l i t iesunden the very d isco rdant reigns ofHen ry VI I I.Edward VI.Mary, and Eli zabeth , and , what i s no t un in

teres tiug‘

to Oxford , the father ofDo ro thy fi ’adliam.

The exac t t ime and place ofh is b i rth are no t known.

Mr.Polwhele thinks his death t ook place some t imebefore fine, ashis corpse was brought to Exeter cathedral on the 3d.

F

66 EXETER COLLEGE.

Exeter and Tornewton claimh im' as a nat i ve,fromone of~wh ich he was sent to Exeter .Hal l ,

‘

and after-r

ward s , in 15 23, elected‘

a Fel low ofAll Souls. He

took the degree ofBachelo r ofCi vi l Law in 15 26,

and that '

ofDocto r in’

15 3Q.He was then made Prin-Je i pel ofPeckwater Inn , and was tuto r to ' ThomasBoleyne, Ea1l ofWil tsh i re. Thi s served to in troduceh im at Court

,where he became a favouri te wi th

Hen ry VI I I.who sen t h imto t ravel , wi th the al low

ance ofa pens ion. On h is return , he acted as Lat in

Secretary in the othee ‘

ofthe Secretary ofS tate, andi n 15 35 was appo in ted to be one ofthe Vi s it o rs or

the monasteries. For this he was remunerated wi th“gran ts

'

ofabbey-land s , recei ved the honour ofKn i gh thood , was admi tted i n to the Pri vy Counc i l, and final lyappointed one ofthe Princ i pal Secretaries ofState.Edward VI.cont inued h imin the Pri vy Counci l , and:

as Secretary ofS tate,and honoured h imwi th o ther

appo in tments ; and notwi th s tand i ng in ~ eccles ias t ical

matters he had acted wi th Cranmer; Queen Mary t etained himas her Secretary, and found h im, al though

caut ious , no t averse to some ofher measures. It iscer tain that her succes so r, Eli zabeth , con t inued himi n the offi ce ofSecretaryfor some years

,and he was

ofher Pri vy Counci l -un t i l his death in 15 79. The

latter part ofh is days was devo ted to acts ofl i beral i ty;In 15 65 be procured a new body ofs tatutes fo r thi sCo llege, and a regular deed ofincorpo rat ion. He

S irWi lliamPet re is not a sol itary instance ofth is kind.Wi lliamPoulett , Lord ,

St.John ofBas ing, afterwards Ear l ofWi ltsh ire and Mar.quis ofWinchester, was a Privy Counsellor under Henry VIII.and Lo rdTreasurer

, in the three fo llowing reigns. Sir John Mason, who wi lloccur among the Scholars ofAl l Souls, was another instance.

EXETE’R COLLEGE.

various purposes abo ve s tated , but part i cularlyfor theadd i t ion ’

oftwo Fel lowships from the coun t ies ofHertfo rd and Surry.

The late Thomas Rowney, Esq.M.P.fo r the ci tyofOxfo rd , '

gave the living ofWoo tton in North'

am'

p- z

ten sh ire to thi s Co l lege ; wh ich has l ikewi se attachedto i t the R EC TOR I E S ofBavers tock and Somerfo rdMagna in Wil tsh i re ; and Bushey in Hertfo rdshi re ;and the VICARA G E S ofKidl i ngton , ~Merton

,and

South Newington ,in Oxfo rdsh i re ; Menh innio t,uCorn

wal l ‘ ; and Long~Wi ttenhamin Be rk shi re.

In the 26 Hen ry V II I.the r evenues were, valued at

in 15 92 at and in 11612 the Society co

s i s ted of206 persons. The presen t members are, aRecto r , twen ty

-five Fel lows , one Scho lar, who i s'

Bible Clerk,

'and te'

n Exhi bi t ioners , bes i des other students. The Bishop

'

ofExeter i s Vi s i to r.

Respect ing the anc ient fo rmofthe BUILDINGSofthi s Col lege, our info rmat ion i s very imperfec t.They do no t, however, appear to _

have composed aregular who le, but were augmented fromt ime to t ime,as l i beral i ty suppl ied the means. About at century ’

after ‘ the foundat ion they were probably inclo‘

sed , fo r .at that period a gate was bui l t, wh ich con t inued to bethe princi pal ent rance unt i l Exeter lane was s topped

ilp. The tower wh ich appears insAggas

’s map, and a

new gate at the ‘

west end ofthe Co l lege, were added

about the same t ime.Afterwards some lodging rooms “

were bui lt by Thomas Bent ley, in 15 97, and o thers,

’

in 1618, by Si r John Periam, Kut.an opulent c i t i zen,

The Vicar ofMenhinn iot is‘

chosen by the Chapter ofEx eter, butmust be or have been aFel low '

ofthis Col lege.

EXETER C OLLEGE. 69

an Alderman of.Exeter, and bro ther to S i r Wi ll iamPeriam, whose, wi dow was a benefac tress to Ball io l

Co l lege. These were long known by the name ofPeriam’

s bui ld ings. The gate and the rooms o ver

i t , oppo s i te to Jesus Co llege,were bui l t

,by E verard

Chambers , a Fel low ofthe House about the latter

end ofQ ueen .E li zabeth’

s rei gn. The rooms were

purchased by.the.Co l lege in 1605 , at the price of68.8d.

‘

The.build ing between -th i s gate and the

Chapel was pri nci pally erec ted in 1672, q ne,half by

benefact ion s , and the o ther half, at the wes t end oftheChapel, was fin ished in 168Q. In 1671, Dr.~Arthur

Bury,Rec to r from1666 to 1690, added a s tone fa

bric'

ofthree s to ries on the north s i de ofthe Rec to r’slodgi ngs .The o ther parts ofthe quadrangle were rebui l t . in

the beg inn ing ofthe las t cen tury ; the tower o ver the

gateway,.and the rooms '

fromthe south s ide ofthetower to the wes t end ofthe Hal l

,in 1700 ; and in

1708; the apartmen ts on the eas t s ide wh ich jo insPeriam’

s .bui ld ings , and the Rec torfs lodgings in theplace ofthe old Library, then taken down.

The prin ci pal fron t, two h und red and twen ty feetin length, i s d i v ided by the gate ofrus t i c wo rk

,sur

mounted by a tower,wi th Ion ic

, pilas ter s suppo rti nga semic i rcular pediment, in the area ofwh ich are the

arms ofthe Founder on a shield surrounded wi thfestoons. The inner fron t is ofa s imi lar cons truc t ion ,but wi th the arms ofLo rd Petre. The various al

terations progress i vely made have now reduc ed the

whole‘

to one ex tens i ve quadrangle, ofnearly one

hundred and thi rty-five feet each s ide, comprehend ingthe Hal l, the Chapel, the Recto r

'

s lodgings, the front

r 3

70 EX’ETER COLLEGE.

ofwh ich was rebui l t at the ex pence ofthe Society in1798 , and the chambers ofthe Soc iety. Some oftheFel lows are accommodated in a large house beh ind theRec to r’s lodgings, wh ich was bui l t by Dr.Prideaux ,Recto r from1612 to fo r the use.ofsuch fo reign.ers as reso rted to th i s Co l lege to avai l themselves ofh is instruct ions , Fromthe cop ious l i s tWood has gi ven

in h is A thenae, i t appears that Dr.Prideaux’s fame as

a tuto r wasmos t ex ten s i ve.Afterward s thishouse wasinhab i ted by pri vate fami l ies for some years befo re i twas con ver ted to i ts presen t use, The gardens, wh ichcomplete the premi ses ofth i s Co l lege

,beyond the

quadrangle, are lai d out wi th cons i derable tas te.

The HA L L was bui lt by S i r John Ack land ofDe

vonsh ire, Kut.some t ime after the year 1618, whenthe old Hal l was pul led down.The ex pence was

10001.ofwh ich Sir John con tri buted and the

Co l lege‘

the remainder , It i s o rnamented -wi th po re

t rai ts, among wh ich are, a who le length ofthe '

Founder, painted» and presen ted by Peters~ in 1780 ;

an old port rai t ofthe same ; Charles I.; S i r JohnPer iam; S i r John Ackland Archbi shop Marsh ;M rs.Shiers ; Hal l, Bi shop ofChester ; S i r Wi l l iamPetre ;and Docto rs Bray, S t in ton , and Richards , late Recto rs.A L I BRARY doub tles s en tered into the contemplae

t ion ofthe Founder , i f the madnes s ofthe t imes hads pared h i s l i fe. We find , however, as early as 1368, a

benefact ion oftheo logical manuscripts by John Gratid i son, Bi shop ofE i

teter

, and ofmathemat ical andas tronomi cal wri t ings by Simon de Bredon , an emi enent mathemat i cian, in 1372. The con tri but ions of‘

other benefacto rs suggested the erect ion ofa roomproperfor thei r recept ion about the year 1383, wh ich

EXETER COLLEGE; 71

was -

s i tuated in the eas t end'

ofwhat was in Wo od’s

t ime cal led the Upper Court. This bui ld ing was en

larged i n 1404 ; but th e l i beral i ty ofmany eminen tscho lars gradual ly rendering mo re space necessary,the book s , augmen ted also by the art ofprin t ing,were in 1695 depo s i ted in the old Chapel , where

they remained unt i l 1709, when an acc iden tal fire

d es troyed all the i nte rio r ofth e bui ld ing, and the

princ i pal par t ofthe bo ok s. It was soon refurn i shed ,and enr i ched wi th a valuable co l lec t ion bo th ofmanuscri p ts and pr in ted book s, part i cularly Ald ine clas s i cs,the gi ft ofThomas Richards

,Esq.and Jo seph San

ford , B.D.‘

some time members ofth i s House. In

1778, thi s , the only remain ing part ofthe orig inal

Co l lege, was taken down , and rebui l t in a plain and

neat s tyle froma plan gi ven by the presen t Publi cOrato r.It somet imes happened , that a CHA P E L made no

part ofthe ori ginal foundat io n ofthe Co lleges. The

s tuden ts ofthi s Soc iety, wh i le at Hart Hal l, attended

d i v ine serv i ce at S t.Peter’s in the Eas t,and when

they were brough t to S tapledon Hall , at S t.Mi ldred’

s,

thei r pari sh church, wh ich s tood nearly about the

cen tre oft he presen t Co l lege. A few years after,they obtained a l i cence fromHenry Burwesh , BishopofLi ncoln

,to bui ld a Chapel, wh ich was fin ished

about the year 1326, and consecrated to the honour

ofthe bles sed Vi rgin Mary, S t.Peter the Apo s tle,and S t.Thomas the martyr. It con t inued in use

un ti l IGQ4, when, as al readymen t ioned , i t was turned

Mr.Sanford was afterwards Fellow ofBall iol , and died Sept.1774,wt 84. HB lies buried in St.Mary Magdalen church , in the middle

72 EXETER COLLEGE?

in to a l i brary, au’

d remained in that s tateun t i l 1778The presen t Chapel was begun in March 1622-3, and

finished'

by Dr.George Hakewill, afterwards , Recto r,at the ex pence

’

of?r 14001.ofwh ich he con tri buted

12001. It was consecrated '

to the ~memory ofS tuJames , Oc t.5 , 16Q4; on ' wh ich day

'

Dr.Prideaux ,then R ecto r, preached a consecrat ion sermon“ Dr.

Hakewill left a sum‘

ofmoneyfo r -

prayei'

s and a ser

mon on the ann i versary. The Chapel,cont rary to

,

the accus tomed fo rm ofChap'

els,cons i s ts of= two

ai sles, one -ofwh ich i s furn i shed for d ivine wor

sh ip.-It i s ~

en l i ghtened by eigh t Go thi c windows,wi th th i s inscri p t ion on each

,DomusmeaDomila

'

Themonumen tal inscrip t ions are numercus , and upon the roof, wh ich i s an imi tat ion ofgro in and fret-work , and o ver the - screens , are the

arms ofDr.Hakewill. An excel len t po rtrai t ofh imis placed by

‘

h is des i re in thesouth ais le.

Befo re the changes i ntroduced by S i r Wi l l iamPetre in the cons t i tut ion ofthi s Society, the elect ion

o f'

the Head was annual ; butfrom-

that t ime the

office became,as in o ther Co l leges , perpetual. Of

the R E CTOR S , -Dr.Thomas ~Ho lland , fo rmerly ofBal l io l , who held - th is offi ce from 15 92 - to 161‘2, i s

reco rded as a man ofex trao rd inary learn ing and

read ing, and highly revered by the Un i vers i ty, the

Heads ofwhich attended h is funeral in solemn '

pro

cess ion , and the Recto r ofLinco ln, Dr.K ilbye, de

Luke x ix.46.D r.Prideaux'5 text to the consecrat ion sermon.When Dr.Hakewill gave so large a sumtowards t he bui lding ofth is Chapel , he was on ly aFel low, without preferment , The Col legeafter wards added a tenement in the parish ofSt.Mary Magdalen ,towards the better celebrat ion ofthe day.Prince'sWorth ies ofDevon,p.406.

74‘ EXETER COLLEGE.

memo i rs ofh is eventful l i fe and t imes , are st i ll ‘

in the

pos sess ion ofh is descendants. Dr.Conybeare, afterwards Dean ofChri s t Church and Bi shop ofBri s to l,was Rector from1730 to 1733, when the Deanery was

conferred upon h imfor h is able defence ofChri s~t ian ity again st Dr.Tindal. He was one ofthe most‘

popular p reachers ofh is t ime, and in h is wr i t ings one

,ofthe mos t acute and temperate ofreasoners. The

presen t Rector i s the n ineteen th upon the l is t.

Many ofthe PR E LATE S educated -at thi s Co l lege

were men ofcons i derable fame. Dr.Bayley, Bi shopofBango r,may be i nstanced as the autho r ofone ofthe mos t popular book s in the Engl i sh language,1‘ The Prac t i ce ofPiety — Dr.Prideaux

,al ready

no t i ced z— Dr.Bul l, Bishop ofS t.Dav id’s, one oftheables t champ ions ofour Church

,and Archbi shop

Seeker, are too wel l kn own to requi re more part i cularno t i ce.

The li st ofeminen t men ofo ther rank s wh ichExeter has produced is very cop ious. One ofherearl iest pup i ls was John ,

de Trevisa, Canon ofWes t

bury in Wiltshi re, who , in 1387, at the'

command ofhis mun ificen t patron, Thomas Lo rd Berkeley, trans,lated Higden’s Po lychron i con , Bar tholomaus de Proprietat ibus Rerum, and o ther Lat in autho rs. Thereseems , however, no foundat ionfor at tri buting to h im

,

as .M r‘

.Warton has done, a tran s lat ion ofthe who leBi ble — Grown, one ofthe rev i vers oflearning, reo

s i ded here some t ime, but more properly belongs toNew College -S ir John Fo rtescue, one ofthe mosteminent lawyers and law-wr i ters ofthe fifteenth cenfi

tury‘

: -Sir George Mo re, a benefacto r to the publ i c

library z— Browne, the poet, and autho r ofBri tannia’s

EXETER COLLEGE. 75

Pastorals -Robert Hayman , ano ther poet ofless re.

nown — Henry Cary, Lord Fal kland , anobleman ofani llust rious fami ly, four ofwhomwere success i vely ao ,

tho rs s— rS i r John Doddridge, emi nen t as ajudge and

ant i quary — Si r Wi ll iamNoy, At to rney General,mo reent it led to res pect as awri ter, than a pract i cal lawye r :-The Fi tzherberts , S i r An thony , Nicho las , and Tho,

mas — D iggory VVheare, the fir s t Camden Professo r,and the fi rs t who wro te sys temat i cal ly o n the s tudy ofh i s to ry — The unfo rtunate James, Duke ofHami lton,who was beheaded fo r h i s inflex i ble attachmen t toC harles I.— Dr.Arthur Duck , an emi nent ci v i lian,and the biog rapher ofArchb ishop Ch ichele z— LordC hief Jus t ice Ro l le z— H en ry Carey, second Earl OfLlonmouth, who employed h is retired hours

,during

t he Usurpat ion, in many h is to ri cal trans lations and

p ri g inal compo si t ions — Si r Simon Baskerv il le, a verylearned phys ic ian , and themos t o pulen t and ex tens i ve

p ract i t ioner ofhi s age. He d ied in 1641.It i s upon

reco rd , as a proo f ofh is popularity, that he had gene.~rally one hundred pat ien ts aweek

, and ofh is goodsen se and human i ty , that he took no fee fromanyclergyman under the rank ofDean z— Joseph Caryl]

,a

learned nonconfo rmi s t , andwel l known as the autho r

ofamo s t voluminous commen tary on the boo k ofJob z— John Poulett

,the loyal Marqui s ofV Vinches~

ter, whos e house at Bas ing s tood a s iege oftwo years

agains t the Parl iamen tary forces : the'

hist ory ofthi ss iege fo rms one ofthemos t interes t ing narrat i ves ofaperiod that was ful l ofwonders. Dryden honouredh is Lo rdship , as Mil ton d id the lVIarch iones s , wi th anep i taph z— Thomas Brancker, amathemat i c ian — Jo

seph Glanv i lle, aman ofcons iderable talents, an able

76 EXETER COLLEGE.

o pponen t ofthe Ari sto tel ian ph i losophy, and no less

z ealous in h is bel ief in wi tches and appari t ion s z— An

thouy Ashley Cooper, Lord Shaftesbury , a s tatesmanofunques t ionable talents , acuteness, and judgmen t , but

'

whose real character and meri ts in publ i c -and pri vatel i fe are yet con tes ted by h is torians and biographersQui ck , the eccles ias t i cal h is torian — Dr.G ideon Har

vey, a vo luminous, but no t very successful med icalwri ter — S i r Geo rge Treby, Chief Just i ce ofthe Common Pleas. Among the

'

mo re modern Scho lars ofthi s College may be enumerated Aust i s '

, the cele

b rated herald — Dr.Walker, the hi sto rian oftheloyal C lergy z— Maundrell, the travel ler — SamuelWes

l ey, father ofthe founders ofthe Method ists,John

and Charles Wesley z— Dr.Borlase z — S i r Michael

Fos ter — M r.Lewi s ofMargate, the biographer

No rris , Rec tor ofBemerton,the Platon ist z— Up ton,

the ed i to r ofEpictetus, and one'

ofthe earl iest commen tators on Shakspeare z

— Toup, eminent fo r clas

s ical knowledge and cri t i ci smz— Tindal,the cont i

nuator ofRapin z— Hole,the poet — and Dr.Ken

n ico t ‘.

Th is College consisteth chiefly ofCorn ish and Devonsh ire men,the gentry ofwh ich latter, Queen E liz abeth used to say, were cour

t iers by their birth. And as these western men do bear away the bel lformight and sleight '

i n wrest li ng, so the S chol lars here have alwayesacquitted themselves with cred it in Palmy ra literm‘

ja. Ful ler’sChurch

‘

History, book iv.p.102.

OR IEL COLLEGE.

the hands ofthe K ing, ofwho se l i beral i ty he‘ appearsto have made a just es t imate, and fromwho se power

he expected ad van tages to the Society,wh ich he was

h imsel f incapable ofcoriferringfNor was he d isap

po in ted in the i ssue ofth i s wel l- t imed po l i cy. The

King took‘

the Co l lege under '

h is own care,‘

and the

nex t year g ran ted a new charter, appo int ing i t to bea Co llege for Di v in i ty and the Canon-law ; to be

governed by'

a Pro vo st ‘

; and ,for thei r better maintenan

‘ce, bes i des some tenemen ts in S t.Mary’s pari sh,

he gave’

themthe'

advowson ofS t.Mary’s oh li rch,on:

condi t ionofthei r prov id ing certai n Chaplains to per;fo rmserv i ce in that church dai ly.He also en largedthei r powers of'mak ing purchases oflands, Ste.to - the.

yearly value ofs i x ty pounds.Adamde Brom

,who was deservedly appo inted the

fi rs t Pro vost, drew up a body ofs tatutes in 1326;

accord ing to whi ch the Co l lege was to cons i s t ofaPro vos t, and ten Fel lows o r Scholars, s tudying Di v i

ai ry, three ofwhomwere afterwards al lowed to s tudythe Canon s law He gave themalso the church ofAberforth in Yo rk sh i re : and in 1327, Edward III.be

stowed upo n thema large messuage, s i tuated par tly.in r the par i sh of‘S t.John Bap t i st , cal led La Or iole, to

wh i ch the Schola’rs '

soon remo ved , -and fromwhich theCo l lege took i ts name. Bes ides 'th is , De Brom

, ever

anx io u sfor the prosper i ty ofthe in s t i tut ion,procured

ofthe King the hosp i tal ofS t.Bartho lomew, whicheventual ly added .cons iderably to thei r revenues

,.alth ough

o the immed iate objec t was only to furn i sh themwi th a place ofsafety during t imes ofpest i lent ial in s

fec tion. The s i te ofth i s hospi tal was about’ hal f ami le fromS t.Clement’s church, in the centre-between

ORIEL COLLEGE: 79

the two London roads. It was bui l t by Hen ry I.in

1IQ6, and was partly an ho sp ital , and partly'

a con ~

vent. It was demoli shed about the t ime ofthe s iege

ofOxfo rd , but rebui l t in 1649. The last aid wh i ch

De Bromappears to have gi ven to the College con

s i s ted ofthe ad vowson ofCo leby i n Linco lnshi re.By thei r s tatutes they are requi red , as o ften as theybecome possessed ofnew es tates to a certain amoun t,to increase propo rt ionably the numbe r ofFellowsh i ps.In -the year 15 04, they wi shed fo r a d i s pen sat ion ofth i s rule in a part i cular in s tance, and to be permi ttedto appropriate the mano r ofShen ington “

in Glouces

tersh ire, which they had recen tly purchased, to the

emolumen t ofthe Pro vost and Fel lows as they then

subs i sted , wi thout adding to thei r number. The re

quest appeared reasonab le ; and Bi shop Smy th , whoas Bishop ofLinco ln at that t ime exe rc ised the power

ofVis i to r, rat ified the o rd inance

For abo ve a century after the t ime ofAdamde

Brom,we hear ofno access ions to thi s Col lege.. In

1441, however, John Franke, Clerk , Master oftheRo l ls

,and afterwards Lo rd Chancello r, bequeathed the

sumof10001.to purchase land s for the main tenanceoffour Fel lows ofthe coun t ies ofSomerset

,Do rset,

lVilts,and Devon. Ano ther Fel low fromthe d io cese

ofWo rces te r, and an annual exhi b i t ion to s ix poo r

Sc ho lars , were ad ded , in 1476, by John Carpen ter,Bi shop ofWo rces ter

,who was educated here, and

who.also gave to the Soc iety Bedel l Hall, an anc ien t

Churton’

s Lives ofthe Founders ofBraz enose Col lege, p.297.Thisclaimofthe Bishops ofLinco ln to be V is itors has been s ince det erminedto be i l legal , by ajudgment i n the Court ofCommon Pleas , A.D.1797.and fromthat time the Lord Chancellor has exerci sed the power ofV isitor.

ORIEL COLLEGE.

recep taclefor scholars, s i tuated b etween S t.Maryfs andOriel Co l lege garden , and th ree o ther tenements in thev i cin i ty. Thi s Prelate was a very eminent benefac to rto the oncemagn ificen t arch i tec ture’

ofWes tbury Co l-f

lege i n Glouces tershi re, where he l ies buried. t

Smyth , Bi sho p ofLinco ln , the founder ofBrazenose, whomwe, have just men t ioned as Vi s i to r, was

the nex t benefacto r. He i s suppo sed , al though upon

very s l i ght grounds , to have been educated here. His

fi rs t i n tent ion, wi th respec t ,to th i s Co l lege, was to

have.g iven theman es tate in land ; but‘money being

at that t ime wan ted to c omplete a purchase, he.gavethemthe sumofthree hundred pounds , fo r t he maintenance of.a Fel low ofthe d iocese ofLinco ln , on

certain b ond i t ion s , wh ichw ere agreed to May 5 , 15 07,but broken

'

through bymutual consen t ofthe Bi shopand ,Soc iety on the fi rst oppo rtun i ty. The learned

b iographer ofBishopSmyth informs us, that ,at

,the

fi rs t.elect ion on th i s foundat ion, Roger Edgewo rth ,B.A.‘ was chosen

,who Was not ofthe d iocese ofLin ;

co ln , , but of.Lichfield ;;and h is elect ion was also ‘

con:

t rary to the standing rule ofhav ing no tmo re than two

Fellowsat the same t ime fromthe same ,d iocese, there

being ~at .th is t ime two ofthe d iocese ofLichfield. Apro v ision , however,

'

was in troduced to prevent this

elect ion from: bei ng drawn i nto a p receden t ‘.In 15 Q9, Dr.Richard Dudley,

‘

who had been aFel

low,and

, jwas now Chancel lo r ofthe church ofSal i sbury, gave themano r ofSwainswi ck in Somersetshi refor the main tenance oftwo Fel lows and s ix E x h ibi

t ioners. In 15 99, John Jackman , l i kewi se a Fellow,

left a house and lands in S t.G iles’

s pari sh for the

Churton's Lives ofthe Founders ofBraz enose Colleg e, p.9324.

an ORIEL COLLEGE:

Exh ibi t i’

oners , bes ides o ther s tudents. The Lo rd

Chancello r i s the Vi s i to r. It was fo rmerly under theJuri sd ic tion oftheBi shops ofLinco ln.

The fi rs t ofthe BUILDINGS belonging to thi s

Co l lege was Oriole, o r Oriel Hal l , partly in Schydyard- street, and pai tly in S t.John s~s treet Subse

quen t add i tions were made to complete the quadran

gular fo rmabout the lat ter end ofthe rei gn ofEdwardIII.

i

Th i s remained unt i l 1620, when the south and

most ofthe west s ides were rebui lt , fromthe —wes t end

ofthe Chapel to Oriel Co l lege corner, and thence to

the bui ld ings on the north s i de ofthe common gate.For

-

thi s purpose, Anthony Biencowe, D.C.L.somet ime Pro vo s t, gave 13001 The north and eas t s i deswere pul led down in 1637, and afew years after, theeas t, no rth, and part ofthe west s ides were erected

confo rmi ty to the bui ld ings which aro’

se after

the who le occupying amuch larger space than the

o ld quadrangle. Dr.John To lson,who was Pro vos t

from1621 to 1644, con t ributed 115 01.towards thisbui ld ing, bes i des o ther cons iderable donat ion

’

s.

Thi s quadrangle contains,on the

‘

n orth, part'

oftheProvos t’s lodgings on the eas t

, the Hal l and entrancein to the Chapel , wh ich runs eas tward

,and on the

south and west, the chambers for the So ciety. or;

the roo f ofthe gateway, on the wes t si de,are the

royal arms ofCharles the same on the east s ide,and

the o ther doo r-ways are o rnamen ted wi th the arms ofthe benefacto rs. The rooms in the tower o ver thegateway are used as the bursary, andfor

,the arch i ves.

B esi des th is quadrangle, on the eas t and wes t sidesof- thegarden are two handsome build1ng s, th'

e fi rst

‘

oai EL COLLEGE.

late one was erec ted on the no rth s ide ofthe quadrang le. The p resen t . i s an elegan t ed ifi ce des i gned by

Wyat,the ex terio r harmon ious and s imple in deco ra-v

t ion ; the i ns ide, an o blong ofei gh ty- three feet bytwen ty-ei gh t, and twen ty in heigh t, i s l iable to someobject ion, on accoun t ofthe imperfect d is tr i but ion ofthe l i gh t

,and the unequal p ropo r t ions ofthe o rna

ments. It i s placed between Carter’s and Robinson’

s

bui ld ings, and , bes ides the book s fo rmerly pertaining .to the Co l lege, con tains a very curious and valuable

co l lect ion , the legacy ofthe late Edward Leigh ,Baron Leigh ofS tourleigh in Warwickshi re, who

was some t ime a Nobleman ofth i s Co l lege, and after

wards High S teward ofthe Uni vers i ty. Thi s mun ificen t benefacto r d ied in 1786 ;and,

the new bui ld ing was

begun in 1788, and was ably suppo rted by the sub

scr iptions ofthe Pro vo st and Fel lows, ofvariousmembers ofthe Society, and ofthe Hon.Mrs.Le igh ,s i s ter and hei ress to Lo rd Leigh. The on ly pain t ing

in thi s Library i s one by Vasari,ofwhich there are .

sai d to be two copies ex tan t by the same master.The subject i s a group ofI tal ian poets , Gui do

.

Ca

valcant i , Dante, Boccaccio , Pet rarch, and

Mars ilius Fic inus. In the gal lery ofth is)Library is

a,

scarce prin t ofthe , same, -but somewhat d ifferen t inthe express ions ofthe coun tenances. Thi s p ic turewas lately presented by James Clut terbuck Smith ,E sq. A new roomadjo in ing to the gal lery is l ined

wi th some ofthe ri ch wainsco tt ing wh ich belongedto New Co l lege Chapel befo re the late al terat ions.For some t ime after the foundat ion ofOriel

,the

s tudents at tended d ivine serv ice at S t.Mary’s. In.

1372 they obtained a l i cence for a CHA P EL wi thin

ORIEL COLLEGE. 8 5

th ei r own premi ses , wh ich was bui lt at the ex pence ofRichard , Earl ofArundel , and h is son Thomas

,Bi

Shop ofEly , and afterwards Archbishop ofCanterbury, and cont inued in use t i l l 1620, when it waspul led down. The presen t was '

fin ished in 1642, a

t ime very unprop i t ious for such erec t ions. In 1677,

the high altar, and in 1678 the rest ofthe innerChapel , were paved wi th black and wh i te marble, inconsequence oflegacies left fo r that purpo se by

Samuel Sho rt and Charles Perro t , Fel lows oftheHouse. The eas t window i s o rnamen ted with the

Presen tat ion ofour Sav iour in the Temple ; des ignedby Dr.Wal l , and pain ted by Peck i tt.It was gi ven tothe Chapel by the Duke ofBeaufo rt

,Vis coun t VVen

man, and Lo rd Le igh, in 1767.

The number ofPR o vo s r s,fromthe foundat ion, is

thi rty-ei gh t. Adamde Brom, al ready no t i ced as en

t i tled to the highes t venerat ionfo r the zeal and l i be

rality wi th‘wh ich he fos tered the Soc iety in i ts i h

fancy,d ied June 16, 1332, and was buried in S t

Mary’s church , in a chapel called after h is name,

and sai d to have been bui lt by h im, where h is tomb,

n'

ow decayed , was v i s i ble in Wood’s t ime. Of h issucc esso rs, Carpen ter,» Lybert, and Hals , were pro

mo ted to the Epi scopal bench, and the latter was a

benefac to r to his Co l lege — Dr.Wal ter Hodges , au

tho r ofEl ihu,an elabo rate wo rk on the book ofJob,was one o f '

the earl ies t Hutch inson ian s. When th is

expo sed h imto mi srepresen tat ion ’

s, he was to l d that

awri ter o n the boo k ofJob should take every th ing

wi th pat ience. The b iographer ofBi shop Home informs us

,that in h is days he was aman ofa venerable

appearance, wi th an address and del i very wh ichmadea 3

86 ORIEL COLLEGE.

h imvery popular as a preacher. He held the ofli c‘

e

gf'Provos t from1727 to 175 7.

Bes i des tho se PR E LAT E S who were educated at th l s

Co l lege, and became Pro vo s ts , the fo l lowingmemoraéb le names belong to the same rank. Arundel , Archb i shop ofCan terbury, a statesman oflofty ambi t ion ,and an eccles iast i c ofinflex i ble adherence to the

Church as cons t i tuted in the fourteen th century ; but.

whose fine tas te and sp i ri t in o rnamen t ing many.rel ig io ns edifices wi l l mo re honourably perpetuate h isname —

‘Reyno ld Pecock , Bi shop ofChiches ter, who ,

after Wick liffe, appears t o have conce i ved some imperfect no t ions ofthe refo rmed rel i g ion ,fo r wh ich hewas reduced to a

,

pri vate s tat ion — Dr.Butler, Bi shop

ofDurham,aman ofs trong sen se and acute

ing , and autho r of-the celebrated Analogy,”awo rk

so wel l known, and so in teres t ing to s tuden ts ofd iv imi ty, as to render any farther no t i ce ofh imwho l ly

u11necessary.~ It may no t

,however, be so read i ly re.

c ollec ted , ,that be expended the who le income ofthe

B i shopri c ofBri sto l , which he held twelve ‘

years, in

the repai rs ofthat cathedral.‘ Among the many eminen t men ofo ther rank s indeb ted fo r thei r educat ion to Oriel Co llege, we find

Robert Langlande, the s uppo sed autho r ofP iercePlowman, and a bro ther sat i ri st , Alexander Barclay;autho r, or rather t ran slato r, wi th add i t ions, ofthe“ Shi p ofPoo les. He

‘

wrote also five Eclogues ,whi ch Mr.Warton t h ink s were the fi rst that ever

appeared in the Engl i sh language z— Dr.Edgewo rth,a Popislawri ter ofCons iderable fame, al ready not iced

as the fi rst Fellow on Bi shop Smyth’s foundation :

Mo rgan Phill i ps , who, fromh is sk ille in disputat ion,

QU'

E E N’

S COLL E GE.

THE Founder ofthi smagn ificent Co l legewas Robert “

Eglesfeld, the son ofJohn Eglesfeld and Beatrix“

h is

Wife, Rec tor

'

ofB u rgh,o r Brough ,

~ in Wes tmo reland,‘

and con fes so r to P hi l ippa, Edward III.’s Queen.His

descent'

appears to have‘ been honourable,and rridré

than once t he‘

coun ty ofCumberland was represen tedi n Parl iament by amember ofthe house. They hadcons iderable es tates in d ifferen t parts ofthat county ;and we find that ei ther the Fo under ofthe C ollege,

'

o r

one‘

ofthe fami ly ofthe ’

same name,recei ved ofEd

ward 'III.in exchange for themano r of‘Laleham‘ in

M iddlesex , the manor v ofRavenwick , o r Renwi ck'

, in

Cumberland , whi ch had been fo rfei ted to h is father,Edward I I.on the attainder ofAndrew de Harola,Earl ofCarl i s le

,in 1323. Thi smano r i s now the pro

perty ofthe Co l lege.It i s probable that Robert de Eglesfeld was bo rn at

Eglesfeld , a hamlet in the par i sh ofBrigham,in the

c oun ty ofCumberland, where the fami ly was certain ly

po s sessed ofproperty in the t ime ofHenry I I I. Inthe rei gn ofEdward I I I.they came in to the pos

sess ion ofAlneburgh Hal l , o r Netherhal l, l n the

pari sh ofCross Canonby in the same coun ty, which

fromthat t ime was the i r p rinc ipal res i dence. Herethey l i ved in h igh est1mat ion

, unt i l , in the rei gn ofPhi l i p and Mary, Eli zabeth , eldest s is ter and cohei ressofRichard Eglesfeld, Esq.was marr ied to Johu Sen

QUEEN’S COLLEGE. 89

h ouse, ofSealscale Hal l, Esq.Thismarriage brough tthe proper ty in to the fami ly ofSenhouse, in wh ich ithas ever s ince con t inued ‘

.

Robert de Eglesfeld appears to have been h ighlyes teemed by h is royalmaster andmi stres s,and to haveshared in thei r in t imacy and confidence.In 1332, theKing bes towed on h imthe Rectory of“

Burgh,in the

person ofAdamde Eglesfeld, h is pro xy, and probablyrelat ion ; and he was o rdained Pries t at -Carl i s le in

Len t fo l lowing. Thi s church was appropriated to t he

Co l lege by Pope Clemen t VI.in 1344.Eglesfeld employed h is i nteres t at Court in promo t ing rel i g ion andlearn ing, gi v ing all he had to the publ ic, and that in

h i s l i fet ime,when he could bes t secure those udvan

tages which he was anx ious to bes tow on po s teritv.

The o ld Liber Obitalis ofh is Co l lege dates hisdeath 2 Cal.Jun.1349, in these wo rds : ROB E BTU S

EG LE SFE LD , CUM BRIE NSIS , S A CRE THE OLo c ras

B AC CAL'

AU E E U S , R E G I N E PH I L I P PE.ux oars EnWARD"CAPE LLANU S , R E CTOR D E Bnac o s nar us

STAN E S M OR E , I N D 131 G LOR I AM , EC C L E SIE'

BO

NU M , ET BONAR UM LITE RARUM PROPA G ATIONE M

CO L L E G I UM n o c R E G I N E FU ND AVIT , A.D.1840,“E r A N N O R E G N I Enw.Il l.15 . 03111

‘ Ie Ro

anar us , A.D.1349, 2 CA LE ND.JUN rr.” Mr.

G ough, to whomwe are indeb ted fo r par t oftheabo ve account, gi ves many reasons to co nfi rmr the

t rad i t ion ofh is hav ing been buried in the o ld Chape lofth is College, and that the bras s plate found thereHumphrey Senhouse, Esq.ofNet herhallL Alneburgh Hall , or

Ellenborongh , is now the representat i ve ofbot h famil ies : Fromthis

E llenbo rough , the present Chief Just ice ofthe King’s Bench derives

90 QUEEN’S COLLEGE

under the commun ion table belongs to h im.It repreeen ts

‘

a Priest in a “cap and r i ch rochet powdered, wi th

fleurs de [is in lo zenges, faced and hemmed wi th a d i fferent bo rder, and fas tened on h is breast wi th ajewel.The s leeves ofhis black gown are faced wi thfur, andall h is pic tures are exact ly l i ke th i s effigy.It i s probable that he res i ded occas ionally in h is

nat i ve country, at leas t he wel l knew i ts cond i t ion and

,wan ts, as ‘

h i s pri nci pal mot i ve i n found ing thi s Co lo

lege was to supply educat ion to the northern d i stric t,in wh ich the frequen t and barbarous con tes ts oftheborderers had c reated , to use h is word s , li terature: in

solitamrari tatem. To remedy thi s defect, and ex tend

the bless ings oflearn ing to such ofh is coun trymen aswi shed to have access to the Un i vers i ty , he purchased

th ree tenements in the par i sh ofS t.Peter in the East,and some p ieces ofground , ‘

and ob tained, Jan.18.1340, a charter fromEdward

/

III.to const i tute a col"

leg iate Hall , under the,name ofAULA

,SCHOLABIUM

RE GINE D E O X ON.a t i tle which seems to implythat -the Queen was instrumental in promot ing the

wo rk , or wi ll ing to take i t under her pro tect ion. To

th iS 'Hall (wh ich Wood think s was formerly calledTemple Hal l, and i s now part ofNew Col lege stables)he appo in ted a Pro vost and twel ve Fellows , or Scho

lars,who were to be nat i ves ofCumberland and West

mo reland.‘

Few ofhis fi rst Scho lars, however, wereofthose count ies, but chosen fromthe Hal ls and C01leges al ready establi shed.It i s though t that he l imi tedthe number to twel ve, in al lus ion to Chri st and h is

twel ve Apost les ; and that, in allus ion to the seventy

Di sciples, he intended to add seventy poo r Scho lars,f who we re to be regularly educated, and chosen Fellows

92 QUEEN’S COLLEGE.

The Founder'

c on tinued -to Ex tend'

the bounds ofthi s Co l lege as long

‘

as he l i ved , by add i t ional pur

chases, the tenemen ts ou whi ch, as wel l as on the

w ho le premi ses, were afterwards remo ved , and the fi rst

C o l lege bui l t on the s i te. Edward I I I.at h is* reques t,and part i cularly by the so l i c i tat ion ofQueen Ph il i ppa

,

'

who became the pat roness ofthe Co l lege after Egles'feld’s death , and Edward IV.gave cer tain advowsons

for the better main tenan ce ofthe Society,the hono

rary ,pat ronage ofwh ich was vested in the Queens

con so rt ofEngland.Befo re clo s ing the l i ttle that we have been able to t e

co ver respec t ing th i s Founder, i tmay be necessary to

advert to h is name, Eglesfeld. The arms he gave the1Co l legeme three Sp re‘

ad eagles,whi ch were probably

'

thearms ofh is fami ly.“ A s ingular custom,

-

however,

.has'

been traced to a fanc i ful deri vation ‘

ofh is name.~It was though t to be composed ofaz'guille, needle, andfi l, thread ; and i t became a commemorat i ve

'

mark ofrespect, cont inued to thi s day, for each

‘member of-

the Co l lege to recei ve from the Bursar, on New

Year’s day, a- needle and thread ,

‘

wi th the ‘ advice,“ Take th i s, and be thri fty.” These concei ts were

no t unusual at the t ime th i s Co llege wasfounded ,and are somet imes perhaps though t t rifl ing

,merely

because we canno t t race thei r o ri g inal use and s ig

n ificat ion.‘ Ho l l ingshed info rms us , that when the

Prince ofWales,afterwards Hen ry V.who was edu

c ated at th is sCollege, wen t to Court , in o rder to clear

h imself fromcertain c harges ofd isafi'

ect ion , he wo re

a gown ofblue sat in full.ofo ilet ho les, and at every

ho le aneedle hanging by a s i lk thread. This is sup

QUEEN’S COLLEGE.~ 93

posed to have pro ved at leas t that he was an academic ian ofQueen’

s,and i t may be conjectured that th i s

was the o riginal academi cs ] dress.The es tablishmen t ofthi s House was soon fo l lowed

by a long series ofbenefacto rs, who con tri buted to

the increase ofi ts revenues and members , by bes towing money, lands, o r church- l i v ings , in various partsofthe k ingdom. In the fourteenth cen tury, these ,

be

nefac to rs were Robert Achard , John Handlo , and '

John S tanfo rd , Kn i gh t , Dr.John de Ho tham, Provost

,and the Lady I sabel , wi fe ofS i r Robert Par

vyn g , Kn igh t. In the fifteen th century,Thomas

Beaufort , Duke ofExeter, Wi ll iamChardeyne .ofWes tmins ter, Rober t VVrangwis, John Wharton , andRichard Chamberlayne. In the s i x teenth cen tury,Rowland R ichardson , Edward H i l ton , Edward R igge,Pro vo s t, Chri stopher Bainbridge, Card inal and Arch

b ishop ofYo rk , John Ki rkby, Will iamFettiplace,

Nicho las Mylys , D.D.and Archbi sho p Grindal. In.

1626, Charles I.gave th ree Recto ries , and as manyVi carages , i n the county ofSouthampton , at the intercess ion ofh is Queen , soli c i ted thereto by the Lo rdKeeper Coventry, Lo rd Hay, the Earl ofCarli s le,and Geo rge Go ring, her Majes ty

’

s Vice Chamberlains. Some valuable Exhib i t ions have beenmo rerecen t ly founded by Lady _

Mary Hun gerfo rd, S i r

Franci s Bridgman, Mr.Tylney, Lady El i zabeth Has tings , and Dr.Ho lmes. Lady Has t ings’ Scholars

,five .

in number, are to be taken fromei ght schoo ls in

Yo rk shi re, two in Wes tmo reland , and two in Cumber land ; and fo r thei r main tenan ce she gave the

manor ofWheldale,or Q ueldale, in Yo rk sh i re

See Barnard's interesting Life ofth is extraord inary lady, p.97.

as sess COLLEGE;

The last impo rtan t be'

nefac tioii , which has beencal led the New Foundat ion in Queen’s Co l lege, was '

bes towed by John Michel,E sq.

‘

ofRichmond in

Surry, who was ofthi s Co llege from 1676 to 1680,and died Sep t.5 , 1739. He bequeathed themano r ofPlumsted l n Ken t

,wi th h is marsh land In that pari sh ,

themano r ofHo rton K irby,and all h is lands in Sand

wichand Wo rde in Kent , and h is lands and tenementsinOld Wi ndso r, of‘ the est imated value of o r

,

acco rd ing to some,

'

700l.a year, to Queen’

s Co l lege ‘

for ever,for ei gh t Mas ter Fel lows,four Bachelo r Soho-2lars , and four Undergraduate Scho lars , o r E x hib i t io ni

e'

rs ; alsofor the purchase ofadvowson s and ‘presen

tations to l i v ings,above the yearly value of1201; to

be annexed for ever to h is Fel lowship s ; and fo r abui lding to be erec ted fo r the recep t ion ofthe ‘

sai d

lVIas ters and Bachelors , who were to be elected by theProvos t and Fel lows fromany other Co l leges o r Halls

within the Un i vers i ty, and have the use ofthe cha

pel and hall , and o ther advantages ofthe Co l lege,

in cowmmonwi th o thermembers ofthe same rank. A

benefaction ofth i s impo rtance requi ring much con

s i derat ion,many delays took place, but the who lewas

final ly settled by an Ac t ofParl iamentm175 1 ; and,

among “o ther regulat ions, th ree gen tlemen , D 1.Shi p

per, D i .Mather, and Dr.Coxed, were appoin ted Vi

s itors ofth i s new Society.Mr.Mi chel was the son

ofJohn Michel , E sq.ofBal l io l Co l lege, who , duringthe s iege ofOxfo rd m1644, procured fromthe King

a commi ss ion for the Scho lars to arm in defence of‘the Un i vers i ty ; and he was hei r to h is uncle Humph i ey, who bui l t an hosp i tal at Richmondf01 ten o ld

men. Mr.Michel had also been amember in two


lege.,He d ied in h is eighty-s i x th year, Nov.23,

175 6.

In consequence ofthe various legac1es and gi fts,

bes towed'Ou thi s Co l lege, i t can now enumerate

,

among i ts l i v ings the R E CTOR 1E S ofBrough in

Wes tmoreland ; Blech ing ton , Charleton upon Ot-v

mo o r,Hamp ton Poyle, and South Weston , in Ox

fordsh ire ; Bramsho t , Enham, Headley" Newnham,

Ni ton c

,Church Oak ley, and Weyhi l l°, in South

amp ton ; .Ho lwel l in . Somersetshi re Sulhamps teadAbbo ts and Sulhamps tead Ban i s ter in Berk sh i re :

the V I CAR A G E S OfAldermas ton and Sparsho l t in

Berkshi re ; Bramley, Cari sbrooke " wi th the ChapelsofNewpo rt and No r thwood , Milfo rd c

wi th the Cha

pels ofMil ton and HO1dle,God sh i ll° wi th the

Chapel OfWhi twel l , Monk s Sherborne, and Ho ly

Rood,in Southampton ; Chedwo rth in Glouces ter

shi re,

; and Newbo ld-Pacy‘

O

in Warwi ck shi re : and

and the CURA CY ofUp ton Grey, ifn Southampton.

The li v ings belonging to Mr.Michel’s foundat i on are, ‘

Engl i sh Bickno r in Glouces tersh i re, Up ton Scudamorein Wil tshi re, S t.Wendron wi th the Chapel ,

ofHel

s tone in Co rnwal l , and the second port ion ofP ous

bury~ 1n Shrop sh i re.

In the 26 Hen ry V II I.the revenues ofthi s Co l lege,

were valued at in 15 92 at and in 1612

the number ofthe Society was 267. The ,present

Given by Si r John Handlo,temp.Edw.III.

These six were given by Charles I.Sulhampstead Ban ister was given by Edward IV. Sulhampstead

Abbots was purchased by t he College ofLord Norreys 111 1610.e Sparsholt was given by S ir R.Achard, in 1345 .1 Given byLady Isabel Parvyng , 1344.


awards the street i s a statue ofQueen Carol ine, undera cupo la suppo r ted by p i l lars. Thi s quadrangle bears

a 1esemblance to the Luxembourg palace in Pari s ,and was executed by Hawksni oor, fi oma des ign

e i ther ofhi s great mas ter S i r Chri stopher W 1en, o r

ofDr.Lancas ter, but was no t fin ished unt i l the year

175 9. However s trong our prejudices may be in

favour ofthe Go th ic style i n co l leg iate and eccles ias

t i cal s truc tures, i t must be confessed that the who le ofthi s ed ifice exh ib i ts a s treng th

,grandeur, and .co rrect

adjustment ofparts,which , varied by the del i cate

magnificence ofthe Co rin th ian o rnamen ts,are h ighly

credi table to modern tas te.

Mo s t l i beral as the sums bes towed by indi v idualswerefo r the erec t ion ofth i s quadrangle, some oftheprinci pal beques ts were retarded by process of'

law,

and'

in the mean t ime the price ofmaterials and

wo rkmanship increased. In 1733 Queen Caro l ine

gave 10001.to carry o n the des i gn, and the eas t s i de

was bui lt ch iefly at the expence ofJohn Michel , Esq.al ready ment ioned. On Dec.18, 1778, the in terio r ofthe wes t s i de was to tal ly destroved in afew hours , byan accidental fire wh ich broke out in an att i c chamberon the s tai rcase, No.2

,adjo in ing to the Provo s t’s lodg

ings. The ex pence ofrebui ld ing,which amoun ted to

64241.5 3.4d.was defrayed by various benefact ions.

The Queen , patroness ofthe Co l lege, gave 10001.andthe Archbi shop ofYo rk , Vi s i to r, 1001. The Duke ofMon taguand Lo rd Godol phi n gave each Seve

ral ofthe o ther Co l leges cont ri buted to the amoun t of10001..And the remainder was made up by the k indnes s ofmany Gentlemen who had prev iously.been ofthe House, and by the contri but ions ofthe then ex i st-1


ing members ofthe Society ; a p roof, i f anyfwerewan t ing, ofthe perpetui ty ofthat mun ificent spi ri twhich was so s tri k ingly exempl ified by the foundersofthe Engl ish Un i vers i t ies.The second , o r no r th court, wh ich i s one hundred

and thi rty feet by n inety, i s occup ied on the no rth

,

eas t,and south s i des by chambers for the So ciety,

ando

on the wes t by.the LibraryThe firs t 'HA LL, which s tood on the wes t ofthe old

quadrangle, was bui l t ofs tone taken fromHead ing tonq uarry, and completed ln 1399. It was pro fusely o r

namen ted -wi th coats ofarms belonging to the variousbenefac to rs , and o ther eminen t charac ters. The pre

sent Hall, ou the no r th s ide o f.the princi pal quad ran

g le, was bui lt in the beg inn ing ofthe las t cen turyi ts d imens ions are s i x ty feet by th i rty, wi th a

‘finely

arched roof, and h i s deco rated wi th many po rt rai t s,

bo th o n glas s and can vas. Among the fo rmer, wh ichfil l the arches ofthe windows , the mo s t conspi cuousare those ofKing Edward I I I.and Queen Phi l i ppa;Edward IV.and Hen ry V.S i r Jo seph Wi ll iamson;Pro vost Lancas ter, the Founder, and Charles I.andI I.wi th thei r Queens. Of the full-leng th po rt rai ts ,tho se ofthe Founder at the uppe r end ofthe '

Hal l,ofQueen Phi l i ppa, Queen Anne, and Queen Caro line,were gi ven by Mr.Michel. There are also po r trai ts

ofher presen t Majes ty, ofPro vosts Lancas ter andSmi th , Si r Jo seph Wi lliamson, Lady El i zabeth Has tings

,Addi son , and Tickell, Si c. In the gallery at the

wes t -end ofthe Hal l is a co l lect ion ofancient and

modern po rtrai ts,in whi ch we find those ofMargaret

,

Queen ofSco t land, -Queen El i zabeth, Mary, Queen ofSco tland, and Queen Anne, gi ven by Geo rge Clark,

a 2

QUEEN’S C OLLEGE;

I).C.L.some t itue Fel low“

ofAll Souls , and one“

ofthe Represen tat i ves ofthe Un i vers i tyThe LIB RARY , on the wes t s ide ofthe no rth court,

was begun in 11692, and the outs ide’

finished in 1694.

Pro vost Halton bore a great part ofthe ex pence, be

s ides giving'h is co l lect ion ofbook s. The l i brary also

of'

Bishop Barlow, which fi rs t sugges ted the necess i tyfor the presen t ample room, those ofS i r John Ployer,the curiousmanuscrip ts, ch iefly heraldi c and po l i t ical ,ofSi r Joseph Wi ll iamson , and the valuable series ofco ins and numi smat i cal book s belonging to Mr.Michel

,fo rmpart ofthe presen t ex tens i ve co l lec t ion..

The fine o rrery was the gi ft ofs i x Gentlemen Commoners , in the year 1763, v i z.Edwyn Franc i s S tan

hope,Wil liamGuyse, Edmund Thomas , Geo rge Mow

bray, Oldfield Bowles , and Richard S immonds, E sqrs.The cast in plaster ofPari s ofthe Flo rent ine Boarwas presented by S i r Roger Newd igate.Thi s noble and ex tens i ve roomi s en ri ched wi th the

bus ts ofsome ofthe benefacto rs,and ivi th the po r

trai ts ofDr.Cracken tho rp, Bi shops G ibson and Bar

low, and Pro vo s t Hal ton , and wi th two ancien t por

trai ts on glass ofHenry V.and Card inal Beaufo rt,fo rmerly in What was cal led Hen ry V.’s chamber, andremo ved when the old Co l lege was pul led down, butafterwards recovered and resto red to the Soc iety by

'

Alderman Fletcher. Thi s roomi s one ofthe larges tin the.Un iversi ty, being one hundred and twenty

th ree feet in length, and propo rt ionable in bread th.

The b ookcases are o rnamen ted wi th del i cate carvedWo rk , and

‘

the cei l ing i s s tuccoed in compartmentswi th great taste by the late M r.

’

Roberts.

The first CHA P E L was begun in the l i fetime ofthe


Underneath th i s Chapel i s a vaul t fo r in terment,in

which ,amongmany o thers , the remains of.Dr.Smi thand Dr.Hal ton are depo s i ted. ‘

The monumental insc riptibn

'

ofthe fo rmer is placed in the grand passagebetween theChapel and Hal l.

The presen t P n o v o'

s r is the th i rty-fifth on the l is t.Manyofthem

,bes i des fi l l ing th is offi ce wi th cred i t

and‘

ad van tage to the Co l lege, devo ted atcons iderable

part ofthei r fo r tunes to ex tend '

and perpetuate i ts

usefulness. The mo s t eminen t in thei r day were'Dr;

Thomas Langton , Bi shop -ofSal i sbury in 1485 , and ofVVinchefler in 1493, a great encourager ofle’

arn ingf— Bainbridge

,Archbi shop ofYo rk , 7and Card inal

Henry ‘Rob inson, Bi shop ofCarlisle z — Dr.Henry

Ai ray, no ted fo r learn ing and p iety,

o ri ginal ly ofEdmund Hal l

,and befo re that a

'

pupil'

ofthe mlebrated Bernard G ilp in , who refused the Pro vos tshi p

ofthis Co l lege about the year 15 5'

9 z— Dr.Barnabas

Po tter, Bi shop ofCarl is le, who , in the Op in ion oftherepubl ican party, had no faul t but that ofbeing aBi shop. He was succeeded by a relat ion

, the learned

andi

pious Dr.Chri s topher Po’

tter,'

Dean ofDurham:-Dr.Gerard Langbaine, whom

‘

the h is to rian ofthenonco nfo rmi s tsacknowledges as amanofgreat learning , i n tegri ty, and publ i c spiri tf— Dr.Thomas Barlow,

Bi shop ofLinco ln, l i brarian to the

one ofthe greatest scho lars ofh is age."Hav ing beenalso one ofthe ables t opponents ofPopery, he wasthough t incons i s ten t in read ing King James’s Declarat ion : the t ruth was , he read i t h imsel f as a s tep to

wards to lerat i on , to wh i ch be s trongly incl ined,but:

cons i dered i t as amatter ofso much ' del i cacy.and

doub t, that he d i d no t enforce i t on h is Clergy.


-In the catalogue ofB i s no r s educated at th is Co l

lege, we find , as the fi rs t, the celebrated Card inal Beau

fo rt , son ofJohn ofGaun t,and bro ther to Hen ry IV.

who se charac ter has been mo re frequen t ly apprec iatedfromShak speare

’

s accoun t ofh is las t momen ts , thanfroman impart ial inqui ry in to h is co nduct as a s tates

man and prelate, o r h is mnn ificen ce as a con tri buto r

to p ious an d chari tab le purpo ses. The favour in

wh ich he always s too d w i th the Commons in Parl iamen t i s n o incon si derable p roo f, that in h is po li t i cal

t ransact ions be aimed at the publ i c good.Bain bridge,Langton ,

Robinso n, Po tter, and Barlow, have been

already men t ioned ; to whommay be ad ded , Dr.GuyCarleton, Bishop ofB ris to l , and afterwards ofCh iChes ter, a severe sufferer during the U surpat io

Dr.Comp ton , Bi shop ofLo ndon,a man ofgreat

integri ty,fi rmnes s , and spi ri t

,and

,during the tumul

tuons per iod which led to the Revo lut ion , a v igo rous

suppo rter ofthe Church ; he was al so d i s tingui shedfo r h is l i beral i ty to the Clergy, and rank s among the

benefacto rs ofh is t ime. He entered as aNoblemanofth is Col lege in 1649, be ing the youngest son ofthe Earl ofNo r thamp ton , and d ied in 1713. To this

House also belong, Dr.Will iamNicho lson , autho r ofth e His tori cal Li brary,

”which invo l ved h im in

many con trovers ies ; h is charac ter wi l l be found i l lust rated by h is co nfiden t ial correspondence lately pub

lished by Mr.Nicho ls z— Dr.G ibson, Bishop ofLo ndon, wel l known as an able ant i quary

,and v i gi lant

guardian ofthe Church , and the founder ofthePreacherships at Whi tehal l — Dr.Tanner, B ishop ofS t Asaph

,the value ofwhose Not i t ia

”and Bi

blio theca”will ever be read i ly acknowledged by

n 4

104'

QUEEN’S COLLEGE.

an ti quaries and biographers. His numerous and va

lnablemanuscri pt co l lec t ions are among -the t reasuresoft he Bodleian l i brary.In no t i c ing the eminent scho lars ofo ther ranks '

who have done honour to th i s Co l lege, every cons ide

rat ion requi res that.we begin wi th Henry V.who ,accord ing to our early.h i sto rians , was educated here ;

and they add, that h is chamber was over o the great .

gate ofthe old Co l lege, -oppos i te to Edmund Hallgate. It i s certain , that in this chamber was his port rai t in glass, (now in the Library

,) wi th'

the fo l lowinginscrip t ion

IN PER P ETUAM R E I M EMOR i AM ,

I M P ERATOR BRITANNIJE,

TR I UMPHATOR GALLUE

Ho sTIUM v rc'

r oa, ET 5 111,

HE NR I CU S Q U I NTU S HU JU S COLLE G XI'

,

ET CU BICU L1(MINUTI S C I L I C ET)O L I M MA G N U S I N CO LA.

In the Hal l , under the arms ofCard inal Beaufo rt, isano ther inscr i pt ion

,in t imat ing that he s tud ied here

under that Prelate,who was h is uncle ; but Mr.Mi l

ner, the hi sto rian ofWinches ter, fo l lowing the au

thOri ty ofS towe, contends for hi s hav ing been edu

cated at New Co l lege under the'

Cardinal, who was at

that t ime Chancel lo r ofthe Un i vers i ty.‘ Th is and the fol lowing l ine are thus given in Wood

's H is tory of

the Co l leges and Hal ls by Gutch ,Hmn ucus v

PARVI HUJUS cus 1cuu"The inscript ion in the text is what now stands. Ful ler informs us , thati n his t ime Dr.Barlow inhabited the King’s chamber, when thewindowwas entire.

106 QUEEN ’S COLLEGE.

the travel ler — Co ll ins, the poet — Dr.John Dal ton,the rev i ver ofMil ton’s Cumus z— Edward Rowe

Mo res, a d i s tingui shed an t i quary , and co l lecto r ofant iqui ties z

— Thomas Tyrwhi tt, the veryable and jud i

c ions ed i to r ofChaucer, afterwards FellowofMertonDr.Richard Burn , autho r ofone ofthe mos t pc pu

lar book s in the Engl i sh language, o n the dut ies andoffi ce ofa Jus t i ce ofPeace : awork wh i ch enri chedthe boo k sel ler

,Andrew Miller, who ventured a t rifle

fo r the copyrigh t, when rejected by all h is brethren.

NEW COLLEGE.

ALTHOUGH some ofthe Co l leges al ready noti cedwere bui l t in the rei gn ofEdward I I I.they do not

appear, i f wemay judge fromthemost ancient drawi ngs, to have partaken much ofthat noble spec ies

ofarch i tec ture wh ich was brough t to perfec t ion in

that rei gn. W e are now,however, approach ing the

sera ofthe pure Go thic , wh ich was in troduced at Ox

fo rd by the sk il l and l i beral i ty ofone man, whoseshare in the annal s ofEngland woul d have been nu

'

usual ly great , had our h is to rians devo ted thei r at ten

t io n to the arts ofpeace. When indeed we con temp late the arch i tec tural' t riumph s ofEdward’s rei gn , asthey yet appear at Windso r, S t; S tephen

’

s Chapel ,Winches ter, and New Co l lege, (were there no o ther

remains v i s i ble,) we know no t how to termthe four

teen th cen tury a dark age, o r how to reconc i lethat consummate tas te in art and deco rat ion , wh ich ,no twi ths tand ing our impro vements and sk i l l

,we now

find to be i n imi table,wi th those anomal ies in the

mo ral, rel igious , and po l i t i cal sys tems , wh ich d isgthe h i sto ry ofthe same splend id period. A splend id

period i t surely was,which could boas t ofthe valour

ofthe Black Prince, the poetry ofChaucer andGower, the patronage ofEdward I I I , and the arch itec ture ofRede

,Rodburne, and Wykeham.

The Founder ofNew Col lege mus t be allowed thepreeminence among the mo s t i llus trious names ofEngli sh ant i qui ty, whether we regard the munificent

NEW COLLEGE.

sp i r i t wh ich prompted,o r the o riginal talen ts which

executed , h is majes t i c des i gns : and those who feel

that venerat ion and grat i tude are dut ies, wi l l readi ly

acknowledge h ow much we owe to the learned biographer by whose researches the charac ter ofWykehamhas been so ably i l lus t rated. No r wi l l the fo llowing sketch be wi thout i ts uses , i f i t exci tea higher

degree ofcur ios i ty, and p romp t the reader to consul tmo re ample sources ofinfo rmat ion respect ing a be‘

ne

fac to r, in whose h i sto ry no thing can be deemed un interest ing.

WilliamWykeham, or ofWykeham,was bo rn at

Wykeham1n Hamp shi re, in the year 1324.Whether

Wykehamwas h is fami ly name seems doub tful. He

ment ions h is father and mo ther on ly by thei r Chri st ian names

,John and Syb il ], or Sybi lla. Some ofh is

b iographers are incl ined to th ink that h is,father’s

name was Long , and o thers Perrot , but there i s no

d i rect ev idence fo r ei ther ; and We know by manyo ther instances that no th ing was mo re uncer tain at

the period ofhis b i rth than the s tate offami ly names.His paren ts were ofgood reputat ion and character,

but in mean c i rcumstances when he was bo rn ; yetfromthe number ofh is con tempo rary relat ions, who senames and s i tuat ions are upon record , i t i s probable

that the fami ly was no t ofmean ex trac t ion. Of thei r

po verty there i s less reason to doub t the repo rt, as

they could no t affo rd to gi ve thei r son a l i beral educat ion. He soon , however, found a patron , supposed to

be Nicho las Uvedale, Lord ofthe mano r ofWykeham, a

'

nd Govemor ofWinchester cas tle ‘

; whomust

See adisqui sition on this subject , Gent.Mag.LX IV.1172.

n o NEW COLLEGE.

afterward s so ably fi l led. There is every reason to

think that h is sk i l l in drawing recommended h imto‘

a

Soverei gn who was ben t on add ing to h is coun try the

o rnamen t and ut i l i ty ofmagn ificen t and durable s true

tures. The fi rs t office he'

held , o r the fi rst ofwh ichwe read , had ev ident ly a reference to thi s objec t. In

May, 135 6, he was appo in ted Clerk ofall the King'swo rk s at the castle and in the park ofWindso r. Itwas by his adv ice that the King was i nduced to pul l

down great part ofth i s castle, and by h is sk i l l i t wasrebui l t nearly in themanner in wh ich we find i t. HisOther great wo rk was Queenbo rough castle “

: and al

though i h thesemi l i tary s tructures he had l i ttle scope

fo r the gen ius d isplayed afterward s at Oxfo rd and

lVinchester, they would have been sufficien t to pro vethat he had al ready reached that degree ofarch i tec tu-lral sk i l l, wh ich modern art can but poo rly imi tate.With a

'

so verei gn ofEdward III.’s magn ificenttas te, .i t was but natural that Wykehamshould now

become a favouri te ; and acco rd ingly we find that h is

Majes ty~wished to d is t ingui sh h imby manymarks ~ofroyal favour. In o rder to fac i l i tate th i s

,i t was neces

sary heshould take o rders, as eccles iast i cal p romo t ionwas mo re part i cularly wi thin h is Majes ty’s pow’

er,‘

where the Pepe d id no t think proper to in terfere :but th i s part ofWykeham’

s h i s tory is no t so clearly

detai led as could be wi shed.There is , on the cont rary,

some reason to th ink that he was in the Church befo re he had g ivenp roofofh is talents at Wi ndso r andQueenbo rough. In all the patents for the offi ces he

Ofthis cast le there are now no remains , except the moat , and awell in themiddle ofthe site.

NEVV'

COLLEGE. 111

held, he is styled Clericus’

; but, as his-biographer sup

po ses , he had as .yet only.the cleri cal ton sure, o r someofthe lower o rders

,wh i le the h i sto rian ofWinches ter

th inks he was o rdained Pries t by Bi shop Edyngdo n.The fi rs t prefermen t bes towed on h imwas the Rec

to ry ofPulham in No rfo l k, in and as the

Court ofRome threw some obs tacles in the way

which kep t h imfor a t ime out ofthat l i v ing, the

King, in 135 9, gran ted h im two hundred pounds a

year o ver and abo ve all h is fo rmer appo intmen ts,

unt i l he should get quiet po s sess ion ofPulham,o r

some o ther benefice to the value ofone hundred

mark s. But the d ispropo r tion between the wo rth ofthe l i v ing

,and the compensat ionfo r

,delay, i s so very

s trik ing,as to incl ine : us to think , ei ther that Dr.

Lowth has by mi s take inserted QOOI.for o r thatthe Ki ng took thi s Oppo rtun i ty to shewi a spec ialmark ofh is favour

,for wh ich the lo ss ofthe l i v ing

shoul d be the o s tens i ble mo ti ve. In the mean t imehe was presen ted to the Prebend ofFli x ton in the

church ofLich field , which he afterwards exchanged

for some o ther benefice ; and .in 135 9 he was co ns t i

tuted Chief Warden,

and Surveyo r ofthe King’scas tles ofIVindsor

,Leeds , Do ver, and Hadlam, and

ofthe mano rs ofo ld and newWindso r, W ichemer,and several o ther cas tles , mano rs, and .houses

, and ofthe park s belonging to them. In 1360, the King

By the no tes or Dr.Mat thew Hutt on , in the Har leian Co l lect ion,it appears , that in the same year the K in g presented himwi th the l iving ofIrstede in the diocese ofNorfolk. See Gent.Mag.LV.p.189.

Dr.Hut ton’

s notes say 901.ayear , whi ch very‘

probably was the

case. A lis t ofmany o ther livi ngs held at various t imes by our Pre lateis given under the above reference in the Gent.Mag . See also p.425 .

NEW COLLEGE.

g ranted h imthe Deanery ofthe Royal Free Chapel,"

Or Co lleg iatefChurch ofS t.Mart in le Grand

, Lon

don, which he held about th ree years ; during wh ich

be rebui l t, at h is own ex pence, the clo i s ter ofthechapter-house, and the body ofthe church. Thi s isthe fi rs t instance on reco rd in wh i ch he i s no t i ced as

a publi c benefac to r. In 1361 he was quietly settled

i n the Recto ry ofPulham, and in less than two years

recei ved many o ther eccles iast i cal prefermen ts , spec i ~fied by Dr.Lowth. The annual value ofh is l i v ingsfo r some years befo re he became Bi shop ofWinchester amoun ted to but he only recei ved the reve

nues ofthe Church wi th one hand , to expend themin her serv ice wi th the o ther

His c i v i l p romo t ions were no t less rapid and ho

nourable. He was made Keeper ofthe Pri vy Seal in1364, and soon after Secretary to the King

,and

Chief ofthe Pri vy Counci l , and Governor oftheGreat Counci l. These last terms h is biographer supposes were not t i tles ofoffice, but were used to ex

press the i nfluence he now possessed in the managemen t ofaffai rs ofS tate, and wh ich was so great, that,acco rd ing to Fro issar t, every th ing was done by

h im,and no thing was done wi thouth im.”

On the death ofh is old friend and patron Williamde Edyngdon , Bi shop ofW inchester, in 1366, Wyke

hamwas immed iately and unanimously elected by thePrio r and Convent to succeed h im. Some delay having taken place before he could be admi tted in to po ssess ion , i t has been supposed that he was objected to

by the K ing on account ofh is wan t oflearn i ng. But

M ilner’s H ist.ofWinchester, edi t.1809.vol.i.p , 293.

ivsw COLLEGE.

pence ofwhich was defrayed by h imsel f; but h ismoreen larged des i gnsfor thi s ed ifice were not executedfo rsome years after thi s.The care he bestowed on o ther

parts ofh is Epi scopal duty, i n refo rming abuses , andes tabl ish ing di sci pl ine, was h ighly ex emplary ; aan ,d

in the case ofh i s v i s i tat ion ofthe Hospi tal ofS t.Cro ss

,invo l ved h imin a long and t roublesome d is-4

pute,wh ich ended greatly to the benefi t ofthat ins t i

tut ion,and clearly to the hopour ofh is fi rmness, judgi

men t,and in tegri ty. His mind appears now to have

been deeply impres sed by sent iments ofenlarged l ibe;rali ty, and who l ly i nfluenced by those mo t i ves wh ichdetermined h imto become a benefacto r to h is count ryupon amo stmunificent scale.The foundat ion ofa Co l lege, o r ofsome inst i tut ionfor the educat ion ofyouth , had probably been re

vo l vedfor a con si derable t ime.About two years afterhe en tered on the Bi shopri c ofWinches ter, he beganto make ‘ purchases in the c i ty ofOx fo rd wi th that

v iew,and be connected wi th i t the plan ofaCo l lege at

Winches ter,wh ich should be a nursery for that of

Oxfo rd. As early as the year 1373 he es tabl i shed a

schoo l at Winches ter, in wh ich'

he placed certain poo r

Scho lars,who were to be ins tructed in grammat ical

learn ing, by one Richard de Herton, wi th an ass i stant

But the progress ofth i s generous plan wasfor somet ime impeded by the in t ri gues ofa party

,headed by

the Duke ofLancaster, mthe last year ofthe rei gnofWykeham’

s fr iend and mas ter, Edward III. Ari

accusat ion , branch ing into ei ght art i cles, was brough t

against h im; but upon a fai r t rial seven were founddest i tute ofproof, and the eigh th only was laid ho ld

ofas a pretex tfor sei z ing int o the.K ing'

s hands thé

NEW COLLEGE. 115

tempo ral i t ies ofthe Bi shopric OfWinches ter, ex clud~

ing the Bishop fromParl iamen t , and remo v ing himfromCourt.Ameasure so v io lent , and jus t ified upon

such s l ight ground s, was no r to be o verlooked even

in those days ofpopular acquiescence. At the ensu

i ng Con vocat ion , the Bi shop ofLondon , lVilliamCourtney

,had the spi ri t to Oppose any subs idy to the

K ing un t i l sat i sfact ion should be madefo r the i njurydone to the who le body Ofthe Clergy

,in the person

Ofthe Bi shop ofWinches ter ; and he was so fi rmlysuppo rted by the Convocat ion , that the Archbi shop

ofCan terbury , though awarmpart i zan ofthe Duke ofLancas ter, was obli ged to admi t Wykehamin to thei rassembly

,where he was recei ved by every member

wi th all poss i blemark s ofrespect. Nor was be les s a

favouri te w i th the people, who , when they rose in the

affai r ofW icklifi'

e, demanded that the Duke ofLan

cas ter should allow the Bishop to be brough t to a fai r

t rial. Wykehamwas soon after. res to red to h is tema

porali ties, but wi th the ungrac ious co nd i t ion , that he

should fi t out three sh ips ofwarfo r a certain t ime, o r,i f they were no t wan ted

, pay the amoun t ofthe probaable ex pence to the King— that King who had fo rmerlyheaped somanymark s offavour

i

on h im,but who

,

i

ala

though in some measure reco nc i led to h im,was now

too much ens laved by a party to ac t wi th h is won tedli beral i ty.

Edward I I I.d ied June 21, 1377: and on the acces

s ion ofRichard I I.Wykehamwas released fromall

his d ifficult ies,and

,by a so lemn declarat ion ofthe

Pri vy Counc i l, mos t honoura‘

bly acqui t ted ofthe ao

cusat ion s fo rmerly preferred agains t himby the Lancas ter party.Thi s new reign , however, was a per iod

1 2

116 NEW COLLEGE.

Ofturbulence, fact ion, and bloodshed ; and i t requiredall the wi sdomand c i rcumspec tion ofh is s teadymindto preserve the favour ofthe King, and the confi

dence ofthe people. Yet 1n bOth he was in a cou

s iderable degree successful. It was not long befo rethe Parl iamen t appo inted h imone Ofthe comml ss1oners to inqui re into the abuses ofthe fo rmer re1gn ; andinthei r other proceed ings they appear to have looked

Up to h imas a s tatesman ofinflex ible integri ty : norwas he les s consul ted in all mat ters ofdiffi culty bythe King and Counci l. But no twi ths tand ing such en

couragement, the pa t he had to act was ex tremelyarduous ; the new rei gn was d i strac ted by con tend ing

fact ions, and in the confl ic t offact ionsmen ofindependen tmi nds can seldombe safe : but what rendered

the danger greater was , that the K ing,as he grew up,l i s tened

’mo re to flatterers and favouri tes,than to the

legi timate adv isers oftheCrown.A

When Richard assumed the reins ofgovernment,On coming ofage, one ofh is fi rs t measures was to appo in t WykehamLo rd Chancel lo r, and to d i smis s theadmin is trat ion which had the ca1e ofpubli c affai rsduring h is minori ty. The new min i sters, however,unwi ll ing to be suspected ofowi n

gthei r appomtment

to a fit ofcapri ce, after a sho 1t t ime pro fessed to re

S ign, that thei r conductmigh t be inves t i gated mParliament ; and what they wi shed ac tually happened.

The Commons declared in favour ofthei r conduct,and they were all resto red.In conjunct ion wi th them,Wykehamhad the sat i sfac t io n ofbeing ve1y instru

men tal 1n promot ing publ i c tranqui l l i ty , unt i l h is re

s i gnat ion ofthe Great Seal m1391. After th i s he

seems to have kep t at a d i stance fromthe manage

NEW .COLLEGE.

son and example-

which could never be exceeded bythe wrses t ofh is po s teri ty.It has al ready been

'men tioned, that in the year

1373 he'

had begun hi s p reparato ry schoo l at W inches ter

,and about the same t ime, having purchased

tenemen ts fo r the purpose,he es tabli shed a

'

s imi lari ns t i tut ion at Oxfo rd , appo int ing a Go vernor, and

ac t1ng 1n o ther respec ts toward s h is infan t society insuch amanner, that i ts cons t i tut ion mi ght bematuredby the tes t ofexperience

,and that the l i fe and soul

,

as i t were, mi gh t be ready to info rmand an imatethe body ofh is Co l lege, as soon as i t could be fi

n ished.

Wi thin less than three y ears fromth i s commence,

men t ofh is plan , ’

the Society cons i s ted ofaWarden

and seven ty Fel lows , who were cal led , Pauperes Scho

Iares Venerabz’

lz'

s D omini D omini de Wykeham”fr/retort.Ep iscop i.The Warden h ad a salary of201.ayear

,and the Fel lows were lodged i n

'

the places h i red

for them, and then known by the names ofBlakeHal l , Hart Hal l , Schi lde Hal l , lVIayden Hal l, andHammer Hal l. The annual ex pence amounted to 13s.

4d.and each was al lowed l s.6d.a week for commons.In 1379, hav ing completed the several purchases of

‘

land necessaryfo r the s i te ofthe Col lege, he ob tained

the King’

s paten t, or l i cence, to found, dated June 30

ofthat year ; and l i kewi se the Pope’s bul l to the sameeffect. In h is Charter ‘

ofFoundat ion, whi ch he pub

l ished on No vember 26 fo l lowing, h is Co l lege is en

t i tled , Seinte Marie College qfWynclresfre in Oxen/ford.But i t is rather

‘

remarkable that the name ofNew

NEW COLLEGE. 119

College, wh ich was then gi ven in common speech

wi thoutmuch impropriety, should be by some meanscon t inued un t i l the presen t day, when i t is in real i tythe o ldest as to i ts princi pal bui ld ings , and the seventhin the o rder offoundat ion.The foundat ion-s tone was

laid March 5 , 1380, and the who le completed in s ix

years ; and on Apri l 14, 1386, the Society took pos

sess ion by a publ i c en trance, accompan ied wi th much

so lemn i ty.Acco rding to the s tatutes the Society cons i s ted ofaWarden and seven ty po o r Scho lars ‘

,Clerk s

,s tuden ts

in theo logy, canon and c i v i l law,and phi lo sophy ;

twen ty were appo in ted to the s tudy oflaws,ten of

themto that ofthe canon , and ten to that ofthec i v i l law ; the remain ing fifty were to apply themselves to phi losophy, or ar ts , and theo logy ; two to

the study ofmed ic ine, and two to as tro nomy ; all ofwhomwere obl iged to be in Pries t’s o rders wi th in a

cer tam t 1me,excep t in case oflawful imped iment.

Bes i des these there were ten Pries ts, three Clerk s ,

and s i x teen boys , o r Cho ri s ters , to min i ster in the

serv ice ofthe chapel. The body ofthe s tatutes,

Among the seventy poo r Scho lars , the Founder orders that h is nextofk in should have the pre ference, and that immediamon their admis~sion they should become Fellows, wi thout undergo ing the two years ofprobat ion , as is the ease with the others and even should there be novacancies at New Co l lege, they are al lowed to stay at the Co llege atWinches ter t i l l they have attai ned their t hirt iet h year for the chan ce

ofavacancy , prov ided they have good characters , and have been provedby the elec to rs t o be suffi c ient ly versed in grammar.By t he injuncti onsofV is itors the number ofFounde r’s k i n as e lig ible for New Co llege is

now co nfined to two ; but in defect ofsuch kinsmen only , the cho ice by

t he Founder was extended to others , accord ing to the coun t ies di rected

in the statute , fromwh ich boys were to be admit t ed upon thefoundat ion at Winchesmr.

126 NEW COLLEGE.

wh ich was enti rely‘

ofh is compos i tion, underwentmany rev is ions and co rrect ions, the resul t ofex per i cuce arid profound th ink ing on a subject wh ich

appears to have engrossed h is who le mind : and aithough some ofthe latter '

revis ions left an‘

open ingfor i rregulari t ies wh i ch the Society have not alwaysbeen able to prevent

,these s tatutes upon the iwhole

are cons i dered as highly jud icious and complete, andhave been,

very closely cop ied by succeed ing Fo unders

Dur i ng the progress ofthe bui ld ing, he '

e'

st‘

ablished

in formthat Soc iety at Winches terwhich was to supp ly New Co l lege wi th i ts members. The Charter ofFoundat ion i s dated Oc t. 1382, and the Col lege

named SeinteMar ie College cg"Wynclzestré. The ’year

after New Co l lege was fin i shed, he began th i s o ther

upon the s i te where s tood the schoo l at wh ich he

recei ved h is early edu‘cat ion. Thi s l i kewi se was com

pletedms i x yea1s, wi th amagn ificence scarcely infer io r to that ofNew Co l lege, and was opened for therecep t i on ofi ts i ntended inhabi tan ts March 28, 1393.The Soc iety resembles that ofh is o ther inst i tut ion,cons i s t ing ofa Wa1den , seventy Scho lars

,tobe in

s tructed in grammat i cal learn ing, ten secular Pries ts,

perpetual Fel lows,‘

three Priests’ Chaplains, three

Clerk s, and s i x teen Cho r i s ters ; andfor the instmctio‘n

Part icularly Henry VI.who founded the two Col leges ofEton andK ing’s College, Cambridge, ent i rely upon Wykeham’

s plan , t ranscribing the statutes ofthe latter, without anymaterial alterat ion. 111 1464a t reaty ofun ionfor mutual defence was concluded between these twoCo lleges and Wykeham’

s two.It was ent it led, Concordiaamicabil iss ive Composi t iO 'CollegiorumRegal iumCantabrig imct E tofmct

WicchamicorumOxon.et propeWinton.

PM NEW COLLEGE.

New Co l lege was far superio r The fi rst

i nstance ofaWarden ofNew Co llege being preferredto Winchester i s -that ofDr.Nicholas , in 1679, and

t he las t, Dr.Coxed.

Among the spec ial p ri v i leges secured by the

Founder to New Co l lege, one was that the Fellows‘

should be admi t ted to all degrees in the Un i vers i ty,wi thout fasking any grace ,

ofthe Congregat ion ofMasters

,or undergo i ng any examinat ionfor themin

the publ i c Schoo ls , pro v ided they were examined inthei r own Co l lege acco rd ing to the fo rmofthe Uni

vers i ty, and had thei r graces gi ven themin the samemanner by the governmen t ofthe House b. In 1608

th is was d isputed ; but Archbi shop Bancroft , then

Chancel lor ofthe Un i vers i ty, dec ided in favour ofthe Co l lege.

Wykehaml i ved long enough to wi tness the pros

peri ty ofbo th h is i ns t i tut ions,and almos t to see

o thers emanat ing fromthem. He died in 1404, in

h is eigh t ieth year, leav ing in h is wi l l a conti nuat ion

ofthose acts ofmunificence and p ious chari ty'

wh ich

he had begun in h is l i fe. He was in terred in the

beaut i ful chan try wh ich he had bui lt for himsel f inWinchester cathedral. In th is cathedral we st i l l see

the triumph s ofh is sk i l l in the main body ofthe ed i

ficefromi the tower to the wes t end,but mo re partien

larly in h i s chan try, which , wi th his monument , i s keptin repai r at the jo int ex pence ofhis two Co l leges

Th is superiority i s again restored, and the three last Wardens ofWinchester were not Wardens ofNew Co llege.

5 Ihave been informed that this pri vi lege was obtained in couse

quence ofapurchasemade by the Founder from.the Un ivers ity.There are several paintings and sculptures ofWykehamin New

NEW COLLEGE. 123

Of the benefacto rs to New Co l lege, one only ap

peared in the Founder’s l i fet ime,John de Buck ing

ham,Bi shop ofLinco ln

,who gave to the Society the

advowson ofSwalclifl'

e church, and some lands adjo in

ing. In 1440, Thomas Beck ington , Bi shop - ofBathand Wel ls, bes i des what he left in h is wi l l , persuaded

Hen ry VI.to gi ve themthe mano r ofNewton Longv i l le in Buck inghamsh i re. Thomas Jane, Bishop ofNo rwi ch

,in 1494, Clemen t Hardyng in 15 07, and

Archb ishop Warhamin 15 09, con tri buted landed pro

perty , and Robert Shirebourne, Bi shop ofChiches ter,bes ides land s in Midd lesex and Buck inghamshi re

,

founded four Prebends,v i z.Bursales

,E x ceit, Wyn d

ham,and Bargham

,in Chiches ter cathedral ,fo r the

Fel lows ofthi s o r Winches ter Co llege. In 15 94,

Thomas Wel ls, D.D. founded three exhib i t ions fo rthree Pries ts ; a l i ke foundat ion was made in 15 28 by

John Smy th,a burgher ofIpswi ch , who appears to

have been i nci ted to th is by a t rifl ing ci rcums tance.Being asked by a nei ghbour, whether he would '

sel l

certai n lands to Dr.Fleshmonger ?he asked , what theDoc to r mean t to do w i th them? The answer was , to

gi ve themto New Co l lege, that hemigh t be remembered in thei r p rayers. I f so ,

” rej o ined Smyth , I canas wel l find inmy heart to gi ve themas Dr.Flesh

monger ;’

and acco rd inglymade themo ver to the

Co l lege. In the same year th i s Dr.Fleshmonger,who was Dean ofChiches ter"

,bes towed the mano r of

Co llege. The latter over the gateway tower , the ent rance to the bal l,810.were p robably coeval wi th t he Co llege. In the common roomis

an anc ien t po rt rait , and one apparent ly anc ient , but di fferent in features , in the lVardeu

’

s lodgings , wh irh , however , I suspec t to be acopy.There is one, not unlike it in features , at Winchest er.

124. NEW COLLEGE.

Sheringhal l i n Tackley, in the county ofEssex, to

found an exh ib i t ionfo r four Fel lows ; and contri butedto purchase the .manor ofS taunton St.John in Oxford shire, on condi t ion ofadding exh ib i t ions fortwel ve Fel low-s. In 15 33, Thomas Mylling , a Fellow,

contri buted to the samepurchase, and op t he samecondi t ion, wi th a var iat ion in the sums , and number,ofFel lows. Fleshmonger's twel ve were .to have one

pound each , and Mylling’

s two Fellows lwere to have

fo rty shi ll ings each , per gunam.;In 15 5 8, JohnWhi te,Bi shop ofWinches ter, gave the manor offlan-placei n ,Southampton , out ofthe ,profitSLQfwh i ch thesumof.thirteen shi l l ings and four pence should be gi vento every Scholar on .his being admi tted Fel low. In‘15 89 , rChristopher Rawl ins , Vicar ofAdderbury, afterbui ld ing and endowing the free- school ofthat place,conveyed the who le to the Warden and Fellows

,who,

after paying the Schoo lmaster’s salary, l and prov id ingfor, the repai rs ofthe schoo l-house, were to d i v ide the

produce ofh is estates in Linco lnsh ire among the poo rest Fel lows and Scho lars. The sermon on Trin i ty

Sunday was a benefact ion ofDr.Ryves , ,Warden in

Other sermons , o rat ions, and lec tures , usual

in thi s College, were endowed by Lett i ce Wi l l iams,wex ecutrix ofThomas

_\Villiams, and iake, Bi shop ofBath and Wel ls ; and in 1647, Robert Pinke, War

den,and Rec to r ofS taunton S t.John in Oxfordshi re

,

and Co lerne in Wiltshi re, gave ,the patronage

,of

VVo tton near Woodstock.

Among the l i v ings belonging to th i s Col lege are

the R E CTOR I E S ofAkeley, Hardwi ck , Ho rwood ,Radcl iffe, and Tingewi ck , in Buck inghamsh i re ; Alton Barnes, Berwick -St.John, and Rushall, inWi lt

NEVV COLLEGE :

mer Hal l on the wes t and the-c itywall on the east,

and between that wal l on the n o rth e nd the wal l ofQueen Hal l on ,

the south,and between the ci ty wal l

on the east and the church-yard ofS t.Peter’s andEdmund Hal l on the wes t, and the wal ls belonging tothe tenemen ts ofS t.John’

s hospi tal in the Higl1

s treet between Queen’

s Co l lege co rner and the eas t

gate ofthe c i ty on the south. To thi s he added two

acres mo re near the same premises,and s ix vo i d plo ts

ofground, lying between Hammer Hal l on the no rth

and New Co l lege lane on the south , and between the

c i ty wal l on theeast and S t.Peter s chu1ch-yard.

O ther p ieces ofwas te ground were success i vely pur

chased, so as to procure roomfor h is in tended plan

,

which embraced the who le space on which the Co llege now stands

,including that part on wh ich the

new bui ldings have been erec ted , and whichfo rmanyyears was an avenue leading to the gardens.

These purchases were made at various t imes from1369 to 1379, when the Founder saw i t necessary to

secure und i s turbed possess ion , by prov id ing against

p resent prejud ices and future claims. As he had

bough t a very cons i derable space ofground, which

e i ther had been cons i dered as loose property, or was

connected wi th the ci ty wal l , at that t ime afortificat ion ofmuch importance, he p rocured the King's

wri t,o rdering an inqui s i t ion to be made

,whether

i t would be to the damage ofthe King,o r the town

ofOxfo rd,as to the fee-farmthereo f, o r to any one

else, i f he.were now to inclo se h is p resen t pur

chases, and o thers wh ich he had in h is eye, and spefc ified

,for the erect ion ofh is Co l lege A jury was

negord ingly summoned , and thei r verd ict was in fa

NEW COLLEGE. 127

‘ vour ofhis occupying the sai d premi ses , on cond i t iononly, that the College should keep in repai r that part

ofthe c i ty wal l wh ich would inclose their p remi ses,leav ing a gate on each s ide ofthe wall , at the ex ten t

ofthei r limi ts , through whi ch the Mayo r and Bai l iffsmigh t every three years inspec t the wall, and l i kewi sefor the conven iency ofthe inhabi tants in t ime ofwar

‘

. And these condi t ions were duly fulfilled , un t il

the wall ceased to be an objec t ofimpo rtance to the

defence ofthe c i ty, and was gradually remo ved to

make wayfo r al terat ion s sui ted to amo re improveds tate ofsoc iety.Fromthe verd ic t ofth is jury we also learn

,what

has been al ready h inted , that par t'

o f the grounds pur

chased by the Founder were no t buil t on, or inclosed

for pri vate use,but were covered wi th offal and rub

b ish brough t fromall parts ofthe town,and were the

usual haun ts ofmalefacto rs ,murderers , s t rumpets , ando ther d i so rderly persons ; so that the jury had no hes i

tation in declaring , that to inclose these grounds,and

erec t such bui ld ings as were proposed , would, ins teadofbe ing a detriment to any one, add greatly to the

o rnament, conven iency, and secur i ty ofthe c i ty andinhabi tan ts. Ano ther curious c i rcumstance we learnfromth is verd ic t : eigh t ofthese plo ts ofgroundwere es t imated at no higher value than ten sh i ll ingsyearly, because no person ever en tered upo n o r had

any th ing to do wi th them; but -al though thi s deprec iation seemed in favour ofthe Founder, he was made

On the north side ofthe ante-chapel , where the butt resses rest uponthe city wal l, arched passages were made through them, that the sol

diers in case ofa siegemigh t have no impedimemtomanning the walls

NEW COLLEGE.

to pay eigh ty pounds for themby.the c i ti zens, whoseproperty they were, which Woo d very justly ,

thinks

a hard purchasefor ground Wo rth but ten shi l l ings

per annum.”Al though a cons i derable» part ofthe ground wh ichfo rmed the s i te ofNew Co l lege and i tsappurtenances

i

was waste, there fo rmerly stood fi on b ther parts ofi tsome ofthose ancient Halls, where youth flwere lodged‘

d u r ing ’

thei r educat ion .at thi se Un i vers i ty:”

t hese antiquaries enumerate Maryol Hall, ,wh ich was

s ituated near St.h Peter’s chur ch ; Spald ing Coui t,bui lt by a person ofthat name forthe recept ion ofi ndi gent Scholars

, Botte Hal l , Ch imney Hal l, andHammer Hal l, which last s tood near' to the present

garden gate]; Mayden Hall, of.wh i ch there appear to

t e beeri two ofth’e ‘

name,one belonging to Un iver

s i ty —C o l lege ;e

’

and : lastly Schi lde Hall , wh ich s tood on(the s i te ofthe Clo is ter. Two s treets o r lanes , one

"cal led Hart Hal l lane;and the o ther Tho rald 0 1Turolds t reet, Were also inc luded z in

‘

: the ex tens i ve pi emisesdevo ted t o the erect ion ofth i s Co l lege.Thewhole:ofNew ollege;as builtb y the

'Fo’

under,i

c on s is ted'

o‘fthe prin c ipal quadrangle, (which includes

and Library,) the fine .clo i s ter, thelofty tower, and jthe gardens."The quad rangler

‘

emainedi n i ts

’

original‘

s tate oftwo stor ies;wh i ch was theusualh eigh t of‘all the old Colleges ,.unt il t he end ofthe s ix ‘

t eenth century, when a th i rd s to ry was added, but was

{not completed as to t un iformi ty ofwindows unt i l theyear 1675 , when the eas t

, south , and west fron ts weremodern i zed as we iiow'ii nd them The d imens ions of.th_

e quadranc le are about one hundred and s i x ty-eightfeet by one hundred and twenty-n ine.The Chapel

NEW COLLEGE. leg

and Hall occupy the no rth s i de, the Libraries part ofthe eas t, and the south and wes t the Warden’

s and

Fellows’ lodgings. The s tatue ofMinervawas placedin the cen t re in 1696, a present fromHenry Parker,Esq.ofHonn ing ton in VVarwickshire, but has been

remo vedfo r some years.Fromthi s quadrangle, the middle

’

gate leads to the

garden court,which was bui l t in imi tat ion ofthe

palace ofVersai lles , o r mo re probably ofthe King’shouse at Winches ter, as des i gned by Si r Chri s topher

Wren , but wi th bat t lemen ts to co rrespo nd wi th the

old quadrangle and c i ty wal l. It wi dens by t ri ple

break s as we approach the garden , fromwhich i t isseparated by an ex tens i ve i ron pal isade ofone hundred and th i rty feet in length “. The fi rs t s tone ofth i s court was lai d by “r

arden Bees ton , Feb.- 13, 1682 ,

and the who le fin i shed in 1684. The gardens , which

are spac ious , are lai d out wi th much taste ; but the

moun t is no t, as fo rmerly , access i ble, and the King

'

s

and Founder’s arms , a d ial , and a kno t , all curious ly

cut in bo x ,”

are no longer to be seen. The who le

ofthe gardens and bowl ing-green i s inclosed by the

ci ty wall , in perfect repai r. The d i tch o n the eas t

s ide was drained about the year 1671, and some bui ldings erec ted on the spo t , which now fron t the wall ofMagdalen gro ve. The spec tato r i s general ly and very

properly d i rec ted to v iew the new bui ld ings oftheCo l le

ge fromthe garden gate, as they are seen there ‘

to the greatest advan tage ; and thi s v iew, indeed , ap

Brough t from Timon’

s v illa," so admirably sat iriz ed by Pepe,Mo ral Essays , ep.i v.ver.99. It is also sai d, t hat t he pi llars ofthetemple in the bowling-green were brought fromthe same place.

I

rso fi EW COLLEGE.

pears to have been a favour i te objec t wi th the arch i

teet.

Al though the anc ient part ofNew.Col lege s t i l l re

mains in good preser vat ion , much damage was doneto the bui ld ings during the c i v i l war. In 1642, when

preparat ions weremade to oppo se the‘

invas ion ofOxfo rd by the Parl iamen tary army

, New Co llege was

un fo rtunately selec ted , on accoun t ofi ts ample space,as a garri son ; the armed Scho lars were exerci sed in

,

the quadrangle, and, during the King’s res i dence at

Oxfo rd , the clo i s ter and tower were used as magaz inesfor ammun i t ion. In 165 1, on the repo rt ofCharlesII.’s coming to Oxfo rd , thi s Co l lege was fo rt ified bya Co lonel D raper belonging to the Usurper's army, tothe great injury ofthe bui ldings , holes being madeth rough the wal ls ofthe clo i ster and gates, and o ther

d ilap idat ions commi tted, to fit i t fo r thi s prepos terous.serv ice.

Of the HA L L , as i t came fromthe hand s oftheFounder and arch i tec t

,we can only admi re the just

ness ofthe propo rt io ns It appears to have under

gone its fi rs tmost cons iderable al terat ion in the War

densh ip ofDr.London, who pres ided o ver th i s So

c iety from15 Q6 to 15 49. Between these period s the

p resent wainsco tt ing was put up, some ofwhich iscurious ly carved , parti cularly the emblems ofthe cru

c ifix ion at the Upper end ofthe Hal l under theFounder’s p icture.‘ Trad i t io n repo rts that th i s wainscot t ing was furn i shed a t the ex pence ofArchbi shopWarham. About twenty years ago i t underwent

ano ther repai r, but wi thout any attemp t to res tore

‘ These were Seventy-eight feet in length by th irty-five in breadth,and forty i n height , before themodern ceiling was placed there.

139 NEW COLLEGE.

wi th an o rat ion. He then supped at Chri st Church ,and afterwards went to S t.John’s

,where a play, cal led

Annus Recurrens,w1i tten by Dr.Gwynne ofthat So

c iety, was acted but here h is Majes ty is said to have

fal len as leep, and 'when he awaked -left the assemblywi thout any ex trao rd inary express ions of.s atisfacfi onfl

The L I BRARY, o n the eas t s i de ofthe '

quadrang le,

is d i v ided into two co l lect ions, fo rmerly known by thenames ofthe Arts and.Law Li brary

,and the Manu-r

scri p t Li brary ; but the book s are now d ifferen tly arranged ". They occupy two s pacious rooms, one on

the second and the o ther on the th i rd s to ry. The

upper was lately rebui l t 1n the in ter io r by Wyat.Be

s i des what the Founder con tri buted, thi s Li brary was

enri ched soon' after i ts erec t ion by presen ts ofbooks

from R ede,Bi shop ofChiches ter

,) Robert Heete,

L L.B.John Wal ter, M.A. and Fel low,Arch

bishop Cranley , Richard Andrew, firs t Warden ofAll Souls

,Bi shop Beck ington , Thomas Chaundler,

Warden, Russel, Bi shop ofLinco ln , ArchbishopWarham, S i r Richard Read , Bishop Lake, .Dr.Pinke,

0

In the statutes ofthis College, cop ied afterwards into those '

ofMagdalen and Corpus , the Founder orders his Scho lars ,for their recreation on fest ival days in the Hal l, after dinner and supper, to entertain

themselves with songs , and other divers ions cons istent wi th decency,and to rec ite poems, chroni cles ofkingdoms, the wonders ofthe wo rld,together with the l ike compos it ions , not misbecoming the clerical character. See a specimen in VVarton’s H ist.ofPoet ry , vol.i.p.93.

b The lower Library is filled with books ofdivinity , and the roomwh ich now serves as aCommon Roomto the senior part ofthe SoEietywas , before the addit ional story in 1679, filled with books on the c ivrl

law. The passage that communicated between these Libraries is now

c losed up, and the roomon the new story contains the books ofmiscellaneous l iterature.

NEW COLLEGE.’ 183

and Dr.Woodward , who in 1675 bequeathed five

hundred fo l ios , besides oc tavo s , Si c. In the sameyear the law and manuscri p t Li braries were un i ted ,and the roomen l ightened by windows to the qua

drangle.

The hi s tory ofamanuscrip t, once ‘

intended for th isLibrary, may affo rd some not ion ofthe d ifficul ty ofpr ocuring Cop ies ofbook s, the h igh value set upon

them,and the c onsequen t very s low d iffus ion of

knowledge befo re the e ra ofp ri n t i ng. We are in

debted to Mr.War ton for the anecdo te, who , after.

no t i c i ng how sacred the pro perty ofa book was cons idered , i nfo rms us, that many claims weremade aboutthe year 1488 to amanuscrip t ofMat thew Pari s, belonging to themonastery ofS t.Alban ; and that Russel, Bishop ofLinco ln , abo ve ment ioned , thus cond it ionally defended or explained h is righ t ofpo sses s ion.I f th i s book can be proved to be o r to have been

the property ofthe exemp t monas tery ofS t.Albanin the d iocese ofLinco ln , Ideclare th i s to be mymind

, that , in that case, I use i t at presen t as a loan

under favour ofthose monks who belong to the

said monas tery. O therwi se, acco rd ing to the con

d i t i on under which thi s book came in to“

my po ssess ion, Iwi ll that i t shal l belong to the Co l lege oftheblessed W inches ter Mary at Oxfo rd , ofthefoundat ion ofWill iamWykeham. Wri tten wi th my own

band'

s t Bukdene, 10 June, A.D.1488.Jo.LIN

CO LN. Whoever shal l obl i terate o r destroy thi s

wri t ing,let h imbe anathema.”

The CHA P E L ofthi s Co l lege,s t i l l the mos t magn i

ficen t in the Un i vers i ty,affo rds but a faint idea ofthe

wonderful s truc ture which Wykehamleft. I f wemayK 3

NEW COLLEGE.

t rus t to general trad i t ion, honfirmed in some measureby a reference to h is eirquis i te sk i l l d isplayed in W inChes ter cathedral , th i s Chapel once comprehended anas semblage ofall that was beaut i ful and grand in thePlan tagenet arch i tecture

,and all that munificence,

p iety,or supers t i t ion could add in ri ch and go rgeous

furn i ture and deco rat ion. It i s probable that i t re

mained in th i s state un t i l the Refo rmat ion , when our

eccles ias t i cal ed ifices were robbed ofthei r go ld ands i l ver and precious s tones, and the finest specimens ofart defaced under the no t ion that they admin i steredto ido latry. The fi rs t no t i ce we have ofthese depredat ions o ccurs in 15 5 0, when Ki ng Edward

’

s v i s i to rs

o rdered the pain ted windows to be taken down but,

”

says Wood, the Co l lege no t being rich enough , as

they pretended , to set up new,p romi sed that they

would when they were in a capac i ty.” Acco rd ing to

the same hi s to rian , the Chapel remained nearly in i tspri st ine s tate

,the images only being remo ved from

the east end , un t i l about the year 1636, when the

s tal ls and desks were suppl ied by new ones,and the

Wainsco t o rnamen ted wi th pain t ings ofthe Apos tles ,Saints

,A t the same t ime the screen was erected ,

and the floo rs ofthe inner and outer Chapel paved

wi th black and wh i te marble. In 1663, the o rgan

made by Bo lham, and s ince impro ved by Green and

Byfield , was placed ,o ve r the screen. The fo rmer

o rgan, wh ich was fi rst set up in 145 8, stood in a loft

o n the no rth s ide ofthe upper end.The fate ofthe‘

eas t end ofth i s Chapel , at leas tthrough all i ts injurious treatment, cannot now be eas i ly

In the porter's lodge are th ree paintings ofthis kind on pannel,wh ich were removed fromthe Chapel.

136 NEW COLLEGE.

tas te, has ex tended t o an angry and apparently end

les s con troversy,in wh ich we have no incl inat ion to

engage. Whatever defec ts may appear to an eye

n i cely and fas t id ious ly conversant wi th that species ofarch i tecture to which i t belongs , i t wi l l no t be easy

by any powers ofreason ing to lessen the admi rat ionwh ich a sur vey ofthi s Chapel exci tes “Among the curios i t ies preserved here i s the superb

and c ost ly cro s ier ofthe Founder,ofs i l ver, gil t, and

enamel led , in wh ich , lastend ofthe Ho ly Lamb usual ly placed wi th in the

’

c ircle ofcros iers,is a figure of

Wykehamin h is favouri te p ious pos ture ofkneelin cr.

Some ofthe o rnamen ts pertain ing to his mi tre, wh ichare ofgo ld and prec ious stones

,h is gloves and ring,

810.are preserved in themun imen t room. Thi s roomi s in the thi rd floo r ofthe massy tower

,s i tuated at

the south east end ofthe Hal l , wh ich con tain s fours to r ies , cons i st ing ofs i ngle rooms vaul ted wi th s tone

roofs ; the two upper rooms are ofbeaut i ful p roport i on s.

In the outer Chapel are the monuments,bo th in

s tone and bras s, and the remains ofmany eminentmen who belonged to th i s Co l lege, and ofsome of' i tsWardens. Afew ofthese were fo rmerly in the in

ner Chapel ; but amuch greater p ropo rt ion oftheWykami s ts are interred in the

CLOIST E R s , an appendage to a Co l lege ofwh ichth i s was the fi rst i nstance, and the on ly one in Oxfo rd

except that ofMagdalen, the roof ofwh ich is flat,

Those who have viewed the exterior ofthe Chapel and Hall onlyfromthe quadrangle, can have but an insufficient ideaofthe grandeurofelevat ion wh ich they present fromthe back gate in Holiwell.Thegenius ofthearchitect is there before them.

‘NElV COLLEGE. 137

whereas th is i s finely arched in open t imber-frame.Its ex ten t is one hundred and fo r ty-s ix feet by one

hund red and five, and i t was consecrated , wi th the

areawi th in, Oc t.19, 1400, as a bur ial place fo r theCo l lege. Many ofthe curious brass plates here weres to len duri ng the Rebe l l ion , when the Co l lege was

made a garr i son. In 1802 the monumen ts, St e.werecareful ly repai red , and the inscri p t ions res to red : and

the utmo s t care seems to be taken to preserve a bui ld

ing , whi ch has so d i rec t a tendency to exc i te so lemnmed i tat ion, and to recal l the memorv ofdepartedwo rth.

The fi rst o n the l i st ofVVAR D BN S , Richard de Tonworthe, appears to have been employed to govern the

Soc iety, i f it migh t be then so called , whi le in Hart

Hal l and Blake Hal l , only during the Founder’

s plea

sure. He acco rd ingly res i gned h is offi ce in 1379,

when Wykeham appo in ted h is k insman,Nicho las

Wykeham. On h is res i gnat ion in 1389, Thomas deC ranley was appo in ted

,and was the fi rs t Warden

after the Fellows had taken po ssess ion ofthe Co llege.He was afterwards Archbi shop ofDubl in ; but t e

turned to England in 1417, d ied that year, and was

buried in the Co llege Chapel. Thomas Chandler,the ei gh th Warden, and Dean ofHerefo rd , is praisedby Leland as one who graced scho las t i c d isputat ions

wi th the o rnaments ofpure Lat in i ty ; he was l i kewi sereckoned an able cri t i c in po l i te l i terature, and a

patron ofWal ton , the translato r ofBoethius in 1410.

John London, the thi rteen th Warden , deserves no t i ce

only thati

the reader may be reminded ofthe ableanswer ofDr.Lowth to the calumn ies which thi swretched man raised against the Founder, to whom

138 NEW COLLEGE.

he owed h is educat ion and subs i s tence. His mo t i vesfo r th i s attack on the memo ry ofh is benefacto r aren ow i nscrutable. He was one ofthe fi rs t and mos timplacable persecuto rs oftho se who were suspected

to favour the Refo rmat ion ; but in his zeal to bringnew

i

v ict ims to the s take,he commi tted perjury, for

wh ich he was p i l lo ried , and o therwise i gnomin ious lyexposed , and ended h is days soon after in ajai l. The

o ther Wardens mos t celebratedfor the part they borein publi c t ransac t ion s , o rfor learning and p iety, wereCo le, . Sk inner, Lake, Pinke, S tringer, Bigg, and

Coxed. Some ofthose were cho sen Wardens ofW inchester

,and some occur in the l i s t ofBishops.

The present Warden i s the thi rty-fifth fromthe foun

dat ion, during wh ich period offour hundred and

thi rty-five years there have been only twen ty-five

Wardens ofWinches ter.Among the PR E LATE S educated in New Co l lege

are, Cran ley, Archbi shop ofDublin, al ready no t i ced- Chichele, Archbi shop ofCanterbury, who

'

wi l l occur

hereafter as Founder ofAll Souls — Thomas Beck ington , Bi sh

'

op ofBath and Wel ls, a l iberal encourager

oflearn ing,and a benefac to r to th i s and Linco ln

Co llege z— Johu Russel, Bi shop ofRochester and

Linco ln , the fi rs t perpetual Chancel lo r o f .the Un io

vers i ty, and afterwards Chancel lo r ofEngland , celebratedfor h is learn ing, but at the same t ime unfortuanately conspicuous fo r h is zeal agains t the friends ofthe Refo rmat ion z— WilliamWarham, Archbi shop ofCan terbury

, eminent as a statesman , d i v ine, and law

yer, an encourager ofl i terature, and the patron ofErasmus z— Sherbo rne, or Sh irebourne, Bi shop ofChiches ter, Bi lson ofWinchester, Lake ofBath and

140 NEW COLLEGE.

s— Bastard and Owen,the famous epigrammati sts

John Bond , the class i cal commentato r — Dr.ThomasJames , fi rs t l i brarian ofthe Bodleian z— Herbert, Earl

ofPembroke,apoet ofsuperio r and elegant fancy

S i r Hen ry Wo tton,an accompl i shed wr i ter

,an arti st,

and a conno i sseur ; removed afterwards to Queen’

s

S i r Hen ry Martin, c i v i l ian z— Dr."ouch , ofthe samep ro fess ion i Thomas Lydiat, the learned and unfo rtunate

,whomth i s Society honoured by amonument

on h is grave, and ano ther in the c lo is ter z— Si r Tho

mas Ryves, an eminen t c i v i l ian z— Will iam Fiennes,

Lord Say and Sele, one ofthe fi rs t Noblemen whotook up arms against Charles I.and one ofthe fi rs t

whomCharles I I. promoted — Dr.Bruno Ryves,

Dean ofWindso r,and wri ter ofthe fi rs t newspapers

publ i shed in England z — Dr.Edward Young, Dean

ofSarum,father to the poet - Si r Edward Herber t,

Chief Just i ce ofthe King’s Bench z— Wood,autho r

ofthe Ins t i tutes oft he Laws ofEngland — Dr.Wil

l iamMusgrave — Somerv i l le and Pi tt,eminent poets

— Rev.Joseph Spence, an elegant cri t i c and miscellaneous wr i ter — Dr.Glos ter R idley, the b iographer

ofh is great ances to r the martyr — His son James , amiscel laneous writer ofpromis ing talents and genuinehumour — Dr Wi ll iamSmi th, t rans lato r ofThucyd idcs and Longinus — and the late Dr.Robert Ho lmes,the learned col lato r ofthe Sep tuagin t, in the publ icat ion ofwh ich he had made cons i derable progress , andwhich s ince h is lamen ted death has been resumed bythe Un i vers i ty, who have cons i gned i t to the care ofa Gentleman qual ified to do jus t ice to th i s arduousundertak ing.

L I NCOLN ‘

COLLEGE.

RICHARD Flemming, or Flemmynge, the Founderofthi s Co l lege, descended froman anc ien t fami ly,was bo rn at Crofton in Yo rk sh i re, and educated at

Un i vers i ty Co l lege, where h is ex trao rd inary profi

c iency in logi c and phi lo sophy procured h imh igherdegrees than were then usual ly conferred.In 1406 he

was p resen ted to the Prebend ofSouth Newbo ld inthe church ofYo rk , and nex t year served the officeofProcto r in the Un i vers i ty. The copy ofthe s ta

tutes belonging to the dut ies ofJun io r Proc tor,wh ich

he caused to be t ranscri bed , 13 s t i l l p reserved amongthe archi ves.Soon after tak ing h is Mas ter’s degree, he profes sed

a zealous at tachmen t to the princ i ples by which

Wickl iffwas endeavouring to oppo se the es tabl ished

rel ig ion , and argued wi th so much abi l i ty as to makemany converts , some ofwhomwere person s ofhighd i s t inc t ion.By whatmeanS 'he was induced to change

h is op in ion , and d i splay equal or greater zeal againstthe Refo rmat ion , i s no t known. In 1896, when a

s tuden t in theo logy, o r scho lar, (Mag ister R icardas

Flemyng ) we find h is name among the o ther Ox fo rd

men who condemned the tenets ofW icklifl'

; and i t i s

certain , that when he speculated on the foundat ion ofaCo llege, i t wasfo r the ex press

‘

purpose ofeducat ingd i v ines, who were to exert thei r talents against the

heresy ofthat Refo rmer.

LINCOLN COLLEGE.

In 1415 , being then Recto r ofBos ton in Lincolnsh ire, he exchanged h is Prebend ofSouth Newbo l dfor that ofLangfo rd in the cathedral church ofYo rk ,and on Apri l 28 , 14Q0, was promo ted t0

'

the see ofLinco ln. In 1424 he was sent to the Counc i l ofS ienna, where, in a d i spute about precedency, he vin

d icated the honour and superio ri ty ofh is coun tryagainst the Span i sh , French , and Scotch deput ies.

Thi s Counc i l was cal led to con t inue theproceed ings

ofthat ofCon s tance agains t the Hus s i tes , and o ther

con t inen tal refo rmers ; and our Prelate d i s t ingui shed

h imsel f so much , as to become a favouri te wi th PopeMart inV.who would -have promo ted himt o be Archb i shop ofYo rk , had no t the King as wellas the Dean

and Chap ter oppo sed h is elec t ion wi th such fi rmness ,as to obl i ge the Pope to yield.Flemming cons’eq‘uent lyremained in h is d iocese ofLinco ln.In 1498 he ex e-

‘l

outed that decree ofthe Counc i l ofConstance,wh ich

o rdered that the bones ofWicklifi” should be takea

n‘

up

and burned '

; the harmless remains ofa'man whomhe once honoured wi th the warmth ofh is‘ zeal , andsuppo rted wi th the v ig’

our ofh is talmts.Whatever d i sappo in tment hemight feel in ~no t suc

ceed ing to the Archbi shopric ofYo rk,i t

"

does no t ap~

pear to have in terfered wi th h is generous des i gn offounding a Co l lege ; but h is ful l inten t ions werefrus’

trated by h is death , wh ich took place at S leford , Jan.25 , 1430

-31. He was interred in Linco ln cathed ral ,where a tomb was erected , wi th a long epi taph -in

Monk i sh rh ime, some part ofwh ich was wri t ten byh imself. Theonly i nfo rmat ion it conveys is

,that the

Pope' con secrated himBi shop of‘Lincoln 'wi th

'

h is

own hands.

144 LINCOLN COLLEGE.

maintained by the revenues ofthe churches abovement ioned, and themoney left by the Founder, Theyhad as yet, however, no fixed s tatutes fo r thei r governmen t , and were kep t together merely at the d iscret ion ofthe Rec to rs , whose judicious conduc t,j o ined to the ut i l i ty ofthe ins t i tut ion

,induced some

benefac to rs to augmen t thei r revenues by gi fts oflands and money.Among these were

,John Fo res t

,Dean ofWel ls ,

who about the year 1437 bui l t_

the Chapel , Library,Hal l

,and Ki tchen ; John Southam,

Archdeacon ofOxfo rd ; Will iamFinderne, Esq.; Cardinal Beaufo r t ;and John Buketo t ; and these were fo l lowed by one

who has been al lowed to share the honours offoundership , Thomas Ro theram, Bi shop ofLinco ln.Thi s mun ificent benefacto r was bo rn at Ro theram

in Yo rk shi re, fromwhence he took h is name, but thatofh is fami ly appears to have been Sco t.’ He ro se

by h is talen ts and learn i ng to the highest ranks in

church and s tate, hav ing’

been success i vely Fel low ofK ing’s Co l lege, Cambridge, Master ofPembroke Hal l,Chancel lor ofthat Un i vers i ty , Prebendary ofSarum,Chaplain to King Edward IV.Pro vost ofBeverley

,

Keeper ofthe P r i vy Seal , Secretary to four K ings,Bishop ofRoches ter and Lincoln, Archbi shop ofYo rk

,and Lord Chancel lo r. His bui ld ings at Cam

bridge, Whi tehal l , Southwel l , and Tho rp , are eminen tproo fs ofh ismagn ificen t taste and spi ri t.

He was promo ted to the see

'

ofLinco ln in 1471 ;

and we learn fromh is preface to h is body ofs tatutes,

that a v i s i t through h is d iocese, in whi ch Oxfo rd then

was , pro ved the occas ion ofh is l i beral i ty to th i s Co l

lege. On h is arri val here in 1474, John Tris troppe,

LINCOLN ” COLLEGE. 145

the thi rd Recto r, p reached the v i s i tat ion sermonfromPsalmlx xx.14, 15 . Beho ld , and v i s i t thi s

‘

vine, and

the v ineyard wh i ch thy ri gh t hand hath planted,”

&C. In this d i scourse, which , as ensued, was , deli

vered in Lat in , the preacher addressed h is par ti cular

requests to the Bi shop, exho rt ing himto complete hi sCo l lege, now imperfect and defect i ve bo th in bui ld :ings and go vernmen t. Ro theram is sai d ‘

to have .

been so wel l ' pleased wi th the appl i cat io n ofthe tex t .

and subjec t, that he s tood up, and declared that he

would do what was desi red. Acco rd ingly, bes id es

what he con t ri buted to the bui ld ings , wh ich wi l l be

no t i ced hereafter, be inc reased the number ofFel lowsfromseven to twel ve, and gave themthe l i v ings ofTwyfo rd in Buck inghamshi re, and Long Combe ia

'

Oxfo rdshi re. He formed also in 1479 a body ofs tatutes , in which , after no t i c ing

,wi th an apparen t dew

gree ofdi spleasure, that, although Oxfo rd was in the

d iocese ofLinco ln , no Co llege had yet made p ro v is ionfo r the nat i ves ofthat dio cese , he enjoi ned thatthe Recto r should be ofthe d io cese ofLinco ln o r

Yo rk , and the Fel lows o r Scho lars should be ”person'

s

bo rn in the d ioceses ofLinco ln and Yo rk,and one of

Wells , wi th a p reference, as to those fromthe dio ceseofYo rk , to hi s nat i ve pari sh ofRo theram. ThisPrelate d ied in 15 00 at Cawo od , and was buried inthe chapel ofS t.Mary, under amarble tomb whichhe had bui lt.

There being now every prospec t ofa so l i d es tablishment, o ther benefac to rs came fo rward

, even dur ingthe l i fet ime ofRo theram

, to tes ti fy thei r respectforthe Soc iety. Wal ter Bate

,a Pries t and Commoner

here, gave thema house and garden adjacen t to the


Co l lege ; and Thomas Cro sby, Treasurer ofLinco ln ,gave one hundred mark s to found a Chaplai nship.

Will iamDagvyle, ofOxfo rd , Gen t.bequeathed a tenement cal led the Chri stopher in S t.Mary Magda~

lene’s par i sh , Dagvyle’

s Inn in All Sain ts’ pari sh , a

tenemen t in S t.Mart in’s , and a garden ground in

Grand-pout in Berk shi re. These he left by h i s wi l l,dated 1474, at wh ich t ime they were valued at 61.133.4d.per annum, and were no t to come to the Co l legeunt i l after the decease ofh is wi dow. Shemade themo ver, however, to the Co l lege in 1488, on cond i t ion ofrecei v ing the abo ve ren t during her l i fe

, whi ch was

pro longed unt i l the year 15 23.

In the beginn ing of.the s i x teenth cen tury, Bi shop

Smyth,the Founder ofBraz enose, al though he had at

that t ime h is own Co l lege in v iew,gave the mano r of

Bushberry, o r Ailleston,near Brewood in Staffo rd

sh i re, and the mano r ofSengclere, o r Sencleres , in

Chalgrave,Oxfordsh i re,fo r the general purposes and

benefit ofthe Society ofLinco ln. Bushberry i s re

puted the bes t s ingle estate in the pos sess ion ofth i sCo l lege In 15 18, Edmund Audley, Bi shop ofSal i sbury

,the son ofJames Touchet

,Lo rd Audley, gave

the sumoffour hundred pound sfo r the purchase oflands in Buck inghamsh i re

,and added the patronage

ofa chan try in the cathedral ofSal i sbury.In 15 35 , Edward Darby, M.A.some t ime Fel low,

and Archdeacon ofS tow,founded three Fel lowships

,

one to be ofthe Archdeacon ry ofS tow, the second ofthe county ofNo rthamp ton , and the thi rd ofthecoun ty ofOxford. Benefact ions inmoney weremade

9 Charton’s Lives ofthe Founders ofBraz enose Col lege, p.238-241.


the Mayor, Reco rder , and three sen io r Aldermen ofthat town. Thefluctuat ion s in the value, o r supposed

value, ofmoney, are.in some degree i llustrated by thesums al lo tted to these Scho larships. Mrs.Trapps

"

Scho lars were to have 21.12s.6d.yearly, Mrs.Frank

land’s s ingle Scho lar, i f appo inted , Mr.Hayne’s

61.each , and Mr.Smyth’

s 141.

The nex t great benefacto r to thi s and o ther Col

leges was Nathanael Lo rd Crewe, Bi shop ofDurham,and some t ime Recto r ofthi s Co llege. He added

201.year ly to the Rec torshi p, and 101.to each ofthe

twel ve Fel lowsh ips, and increased the Bi ble Clerk’

s

place and the poorer Scho larships to 101.each. The

same sumwas added to the Curac ies ofAll Saintsand S t.Michael’s in Oxfo rd, and Twyfo rd and Long

Combe. Al l these took place in 1717, and the following year he endowed twel ve Exhi b i t ions of201.each. These Exhibi t ioners were to be Undergraduate

Commoners and nati ves ofthe d iocese ofDurham,

o r, in want ofsuch , ofNo rthal lerton , Howden “

in

Yo rk shi re, or ofLei cestershi re,and part i cularly of

the parish ofNewbo ld Verdon,or ofthe d iocese of

Oxfo rd, o r ofthe county ofN o rthamp ton , to be

elected by the Recto r and Fel lows ofLinco ln Co l lege,and to enj oy the Exh ibi t ions fo r ei gh t years. He

bequeathed also 2001.a year to the Un i vers i ty forgeneral purpo ses, and was a l i beral con tributo r to the

bui ld ings ofChri st Church, Queen’s , Wo rcester, and

All Souls Co l leges, and the new church ofAll Saints ,The latter days ofthi s Prelate

,who d ied in 1721,

were spent in acts ofmunificent hospi tality r

andfcliasr i ty,for which his name has been enrol led and is com

LINCOLN COLLEGE. 149

memorated among the mos t d is t inguished benefac to rsto the Un i vers i ty ‘.The Scho larships and Exh ibi t ions

were las t ly augmented by Thomas Marshal l, D.D.Recto r and Dean ofGlouc es ter, who added four tothei r number

,and by the benefact ion ofRichard

Hutchins,D.D.Recto r from175 5 to 178 1, when he

d ied at the advanced age ofeighty-three, and was

buried in the chancel ofAll SaintsThe pri ncipal l i v ings be longing to thi s Co llege are

’

the R E CTOR I E S ofCubl ington, Okeney, and Twy

fo rd, in Buck inghamshi re, the lat ter annexed by

Bishop Ro theramto the Rec to rshi p ; All Sain ts and

S t.Michael’s in Oxfo rd ; Waddingto n , Linco lnshi re ;Winterbourne Abbas and VVin terbourne S teepleton

in Do rsetshi re, purchased by the Co llege in 1725 ;

Long Combe in Oxfo rdshi re ; Much Lei gh and Hadlei gh in Es sex : and the PER P ETUA L CUB ACY ofFo res t Hil l in Oxfo rd shi re.

In 15 35 the ren ts were est imated at 1011.83.lod.

and in 15 92 at In 1612 the Soc iety cons i sted

of109 pe rsons. It con s is ts now ofa Rec to r, twel veFellows , a Bi ble Clerk , thi rteen Exhi bi t ioners , and

ei ght Scho lars. The Bi sho p ofLinco ln is Vi s ito r.The expences oft he Bucr nia, or annual commemo ration ofthe

Benefact o rs ofth is Universi ty , are part ly defrayed by a sumofmoneyor iginally lefl to New Co llege by Lord Crewe, and fo rmerly spent in anent ertainment to that Soc iety. About the year 1750, however , theyt ransferred it to the Un ivers ity in o rder to furnish amus ical and miscellaneous ann iversary, in honour ofi ts patrons and benefactors.

A relative ofSi r Geo rge Hut chins , one ofthe King’s Commiss ioners ofthe Great Seal , and aman ofconsi derable learn ing. He print ed ,for theme ofh is pupi ls , a short Treatise on the Glo bes , whi ch was allowed by the late Mr.Adams , ofFleet Street , London , to be the bestthat he had seen upon the subject

15 0 LINCOLN COLLEGE.

The BUILDINGS ofLi nco ln retain much oftheiro riginal character. The o ld Co l leges were all erec ted

in the quadrangular fo rm,and never lo ft ier than the

bui ld ings ofthi s Co l lege. The who le premi ses,s i tu

ated between Exeter and All Sain ts church , and in a

l ine :wi th the si s t oftwo quadrangles , theone a

'

square of' the.o ther ofseven ty feet.They s tand on the.ground that was fo rmerly occup ied

by Winches ter and Hamp ton —Hal ls,and part ofS t.

M ildred’s c hurch -yard.The largest quadrangle, wh ich

1ncludes .the ' Library and Hal l, is the o ldest

,and was

begun soo n after.the Founder’s death. The Recto r’s

lodgings were , bui lt '

at the expence of.Bishop i

Beck

ing ton , and his rebus,'a beacon o ver a tun

,may yet be

d i scovered on the wal ls.‘

Other parts ofthe quad rangle were bui lt by

'

Ro theram, the co- founder, whose

arm‘

s,i three buck s .tri ppan t, are st i l l v is i ble on the

wal ls , as o n the si n i s ter s i de ofthe Co l lege arms.Thé

'

sriiallé r court, in zwh ich the Chapel i s s ituated,was b ui lt about the year 1612, part ly at the ex pence

ofS ir Thomas Ro theram,Kut ofBedfordshi re, and

Fel low i nQ ueenEli zabeth’

s t1me, Who 18 said to have

g i ven 3001.for thi s purpose, as ana tonemen tforhavingformerly

'mi sapplied par t ofthe Co l lege revenueswhen Bursar.The Society and afew benefacto rs cont ributed to comp lete thi s square : and the on ly add i

tion that has beenmade since that t ime i s a bui ld ing111 the grove, ofs ix sets ofrooms , which was erectedat the ex pence.oftheSoc iety i n 175 9.

The H A L L , on the eas t s i de ofthe o ldest quadran

gle, a handsome bui ld ing , fo rty-two feet by twentyfive, wi th a p lain semi c i rcular roof, was o riginal ly

LINCOLN COLLEGE. 15 1

cons tructed by Dean Fo rest in 1436, as s i sted proba

bly by o ther benefacto rs. The windows were formerly deco rated wi th the arms ofthe Founder

,Ri

shop Beck ington , and o ther friends to'

the Soc iety.

In 1701 the inter io r was repai red and wainscot ted at

the ex pence ofLo rd Crewe and o thers, and the armsofthe Founder, 8Lc.res to red.The L I BRARY

,o n the no rth s ide ofthe old qua.

d rangle, was ofthe same age wi th the Hall , and was

at firs t suppl ied wi th MSS.by the Founder and o ther

benefac to rs , many ofwhich are said to have been ofgreat value and rari ty , but plundered or des troyed

during the revo lut ionary period s. Dr.Ki lbye, Rec to r

from15 90 to repai red thi s Library comp letely,by mak ing new shel v ingfo r the book s, and contribut

ing a cons iderable co l lect ion , in which he was fo l lowed

by Si r Thomas Ro theram, Dr.Edmund Wi lson, Dan iel Hough

,B.D. Bi shop Sanderson, Dr.Gi lbert

Watts , and o thers. In thi s s tate i t remained un ti lthe year 165 6, when i t was converted in to chambers

,

and the boo k s removed to the o ld Chape l o ppo s i te toi t, at the ex pence ofJohn ,

the fi rs t Lo rd Crewe, andfather to Nathanael , Bishop ofDurham

, and las tLo rd Crewe. Thomas Marshall, D.D.Rec to r from1672 to 168 5 , bequeathed such boo k s ofhi s pri vatecollec tion to the Bodleian as were no t in that Li brary

,

and the remainder to Linco ln Co llege Library. He

also fi tted up the Common Room, then a no velty inCo l leges, and bui lt a garden-wall

,wh ich completes the

inclosure ofthe premi ses. In 1739, S i r Nathan iel

Lloyd , some t ime amember ofthi s House, and afterwards Fellow ofAll Souls

,Judge Advocate General

(0 Queen Anne,and Mas ter ofTrin i ty Hal l , Cam

L 4


bridge, cont ri buted 5 001.to the repai rs ofthi s Library, which was.farther en ri ched in 175 5 by the du

pl icates‘ ofa. l i brary which James S t.Amand,

‘

Esq.

gave about that t ime to the Bodleian, and also.

by a

co l lec t ion ofvery valuable.Greek and Lat in manumscr i p ts co llec ted by S ir Geo rgeWheler in h is t ravels.

Thi s roomcon tains the po rtrai ts ofthe two Founders ,.

ofLo rd Crewe,and S i r Nathan iel Lloyd.

The CHA PE L ofthi s Co l lege is in the new or les ser

court , but i ts h i s to ry brings us back to the o ther.

The Soc iety, l i ke o ther Societ ies in thei r infancy, at

tended d i v ine serv ice in the neares t churches. The‘

men: ofLinco ln.princi pal ly frequented S t.Mildred’s ,and occas ional ly Al l Souls and S t.Mart in’s In 1436

a Chapel on Orato ry was begun by Dean.Fo res t , wi th

the materials , and partly on the s i te,, ofSt.M i ld red’s.church , which was about that t ime pul led downThi s Chapel was con secrated Feb.10, 144 1, to the

memo ry ofS t.Mi ldred , o r S t.Hugh , Bishop ofLinco ln

,but i t was mo re general ly known by theformen

ofthese names. The l iberal i ty ofthe benefacto rs tothi s Chapel appears to have been chiefly

,exerted in

i ts furn i ture, ves tmen ts , plate, 85 0.wh ich were ex

tremely ri ch and cost ly. In 165 6, as jus t no t i ced ,.i t

Was con verted in to the Lib rary, hav ing been d i sused

for some years as aChapel owi ng to i t s decayed: s tate.The p resen t Chapel , on.the south s i de ofthe lesserquadrangle, was bui lt.at the ex penc e ofDr.JohnWilliams , Bishopi ofLinco ln , and ; afterwards Ar ch ,

bi sho p -ofYo rk , and was consec rated] Sep t.15 , 1634,A part on ly ofth is church appears to have been pulled down at

th is time ; but about the end ofthe century the whole was removed , andthe’s ite part ly occupied by the hal l ofExeter Co l lege,

15 4 LINCOLN COLLEGE :

ofGlazen Hal l in Schoo l-s treet in 1444, a Hall 30 ,

named because it was the fi rs t that had glass windows.It appears to have stood in S t.Mary’s church

yard. He was also Princ ipal ofHawk Hal l in Cheney

- lane,adj o in ing to the s i te ofthi s Co l lege

Hugh Weston , the n inth Rec to r, and Dean ofWest

minster,

and afterwards ofWindso r,and John

Bridgewater, amply fulfi l led the intent ions oftheFounder

,by becomi ng able and vo luminous cham

p ionsfo r the old rel ig ion z— Dr.K ilbye was an excel

len t Hebrew scho lar, and Pro fesso r ofthat languagein 1610, and one ofthe t rans lato rs ofthe Bi ble ; at rans lat ion ofwh ich i ts greatest enemy has declaredthat “

every sentence, every wo rd,every syl lable

,

every le tter and pomt , seemto have been wei ghed

wi th the utmost exact i t ude, and expressed ei ther in

the tex t o r margin wi th the greatest prec i s ion.”

Dr.K i lbye had also the honour to be tuto r to the

great Dr.Sanderson , Bi shop ofLinco ln. 'To these

wemay add Dr.Marshal l, Recto r, and Dean ofGloucester, al ready no t i ced as a benefac to r, a very cele

brated o rien tal and Saxon Scho lar.

Veryfew PRE LATE S have stud ied in thi s Co llege

who have no t been no t i ced as belonging to o ther So

c ieties. It would , however, be unpardonable to omi tthe name ofDr.Edward Wetenhall, success i vely Ri

shop ofCo rk and Ro ss, and ofKilmo re and K ildaghin I reland, the autho r ofmany p ious and pract i calt reat ises — Dr.Clavering, Bi shop ofLlandaff and Peterborough ,many years Hebrewpro fesso r — and

,above

all,Dr.Robert Sanderson, Bi shop ofLinco ln

,who

i s al lowed to excel all casui sts,ancient and modern,

and who s tud ied more than any log i c ian ofhis t ime

LINCOLN COLLEGE.

the pures t princi ples oft ruth and equi ty. To a very

superior judgmen t he added'

a d iffidence whi ch wouldhave o ften preven ted those dec i s ions to which the

theo logical wo rld loo ked up, bad he not been impelledby acc iden tal c i rcums tances to a greater degree

‘

ofpromp t i tude ‘

. The great Archbi sho p Usher says ofa d ifli cult case which be submi t ted to h im, that hereturned that happy answer which met all ‘mythough ts , sat i sfied allmy scruples

,and cleared allmy

doubts.” His l i fe i s the mo s t engaging and complete oftho se which we owe to Walton : but i t is not

perhaps so generally known that we are indebted to

h imfo r those beaut i ful add i t ions to the Li turgy,made after the Res torat ion, the prayer 4‘fo r all so rt s

and cond i t ions ofmen ,” and the general thank s

gi v ing.” Archbishop Po t ter was also a Fellow ofth is Co llege.

Among the scho lars ofinferio r rank s , or in c i v i l

li fe, educated here, the fi rst respec t is due to R0

bert Fleming , ei ther nephew o r near k insman to the

Founder,who became Dean ofLinco ln, and after

wards t ravelled ou the co nt inent in pursui t ofthes tudy ofclas s i cal learn ing , in which he made a pro

gress then very uncommon. In Lat in he wro te an

elegan t poem,en t i tled , Lucubrat io nes Tiburt inm."

On h is return ,be depo s i ted in the Co l lege l i b rary

many finely i lluminated manuscri pts , and a Greek andLat in d ict ionary ofh is own wri t ing, which was probably ex tant in Leland’s t ime, who men t ions it. Thi sCo l lege may l i kewise enumerate S i r Edmund Ander

He hes itated so much , and rejected so often , that at the time ofreadi ng (his lectures) he was often forced to produce not what was

best , but what happened to be at hand." Jonnsox.


son , Chief Just i ce ofthe King’s Bench z— Bo lton,the learned Puri tan d i v ine, afterwards ofBraz enose,and one ofthe fi rs t Greek scho lars ofhis t imeEdward Weston , an able champion ofthe Roman Catholic cause, and nephew to the Rec to r ofthat

name a— Ric hard Brett , one ofthe trans lator s oftheBible, and a cri t i cal scho lar in the o rien tal as wel l as

class i cal languages — Dr.John Dav i s , or Dav ies , an

emi nen t l inguis t and ant i quary z— Thomas Hayne,afterwards a teacher in Merchan t Taylo r’s s choo l , a

’

celebrated grammar ian , and no t i ced al ready as a be

nefac tor to this Co llege — Dr.Chri stopher Bennet,phys i c ian and med ical wr iter z— Arthur Hop ton, an

ablemathemat i cian , whomscience lost by a prematuredeath - Si r Will iamDavenan t

,the poet , a nat i ve of

Oxfo rd z— Co rnel ius Burgess, one ofthe most di st ingui shed ofthe parl iamen tary d i v ines, and a vo luminous Wr i ter ; when almost on his death-bed , he g

‘

ave

some rare co pies ofbook s to the publ ic l i brary

Hen ry Foulis , eccles iast i cal h i sto rian — Those learned

and consc ient ious nonjuro rs , Mr.John Kett lewell

and Dr.George.Hickes z— S i r George Wheler, the

Iearned t ravel ler and bo tan i st, al ready men t ionedamong the benefacto rs to the l i brary. At the age ofseven teen he became a Commoner ofthi s Co l lege,and wen t on h is t ravels befo re he took a degree. His

‘

Mas ter’s degree was conferred in 1683, long after he

returned fromhis t ravels , in cons i derat ion‘ ofh is learning , and li beral it y. to the: Co l lege in present ing the

ant iquaties.co l lec ted’abroad z— Tindal , the Dei st , stu

d ied here before he went to Exeter and All Souls :

but the di sgrace is compensated by the superior fameand useful labours ofthe ingen ious Dr.Richard

ALL SOU LS COLLE GE.

HENRY Chichele,Archbi shop ofCan terbury, the

fi rs t imi tato r ofWill iamofWykeham, and Founderofthi s noble es tabl i shmen t

,was bo rn, probably in

1362, at Higham-Ferrars in No rthamp tonshi re, ofparents who , i f no t d i st ingui shed by thei r opulence,were at leas t enab led to place thei r chi ldren in s i tua

t ions which qual ified themfor promo t ion in c i v i l andpo l i t i cal l i fe. Thei r sons

,Robert and

’

Thomas, roseto the highes t di gn i t ies in themagi s tracy ofLondon,and Henry

,the subject ofthis memo i r, was , at a

sui table age, placed at Winches ter schoo l , and thence

remo ved to New Co l lege, where he s tudied the c i v i l

and canon law. Of his proficiency here we have

l i ttle in fo rmat ion ; but the progress ofh is advancement ind icates that he soon acqui red di st inct ion, and

conc i l iated the affect ion ofthe fi rst patrons oftheage.

’ From1399 to 1407, he can be t raced through

various eccles iast i cal p referments and d ign i t ies, forsome at least ofwhich he was indebted to Richard

Metford, Bi shop ofSal isbury. Thi s valuable ‘friend

Wood says he was made perpetual Fel low ofNew Col lege in 1387,and aft erwards received the degree ofDoctor ofthe Civi l Law.Mr.

Gutch th inks h is Fellowship ofamuch earl ier date, as he was BachelorofLaws in 1388. The

.

l ife ofChichele, wri tten by Hoveden, one oftheWardens , and ano ther supposed to be written by D r.Warner, alsoWarden , exis t in MSS. That publ ished in 1617 by D r.Duck is moreaccurate, but is now superseded by the c0pious and elegant l i fe, publ ished in 1783, byM r.Oliph Leigh Spencer, aFellow ofthe Society.

ALL SOULS COLLEGE. 15 9

he had the misfortune to lose in the las t-ment ionedyear ; but h is reputat ion was so fi rmly establ ished , thatKing Hen ry IV.about thi s t ime employed h imon an

embas sy to Pope Innocent VII.on another to the

Court ofFrance, and on a thi rd to Po pe Gregory

X II.who was so much pleased wi th h is conduct , as topresen t h imto the Bi shopri c ofS t.Dav id’s, wh ichhappened to become vacan t during his res i dence atthe Apos to l i c court in 1408. In the fo l lowing year

he was deputed , along wi th Hal lum,B ishop ofSal is

bury, and Chilli ngdon , Prio r ofCan terbury, to repre

sent England in the Counc i l ofPi sa, which was con

voked to set tle the d isputed pretens ions ofthe PopesGrego ry and Bened ic t, bo th ofwhomwere depo sed ,and Alexander V.cho sen in thei r room

,who had once

stud ied at Oxfo rd.

On our Founder’

s return,he passed some mon th s

in d ischarging the funct io ns ofh is d io cese“ In May,

1410, he was again sent to France,wi th o ther ne

goc iato rs , to o b tain a renewal ofthe t ruce between

the two k ingdoms ; but this was no t accompli shedun t i l the year fo l lowing , nor w i thout co ns i derable d i f

ficulties. For nearly two years after th is we find himres i d ing on h is d io cese, o r payi ng occas ional v i s i ts to

themetropo l i s , wh ich h is high charac ter as a s tatesmanrendered no b ss necessary than grateful to his royal

mas ter.On the acces s ion ofHen ry V.he was again con

sul ted and employed in many po l i t i cal measures , andappears to have completely acqui red the confidence ofthe new Soverei gn , who sen t hima thi rd t ime intoFrance on the subjec t ofpeace. The Engl i sh wereat thi s t ime in po ssess ion ofsome ofthe terri to ries

160 ALL SOULS COLLEGE.

ofthat coun try ; a c i rcums tance wh ich rendered everyt reaty ofpeace insecure, and created perpetual jealousies and effo rts towards emanc i pat i on on the part ofthe French.

In the spring of1414, Chichele succeeded Arundel

as Archbi shop ofCan terbury, whi ch he at fi rst re

fused in deference to the Pope ; but on the Pont iff ’sacced ing to the elect ion made by the prio r and

monks, he was put in complete possess ion , and soon

had occas ion to exert the who le ofh is talents andinfluence to preserve the revenues ofthe Church ,which ‘

the Parl iament had mo re than once adv ised

the King to take in to h is own hands. The t ime wascri t i cal ; the King had made demands on the Court

ofFrance, whi ch promi sed to end in hos t i l i t ies,and

large suppl ies were,

wan ted. The Clergy, alarmed

for the who le, agreed to gi ve up a part ofthei r p os

sess ions ‘

,and Chichele undertook to lay thei r offer

before Parl iament, and, as far as eloquence could go ,to render i t sat i sfacto ry to that assembly. It i s herethat h i storians have taken o ccas ion to censure h i s

conduct , and to represen t h imas preci p i tat ing the

King into a war wi th France in o rder to d i vert h is

attent ion fromthe Church. But while i t i s certain

that he s trongly recommended the reco very ofHen ry’shered i tary domin ions in France, and the v ind icat ion

ofhis t i t le to that crown, i t is equal ly certain that this

Al l the alien priories were gi ven t o the K ing, with all their landsand revenues , but the greater part ofthemwere st i ll cont inued forsacred uses , being bestowed onmonasteries and co lleges. Some, it wi l lbe seen , were bestowed on this Col lege. These alien priories werecellsto foreignmonas teries. See Nichols

's H istory ofAlien PrioriesfTan

ner’s preface to his Not itiaMonas t ica, Burn, &c.


B i shops, and by thé Un i vers i ty ofOxfo rd ; nor at thi st ime was more zeal shewn agains t the Lo l lards , or

fi rs t Protestan ts, than against the capri cious and de

grad ing encroachmen ts ofthe Court ofRome.Amongthe v ind icat ions ofChichele’s character fromthe imputations thrown upon i t by the agen ts ofthe Pope,that ofour Un i vers i ty mus t no t be omi tted. Theyto ld the POpe, that Chi chele s tood in the sanc tuary

ofGod as a firmwal l that heresy could not shake,nor s imony undermine ; and that he was the darl ingofthe people, and the fos ter paren t ofthe clergy.These remons trances , however, -were unsat i sfacto ry to

the proud and restless sp i ri t ofMart in V.but afterhe hadfor some t ime kep t the terro rs ofan i nterd i cthanging o ver the nat ion ,

the d isputewas d ropped wi th

out concess ions ou ei ther s i de, and the death ofth isPope, soon after, rel ieved theArchbi shop fromfarthervexat i on.

He was nowadvancing in years ; and, wh ile he em;

ployed h is t ime i n promo t ing the interests ofh is proV ince, he concei ved the plan offound ing a Co l lege inOxfo rd, wh ich he l i ved to accompl i sh on a verymagn ificent scale. One benefi t he conferred

,about the

same time, ofamore general impo rtance to both Un ivers i ties. During the s i tt ing ofone ofthe Convocat ions in 1438, the Un i vers i t ies presented a remons trance, stat ing the grievances they laboured underfromwars, want ofrevenues, and the neglec t ofthei rmembers in the d isposal ofchurch l i v ings. Chicheleimmed iately procured a decree, that all eccles ias t i calpatrons should ,for ten years to come, confer the he‘

nefices in thei r g i fts on members ofei ther Un i vers i tyexclus i vely ; and that v icars general, _

commissaries,

ALL SOULS COLLEGE. 163

and officials, should be chosen out ofthe G raduates inci v i l and common law.He had now held eigh teen synod s , in all ofwh ich

be d ist inguished himsel fas the guard ian ofthe Church ;and was eminen tly successful in con ci l iat ing the Par

liament and nat ion, by such gran ts on the part oftheClergy

, as shewed a read iness , p ropo rt ioned to thei r

ab il i ty,to suppo rt the in teres ts ofthe Crown and

people. The most no ted‘

ofh is cons t i tut ions werethose which enjo ined the celebrat ion offes ti vals , re

gulated the probates ofwi ll s,prov ided agains t false

weigh ts, and augmented the s t ipends ofVi cars. That

which is mos t to be regret ted was h is ins t i tut ing a

k ind ofinqui s i t ion agains t Lo llard i sm.In 1442, he appl ied to Po pe Eugen ius for an in

dulgence to res i gn h is offi ce in to mo re able hands ,b'

e ing now nearly ei ghty years old , and , as he pathe

t i cal ly urges,heavy laden

,aged

,infirm,

and weak be

yond measure.” He en treats that he may be t e

leased froma burthen which he was no lo nger able to

support ei ther wi th ease to h imsel f, o r advantage to

o thers. He d ied , however, befo re the i ssue ofthi sappl i cat ion could be known , on the 12 th ofApri l1443, and was in terred wi th great so lemn i ty in the ca

thedral ofCanterbury, under amonumen t ofexqui s i tewo rkman shi p, bui lt by himself. As a farthermark ofres pec t, the Prior and Monks dec reed , that no person

bes ide should‘ be buried in that part ofthe churchwhere h is remains were depo s i ted.His charac ter,

'

when ass imi lated to that ofthe agei n which he l i ved , i s no t wi thout a po rt ion of- thedark sen t iment , and barbarous sp i ri t ofpersecut ion

,

whi ch ob structed the Refo rmat ion ; but on every oc

u 2

164 ALL souLs COLLEGE.

cas ion where he dared to exert h is nat i ve talents and

superio r powers ofthink ing , we di sco ver themeasuresofan en l i gh tened s tatesman , and that l i beral and be

nevolent d i spos i t ion wh ich would confer celebri ty in

the brigh tes t periods ofour hi s to ry.The foundat ion ofAll Souls Co l lege i s not the fi rst

i nstance ofh i s munific en t spi rit.In 1422, he foundedac o l legiate church at his nat i ve plac e, HighamFertars , so amply endowed, that on.i ts d i sso lut ion by

Hen ry VIII.i ts revenues were'

valued at 15 6l. Th is

Co l lege cons i sted ofaquadrangular bui ld ing, ofwh ichthe church only now remains, and is used as a pari shchurch. To th is he attached an hosp i tal for the

poo r, and both these ins t i tut ions were lo ng supported

by the legacies ofh is bro the rs, Robert and Will iam,Aldermen ofLondon ‘

. He also ex pended large swimin ado rn ing the cathedral ofCanterbury,found ing ‘a

l i brary there, and in add ing to the bui ld ings ofLambethx palace

",Croydon church

,and Roches ter b ridge;

Hi s fi rs t intent ions wi th respect to Ox fo rd ended in

the erec t ion ofa bonsefo r the Scho lars ofthe Ci stecc ian o rder, who at that t ime had no set tled habi tat ion

at Oxfo rd. Th is‘mans ion

, wh ich was cal led S t.Ber

Robert Ch ichele, c it i z en and'

grocer.served the office ofSheriffin1402."and that ofLord Mayor twice, in 1411 and 1422.He d ied wi thout

is sue .Wi ll iamserved the office ofSherifl’ in 1409, and h is son John

was Chamberlain ofLondon.He had avery numerous issue.5 He built the great tbwer at the west end ofthe chapel, called theLollard’stower, at the topofwh ich

.is a prison room. Before the Re

fo rmation , the Archbishops had pri sons for eccles iastical offenders ,who, ifpersons ofrank , ,were kept in separate apartments , and used toeat at the Archbishop’s table. LYSON’

S ENVIRONS, art.LAMBETH, andChurton

's Lives ofthe Founders ofBraz enose Colleg e, p.189.et seqq.


patronage fo r the inst i tut ion, wh i le the ful l exercise

oflegi s lat i ve autho ri ty was reserved to Chichele as

co-founder.

Accord ing to th i s charter the Soc iety was to cons ist

ofaWarden and twen ty Fel lows, wi th power in the

Warden to increase thei r number to forty, and to becal led

,The Warden and Co l lege ofthe Souls ofall

the Fai thful deceased , Colleg iumOmn iumAnimaramFideliumdefunctorumde Ox on. The prec isemean ingofth i smay be understood fromthe obl igat ion imposedo n the Society to prayfo r the good es tate ofHenryVI.and the Archbi shop

,during thei r l i ves , and for

thei r souls after thein decease ; also fo r the souls ofHenry V.and the Duke ofClarence, together wi tht hose ofall the Dukes , Earls, Barons, Kn i gh ts,E squi res, and o ther subjec ts ofthe Crown ofEngland , wh o had fal len in the war wi th France ; and

fo r the souls ofall the fai thful deceased.S i x teen ofthe Fel lows were to s tudy the c i vi l and

‘

canon laws,and the res t phi losophy and the arts

,and

theo logy. But the mos t remarkable clause in thi s

char ter, when compared to former foundat ions, i s thatwh ich gi ves the Soc iety leave to purchase lands to the

yearly value of3001.a sumveryfar exceeding what weread ofin any p rev ious foundat ions , and which has

more recently beenincreased to 105 01.by charters fromCharles I.and Geo rge I I. Ano ther charter ofveryex tens i ve pri v i leges was granted soon after thefoundat ion by Hen ry VI.and th i s and the charter offoundst ion were confi rmed by an Act ofParl iament 14 HenryVI I.1499.

It was not t i ll wi th in afew days ofh is death thatthe Archbi shop gave a body ofs tatutesfor the regu

.ALL SOULS COLLEGE. 6?

lation ofh is Co llege, model led after the s tatutes ofh isil lus trious precurso r, l Vykeham. After the appo intment ofthe numbe r ofFel lows , al ready no t i ced , he o r

dains that they should be bo rn in lawful wedlock inthe p ro v ince ofCan terbury

,wi th a preference to the

nex t ofkin,descended fromh is b rothers Rober t and

‘VilliamChichele '. To the Society were also added

Chaplain s , Clerk s, and Chori s ters, who appear to havebeen included in the foundat ion

,al though they are no t

men t ioned in the charter.

For themo re ample endowment ofthi s Co llege, theFounder purchased and bestowed on i t the mano r ofWedon and Wes ton, or W edon Pinkeney, in No rth

amptonsh ire. King’

s Co llege, Cambr idge, became afterwards po ssessed ofa part'o f i t ; but All Souls has ,bes ides the advowson ofthe churches belonging to i t,the larges t es tate, and the lo rdsh ip ofthe was te. The

Founder also gave themthemano rs ofHo rsham,and

Sco tney, or Bletch ing Court , in Ken t, and certai n land s

called the Thrifi‘

s, or Fri ths , inwapenham, No rthamp

tonsh ire ; wi th the suppressed al ien prio ries ofRomneyin Ken t ; the recto ry ofUpchurch ; the prio ries of

Th is par t ofthe Fonhder’s statutes has occas ioned much li tigation,as the farther the t ime is removed fromhis age, the difliculty ofaseartain ing consanguinity becomes almost insuperable. Acco rding to theS temmataChi cheleana, publis hed '

i n 1765 , the co llateral descendants ofour Founder were then to be t raced through nearly twelve hundred famili es ; but th is , which seems at first to admin ister fac i lity , is in fact thesource ofmany disputed and disputable claims. In 1776, on an appli

cati on to Co rnwall is , Archbisho p ofCanterbury , as V is itor, he decreedthat the number ofFellows to be admi tted on c laimofkind red shouldbe limi ted to twenty. In 1799, on the claimofkindred by a person ,when the number oftwenty happened to be complete, thematte r wasreheard, and the former Archbishop’s decree rati fied and confirmed.

M 4


New Abbey near Abberbury in Shropsh i re, ofS t.Clare in Carmarthensh i re, and ofLlangen i th in Glamorgansh ire.Wood says

,that King Edward IV.took

in to h is hands all the revenues ofth is Co llege, andthese prio ries , because the Society s i ded wi th Hen ry

V I.agains t him: but i t.appears by the Co l lege ar

ch i ves,as c i ted by the accurate

x

ed i tor ofWood’s h is

to ry, that the King took on ly these, al ien prio ries, and

soon res to red them,probably because he cons idered i t

as an ac t ofjus t i ce to resto re what had been purchasedfrom, and

'

no t g i ven by, the.Crown. Bes i des these

possess ions, the t rustees ofthe Founder purchasedthemano rs ofEdgware

,Kingsbury

,and Malorees , in

Middlesex, SEC.and he bequeathed the sums of1341.63.8d.and a thousand marks, to be banked for the

use ofthe Co l legeThese t ransactions passed ch iefly during the bui ld

ing ofthe Co l lege, which the aged Founder o ften ia

spected. In 1442 i t was capable ofrecei v ing the

Warden and Fel lows,who had hi therto b een lodged at

the Archbi shop’s ex pence in the hal l and chambersh i red for that purpose. The chapel was con secrated

early in the same year by the Founder,ass is ted by

the Bi shops ofLinco ln (Alnwi ck), Wo rces ter (Bour

ch ier), No rwi ch (Brown), and o ther sufi'

ragans.The

who le ofthe Co l lege was no t fin i shed befo re the latter

end ofthe year 1444, and the ex pence ofbui ld ing, accord ing to the accoun ts ofDruell and Keys , may beest imated at 415 61.5 3.3d ; The purchases ofground ,book s , chapel amoun ted to 43021.35 .8d.

He gave also 1931.65 .8d.to New College, and the same sumto

the Univers ity chest , as a fund for smal l loans to the members , andsubscribed largely to the public library.


es tates or money, by Robert Honeywood , L L.D.Richard Bartlett, M.D.and Robert Broke, all Fellows. On the Refo rmat ion , these were converted i ntoexh ib i t ions for the Chaplains. Si r Wi l l iamPetre,al ready not i ced among the benefactors to Exeter College, gave a piece ofground jo in ing to thi s Co llege,and the Rec to ries ofBark ing and S tan ton-Harcourt,and founded three exhibitionsfor three Scho lars.He

was patron ofthe Vicarage ofS tanton-Harcourt, and,in consequence ofhis pet i t ion

,Card inal Po le,

’

who

was then invested wi th certain impropriate Parson~ages, granted the sai d Recto ry to th is Co l lege : but-after Queen Mary’s death the Bi shop ofWinches terclaimed i t, and was prevai led on by Lord Burghley

to grant i t to the Queen , (Eli zabeth,) who resto red it

to the Co l lege,al though somewhat reluctantly. The

Recto ry ofBark ing appears to have been the propertyofWill iamPouncet, who left his estate to S i r Wi ll iamPetre, and two o ther executors , in trus t,for p ious andchari table

,uses. Wi th part ofthe profi ts ofth is Rec

to ry, after paying the Vi car,two exh i b i t ions were

founded for two Fel lows, wh ich are s ti ll cal led Poun

cet’

s exh ib i t ions.

In 15 5 8, Edward Nap ier ofHo lywell, Gen t.andsome t ime Fel low,

left '

exh ib i tions for three poo r

Scho lars. Dav id Pole, a relat ion to the celebrated

C ard inal ofthat name, and Bi shop ofPeterbo rough,(ofwh ich he was depri ved on the access ion ofQueenEli zabeth ,) left alegacyofmoney and book s. ThomasGwynne, LL.D.aFellow in 15 97, gave certain lands in

Penhow,in the county ofMonmouth, in t rustfor the

purchase ofadvowsons. Thi s fund has been s ince ia

creased by the contributions ofseveral members of


the Society, part i cularly the late lVarden , Dr.Niblet,

and Docto r John Sanford , some t ime Fel low,and Rec

tor ofChellesfield in Kent ; and by i t many ofthebes t li v ings belonging to the Co l lege have been pur

chased.These benefacti ons have enabled the Society to enu

merate among thei r l i v i ngs the R e c r o nrn s ofBarfo rd S t.Mart in , Wilts ; Buck land , Surry ; Chelles

field,Elmeley I sle, and Harrietsham, Ken t ; Eas t

Lock inge, Berk s ; Welwyn , Herts ; S tanton-Har

court, Oxfo rdshi re ; and Weston Turv i lle, Buck s :

the V I CARAG E S ofAl berbury, Sh ropsh i re ; Bark ing ,Es sex ; Lewknor, Oxfo rdshi re ; New Romney and

Upchurch , Kent : and the C URA C Y ofWal ton Car

d ifie, Gloucestershi re.

The endowmen t ofth i s Co l lege was valued in 15 35

at 3921.Q 5 .3d.or,_

accord ing to Twyne, at in

15 92 i t was est imated at and in 1612 the So

c lety cons is ted ofn inety-three persons. At p resent

i t cons i sts ofaWarden , fo rty Fellows , two Chaplains,and s ix Clerks and Cho ri s ters. The elect ion ofaWarden i s conducted in the same manner as that ofMerton Co l lege. The Soc iety p resent two ofthei rnumber to the Archbi shop ofCan terbury, the Vi s i tor,who makes cho i ce ofone.

Of the o ri ginal BUILDINGS , verv li ttle now re

mains as left by the Founder. The princi pal fron t tothe High-s treet, wh i ch retains somewhat ofi ts prist ine charac ter, was at fi rs t one hundred and n inety

four feet in length , wi th two gateways, and three veryfine bay windows, nowmodern i zed, and an embat tlement along its whole leng th, wi th grotesque heads


and spouts. The gate to the westward , surmountedby the tower o rnamen ted wi th the finely sculptured

figures ofHen ry VI.and Chichele, opened in to the

p rincipal quadrangle, wh ich con tained the Chapel,Hal l

,Library, and a clo i s ter on the north-west s i de of

the Chapel."

The gate towards the east led tb a lesser

court ofold and i rregular bui ld ings,and theWarden’s

lo dgings were o ver th i s gate. Nigh to themwas a

mean bui ld ing wi th two bay wi ndows on the s i te ofthe present Warden’s lodgings.

The new and ex tens i ve quadrangle was erected s ince

the beginn ing ofthe las t cen tury ; and the Chapel,Hal l

,and Library have passed through three s tages of

al terat ion s ince the Co llege was founded. Itmust beno t i ced , however, that these al terat ions were ne i ther

capr i c ious , nor unnecessary. The Co l lege suffered so

much by the v io lencewh ich injud ic iously accompan iedthe Refo rmat ion

,and dur ing o ther periods ofpubli c

turbulence,that i t became “

necessaryfo r the Society,

in just i ce to themsel ves and thei rmun ificent Founder,to resto re asmuch beautyand regulari ty to the Cha.

pel, as the tas te and prejud i ces ofthe t imes wouldadmi t ; and i t is un i versal ly acknowledged , that the add i tions and al terat ion s ofthe las t cen tury have con,

t ri buted highly to themagn ificence ofthi s Co l lege.It wi l l be necessary, therefore, to no t i ce the erec

t ion ofthe newquadrangle, as lead ing to some accountoft he princi pal bui ld ings. Thi s quadrangle, wh ichex tends one hundred and seventy- two feet in length ,and one hundred and fifty-five in bread th , containsthe Library on the no rth , the Chapel and Hal l on

the south , the clo i s ter and princi pal entrance on the

west, and the Common Roomand other apartments,


wi th the two Go th i c towers, on the eas t.The who lewas projected in the beginn ing ofthe las t cen tury, andwas completed principal ly at the ex pence ofvariousbenefac to rs. The l is t i s very copious

,and there ap

pears to have been at th is t ime a generous emulat ionofthemun ificent sp i ri t ofancient days.In a sketch l ike the present, afew ,

names only can

be enumerated. The build ing between the Hall andthe south tower was erec ted ch iefly at theex pence ofS i r Nathan iel Lloyd, some t ime Fellow here, but o rig inally a.Commoner ofLi nco ln.‘ Hav ing stud ied theci vi l law, he prac t ised at Doc to rs Commons for someyears

,and was Official ofSurry, Advocate General to

Queen Anne, who conferred the ho nour ofKn i gh thood upon h im,

and was in 1710 chosen Mas ter ofTrin i ty Hal l i n : Cambri dge, to which he was amos tgenerous ben .efacto r To the build ings in th is quadrangle, he gave the income ofh is Fellowshi p

, wh ich

he retainedfo r some t ime after he became Mas ter ofTrin i ty Hall, and wh ich amounted to 15 01.and also12001.one thousand ofwh ich was by wi l l.The no rth tower and the Stai r-case adjoin ing on the

no r th ,were built'

by theHon.W i ll iamS teuart, (thi rd

son ofJames, fifth Earl ofGalloway,) Lieut.Co lo neloffoo t

,and Commander in Chief ofI reland

,at the

eX pence of7861. The south tower,s tai r-case, an d

rooms between the towers , were erected.

ch iefly bythe benefact ions ofthe Earl of

,Carnarvon, afterwardsDuke ofChando s, and Hen ry Go do lph in, Dean ofS t.Paul’s and rovos t cfE ton.The bui ld ing between the no rth tower and the Li

brary was undertaken by amah fromwhose perso nalcharacter such a co ntri but ion was rather s ingular, but


who was cons i stent in promi s ingmo re than h is ex tra.vagance and fo lly permi tted h imto accompl i sh. Thi swas the gay and wretched Ph i l i p, Duke ofWharton

,

who cond i t ioned wi th the bui lder to complete i t forthe sumof11831.but as he d ied in invo l ved ci rcums tances , many years elapsed befo re the deb t was en

t irely reco vered. Dr.Young, who is known to have

been patron i zed by Wharton , ofwh ich he l i ved to beashamed , i s sai d to have had ‘

some influence in procuring thi s benefact ion.

The clo i ster and gateway on the wes t s i de were

fin i shed about the year 1734, princi pally by the con

t ribut ion s ofthe Hon.Dod ing ton Grevile, E sq.the

Righ t Hon.Henry Boyle, Baron Carl ton, Dr.Richard

H i l l,Thomas Palmer, E sq.ofFairfield , Somerset

sh i re, and S i r Peter Mews , LL.D.all ofwhomhadbeen some t ime Fellows , and thei r names

,wi th those

ofthe o ther lead ing benefacto rs , are placed on the

wal ls, gateways , Ste.wi th appropriate inscri pt ions.

Thi s quadrangle, espec ial ly when v iewed fromthe

wes t-entran ce, presents one ofthe most attrac t i ve

scenes'

ofwhich Oxfo rd can boast. The general

s tyle i s the mi xed Go th ic. The late Lord Orfo rd,

after erroneous ly attr ibut ing th i s wo rk to Gibbs , emdeavours to lessen i ts meri t

,in h is usual sarcas t i c

manner, by observ ing, thab the quadrangle ofAllSouls has blundered into a p icturesque scenery not

devo i d ofgrandeur To th is i t has been very properly repl ied by the ed i to r ofWood’s h istory

,that

there was no b lundering in the case, as what wasdone was done intent ional ly, not by G ibbs, but.by

Hawk smoo r, whose co rrespondence wi th Dr.Clarkeon the subjec t i s p reserved among the arch i ves of


an t i que, and a very fine bust ofthe Founder, anotherofLinacre, and a thi rd ofLeland

, which was en

gravenfo r h is l i fe, publ ished in l 7n . Bacon’

s statue

ofMr.Just i ce Blackstone is .un iversally regarded asone ofthe princi pal o rnaments ofthis room. It waserected in 1784, and the ex pence (four hundred and

fi fty guineas) defrayed by Dr.Buckler, Sub-Warden ,Dr.Long, and the late Warden , Dr.Tracy, whose

fine po rtrai t is nowadded to the co l lect ion, and by

the Soc iety. Wyat planned the arch under wh ich

the s tatue is placed. Under S i r James Tho rnb i l l’slarge pain t ing is ano ther ofthe arch i tect presentingthe plan ofthe s treet-fron t to the Founder. The

Buttery and Ki tchen adjo in ing were bui l t at the

same t ime wi th the Hal l. Dr.Clarke planned and

fi t ted up the fine arched roof ofthe But tery, whichcontains a bust ofG i les Bennet , Manci ple ‘

,and an

o ther, wi th perhaps less local p ropriety, ofHawk smoo r, the arch i tec t.The o ld L IB RA RY , part ofthe second s to ry ofthe

eas t s ide ofthe old quadrangle, (now a set ofvery ele

gan t chambers,) was bui l t and partly furn i shed wi th

manuscr ip ts by,the Founder. Wood no t i ces h is

Commen tar ies on the Const i tut ions ofEngland,

”

‘

as probably among these, a work then in muches teem, and s ince sough t after, and des i red but

there i s reason to doub t whether such a wo rk ever

ex i sted ; nor is i t improbable that Wood mi stook his

Manciples , the purveyors general ofColleges and Halls,” says Mr.Churton, were formerlymen ofso much consequence, that , to checktheir ambit ion , it was ordered by an express statute, that no Manc ipleshould be Principal ofa Hall." Lives ofthe Founders ofBraz enose

College, p.290.


Commen taries fo r h is Con s t i tut ions , wh i ch are ex

tan t‘.

Henry V I.Hen ry Penwo rtham,one ofthe fi rs t

Fellows ; Richard Andrew,fi rs t Wr

arde n ; No rfo lk , fi rst

Sub-W'

arden ; Bi shop Go ldwell ; John S toakes , War

den ; Po le, Bishop ofPeterbo rough S i r John Mason ,Archbi shop Warham,

and Dr.Mo rri s,

fi rs t King s

Hebrew Pro fesso r, and Canon ofChri s t Church,con

t r ibuted at d ifferen t periods to enlarge the co l lec t ion

bo th in printed and manuscri p t ; but thei r l i beral i ty ,cons iderable as i t was fo r the t imes in whi ch they

l i ved,has been ecli psed by the noble legacy ofChri s

topher Cod ringto n ,Es q.to whomwe owe the present

superio ri ty ofthe bui ldi ng , and i ts co nten ts.Thi s eminent benetacto r was bo rn

,ofEngl i sh pa

rent s , at Barbadoes , in 1668 , and educated i n Eng

land. In 1685 he en tered as Gen tleman CommonerofChri s t Church

,and took h is Bachelo r’s degree : In

1689 he was admi tted a Fel low ofAll Souls,and re

tained his Fellowsh ip after he took up the pro fes s ion

ofarms. King Wi ll iam,whomhe se i ved w i th fide

l i ty and bravery , appo inted himCap tain G eneral andG o verno r i n Chief ofthe Leeward Cari bbee i s land s

,

wh ich offi ce he res igned some t ime befo re h is death ,Apri l 7, 1710. He was fi rs t i nterred in the church ofS t.Michael

,Barbadoes ; but his body was afterwards

brough t o ver'

to England,and depos i ted wi th great

so lemn i ty in the Chape l ofth is Co llege, June 19,

1716. An o rat ion was del i vered on th i s occas io n by

Digby Co tes,M.A.a Fel low ofthe Society, and

Publ i c Orato r ; and ano ther o n the fo l lowing week,

See aList in TANNER'S Bibliotheca, Art.Gurcnm.N


when the foundat ion-s tone ofthe Library was laid,by

the celebrated Dr.Young

Bes ides h is Co l lege in Barbadoes,for the mainte

nance ofwh ich he left es tates which were at that t imevalued at per annum, he bequeathed forthe purpose ofbui ld ing ai new Library to All Souls ,and a co l lect ion ofbook s supposed to be wo rth

The foundat ion-stone was lai d June 20, 1716, but the

bui ld ing was no t completed,as i t now s tands

,un t i l

the year 175 6. The en t i re ex pence was 1‘2,IOl l.5 3.

Duri ng thi s long in terval,the princi pal legacy was

suffered to accumulate interest", and wi th part ofi t anes tate was purchased at Lewkno r in Oxfordshi re

,the

profi ts ofwhi ch are appl ied to the purchase ofbook s,o rfo r repai rs.Thisnoble room, the larges t ofthe k ind in the k ing

dom,is one hundred and n inety-eigh t feet in length ,

the bread th thi rty-two and a hal f, excep t in t he cen

t ral recess, wh ich i s fifty-oneand a‘ quarter ; the hei ght

for ty feet,wi th a gal lery surrounding three s i des.

Over the gallery are bus ts in ' bronz e ofsome of .the

most emi nent Fel lows ofthe Co l lege, cast by S i rHenry Cheere °

,Kn i gh t

,wi th a vase between each.

Col.Codrington is admitted among the E ngl ish poets in the col

lect ion ofpoet ical biography, published under the name ofCibber.But his claims to this rank are not very strongly suppo rted , ifwe excepttwo l ines in his Verses to D r.Garth , wh ich have become proverbial

Thouhast no fault s , or I no faults can spy:

Thouart al l beauty, or all bl indness I.”5 Without th is precaut ion the sumleft by the Founder would have

been insufii cient.Hewi lled that out ofthe 60001.should beappropriated to the building, and 40001.laid out in the purchase of

c This art ist died, ifI mistake not , in l781, at an advanced age.

He received the honour ofKnighthood in 1760, when hewent to court


the po rtrai ts ofHenry VI.and that ofthe Founder,which were fo rmerly in the o ld Li brary

, and havelately been engraven by Barto lo zz i

,are supposed to be

coeval wi th the foundat ion. Ano ther ofJohn ofGaunt , engraven in Carter’s Spec imens, is though t

,

wi th great probabi l i ty,to have been executed in h is

l i fet ime, and probably p laced at All Souls by Archbi sho p Chichele

The t ri pod , in the ves t i bule ofthi s Library,was

found at Co rinth , and belonged for some t ime to the

MuseumofAn thony Lefroy, E sq.who , in 1771, pre

sen ted i t to thi s Co l lege. The celebrated an t i quarianVenut i

,and o ther conno i sseurs in the his to ry oftri

pods , pronounce this to be un ique, fromi ts being ofmarble, and from the construc t ion ofthe pedestal,wh ich fo rms three feet. It was ded icated e i ther to

Cybele,whose symbo l s are the .lion s

,o r to Juno

,

who se handmai ds are the supporters ".

The CHA P E L ofthi s Co l lege ‘ retains the ex terio r

o nly as left by the Founder, who bui l t i tfor the celebrat ion ofrel i g ious r i tes, and as a place ofreposeforthe i l lus t rious dead.It was consecrated Sep t.16, 1442,the year befo re the Founder

’

s death , and dedi cated to

the four fathers, Jerom, Ambrose, August ine, and Gre

go ry. Wi th the Spi ri t ofWykehamin h is heart, andthe example ofWykehambefo re h is eyes , we canno t

doub t that the Founder en riched thi s Chapel in the

most sumptuous manner, and that i t o ri ginal ly ex

Letter fromD r.M ilner, in Carter's Specimens, vol.11.p.5 4.b The inscript ion on the pedestal runs thus

Aram.Tripodcm.Olim.Matri.Deum.

In.Templo.S : Corinthi.Consecratum.

ALL SOULS COLLEGE.

hibited ah ighly fin i shed specimen ofwhat the art i s t sofh is age could p roduce

‘. It had ei ght al tars , v i z.the high al tar

,s i x in the nave, and o ne in the ves t i bule,

each deco rated wi th pain t i ngs,s tatues

,and whatever

was then suppo sed to exci te o r elevate devout affec t ions.At the Refo rmat ion these were d i sfigured o r de

s troyed, and probably wi th themo re sever i ty, because

th i s Chapel was part i culary obnox ious fromi ts be ingappropriated to publ i c use o n

.certain occas ions. In

the year 1444 , Archbishop S tratfo rd , Chichele’

s suc

cesso r in the see ofCan terbury,gran ted fo rty days

indulgence to all Chri s t ians w i th in the pro v ince ofCan terbury, who would v is i t thi s Chapel, and de

voutly prayfo r the souls ofthe fai th ful persons at res twi th Chri s t. How long i t was thus ex po sed to ge

neral supers t i t ion does no t appear ; but in 15 66 we

find Archbi shop Parker addres s i ng a let ter to the So

c iety, command ing themto deface such plate as d id

remain in supers t i t ious fash ion and in the fo llowing year, a letter was sen t by the h igh commi ss ioners

,Parker, Grindal l , St e.requi ring the Co l

lege to send up d i vers monumen ts ofsupers t i t io n,

par t ofwh ich were spec ified in the schedule, and con

s is ted ofbook s , v i z.mi ssals , grai les , proces s ionals , theFounder’s mas s book , and even thei r mus i c. Thi swas fo l lowed by an o rder to deface and break all the

church plate, excep t afew art i c les wh ich might beappl ied to pro fane uses , and to send up to the commis s ioners thei r two boo k s ofepi s t le s an

’

d go spels ,reserv i ng un to themsel ves the images ofs i lver of

An inventory ofthe books , plate, vestmen ts , (kc.given by Chichele,may be seen in Cutch

’

s Co llectanea, vol.i i.p.25 7.


the same defaced inmanner afo resai d. Wi th theseo rders the Society appear to have compl ied wi th greatreluctance ;for when her Majes ty’s commiss ioners sat

at Oxfo rd in 15 73, they again peremp tor i ly o rdered

the Co l lege Upon sygh t thereof utterlye to deface

all copes, vestmen ts, al bes , mi ssals, book s, crosses,Ste.

” Even then tas te or superst i t ion secreted someofthese proscri bed art icles ; and there yet remain,among the curios i t ies ofthis College,.afew fragmentsofthe ancien t furn i ture ofthe Chapel. Themi ssal s

,

however,were probably destroyed and, fromthefewspecimens to be found in our publ i c l i braries, someideamay be‘

formed ofthe exquis ite art and sk i l l be

s towed ou them.Of the Chapel

,when thus depri ved ofi ts appro

priate furn i ture, we have no accoun t, except that the

n i ches in wh ich the s tatues stood Were permi tted toremain. It i s conjec tured that the hi gh al tar had

undergone some change, at no great d is tancefromthe Found er’s t ime, as Goldwell, Bi shop ofNo rwi chin 15 04, left a legacy of c i rca aedificat ionemsummi altaris ' C o ldwel l also built the fi rst screen .

wh ich parted the inner from the outer Chapel , and

which remained until the year 1664, when the innerChapel was.paved wi th marble, and a new screen

erected at the ex pence ofS i r Wil l iamPo rtman, Bart.aGen tleman Commoner.In the same year the n i ches

wh i ch contained the s tatues were fi lled up, and the

whole repai red. S treater, serjeant-painter to KingCharles I I.painted the cei l ing , and an altar-p iece ofthe resurrec t ion. Lo rd Orford is again unfo rtunate

in h is no t i ces ofthi s Co l lege. He says,S treater

Gut ch’

s Collectanea, vol.n.p.'266.


dow was executed afew years ago by Eggington.No

Chapel in Oxfo rd is more admi red by common spec

tato rs than th is The compl i cated grandeur ofNew

Co l lege, wh ich they seldomexamine le isurely , o ver

powers themwi th a confused idea ofundefinablemagn ificence : b ut i t is usual ly observe d, that whatever

v i s i to r remembers any th ing ofOxfo rd,remembers

the beaut i ful Chapel ofAll Souls , and jo ins in i ts

p rai ses. S impl ic i ty ofdeco rat ion has seldom beenexempl ified wi th amo re happy effec t.Themonuments ofthe eminen t scho lars and benefacto rs

, SLc.bo th ofearly and recen t t imes , are verynumerous.A clo is ter, in imi tat ion ofthat ofNewCo llege

,fornied part ofthe Founder’s plan, and was begun

in h is t ime. It was an oblong square on the no rth

wes t s ide ofthe Chapel , and was fin i shed in 1491, at

the ex pence ofThomas Overy, LL.B.some t ime Fellow

,Bishop Go ldwell, Thomas Calfo x e, and John

Danvers , Esq. This clo i s ter was pul led down to makewayfo r the new quadrangle.

The Warden’s lodgings were o ri ginally some apar tmen ts at the south-eas t co rner ofthe o ld quadrangle,t o whi ch add i t ions were made in 15 5 3, by Dre VVar

n er, Warden, and afew o ther benefactors, o r,as

Wood th ink s, at a later per iod , by Dr.Ho veden,and

at the ex pence ofthe Co l lege. In 1703, D r.Clarke,wi sh in g to bui ld a house wi th in the l imi ts ofthi scol lege

,for h is p ri vate res idence

,agreed wi th the Co l

lege for a spo t of’ ground for the purpo se, on con

d i t ion , that , after h is death, the house to be erec ted

should become the property ofthe Co l lege. He ac

co rd ingly completed h is house, and the Co l lege added

the build i ngs which j o in the new and the old lodg

ALL SOULS COLLEGE.

ings , now converted in to chambers fo r the Fel lows.

Dr.Clarke died i n 1736, and left part ofthe furn i tureand p icturesfo r the use ofh is succes so rs. Dr.Tracy

i ntrod uced some judi c ious al terat ions in these lodgings , wh ich have added cons i derably to thei r con

ven ience and elegance. Part ofthe bui ld ing stand s

upon the s i te of.Inge Hall , a grammar-schoo l foundedby Walter Inge

,and by himgi ven to the ho spi tal of

S t.John Bap t is t. It afterward s became the propertyofMagdalen Co l lege .The fi rs t WA R D EN ofAll Soul s was Richard An

d rew,LL.D.a relat ion ofthe Founder, and o ne

ofhis executo rs. He was appo i nted Warden in 1437,

and res igned the ofii ce in 1449 , after con t ribut ing l i

berally to the o rnamen tal furn i ture and bui ld ihg s ofthe Co l lege. He was afterwards employed in s tate

embas s ies,and promo ted for h is serv ices to the rank

ofKi ng’s Secretary, wh ich was fo l lowed by a Ca

noury ofWindso r, and the Deanery ofYo rk ". He

d ied in 1477. Among h is succes so rs , we find Robert

Ho veden , autho r ofthe l i fe ofChichele,and ofa ca

talogue ofthe Wardens and Fel lows ; bo th these are

p reserved in MS.in the Li brary , and have been co n

sulted by Wood , Duck , and o ther h i s to rians. He

d ied in 1614, and was buried in the Chape l. Arch

b ishop Sheldon was elec ted Warden in 1635 , but was

ejected by the parl iamentary v is i to rs in 1646, and im

So in vol.11.ofWood’

s Annals , publ ished by Mr.Gutch but the

descript ion does not agree with that given in Wood’

s Anc ient and

Presen t State ofthe C ity ofOxfo rd ,” publ ished by S ir JohnPeshal.

b Wi ll is’s Cathed ral s , and Wood’

s Co l leges , edit.Gutch , where a

part icular accoun t is gi ven ofhis ci vi l and ecc les iasti cal progress.


pri soned. His successo r, Palmer, ,dying in 165 9-60,

on the eve ofthe Res torat ion,Dr.Sheldon was again

e lected, but never took possess ion , on accoun t -ofh ispromo t ion to the Bi shopri c ofLondon. He wi l l

o ccur hereafter as a benefac to r to the U n i vers i ty.The present Warden is the twen ty-s i x th from the

foundat i on.We find the names ofveryfew PR E LATE S among

the alumni ofthi s Co l lege,and no tmo re than twenty

one can be t raced as hav ing had any connec t ion.wi th’i t. Among the most no ted are

, Goldwell,Bishop of

No rwi ch , an early benefac to r,and Bul l ingham

,the

p ious Bi shop ofLinco ln and Wo rcester. Duppa ofWinches ter and Archbi shop Sheldon, although elec ted

Fel lows here, were educated , the fi rs t at Chri st Church,

and the second at Trin i ty. Jeremy Taylo r, Bi shop ofDown and Conno r, an honour to any co l lege o r any

nation, became a Fel low here i n 1636, by the nominat ion ofArchb ishop Laud , as Vi s i to r, but co n traryto the statutes, as he was beyond the age at wh ich

candidates'

are el igi ble,and had no t been ofthree

years s tand ing.

The l i st .ofscholars ofo ther rank s afford s manyestabl i shed names, some ofwh ich

,however

,appear

here by elect ion fromo ther Co l leges. The celebrated

Linacre seem’

s t

‘

o have been firs t educated here, and

to have pursued h is s tud ies abroad unt i l he was eu

abled to in troduce po l i te l i terature in to h is own

country. He was the fi rst person who taugh t Greek

at Oxfo rd. His own mas ter in that language was

Demetrius Chalcondyles , one bfthe learned Greek swho took refuge i n I taly after the tak ing ofCo ns tantinople by the Turk s in 145 3. Linacre was eminen tly

ALL SOULS COLLEGE.

s trong upon h im,that

,al though he was never known

to have a brief, o r make amo t ion , he reported all thecases in the King’s Bench cour t from1661 to 1710,

the period ofh is death , and all the sermons preachedat Gray’s Inn chapel , amoun t ing to above four thou

sand. Dr.Matthew Ti ndal , the dei s t, has al ready

been no t i ced as ofLinco ln and Exeter : in th i s Co l

lege, ofwhich he was cho sen Fel low in 1678, he was

ch iefly renowned,i f wemay cred i t o ne ofh is biog ra

phers fo r an ex trao rd inary appet i te. We havemo repleasure, however, in add i ng the names ofthe p iousJi

ohn No rri s , Recto r ofBemer ton , elected fromEx e

ter, and Dr.Sydenham,the impro ver ofmed ical sc i »

ence,fi rst ofMagdalen Hal l -S i r Wi ll iamTrumbull ,

the friend and co rresponden t ofPope, and an elegant

s cholar,and accompli shed statesman — Lo rd Chancel

lor Talbo t,

fi rs t a Gent leman Commoner ofOriel ,and S i r Christoph

'

er Wren , the format ion ofwhosegen ius and taste belongs mo re properly to WadhamCo l lege

,and procured h ima fame wh ich canno t be

c i rcumscri bedAl l Soul s also enumerates among its mos t d i s t in

guished scho lars in the departmen ts oflaw and po l i

t i cs,S i r Robert Weston , Lord .Chancellor ofI reland

in Queen El i zabeth'

s t i'me z— S i r Clemen t Edmond s ,

Secretary,

ofthe Counci l to James I.— S i r Dan ielDunn

,Dean ofthe Arches

,and Master ofthe Re

ques ts,15 67- l 6 l7z — Henry C o ventry

,Secretary of

S tate to Charles I I. Dean ofS t.

The Rel igious , Rat ional , ‘

and Moral Conduct ofMatthew T indal,LL.D.late Fel low ofAl l Souls Col lege in Oxfo rd ; in a Letter to aFriend. By aMember ofthe same Col lege.8m.Lond.1735 .

ALL SOULS COLLEGE.

Paul’s and ‘vV‘es tmins ter, Clerk ofthe Clo set to Charles

I.and Commiss io ner ofeccles ias t i cal affai rs at the

t reaty ofUxbridge z— S i r Nathan iel Lloyd , al ready not iced z— and that i llus t rious o rnamen t to h is pro fess ionand to the Un i vers i ty , Si r lVi lliamBlacks tone. It ismuch to be regret ted that Dr.Buck ler ‘ ofthi s Co llege neglec ted to leave memo rial s ofso in teres t ing acharac ter. He had been the friend and as sociate ofBlack s tone during the greater part ofh is splend id career

,and was in every respec t qual ified to detai l the

progress ofh is various s tud ies , and themany benefi tshe conferred on thi s and on Queen’

s Co llege, where

he succeeded Dr.Coxed as one ofthe v i s i to rs on

Mi tchel l’

s foundat io n.i

His memo ry,however

, can

neve r peri sh wh ile h is Commen taries ex is t. It wi l l

hereafter come to be no t i ced , that Black s tone recei ved

h is early educat ion , and h is fi rs t marks ofd is t inct ion,

whi le an Undergraduate ofPembroke Co llege.

D r.Buckler was aman ofextens ive learn ing , and an able ant iquary.Ofh is wi t , he has lefi amo st inco nt rovert ible proo f in h is CompleteV indicat ion ofthe Mallard ofAl l Souls Col lege, agains t the injurioussugges t ions ofthe Re v.M r.Po in ter ,” who in h is sho rt Hist ory ofOxfo rd ins inuated , that the hugemal lard , found imprisoned in a gutter , ord rain , at the diggi ng oft he foundat ion ofthe Co llege, was a g oose.Th is mallard i s st i ll commemo rated in a so ng on one ofthe Co llegegaudies. D r.Buckler’s V ind ication , wh ich is one ofthe finest p ieces ofi ro ny in our language, was fo llowed by asheet ofProposalsfor a Complete h istory oft he Mallardians ," scarcely less humo rous , drawn upbyMr.RoweMo res and M r.8 115 0 11, and publ ished in 175 9.Th is las t promised a t rue h istory ofPent rapo lin aCalamo , usual ly styled , by way

ofeminence , The Bucuan oftheMallardians." Dr.Buckler diedDec.24; 1780.

M AGD ALEN COLLEGE.

rfHE gen ius ofWykehamst i l l predominated in Oxford. At the d i stance ofmo re than seven ty years

,

and during a s tate ofpubl i c affai rs pecul iarly unpropit ions to undertak ings ofth i s descri p t ion

,h is example

gave rise to Magdalen Co l lege, an es tabl i shmen t wh ichfor opulence and ex ten t ofusefulness had at that t imescarcely a r i val in Europe.

Thi s wel l-const i tuted Soc iety was founded by Wi l

l iamofWaynfieet, Bi shop ofWinchester, and LordC hancello r in the rei gn ofHenry V I. He was the

eldes t son ofRichard Patten, ofWaynfleet in Lin

colnshire, by Margery , daugh ter ofS i r Wi ll iamBrereton , Kn igh t, and had for h is bro ther John Patten,Dean ofChiches ter ; but the preci se t ime ofh is b i rthi s no where ascertained. Accord ing to the cus tomofhis day, he took the surname ofWaynfleet fromh isnat i ve place.

He was educated at Winchester schoo l , and s tudied

afterward s at Oxfo1d , but in what Co l lege i s nuoer

tain. The hi storian ofWinchester 15 incl ined to p1efer New Co l lege, wh ich 13 most cons i sten t wi th the

p rogress ofeducat ion at Wykeham’

s school. Wood

acknowledges, that al though h is name does no t occur

among the Fel lows ofNew Co llege, nor among thoseofMerton, where Hol l ingshed places him, un less hewas a Chaplain or Postmaster, yet the general

192 MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

wh ich he heldfor the long space ofthi rty-n ine years,

during which he amply jus t ified the recommendat ionofthe King, be ing d i s t ingui shed fo r p iety, learn ing,and prudence.” His Highness honoured wi th h isp resence the ceremony ofhis en thro nemen t ‘.

His acknowledged talents and'

poli t ical sagaci ty

p rocured h imthe unreserved confidence ofhis royalmaster, who appears to have t reated h imwi th condescend ing fami l iari ty, employed h imin some affai rs ofcri t i cal impo rtance, and recei ved throughout the

who le ofh is turbulen t reign abundan t p roo fs ofhisinvar iable loyalty and attachmen t. In 145 0, when

the rebel l ion ofJack Cade burs t fo rth , Waynfl‘

eet ,

who had ret i red to the nunnery ofHo lywel l,was sent

fo r by the King to Can terbury, -and adv i sed the

i ssuing a proclamat ion offering pardon to all con

cerned in the rebel l ion , excep t Cade h imself; in con

sequence ofwh ich the rebels d i spersed, and left thei rleader to h is fate. Soon after , when Richard , Duke

ofYo rk , took up arms , the King sen t our Prelate,wi th the Bishop ofEly, to i nqui re his reasons fo r so

alarming a s tep.The Duke repl ied , that his on ly v iew

was to remo ve ev i l counsel lors fromhis Highness , andpart i cularly the Duke ofSomerset. Waynfleet and

h is co l league hav ing made th is repo rt, the K ing o r

dered the Duke ofSomerset to be impri soned , andrecei ved the Duke ofYo rk wi th k indnes s , who on h is

part took a so lemn oath offuture al legiance and fide

l i ty ; which ,‘ however, he v io lated at the bat tle of

Northampton in 1460. In Oc tober, 145 3, Waynfleet

Vetusta‘

Monumenta, vol.11.M ilner’s H ist.ofWinchester.Budden

’

s Life ofWaynfleet , apud Batesium.

MAGDALEN COLLEGE; 193

bap tized the young Prince ofWales by the name ofEdward.

In October, 145 6, he was appo in ted Lo rd H igh

Chancel lo r in the roomofBourch ier, Archbi shop ofCan terbury ; and the fo l lowing year he sat in judg

ment wi th the Archbi shop , and o ther Prelates , upo n

Dr.Reginald Pecocke, Bishop ofChiches ter, who hadadvanced some doc trines con trary to the prevai l ing

rel i g ious Opinions. On th is occas ion the court was

unan imous in enj o in ing Pecocke to a so lemn recauta

t ion,and confinemen t to h is house ; h is wri t ings also

were o rdered to be burn t : but the Archbi shop,ao

co rd ing to .M r. Lewi s’s accoun t,took a far mo re

act i ve share in th i s bus iness than the Chancel lo r '.

Waynfieet res i gned the office ofChancello r in the

mon th ofJuly, 1460 ; about wh ich t ime he accompan ied the King to No rthamp ton, and was wi th hima

few days befo re the fatal bat tle near that place, in

wh ich the royal army was defeated. VVaynfleet’s attachmen t to Henry’s cause had been uni fo rm and

deci ded , yet h is high charac ter and talen ts appear to

have pro tected h im. Edward IV.treat—

ed h im no t

on ly wi th respec t , but wi th some degree ofmagnan imi ty, as he i ssued a spec ial pardon in h is favour

,

and condescended to v i s i t , unasked , his newly foundedCo l lege at Oxfo rd , a favour which to lVaynfleet, embarked ia a wo rk which requi red royal pat ronage,mus t have been h ighly grat i fying. The remai nder ofh is l i fe appears to have been free frompo l i t i cal in terference o r danger, and he l i ved to see the quiet un ionofthe Houses ofYo rk and Lancas ter, in the marriage ofHenry VII.wi th Eli zabeth ofYo rk.

Lewis’s Life ofPecocke, p.281.cl seqq.O


Bes ides h is o ther prefermen ts, he i s sai d to have

been Chancel lor ofthe Un i vers i ty ofOxford ; but hisname no where occurs in Wood’s c0pious and accué

rate accoun t ofthe persons who fi l led that offi ce.He died ofa short but v io lent i llness in the after

noon ofAug. 1486, and was interred , wi th great

funeral pomp, in Winches ter cathedral, in amagn ificen t sepulchral chapel

, wh ich i s kept 1n the fi nest

p reservat ion by the Society ofMagdalen Co l lege.In h is wi ll he bequeathed legac ies to all his servan ts ,.to all the relig ions ofbo th sexes ln Winches ter

,to all

the clergymthat ci ty,and to every Fellow and Scho

lar 1n Wykehams two Co l leges and h is own.

His biographers ‘ have celebrated h is p iety , temper,and human i ty. Bes i des the.foundat lon, ofwh ich weare to gi ve amo re ample detai l , he es tabl ished a free

schoo l in his nat i ve town,and was a.benefac tor to

E ton co l lege, Winches ter cathedral , and o ther places.

In these labours,whi le h is mun ificent spi ri t induced

h im to h i re the ablest ar t i sts, he d i splayed himsel f.very cons i derable talen ts as an al ch i tec t

,Leland was

ihformed that the greates t part ofthe bui ld ings ofE ton Co l lege were raised under h is d i rec t ion, and at.

his ex pence. In 1478 we find h imo verseer ofthebui ld ings at Windso r, an office fo rmerly held by h isgreat predeces so r Wykeham, and i t was fromthat

place he sen t wo rkmen to complete the Di v in i ty

schoo l ofOxfo rd.In the second year ofhis Bishopri c he ob tained a

Budden , 4to, 1609, Birch , Vetusta Monumenta, &c. A Life ofWaynfleet has long been expected fromad ist inguished Member ofhi sCo l lege, the late Dr.Chandler, and : is now in preparat ion for thepress.


hospi tal was now so eas i ly to be procured , i t is cer

tain that , in a co nference wi th Henry V I.on the sub

ject , he c btained leave'

ofthe King to con vert thewho le bui ld ings and premi ses belonging to that ho sp i

tal in to a Co l lege. Trad i t ion says , that Henry , who se

part ial i ty to Cambridge was wel l known , endeavouredto persuade Waynfleet to carry h is designs to that

Un ivers i ty ; but find ing h immo re d i sposed towards

Oxfo rd , be read ily entered int o h is v iews, and pro

mised himevery as s i s tance.

The hosp i tal ofS t.John the Bap t i st s tood at the

eas tern ex tremi ty ofOxfo rd , but was possessed ofpremi ses ofvery great ex ten t

,bo th on the north and

south s ide ofthe High-s treet. Its h i story can wi th

d iffi culty be traced farther back than to the rei gn ofKing John ‘

. About the year 1233 i t was ei ther t e

bui lt or repai red by Henry III.and is sai d to have

been i ntended for infi rmpersons , o r poor s trangers

t ravel l ing to S t.Frldeswyde’

s, S t.Edmund’s wel l , ando ther places ofsuperst i t ious reso rt. It ex tended in .

bui ld ings and ground s fromeast-bridge to east-gate, on

bo th s ides ofthe street, i ts burying ground being on

the s i te ofthe presen t phys io garden. Its endow

men ts were very cons i derable ; and at the t ime abo vemen t ioned Hen ry I I I.gave the hospi tal lers h i smi ll atHed ington, cal led the Kin g

’

smil], wi th i ts lands andmeadows , the Jews

’ garden or burial p lace, on wh ich

part ofthe hosp i tal was erected , and a p iece ofg round,suppo sed to be now Magdalen gro ve, wi thmany o therp ri v i leges and immun i t ies. They were also possessedofseveral churches and mano rs , and ofsome es tates ,

Yet a recital exists in the Co llege ofa grant ofHenry I I.John'sfather, to the hospital ofcertain lands.

MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

both in and near the.c i ty ofOxfo rd. The few re

mains ofthi s ho spi tal that are s t i l l standing wi l l be

no t i ced hereafter.

In the year 145 6 and 145 7, the King l icensed these

hosp i tal lers to surrender thei r hosp i tal , wi th all i ts app‘urtenances , mano rs , lands , and pos sess ions , spi ri tual

and tempo ral , in to the hands ofthe Pres i den t andScho lars ofMagdalen Hal l , on cond i t i on that the

Mas ter and Brethren ofthe hospi tal should recei ve

main tenance during thei r l i ves. The l i cence to found

a Col lege i s dated July 18 , 145 7. Its boundaries are

descri bed to be a plo t ofground wi thout eas t-gate,hav ing the ri ver Cherwel l on the eas t-s ide

,the way

lead ing fromthe eas t-gate to the eas t- bri dge on the

south , the h igh-way lead ing from the eas t-gate to

Ho lywel l and Cand i tch on the wes t, and certain land s

on the mano r ofHo lywel l o n the no r th. The

Founder’

s endowment was, as befo re s t i pulated,to be

1001.yearly.

Thi s t ransact ion being completed , the Founder, onJune 12, 145 8, placed in h is new Col lege a Pres i den t ,WilliamTybard , B.D.threeMas ter and three Bachelo rFel lows , and two days after, the Pres iden t and Scholars ofMagdalen Hal l ‘ surrendered up thei r house tothe Co l lege, and jo i ned the Society. The foundat ionwas then confi rmed by the bul l ofPope Cal i x tus Il l.and afterward s by that ofS i x tus IV.remo v ing the Co llege fromthe jur isdic t ion ofthe see ofLinco ln to thatofWinches ter, and enabl ing the Society to pro ve thewi ll s ofsuch members as die in Co l lege.

This Hall reverted to the name ofBostar Hal l , and wasfor severalyears inhabited by students ofthe Univers ity , and aft erwards used as atavern or inn.


During the progress ofthe new bui ld ings,the

Scho lars res ided partly in the o ld hosp i tal , and partly,

in Magdalen Hal l. The Brethren ofthe hosp i tal alsowere entertained during thei r l ives wi th in the pre

mi ses. The foundation -s tone ofthe fi rs t quadranglewas lai d May 5 , 1473; and in 1479 ,

some t ime beforethe bui ld ings were

,completed

,the Founder gave

,the

Society a body ofs tatutes. Accord ing to,these the

Co l lege was to be cal led Seinte Mar ie Maugdalene

Colledge, to the honour and praise ofChri s t cruc ified,the blessed V i rgin (his mo ther), S t , Mary Magdalene,S t.John Bap t i s t, the Apos tles S t.Peter and S t.Paul ,the glo r ious confesso r S t.Swyth ine, and o ther patrons

ofthe cathed ral ofWinches ter. The number oft es ident members were to be fo rty Fel lows, thi rty Scholars , cal led Semi-communam or Demies , four Chaplains, Priests, ei gh t Clerk s , and s i x teen Cho ri sters.Poo r Scho larswere also to be suppl ied wi th food, and

s t rangers en tertained as fo rmerly wh ile the hospi tal ,s tood ; but those regulat ions were afterward s rendered

unnecessary,by the al tered and improved state of

educat ion and society. Some ofthe Fel lows were to ,

s tudy the canon-law, and some med ic ine, but the

g reater part d i v in i ty ; and they were to be chosen in

the fo l lowing local numbers : ofthe d iocese ofW inches ter, five ; coun ty ofLinco ln, seven ; ofOxfo rdshi re, four ; Berkshi re, three ; d iocese ofNo rwi ch ,four ; ofChiches ter, two ; coun ty ofGloucester, two ;ofWarwick, two ; ofBuck i ngham,

Ken t, No tt ingham,

E ssex , Somerset, Northamp ton, Wil ts, and the c i ty ofLondon, one each. The Demies are res tr i cted to

those count ies in wh ich the Co l legepossessed lands

befo re the Founder’s decease ; and were to be conver


name, al though certainlv a fei gned one ; but the late

M r.Gough has done amplel ‘jus tice to his characterin the en larged and accurate memo i r wh i ch he drewupfo r the new ed i t ion ofthe Biograph ia Bri tann i ca.In 1483, W i l l iamFi tz-alan, Earl ofArundel , gave

th i s Society the hospi tal ofS t.John and S t.Jamesat Aynho in No rthamptonsh irc. There succeeded alsosome smal ler benefac t ions ; but all ofthemtoge

ther were ofl i t tle comparat i ve value wi th the amplepos ses s ions gran ted by the Crown fromthe al ien prio

r ies,o r acqui red by the mun ificent Founder. About

the close ofthe s i x teenth cen tury , S imon Pero t , o r

Parret, some t ime Fel low, gave land s at S tanlakefo r asermon on S t.Mark’s day in the Co l lege Chapel , and

a commemo rat ion on the Monday befo re,on wh ich

day sums ofmoney were to be gi ven to the Pres i den t

and Fel lows presen t, to the Cho ri s ters , and an increase

ofthei r commons. An o rat ion i s also to be del i vered

i n the Hal l befo re d inner by a Demy. The members ofthe Un i vers i ty attend th i s sermon. Amongthe more recent benefacto rs, the names ofWarner

,

Bi shop ofRoches ter, Ralph Freman , Esq.ofHamels,Hertfo rdsh i re, and John No rri s , Esq.LL.D.s tand d is

t ingui shed. Warner, who had been Fellow in the

rei gn ofJames I.con tri buted above 14001.to the Co llege Library ; Mr.Freman gave the Soc iety Preman’sCour t near the Royal Exchange, London ; and Mr.

No rris, who had been fo rmerly o n the foundat ion, be

queathed the sumof towards carrying on the

presen t new bui ld ing.

The b enefices at presen t belonging to th is Co l lege

are the L IV I NG S ofAppleton , Aston Tiro ld , East I lsley,

and Tubney, in Berksh i re ; Beaconsfield and Saunder

MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

ton in B uck inghamsh i re ; Boyton , Din ton , Winterbo rne

'Bas set,and Fi ttleton

,Wilt sh i re ; Hough ton,

No rthamp tonsh i re ; Bramber, Sussex ; Brandes ton ,No rfo lk ; Candles by, Ho rs ington, Middle Saltfleetby,and Swaby , in Linco lnshi re ; Swafo rd, Duckl ington,and S tanlake, in Oxfo rdshi re ; Slimbridge, Glouces tersh i re ; S tanway in Es sex ; and the al ternacy ofEas tBridgefo rd , No tt inghamshi re : the V I CAR AG E S ofBas ing s toke, Selbourne, Eas t Wo rldham

,in Han ts ; Up

per Beed ing, Findon, New Sho reham,Old Shoreham

,

and Washing ton,in Sussex ; Even ley, No rthamp ton

shi re ; and Wi lloughby, Warwi ck sh i re : all wh ich V i

carages the Co l lege has augmen ted by leases oftherespec t i ve impropriate t i thes , and ofthe t i thes ofHo rspath , Oxfo rdshi re, and ofWes t Ti s ted

,Hants.

By the benefact ions we o riginal ly no t i ced ofFasto ld

,and Fi t z-alan

,Earl ofArundel, and by the noble

endowmen t ofthe Founder, thi s Co l lege became the

mos t opulen t in the Un i vers i ty, i ts revenues being

valued,in 15 35 , at 10761.5 5 .2d.yearly, o r, acco rd ing

to Twyne, at 10661.5 3.2d. In 1612 th e Soc iety con

s i s ted oftwo hund red and fo r ty-s ix persons. It nowcons i s ts , as o rigi nal ly, ofthe Pres iden t, fo rty Fel lows ,thi rty Demies , a d i v in i ty Lecturer, a Schoo lmas terand Usher, four Chaplain s, ei gh t Clerk s , and s i x teenCho ris ters, bes i des Gentlemen Commoners , fo r thereare no Commoners.

On the ex tens i ve BUILDINGS ofthi s Co l lege,

WilliamOrchyarde was employed as arch i tect, underthe d i rec t ion ofthe Founder.The en trance to the fi rs tcourt is through amodern po rtal ofthe Do ri c o rder,decorated wi th a s tatue ofWaynfleet. On the left i s

,part ofthe Pres i dent’s lodgings, begun in 1485 , al

ace MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

tered in"

1769. In front i s the o riginal entrance into

the large quadrangle by agateway,now d isused , under

a venerable Go th ic tower, adorned wi th s tatues oftheFounder, ofHenry I I I.S t

'

.John the Bapt i st;and Sf.Mary .Magdalen , under.canopies ofexqui s i te.workmansh i p. ‘

Thi s tower,nay who le preserves i ts

anc ient fo rmand b eauty. The windows ofthe chamber o ver the “ gateway

,which has been always cal led

the Founder’s chamber, were suppl ied by Dr.Humph rey .(President from15 6 1 to 15 89) wi th arms andinscri p t ions in honour ofthe Founder, and o ther cele

brated:characters belonging to the Co l lege ; amongwhomwe find the Cardinals Po le and Wo lsey, Arch

b i shop Lee, Bishops S tokesly , Langland , Vesey, Ogle

tho rpe, Downh'

am, Ben tham, Harley, Parkhurst,Mo

'

s t'

o f these h ave been s ince» removed into the,win

dows ofthe ’Hall.In a co rner also ’

ofthe court, b efore 'we enter the

g reat quadrangle, i s the anc ient stone pulpit, .fromwh i ch the sermon on.S t.John the Bap t i st’s day used

to be'

preached" The court'

was‘

on that occas ionfurn ished around the

‘

s ides wi th a large fence ofgreenbough s, 111 al lus ion to S t.John

’

s preach ing in the wil

derness ; butfor many years past th i s sermon beforethe Un iversi ty

'has been del i vered in the Chapel

f: Through th i s ‘court we pass in to thei

larger quad ran

gle, wi th i ts fine clo i s ter, begun by the Founder in1473, and nearly in the s tate in which he left i t, ex

cept'

the south clo i ster, wh ich was added after h is

death in 1490. Thi s quadrangle contains the Chapel ,Hal l

,and Li brary, the o lder part ofthe Pres ident’s

lodgings, and apartmen ts 'for the Fellows and Demies,and beh ind is the ancient K i tchen, wh ich belonged toS t.John’s hosp ital. The interior ofthe quadrangle is

QO4 MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

un i ty. It tends completely in all i ts parts to one un i

fo rmcourse ofprecep ts ; nor does the author, l ike somesanguine conjecturers , appear to have been seek ing

mo re than he could find. In afew ins tances only i thas been though t that he has gi ven amo ral mean i ng tofigures , such as the dog , dragon , and deer, which aremerely herald ic. The wri ter ofa no te o n th i s subject,in Mr.Gutch’s Append i x to Wood’s hi sto ry, co njectures , that the figures were executed fromdes i gns byH o lbein

Tho se who have attr ibuted figures ofthi s k ind, and

the indecent sculp tures in some ofour cathed rals, to

the con tes ts between the regular and secular clergy,

mutual ly ri d icul ing each o ther’s character and conduct,

or to the l i cent ious inven t ion ofthe bui lders,seemto

invo l ve the s ubj ect in add i t ional obscuri ty. Can It be

concei ved that the founders ofour Co l leges , o r the

guard ians ofour Churches, many ofwhomwere emi

whose prudence they are to be led through the dangers oftheir first eut rance int o the world.The figure immed iately fol lowing representsSobriety or Temperance, thatmost necessary virtue ofacollegiate l ife.Thewhole remaining t rain offigures are the vices we are inst r ucted

t o avoxd. Those next to Temperance are the Opposite vices ofGluttony and D runkenness. Then follow the Lucantkr op os , the Hyena,

and Panther , represent ing V i olence, Fraud , and Tr eachery the

Grg’

fi n represent ing Coretousness , and the next figure, Ang er or

Moroseness. The D og , the D rag on, the D eer , Flat tery , E nvy , and

Timid ity and the three last , theMantichora, the Box ers , and the

Lamia, P ride, Content ion , and Las t.We have here, therefore, acomplete and instruct ive lessonfo r the

use ofa society dedicated to the advancement ofreligion and learning ; and , on th is plan , we may suppose the Founder ofAlag dalenespeaking, bymeans ofthese figures , to the students ofhis Col lege.P.973.These figures may be contemplated at leisure in Mr.Car

ter’s Specimens ofAncient Sculpture.

MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

nen t for p iety, however mi s taken i n some poi n t s,would have permi t ted those edifices to be thus prost ituted ? Or that the slow progress ofthe mos t ingen ious art i st

's labou r shou ld be employed i n a regu lar

series of car v i ngs o r sculp tu re,fo r n o other p u rpo sethan to expose temporary feuds and quarrel s at theex pence of publ ic decency?Th is clo i ster does no t appear to have been i n tended

,

l i ke those ofNew College and All Soul s , for a placeofbu rial, nor are there anymonument s erected in i t.Sou th of the Chapel , and o n the sou th s ide of

what is cal led the Chaplai n s’ cou rt,s tands the great

tower ofMagdalen College , whose beau t i ful p ropo rt ion s

,sol id i ty, and pictu resque effec t , have been so

much and so u n i formly admi red. The foundat ions tone of th i s noble st ructu re was laid Augu s t 9, 1499 ,by.Dr.Richard Mayew, Pres iden t, and i t was fin i shed

i n 1498. Card i nal Wol sey bei ng abou t thi s t ime

Bursar of the College , when only twen ty- three years

of age,the plan of i t has generally been at tri bu ted to

him. Trad i t i on goes even so far as to say,that be

su ppl i ed himself by u nfai r mean s wi th money fromthe College t reasu ry to complete the work ; bu t h i s

b iographer, Fiddes , has very ably defended h imagain s t th i s charge. An i ngen iou s mod ern wri te r “

has conj ec tu red, that the plan was taken by lVaynfleetfromthe desi gn of K ing’s Col lege i n Hen ryVI.

’

s wi ll,

i n which wi l l he i s so h ighly compl imen ted and tru sted,

and that th i s bo rrowed plan o r sketchmi gh t have beenleft by the Bishop at hi s death.There i s certa i nly rea

son to thi nk , that i n some part s ofthe venerable qua

Dallaway’

s Observat ions on Eng li sh Architecture.

206 MAGDALEN. COLLEGE.

d rangleWaynfleet avai led h im self of that p lan’ wh i ch

the un fortunate monarch was no t able to carry i n to

execu t i on ; and the writer jus t ment ioned has specified

a few co i ncidences which canno t be supposed to be

acci den tal. At the same t ime i t mu st he remarked ,that i n the ages of the pu re Gothi c there was a con

s iderable u n i form i ty of plan m structu res of the samek i nd. I n the college, the chapel , the cathedral, the

'

clo i s te r, 8t c.there were certai n great ou tl i nes , charac

teris t ic of the Gothi c style, to which every arch i tec t

regularly adhered.

Before the Reformat ion , a mass of requiemfor the

sou l of Hen ry VI I.u sed to be performed on the topofMagdalen tower every May-day early i n the morni ng. Thi s was afterwards COmInuted for afew piecesofmu si c, whi ch are execu ted by the Chori s ters, and

for which the rectory of Sl imbridge i n G louces tersh i re

pays ann ual ly the sum of Fromth i s commemorat ion i t has been su pposed that Hen ry VI I.con tri bu ted

to the bu i ld i ng of the tower. But i t does no t appear

that he was otherw i se a benefactor to th i s Col lege,than by be i n g i n st rumen tal i n confi rm i ng the righ t of

the above-men t i oned rectory to the College. Duringthe grand rebell ion , when hopes were en tertai ned ofeffectually fort i fyi ng Oxford again s t the Parl iamen tary army

, a' quan t i ty of s tones were carried u p to the

top ofthe tower, iri order to an noy the enemy on the i ren trance.

Soon after the erect i on ofthe tower , the Chaplai n s’cou rt was bu i l t

,and the l i ne of bu i ld i ng to the wes t of

the tower, form ing the sou th s ide of the fi rs t cou rt,’

was mu ch al tered. The rooms, seen from Magdalen

bridge,“ and placed at the eas t end of the Hal l, were

208 MAGDALEN COLLEGE.sou th

,has been fin i shed , three hundred feet i n length}

the,fron t rest i ng on an arcade, the roof ofwhich i s

decorated i n stucco wi th much taste. I t i s a n oble’

spec imen of chaste desi gn and conven ience,there be

i ng th ree series ofroom s , spac iou s , lofty, and of equ ald imensi on s. The foundat i on of thi s bui ld ing was lai d

Sept.27, 1733, by Dr.Kn ibb of th i s Society,as proxy

fo r the Bi shop ofWinches ter, the Vi s i tor of the College. The second s tone was lai d by Mi ss Bu tler,

“

daugh ter of Dr.Butler, the President ; and two others .

by S i r Wi ll iam Bowyer, a member ofthe College,and Mr.Rowney, one of the Represen tat i ves ofthec i ty ofl fo rd. The i n scri pt i on run s thu s

M ORIBU S E X COLE N DIS

s runus LIT E R ARUM E X OR NANDI‘

S

OT I UM DATURA ,WAINFLE TI NOM EN E T HONOR E SU LT IM UM PR OR OG E T IN E VUM

M'AG D A L ENA IN STAURAT A ,27

“S E PT E M B RIS 1733.

E DVAR DO B UT L ER, LL.D.PR E S I D E.

The con t ri bu t i on s of the members i n a id ofthe.College ex pence were mos t l i beral ; Dr.Butler gave

;

25 00l.; Dr.Hough , Bi shop ofWorcester, and formerlyPresiden t

,and Dr.Boul ter, Primate of Ireland ,

each ; and above were con tri bu ted i n smal ler's ums by afew i nd i v i duals.’ Towards the complet i onofthe des i gn a bu i ld ing fund has been long accumulati ng

,to wh ich the late Dr.Thomas Waldeg rave, Vicar

“

ofWash ing ton , left three per cen t con sol s ;oand >

i n 1786 John Norri s, Esq.bequeathed, as was formerly "

men t i oned, 5 0001.I t is doubtfu l, however, whether the

MAGDALEN COLLEGE. 209

quad rangle as ori gi nal ly p roj ected wi l l e ver be com

p lered. The open ings to the eas t and wes t affordp ictu re sque scenes ofsuch stri k i ng beau ty

,that tas te

,

a t leas t, .will be amply grat ified by fin i shi ng the ends

ofthe p resen t new bui ldi ng,an d tak ing down the

north s ide ofthe old qu ad rangle.The HA L L, a sp ac i ou s an d elegan t room , was b ui l t

by the Founder,and, - bes ides the arms, Ste.removed

th i ther from h i s chambe r, and from the election-cham

ber, which was pu lled down i n 1770, con ta ins some cu

r ious , bu t rathe r gro te sque, carv i ngs on the wai nsco t at

the uppe r end, ofa much later date than the bu i ld i ng.There i s al so a ca rv ing ofHenry VI I I.and whole o r

half- length portrai ts on can vas of the Founder,Mr.

Freman,Dr.Butler

,Prince Ru pert

,Hen ry Pri nce o f

Wales,eldes t son of James I.Dr.Warner, Bi shop

ofRoches te r, Addis on , Dr.Sacheverel l , Archbi shopBou lter

,Dr.Hammond , Bi shop Hough , S i r Edmu nd

I sham,Bart.formerly Fellow,

VVi lcocks , B ishop of

R ochester, benefac tors o r em inen t person s belongi ng

to th i s hou se. The small who le le ngth ofS t.Maryhi agdalen has been much admi red. I t has fasc i nat i on swh ich bespeak the man ne r of Guerci no i n h i s female

figu res ; bu t some connoi sseu rs doub t whether i t i s no t

the performance of a s t i ll ab ler hand.Thi s Col lege was very early favou red by royal

v i s i ts. I n 148 1, on the 20th ofSep tember, theFounde r came to i n spec t h is bu i ld i ngs, an d was re

oeived wi th all due res pec t, both as Founder and Vi

s i tor. Two days after,the K i ng

,Edward IV.then a t

Wood st ock , i n t imated that he wou ld come and see h i sCo llege, i n which be lodged wi th the Bi shop s ofEly,

P

210 MAGDALEN ‘ COLLEGE;

Chiches ter, and Rochester, and , the Lord s Lincol n;S tan ley, Dacres , and r

_

o ther noblemen and persons ofd i s t i nct i on. During thei r s tay

,the royal party were‘

magn ificen tly en terta i ned in th i s Hall,and i n o ther

Colleges , and heard d i spu tat i ons as u su al on su ch oc

cas i on s.

I n' Ju ly, 1483, the Founder came agai n to prepare

for the recepti on of R ichard I I I.who was recei ved onen teri ng the c i ty w i th great pomp by the Chancellor,Regen ts

,and Non-Regents

,and conducted to th i s Cola

lege, where he lodged wi th al l h i s t rai n of Bi shops an d

Noblemen. The day after h i s arr i val,solemn d i sputa

t i on s were held i n the Hall,when the d i spu tan ts were

rewarded i n a manner characteri s t i c ofthe t imes.Dr.John Taylor, Opponen t i n the d i v i n i ty d i spu tat i on ,rece i ved a buck an d fi ve pound s

,and the responden t,

the celebrated G rocyn , a bu ck and five marks. The

oppon en t,

i n ph ilosophy recei ved also a buck and five

mark s, and the responden t a buck and forty sh i ll i ngs , The Ki ng al so gave the Pres iden t and College

two buck s and fi ve marks for w i ne. These may he

en umerated among the few good'deeds of th i s tyran t ;

and i t wou ld be unj u s t to h ismemory not to add , thathe was in other respects a benefac tor to the Un i ver~

s i ty.Abou t th i s t ime be confi rmed al l i ts p ri v i leges ,and procu red an Act ofParl iamen t

,i n the i n fancy of

pri n t ing , to al low the sale of foreign book s, a matter

ofgreat importance to the sem inaries oflearn i ng.I n 1496, another v i si t was pai d by Prince Arthu r to

th i s Col lege,who was en tertained i n the Pres iden t

’

s

l odgi ngs , and hi s nobles i n the Fel lows’ apartmen ts.

This v i s i t was .repeated in 15 01, bu t few memorials

MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

speeches. After d i nner they played at bowls on

the college-green and a Con vocati on being ordered to

be held,'Cromwell and Fai rfax were created Docto rs

of C iv i l Law, an d the other ofli cers were admi t ted

Masters of Arts. I t i s n o t certai n whether the de

s tru ct i on of the Chapel w i ndows by the sold iers p re

ceded o r fol lowed th i s v i s i t , or whether that savage ac t

was n ot reserved to honou r the graduat ion of their

offi cers on thi s memorable day.The L I BRARY ,

bu i l t i n the Founder’s l ifet ime,i s a

room of con s iderable ex ten t , but low roofed. I t was

Su ppl ied by the Founder w i th above eighty volumes,

pri nci pally manu scri pts of cou rse, and other ben efactors have i ncreased the collecti on. Dr.Warner,B i shop of R oches ter, gave i n al l abou t for the

p urchase of book s and the ornamen tal part of th i s Lib rary. Hi s portrai t and that ofthe Founder are theonly commemorat i ve ornamentsof the room.

Before the erect i on of the CHAP E L , the Society,wh ile at Magdalen Hall , at tended d i v i ne serv i ce at

the venerable chu rch of S t.Peter i n the East , and

afterward s i n the oratory belonging to S t. John’s

hospi tal , wh ich stood on the sou th s ide ofthe presen t Chapel , and i n 1665 was con verted i n to chambers. The presen t Chapel was completed by the

Founder, and fu rn i shed w i th al l s u i table magn ificence. I t remai ned i n i t s o rigi nal s tate, although de

spoi led of mos t of i ts fu rn itu re at the Reformat ion ,un t i l the year 1635 , when the i nner Chapel was paved

wi th black and wh i te marble, and p rov ided w i th new

s tall s and wai n sco tti ng, a new organ , a screen , and

pai n ted wi ndows, du ri ng the Pres ident sh i p of Dr.Aocepted Frewen , afterwards A rchbishop ofYork.At


thi s t ime the monuments ofthe Presi den ts H umphrey,Bond

,Langton , Tybard, Hygden, and Cole, were re

moved i n to the ou ter Chapel, which con tai n s a grea t

n umber of o ther monuments,erected to the memory

ofmembers ofth i s hou se. Some ofthem are goodspecimen s ofsc ul ptu re, part i cu larly on e erected tothe memory ofthe two Lytteltons , brothers, son s

ofS i r Thomas Lyttelton,Bart.who were d rowned in

the Cherwell wh i le st ruggl i ng to save each other ‘.

I t was execu ted by S tone, the elder, i n 1635 , a t the

p ri ce of301. The two fine col umns , by wh ich the roof

ofth i s an te-chape l i s su pported, are en v iable tes timon i es ofthe gen i u s of the Goth i c arch i tects.I n thi s elegan t Chapel , the origi nal s tyle of bu i ld ing

s t i ll predomi nates ; bu t i n the screen and pannelling ,pu t up abou t the year 1740, which las t, covers the

eas t wall , formerly of great beau ty, we have those

G rec ian orn amen ts wh ich were general ly adopted in

the se ven teen th and e ighteen th cen tu ries. The body

i s en l i gh tened by ten wi n dows , pai n ted wi th figures of

the apostles , fathers , sai n ts , St e.i n claro obscure. The

wes t-window, con tai n i ng the las t j udgment , was executed after a des ign of Chri s topher Schwarts

,origi

nally p repared for the wi fe of Wi ll iam,Duke of Ba

vari a, as appears by a pri n t engraved by one oftheSadelers. After bei ng damaged by the h igh wi nd i n

1703, i t was restored i n 1794 by Eggi n ton to i ts p ri s

t i ne beau ty Eight of the lateral wi ndows were t e

moved from the an te-chapel i n 1741, and two new

Cowley wrote an Elegy on this affect ing subjec t, but full ofmi sera

Dr.Montague Cholmeley, who died in 1785 Fellow ofthe Col.P 3

MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

ones next the altar added by the you nger Price, whod ied i n 1765 . The eight fi ne wi ndows now i n the

an te-chapel,pu t up i n 1797, were execu ted from de

s ign s ofEggin ton , an d are fi l led w i th the College

arms,Scri ptu re h i s tory, and port rai t s ofS t.John

Bapt i s t,St.Mary Magdalen , Kings Henry III.and

V I.the Fou nders of Magdalen, New College, Corpu sChri st i

,and Cardi nal Col lege, now Chri s t Chu rch

,

the two last of whom had been Fellows of th i s Col

lege, admi rably d rawn and colou red.The presen t altar was con s t ructed i n 1740, and cor

responds wi th the modern alterat ion s i n the'

inte

r i or of th i s Chapel. The altar-piece by Fuller, rep

sen t i ng the las t j udgmen t, has not been fortunate i n :

attract i ng u n i versal adm i rat i on. As an im i tat ion o f

M i chael Angelo, i t fal ls far shor t ofthe subl ime, although sometimes wild

,

,

imag inat ion of that greatart i s t ; n or i s the colou r i ng harmon iou s o r natu ral.

Some ofthe figu re s , however, are correctly drawn ;and he has at leas t im i tated the temper of M ichael

Angelo w i th success, in i n troduc ing, among the

damned , the port ra i t ofan hostler a t the Greyhou ndI nn

,near the College

,who had offended h im. Mr.

Add i so n has honou red Fu ller’s pain t i n g w i th an ele

gan t Lat i n poem , i n wh ich he seem s to prai se the

gen i u s tha t o ught t o have predom i nated i n su ch a

s ubj ect. Thi s pai n t ing was placed here abou t the

year 1680.Underneat h i s a noble p ic tu re of ou r Sav i ou r bear

i ng h i s cross, which was long supposed to have been

lege, bequeathed 3001.for anewwest window; but the restorat ion oftheold

‘oue cost the Society 85 01.

2 16 MAGDALEN COLLEG-E.

t rai tor..He was , on the con trary, ext remely fond o f

mus i c, both vocal and in strumen tal. On one oc ca

s i on , when at Ox ford , be res tored a young gen tleman

of Chri s t Chu rch to h i s s tuden t’s p lace, who had been

ej ected by the parl i amen tary v i s i tors , merely i n couse

quence of'hearing h im si ng ‘.

I t wou ld have been fortu nate had he possessed as

much tas te fo r h is tor ical w indows...Thos e wh ich ~

an~

c iently decorated the i nner Chapel were remov ed du ring the rebell i on , and concealed for some t ime ; butbei ng d i scovered by the parl i amen tari an sold iers, they

had the barbar i ty to place themfiat on .the pave

men t of the Clo i sters, and j ump on them u n til they

were en ti rely destroyed. By what mean s the other

wi ndows escaped thei r search, we are no t told.

I n the year 1793 a new roof i n the Go thio s tyle,

the old one be i ng decayed , was placed on the Chapeland Hall , und er the d irecti on of M r.Wyatt , whi ch

cost the College u pwards of 40001..paid ou t of the incomes ofthe Pres iden t and Fel lows ; as was also thefu rther s um of.l400l.for the pain ted windows i n thean te-chapel.

We eanno t leave th i s Chapel wi thou t not ic i ng - five

remarkably fine though small s tatues, in good prefi

servat ion , placed over.the beau t i fu l wes t porch.Theyrepresen t S t.John the Bapti st, Hen ry III., S t.Mary

Magdalen,Willi am of Wykeham

,and the Founder.

The Founder and Henry I I I.are in a kneel i ng pas.

t u re.These are among the fines t specimen s of ancient

scu lp tu re i n Oxford, and are coeval w i th the Chapel.

Of the th i rty-one PR E S I D E NT S who have superiatended th i s Socie ty from i ts foundat i on , the firs t two,

A.Wood’

s Life, p.139.edit.i

l772.'


John Hornley and Will i am Tybard , were appoi nted

to that office before the Fou nder had secu red the di scipli ne and tranqu i l l i ty ofhi s College by a body of s tatutes. I n the thi rty- second year after the Soci ety

be gan to res ide i n Magdalen

'

Hall , Richard Mayew,

D.D.a Fel low of New College, was nomi nated by theFounder

,whose venerat i on for Wykehamwas such

,

that he permi t ted the members ofNew College anequal r igh t wi th those ofh is .own to be chosen Pres i

den ts ofMagdalen. Dr.Mayew res i gn ed after hav i ngbeen promoted to the Bi shopri c ofHereford two yearsbefore

,and John Claymond and John Hygden were h i s

s uccessors as Pres iden t , bu t res igned i n a few years,Claymond bein g appo i n ted the fi rs t Pres iden t ofCorpus , wi th add i t ion al prefermen t held in commendam, andHygden the fi rs t Dean of Chri s t Chu rch.Dr.Walter

Haddon , a poet, orato r, and e legan t Lat i n wri ter, was

advanced to .th is offi ce, although a member nei ther ofthe College nor Un i vers i ty , i n con sequenc e ofmandatory letters from Edward VI.and expressly contrary

to the wi l l ofthe Soci ety. On the death ofEdward,

however, he ret i red abroad , and on h i s retu rn, at theaccessi on of Queen Eli zabe th, was o therwi se prov id ed

for. Dr. Lawrence Humphrey, who became Pre

s ident i n 15 61, was one of the mos t learned d i v ines ofh i s t i me, and was honou red wi th con siderable p refer

men t i n the Church. Hi s avers i on to the ecclesi as t i calhabi ts, wh ich he acqu i red among the ex i les at Geneva,prod uced a well-known h i n t from Queen El i zabeth

Mr.Doctor, that loose gown becomes you migh tya ")wel l. I wonder you r not i on s shou ld be so narrow

Peck’s Des iderata, Nichols ’s Progresses , &c. The Queen was‘

at

this t ime (15 66) recei vi ng the homage ofthe Un ivers ity at Wolverco te,

MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

‘We have al ready seen that he'

had n o object ion to

the ornamen ts befi t t i ng the rooms of ‘ a College ; and

if’ the i n scri p t ion s whi ch he placed i n the Fou nder’schamber were at h i s own ex pence, they afford ap roof of hi s l i beral i ty. S trype, i n h i s.Li fe ofArchbi shop Parker

,speak s of hi s sufferings and impri son

men t abou t the year 15 65 ; bu t these were p robably ofvery short du rat i on

,as we can d i scover no i n terrupt ion

in the office of Pres iden t.Mr.Warton ‘ remarks,that

abou t the year 15 63 there were on ly two'

d i vines,the

Dean ofChri s t Chu rch and the Pres iden t ofMagdalen Col lege

,who were capable of preach ing the publ i c

s ermon s at Oxford. Sampson was at th i s t ime DeanofChri s t Chu rch , and , l i ke the Pr es iden t of Magdalen ,accused of pu ri tan i sm. » Dr.Humphrey’s monument,formerly in the choi r, but now in the an te-chapel , was

erected by h i s daugh ter Ju s ti na, wi fe ofCaspar Dormer, ‘

E sq.of S teeple Barton , Oxfordshi re.

Duri ng the Usu rpat i on , the offi ce of Pres iden t wasfi l led

,fi rs t

, hy'Dr.» John Wi lk i n son , Pri ncipal of Mag

dalen Hall s I n 1605 , King James I.as we before

observed,bei ng then at Ox ford , had appoi n ted h im

t u tor to h is son Hen ry, Prince of Wales. Wilk i nsond ied i n 1649, abo u t eigh t month s after u su rp i ng the

office ofPres iden t, and was succeeded by the celeb rated champion ofi ndependency, Dr.Thomas Goodwin, a great favou ri te w i th Cromwell, who placed hi m

h ere,al though he belonged to the other.Un i vers i ty.

on her way to Ox ford.Wood, in h is Annals , gives the Queen’

s Speechanother form. Dr.Humphrey, methinks this gown and habit be

comes yhu very wel l , and Imarvyle that youare so straight ‘ laced ipthis po int— but I come not now to ch ide.Life ofSir T.Pepe, in ad igress ion on the i lliteracy ofthe C lergy

about the t ime ofthe Reformat ion.


and by h i s sp i ri t and talen ts pecu l iarly fi tted to vindié

cate hi s own and thei r pri v i leges again s t so gross an

ou trage. On th i s the V ice-Pres iden t,Dr.Aldworth,

and a depu tat ion of the Fellows,were ci ted before h is

Majesty’s commi ss ioners for eccles i as t i cal affai rs atWhi tehall , where t hey.fi rmly, yet respectfu lly, maintained the legal i ty of thei r elect ion

,and represen ted

the i ncapaci ty of Farmer, n ot only for the reasons

already stated,bu t for gros s immoral i ty. The com"

m iss i oners, however, decreed the elect i on of Hough

void , and ordered that the Vice-Pres iden t shou ld bes uspended ; and the Ki ng forbade the Fell

’ows to elec t

any person i n to a Fellowshi p or o ther s i tuat ion i n the

College u n ti l h i s pleas u re sho uld be known.

I n the mon th of Augu s t followi ng h i s Maj esty i s

sued another mandate,not i n s i s t i ng on the elect ion of

Farmer,for of h im the comm i ss i oners themselves are

said to have been ashamed , bu t requ i r i ng the Fellows

to elect Dr.Parker, Bi shop of Oxford , i n to the office ofPres iden t.But before they cou ld proceed on thi s new

electi on,the K i ng, then on hi s way to Bath , appeared

at,Ox ford , Sept.4, and ordered the Fel lows to attend

h im at Chri s t Chu rch,where

,after an absu rd i n s ulti ng

speech , t o wh ich they retu rned a firmbu t modes t re;ply, they reti red to thei r Chapel , and resolved that i t

was not i n thei r power to obey hi s Maj es ty i n th i s mat

ter.Thi s p rovoked another measu re on the part oftheK i ng equal ly unwi se.He now~

ordered a commi ss ion

to s i t a t Oxford,and to proceed to elect i on by force.

The comm i ss i oners were, Cartwrigh t, Bishop of Ches

te r,the Lord Chief Ju s t i ce Wright

,and Baron Jen

ner ; bu t the Fellows pers i s ted i n thei r adherence to

the s tatutes of the Col lege, which no power had a

l

MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

righ t to v iolate, and Dr.Hough , thei r n ew Pres iden t,repl ied to the argumen ts , or rather i n vect i v es , ofthecommi ss i oners w i th u ncommon fi rmness and abi l i ty.

The i ssue was, that he was d i splaced by force, and

twen ty-s i x ofthe Fellows were declared i ncapable ofrece i v ing any eccles i as t i cal d ign i ty, benefice, or p ro

moti on ; and such ofthem as were not yet i n holy o r

ders,were adj udged i ncapable ofrece i v i ng or being

admi tted i n to the same. The Demies al so refu s i ng '

obedi ence, the names ofth i rteen ofthem were s truckout ofthe College book s.Parker d id no t l ong enjoy the advan tages of thi s

mos t i llegal and arb i trary act. He was i n s talled byp roxy Oct.25 , 1687, 'and , after p res i d i ng over analmos t empty hou se for a few months, d i ed March 90,1688. The Ki ng, whose i n fatuat i on was now at i t s

height,sen t another mandate to the College to elec t

o ne Bonaven tu re G ifford a Doc tor ofthe Sorbonne,

and t i tu lar Bi shop ofMadau ra, in partibus z'

rgfidelz'

um,(a ci ty i n Afri ca,) who accord ingly took po s sess i on on

June 15 , bu t was removed by the King h imself i n

Octobe r 1688, when the p rospec t of the arri val ofthe Pri nce ofOrange had terr ified h im i n to thi s tardyat temp t towards conci l i at ion. Dr.Hough was then

restored by the Vi s i tor, and i n 1690 was made B i shopofOxford , and allowed to keep h i s Pres iden tsh i p. I n1699 he was tran slated to the see of Lichfield and

Coven try,and i n 1701 res i gned the offi ce ofPresi

den t '.Among h i s successors,the name ofDr.George

Dodd and other Roman Cathol ic writers give a favourable accountofG ifford. He died about the year 1737, at Hammersmi th, at theage ofninety.

The Life ofthis amiable Prelate, who was finally Bish0p ofWor

see MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

Horne w i ll long be remembered wi th the regard dueto excel lence of publ i c and pri vate character.Ful ler remarks , in h i s u sual q uai n t s tyle, that there

i s scarce a Bi shopri c i n England to which th i s Col

lege has not afforded one Prelate at the leas t, dou

bl ing her fi les in some places,and many of them

were u nquest ionably men ofh igh d i st i ncti on i n thei rday. The two celebrated Engl i sh Card i nals , Wolsey :

and Pole, .were both educated here.Pole en tered as a

Nobleman , and res ided , as h is bi ographer says , i n thePres iden t’s lodgings. His masters were Li nacre and

Latimer,u nder whomhe acqu i red not only a taste for

the l i terature of Greece an d Rome, bu t that l i beralspi r i t ofpatronage wh ich i nd uced h imto encou rageand correspond w i th men of learn i ng when proscri bed

by the bigotry of the t imes. or the B i shops belong

i ng to thi s College, the most em inen t were Lee and

Frewen “,Archbi shop s ofYork , the l at ter a benefac

tor

~

t o the College,and Boul te r, Archbi shop ofAr

magh ; Longland , B ishop of Li n co l n ; Cooper, of

Winches te r ; Warner, ofRochester ; Nicholson , ofG louces ter ; Hopk i n s , ofRaphoe and Derry ; Hough;ofWorcester ; Smalbroke, of Lichfield and Coventry ; and Home , of Norw ich.The , scholars ofother rank s who attai ned h igh repu tat i on by thei r gen i u s and wri t i ngs form a very

n umerou s l i s t, and many of themwho studi ed hereduri ng thefi rs t half cen tu ry fromthe foundati on con

cester ,.is now preparingfor the press, fromauthent ic documents by one

ofhis fami ly.Dr.Frewen was ably vindicated in a Letter, publ ished in 1743,

against certain misrepresentat ions ofh is character by Antony Wood,Drake, the historian ofYork, and BrowneWillis.

Q24 MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

archi ves of th i s College, ametrical life of the Founder,wri t ten probably when Heylin was young z— George

Wi thers , a volumi nou s and most unequal poet, whoserepu tat i on seems to be rev i v i ng — Harmar

,the learned

Greek professor z— George Digby, Earl of Bri s tol , son

to'

the p recedi ng John , bu t i nferi or i n fame, u n steady

in character, and an example of the m isappl i cat ion ofeloquence and knowledge z— Eli sha Coles, formerly one

of the most popu lar of ou r Lati n lex icographers — S i r

Robert Howard, the dramat i c poet — and the learned

travel ler and b iographer,Dr.Thomas Smi th.To these

may be added the i ll u s tr i ou s n ame of the elegan t andaccompl i shed Joseph Addi son , who was abou t fifteen

when he en tered Queen’s ; bu t Dr.Lancaster, then Fel

low,and afterwards Provos t, hav i ng seen h i s Lati n

v erses on the i naugu rati on ofWilli am I I I.d i scovered

the excellence ofh i s Lat i n poetry, even at that earlyage

,and p rocu red hi s bei ng elected a Demy of Magda

len College i n 1689, when he was seven teen.Hi s Catoand mos t of hi s early p ieces were wri t ten while he

was a s tuden t here — Dr.Sacheverel l, once the idol

of a party,and once, le t i t be remembered , the friend

and assoc iate ofAdd i son Col l i n s, Yalden, and

Hold sworth , poets — Dr.Matthew Horbery and Dr.

Thomas Waldgrave, d iv i nes. The latter was tu tor toG i bbon , the celebrated h i s tori an , who m igh t have

graced th i s l i s t,for he passed some t ime i n Magdalen

College as an Undergraduate, had no t h i s fool i sh pre

s umpt ion dri ven h im from regulari ty of s tudy i n to

tha t vague and capric iou s p u rsu i t ofm iscellaneou si n formation , which has so frequently ended i n s u per

fic ial knowledge and lax pri nci p les. The recen t

MAGDALEN COLLEGE.

death s of D r.Townson and Dr.Chandler afford anOpportu n i ty to add thei r names. With the i r characters the world w i l l be mad e s t i l l bette r acquai n ted

by the republi cat ion ofDr.Townson’

s work s,

gether w i th hi s Li fe, by Mr.Chu rton , and ofDr.Chand ler’s Li fe ofthe Founder.

BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE.

WI LLIAM Smyth , Bi shop of Li ncoln , and Founderofth i s College, was the fourth son of Robert Smyth , ofPeelhou se i n Widdows , o r Widness, in the pari sh ofPrescot

,Lancash i re. Hi s grandfather was Henry

Smyth,Esq.ofthe adj oi n i ng townshi p ofCuerd ly,

where the fam i ly appears to have res ided both before

and after the b i rth of the su bj ect of th i s sketch , and

ex tended i ts branches of the same n ame through var ious parts of the k i ngdom. Of hi s father we have n o

parti cu lar i n format ion , nor ofthe period of h i s b i rth ,unles s that i t took place abou t the m iddle ofthefifteen th cen tu ry ; which i s, however, no t very cou s i s

ten t w i th the report , that he was an Undergraduate of

Oxford so late as the year 1478.

The same obscu r i ty en velopes h is early years

Wood i ndeed says,that he was trai ned up i n grammar

learn i ng i n hi s own coun try ; bu t i n what sem inary, orwhether h i s coun try at that t ime could boas t of any

i nst i tu t i on deservmg the n ame ofa grammar-school,are subj ects of conj ectu re. H i s late b iographer

,wi th

equal acu teness and reason , has s upposed h im to havebeen educated i n the household of Thomas

,the fi rs t

Earl of Derby. The Coun tess of R ichmond,who was

the second wi fe of th i s nobleman , accord i ng to a land

able cu s tom in the hou ses of the nob i l i ty, prov ided in

228 BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE.

bridge, and that the mi stake of hi s former bi ograph erso rig inated in h i s bei ng confounded w i th a person ofboth hi s names , who was Fel low of Pembroke Hal l,and a con temporary.To the cou rse of learn i n g usu al in h i s t ime, and

wh ich was nei ther cop iou s no r sol id,he appears to

have added the s tudy ofthe Lati n classi cs of the pu rerages, which was then les s frequen t, al though more l i be

rally tolerated , and more admi red , than an acquai n tance w i th the Greek language. In the fi fteen th cen

tu ry the latter was scarcely known,u nles s to the en

terpris ing spi r i t of G rocyn , Li nacre, and the other re

s to rers ofl i teratu re ; and was so l i t tle rel i shed , as to besomet imes a topi c of r id icu le

,and sometimes as dan

geron s as heresy.

For h i s fi rs t ad van cemen t he i s supposed to have

been i ndebted to the Earl ofDerby, who was one of.those fri ends of Hen ry V II.whomthat Monarch re

warded , after the crown was establ i shed i n secu ri ty.

Probably al so by h is i n teres t Smyth was appo i ntedSeptem ber 20, 1485 , to the offi ce ofthe Clerk of.theHanaper

,wi th an annual s t i pend of 401.and an add i

t ional al lowance of e igh teen pence per day du ri ng h i s

a ttendance, i n person , or by h i s depu ty, on the Lord

Chancel lo r., Th i s salary i s worthy of not ice, as the

sum exceeds that which was attached to i t, not only

o n a subsequen t appo i n tmen t i n th i s reign,bu t fo r a

centu ry afterwards. I t was therefore p robably gi ven

as a speci al remunerat ion to Smyth , whose i nfluenceappears to have been i ncreas i ng. I t i s certai n that,wh i le i n th i s offi ce, he was sol ic i ted by the Un i vers i tyofOxford to i n terpose

,on a very cri t i cal occ as i on ,

when they had i ncu rred the K ing’s d isp leasure ; and .

BRASEN NOSE C OLLEGE. 229

s uch was h i s influence, that h i s Maj esty was pleased to

remove thei r fears, and confi rm thei r pri v i leges. Thi soccu rred i n the second year of Hen ry’s re ign. Whi le

Smyth held thi s offi ce, we al so fi nd h i s name i n a wri tofpri vy sealfor the fou ndat i on of No rbridge

’

s chan try

i n the pari sh chu rch ofthe Holy Tri n i ty at Gu i ld ford.I n thi s deed , Will i amSmyth, Clerk , i s very honou rably assoc i ated wi th Eli zabeth , con sort ofHen ry VI I.Margaret

, Coun tess of R ichmond , hi s mother, Thomas

Bourch ier, and Reginald Bray, Knights.

Afew years after h i s be i ng made Clerk ofthe '

Hae

n aper, he was promoted to the Deanery ofS t.S tephen

’s,Westmi n ster

,a d ign i ty u sually conferred o n

some favou ri te Chaplai n whom the K ing wi shed to

have near h i s person. The preci se t ime ofh i s arri v i n ga t th i s p refermen t can not be d i scovered, bu t i t m us thave been s ubsequen t to J u ly ‘28, 1480, when Henry

Sharpe oc cu rs as Dean. Whi le i n th i s offi ce be te

s ided i n Canon Row, and was honou red by hi s royal

master w i th a sea t i n the Pri vy Counci l.From the ev idence ofthese p refermen ts i t cannotbe doubted that Smyth’s talen ts and addres s had j u s ti

fied the hopes ofhi s fami ly and patron s. He musthave certai n ly been a favouri te w i th the Ki ng

,and no t

l ess so wi th h i s mother, Margaret, Countess of Rich

mond,who on J une 14, 1492, presented h im to the

rec tory of Cheshu n t , which he qu i tted i n 1494 for

h igher prefe rmen t. She conferred u pon h imanothermark ofher con fidence, i n appo in ti ng h im one ofthefeofi'

ees of those manors and es tates, which were to

an swer the mun ificen t pu rpo ses ofher wi l l. As to thereports ofh i s former biographers

,that he held

,at one

t ime, the archdeaconry ofSurry and the prepos i tu re of9 3


Well s, Mr.Chu rton has clearly proved that they , haveno foundat i on.

When the see ofLichfield and Coven try became vacan t by the death ofBi shop Hales

,Dec.30, 1490,

the K ing bestowed i t on Smyth,by the s tyle of Ou r

” beloved and fai thfu l Coun sellor,Dean ofou r free

chapel w i th i n ou r own palace a t Wes tm i n s ter.”

The t ime nei ther of h i s elec t i on or consecration isupon record , bu t the latter i s su pposed to have taken

p lace between the 12th and 29th of January 1492-3.

The cau se of so con s iderable an i n terval from the

death of h i s predecessor m u st probably be sought in

the capric i ou s proceed i ngs of the Cou rt of Rome on

s uch occasion s. Hi s final set tlemen t i n thi s see was

fol lowed by a v i s i tat i on of the Clergy under h i s con

trol, and the performance of those o ther du ti es i h

cumben t on h i s n ew stat ion.Hi s u sual res i dences wereat Beaudesert

,and at Pi pe, both near Lichfield , or at

h i s palace i n London,which s tood on the s i te of

somerset-hou se.Hi s

‘

nex t,

promoti on was ofthe c i v i l k i nd , that ofPres ident of the Pr i nce

’s Counci l w i th i n the marches

ofWales. The u n se ttled s tate of Wales had engagedthe at ten t i on ofHenry VI I.as soon as he came to thethrone, and the wi se s t pol i cy, in order to c i v i l i ze and

c onci l i ate the i nhab i tan t s of that part ofthe k i ngdom ,

appeared to con si s t i n delegati ng such a part oftheexecu t i ve power as m igh t gi ve d ign i ty and s tabi l i ty

to .the laws,and en su re subj ect i on to the Sovereign.

Wi th th is v iew variou s gran t s and commi ssi on s were

is s ued i n the fi rs t year ofh i s rei gn ; and abou t the year1492, Arthu r, Pri nce of Wales and Earl ofChester,was i ncluded i n a commi ss i on of the peace for the


The firs t i n stance of h i s becom i ng a public v

benefactorwas

'

ih rebu i ld i ng and reendowing the hospi tal of St.Joh n i n Lichfield, wh ich had been suffe1ed to go toru i n by the negl igen ce ofthe Fri ars who occupied i t.Accord ingly, in the thi rd year of h i s Ep i sc opate, 1495 ,he rebu i l t thi s hosp i tal, and gave a new body of sta

tutes for the u se of the soci ety. Of thi s fou ndat ion

i t i s only necessary to add here, that the school at

tached to i t,and afterwards j o i ned to the adj acen tminary OfEdward VI.has produced B i shop s Smal l- t

r i dge and Newton , the Chi ef Ju s ti ces W i lles and Park er

,and those illu

\trious scholars

,JOseph Addi son and

Samuel Johnson.

Smyth had been B i shop of Lichfield'

somewhat more.than two years, when he was tran slated to Li nc‘oln , ~

November,

In 15 00, he performed a s tr ic t v i s i

tation Ofhi s cathedral, wh ich hi s l i beral i ty had aloready en riched , and prescr ibed such matters of d i scip l i ne and police ,

as seemed calcu lated to p reserve or

der, and correc t that tendency to abu se, which ren

dered frequen t v i si tat ion s necessary. Nor was h i scare ofhi s diocese at large leS s acti vely employed , inhear i ngand exami n i ng grievances

,and p romoti ng d i s

c ipline and moral s.“ Bu t perfect i on

,

”h is b iographer

has wel l Observed , i s not the att r i bu te'

ofman ; andwe learn wi th less su rpri se than regret, that Smythdi d not escape the common fau lt of condemn i ng he

re t ies to the pri son or the s take.” For th is ’

no apo

logy can here beoffered. The wonder i s, that we ares t i l l sol i c i ted to afellow-feel i ng wi th a religionwh ichcould warp the m inds ofsuchmen as SmythfI t wou ldhave done enough to i ncu r ou r avers 1on , had i t doheno more than to s tain the memory Ofthose benefac


tors, to whose li beral i ty the learn i ng of the p resen t

age i s so deeply i ndeb ted.

I n the las t-ment i oned y ear, Smyth was requ es ted by

the Un i vers i ty to accep t the offi ce of Chancello r, thenvacan t by the death of Archbi shop Morton. I n thei r

le tter, dated November 5 , they en treat h im to accep t

of the office, the h ighes t honour they had to bes tow ; which they conferred not only as a mark of

grat i t ude for dai ly favours recei ved at hi s hands, bu t

fromregard to those talen ts which so emi nen tly fi tted h imfor the tru s t

,h i s ex traord i nary -prudence,

and many o ther v i rtues.” And i n such es t imat ion

was he held at thi s t ime, that, upon h i s acceptance of

the offi ce , they applauded thei r good for tune i n hav

i ng Obtai ned for thei r governor and patron a m agn ificent Prelate, who could n ot fai l to admin i ster thei r

affai rs i n the be s t manner. They declared themsel ves con v in ced , that they were born fo r each other ;he to serve thei r academ i c pol i ty

,and they to ad

vance h i s honou r ; who had, through th em ,recei v ed

i n to hi s p rotec ti o n such a renowned sem inary,where

,

ifv i rtue and ingenuou s arts had ever flou ri shed , they.wou ld.now appear wi th add i t ional l u s tre

,u nder the

aus pices of a Prelate , crowned wi th every v i rtue, the

fr iend and patron of good learn i ng.”

How long he con ti n ued Chancellor i s n o t exactly

known , bu t h i s resi gnat i on mu s t have taken place be

fore the 11th of Augus t,15 03, when Fi tzjames, Bi shop

of Roches ter,as the sen i o r d i v i ne i n res idence, he

cameCanes/[ar ias natus, o r depu ty du ring the vacancy

and he was succeeded as Chancellor i n Novemberfollowi ng by Dr.Mayew, Presiden t of Magdalen Co l

lege.


I n 15 07-8'

he concerted the plan ofBrasen NoseCol lege, along w i th h i s fri end S i r Richard S utton ,and l i v ed to-see i t

,

completed. Of h i s death we havefew part icu lars , nor can h is age be ascertai ned. After

mak ing s wi l l i n jdue form,characteri zed by the l ibera

li ty which had-d i st i ngu i shed h i s whole l i fe, he expi red

at Buckden , Jan.Q , 15 13-14, and was i n terred on

.

the

sou th s ide ofthe nave of Lincoln cathed ral, under a'

marble grave-s tone, ri chly adorned wi th brass , whichS i r Wi ll i amDugdale had lei su re to descri be j u s tbefore i t was de s troyed by the republ ican

.

sold iers ofmob. A muralmonumen t was recen tly pu t u p , wi tha su i table i n scri p ti on , by the R ev.Ralph Cawley, D.D :and ‘Pri nc i pal of Brasen Nose from 1770 to 1777.

Before we proceed to the foundat ion of the Col-2lege

,i t m ay be neces sary to gi ve a s hort sk etch of

Smyth’s coadj u tor i n th i s great work,s t i l l acknowledg

ing our Obl igat i on s to the able pen which has rev i vedthememory and i ll u s trated the h i s tory of these mun ificerit benefacto rs.

Richard Su tton,descended fromthe ancien t fami ly

ofthe Su ttons,

-ofSu tton , near Macclesfield, in thecou nty palat i ne ofChester, was the you nger son ofS i r Wi ll i am Sutton , Kn ight. Of the time or place ofh i s bi rth we have n o certai n accoun t, nor whether hewas educated i n theUn i vers i ty to which he became so

boun t i ful a benefactor. He practi sed as a barri s ter of

the I nner Temple,and p robably w i th success. In‘

1490 he pu rchased some estates i n Leicestersh i re, and

afterwards i ncreased hi s landed property i n d ifferen tcou n ti es. I n 1498, i f n ot earl ier, he was a member of

Hen ry VII.’s Pri vy Counci l, and at tended the cou rt'

for many years after. I n 15 05 , he was one ofthe

safi BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE.

R ichard Su tton bestowed handsome benefact i on s andkind remembrances among h i s k i n smen ; bu t hewedded the publ i c, and made posteri ty h i s hei r.An acti ve coadj u tor from the fi rs t to the Bishop of

Li ncoln i n lay ing the foundat i on ofBrasen NoseCol lege, he completed the bu i ld ing , rev i sed the laws ,and doubled the re venues of the growing sem i nary

,

leav i ng i t a perpetual mon umen t of the con sol i

dated wi sdom and j o i n t mun ificence of Smyth andofSu tton.”They appear to have concerted the plan of a new

College at a t ime when Ox ford had ten Col leges,

w hich,i f no t all i n a flou ri sh i ng state

,enj oyed a de

gree of prosperi ty corresponden t to the.orig i nal inten

t ion of the Founders.But reflect i ng m i nd s, l i ke those

ofSmyth and Su t ton , cou ld perce i ve that a w ider di ffu s i on oflearn i ng

,and a greater fac i l i ty in the mean s

and ex pences ofi n s truct i on, were necessary, no t on lyto en ri ch t he coun try w i th real sc ience, bu t to extend

that port ion of c i v i li zat i on and u rban i ty of man ners,which m ight coun terac t the barbarou s sen t imen t s and

p ract i ces that were s t i l l the opprobria of ou r Un i vers i

t i es.

With th i s vi ew they forme d thei r desi gn , and chosethe s i te of the bu i ld i ng as early as the year 15 08. In

October of that year,Su t ton obtai ned from Un i ver

s ity Co llege , a lease of Brasen Nose Hal l and Li ttleUn i vers i ty Hall

,wi th thei r garden s and appu rtenances;

for the term of n i nety- two years,at the annu al ren t of

three pounds and i t was not u n t i l the exp i rat i on of

the‘

above lease that an equ i valen t estate was made

over to Un ivers i ty College, and Brasen Nose obtai ned

the freehold. These prem i ses are descr i bed as abu t

BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE. 237

t ing upon School- s tree t on the eas t , u pon a Hal l and

garden cal led Sal i sbu ry on the sou th , and to the north

Upo n s tree ts that go from School- s t ree t toward s Li nco l n Col lege.

On these p remi ses the College rose,bu t the prec i se

date ofthe foundat i on i s n ot k nown. The learnedbi ographer ofBi shop Smyth appears to have confidedfor some t ime i n an i n scri pt ion on the sou th-wes t cor

ner ofthe quad rangle,n ear the door which led to the

o rigi nal Chape l ofthe College ; bu t u po n morematu recon s iderat i on , he i s i ncl i ned to thi n k the tru e inten

t i on ofthat i n sc ri pt i on dou btfu l. The words are,

Anna Christi 15 09 et Reg is Henrici VIII.primomine divine Lincoln prmul quoque Sut ton liam: pow ers

petramregis ad imperiump rimo die Junii. I f a les sin formed spec tator may be allowed to hazard a co n

je‘

cture, i t wou ld be i n favou r of Mr.Charton'

s s ug

gest ion , v i z. that i t i s p robably a dupli cate‘

ofthefou ndat i on- s tone.Thei r nex t pu rchas e was ofthe messuages calledSal i sbu ry Hall and St.Mary en try, wi th the gardens

and appu rtenances ; but no part, i t i s thought, ofthepresen t College

,unles s

,perhaps , the Ki tchen , s tand s

upo n these prem i ses. Sali sbu ry Hall was takeu'down ,

and the ground con verted i n to a garden , whi ch i s now

occupied by the Library and i n ner cou rt. Five o ther

Halls were afterward s added , cal led Li ttle Edmund

H all,Haberdashers’ Hall

,Black Hall

,Staple Hall,

and G las s Hall. Of all these,Brasen Nose, Sal i sbu ry ,

Li t tle Edmund , and Haberdashers’ Hall s, extended

from Lincol n College lane to the High-s tree t. The

presen t lodgi ngs ofthe Princi pal were erected on thespo t where

i

flaberdashers' Hall s tood. Brasen Nose


Hall , which gave that si ngular n ame to the College, is'

of great an t iqu i ty. I n the thi rteen th centu ry i t wasknown by the same name

,which was u nquest ionably

owi ng to the ci rcum stance of a nose ofbrass afli x ed to ,

the gate. The names of others of the ancien t Hall swere deri ved from ci rcumstances equally tri v i al , as ~

thei r bei ng slated or thatched,prov ided w ith glass

w i ndows , hav i ng an elm or other tree before the door, .

hav i ng a ch imney, 8t c.

‘

Li t tle Un i vers i ty Hall, of wh ich some noti ce has a]

ready been taken i s suppo sed to have been the secondofthe th ree Halls fou nded by Alfred. Ei ther i n allus ion to that t radi t i on

,or i n compl imen t to Hen ry

VI I I.the new e recti on by~~Bishop Smyth was cal led ,The Ki ng’s Hall and College of Brasen Nose.” The

whole of these Hall s were formerly seats of educati on ,and thé .spo t wh ich our Founders -chose may i n a very

em inent sen se be cal led clas s i cal grou nd.

Of the p rogress ofthe bu i ld i ng we have no regularaccou n t, bu t i t appears that a soc i e ty was formed al

mos t as soon as the College was projected. We find “

a Pri nci pal i n the month of J une,15 10. I t i s p roba

ble, therefore, that the scholars were accommodated

in some : par t ofthe ancren t p remi ses wh ich requ i red

There is in S tamford, Lincolnshire, abuilding in St.Paul’s parish,near to one ofthe tower gates , cal ledBraz enose t o this day, and has agreat gate, and awicket , upon which wicket is a face or head ofold

“cas t bras s , with a

i

ring th rbugh the nose thereof. It had also a fairrefectory therein, and is at this t imewri tten in leases and deeds Braz en Nose. Wood’s Annals, vol.i.p.432.An elegant drawing of

t his brasen nose at Stamford, the gift ofThomas late Lord Dacre, ispreserved in the lodgings ofthe Principal. Churton

’s Li ves , p.277.

where the reader wil l find some curious remarks on s igns.5 P.98, 99.

240 BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE

and No rthampton sh i re. I t was sold to B i shop Smyth,by the con ven t ofS t.S tephen’s , Westmi n s ter, foreleven hundred and fifty mark s:

The estates gi ven by S i r Ri chard Sii tton were, the

manor of Bu rgh , or Borowe, or Erdeborowe, i n the

pari sh of-Somerby; i n the coun ty ofLeicester, andother estates i n the same pari sh and nei ghbourhood

an estate i n the pari sh of~ S t.Mary, Strand,London ,whi ch i n 1673was sold to the comm i s s i oners for euIarg ing the s treets after the great fi refor the sum of17001.and w i th th i s an estate was pu rchased at Bu r

wardescot , or Bursco t, in Oxford sh i re ; which has re

cently been exchanged for other lands at S tan ford in

the v ale of Whi te Horse. He gave also the mano r ofCropredy i n' the cou n ty ofOxford , and certa i n landsthere ‘, and nu-es

i

tate i n North Ock ing ton , or Wokyn

don,i n the cou n ty of Essex. All these S i r Richard '

gran ted to the Collegeby lease, July 18 , 15 19, and onNo v.Q9, follow i ng, by a con veyance u nder hi s own

hand and released them to the Soci ety for '

ever.~

I n ~ the same year, by i nden tu re wi th S i r R ichard

S u tton , the Soc i e ty agreed to keep an ann i versary fore ver for B i sho p Smyth and S i r R ichard Su tton

, ou'

the days of thei r respect i ve decease. They were l ike

wi se to pay annual ly to three Pries ts fi ve mark s apiece,

who shou ld oflfic iate as Chaplai n s ‘ to the College, and

were to.be nom i nated by S ut ton and h i s hei rs of the

manor of Su tton , and , i f n o t prev iou sly on the fou ndat ion

,m ight

,upon a vacancy, i f el igi ble, be adm i t ted

By

'

a purchase made in 1789, this Col lege is in possess ion of.anothermanor ofthe same name, i.e.themanor, or reputedmanor, ofCropredy, bought '

ofthe late SirWilliamBotheby, or his heirs.

BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE.’

Fel lows. This agreemen t respect i ng the Chapl ai ns

cont i n ued i n fo rce u n t i l the middle '

ofthe las t cent u ry

,when the d imi n ut ion of the v alue ofmoney ren

deri ng the s t i pend i nadequate to the mai n tenance or

a s i ngle Chaplai n,d i v i ne serv i ce began to be per

fo rmed , as i t i s now, by the Fel lows , each i n h is tu rn.

Si r Richard Suttou’s las t benefac ti on to the College,excep t that of5 1.for bu i ld i ng a wall , was an estatein Garsi ngton and Cowley i n Ox fordshi re , of wh ichhe pu t the College i n possess i o n i n July, 15 22.

Bi shop Smyth composed a body of statu tes befo rethe year 15 13, but they are not now known to ex i s t. I n

h i s wi l l he devol ves to hi s ex ec u tors the bu si ness of

correc ti n g and amend i ng these s tatutes ; and accord.

ingly a‘ new cod e , s i gn ed and sealed by fou r of hi s ex

ecuto rs ,was gi v en to the Col lege , and i s s t i l l preserv ed.I n the year 15 2 1-22 i t u nderwen t a complete revi

s i on,and was rat ified by the seal of S i r Richard Su t

tou,the su rv i v i ng Founder. Of thi s , however, a t ran

sc ri p t only remai n s. I n form ing these s tatu tes cou s i

derable u se was made ofthose ofMagdalen College;which we have seen were borrowed from Wykeham’s :I n thes e las t sta tu tes the C o llege i s recogn i zed as

commonly called The King’s Hau le and Col ledge

of Bras enno se i n Ox ford ,” to con s i s t ofa Pri nc i pal

and twe l ve Fellows , all of them bo rn wi th i n the di o

cese ofCo ven try and Lichfield ; wi th p referen ce tothe n at i ves of the coun t ies of Lancaster and Chester

,

’

and espec ial ly to the n at i ves of the pari sh ofPresco t'i n Lancashi re

,and ofPresbury i n Chesh i re. Bes ides

those twel ve,there were to be two Fellows , Mas ters

‘

o r Bachelors of Arts,nat i v es ofthe d i ocese ofSarum

or Hereford, ag reeably to the i n ten t ofa composi ti on3


between Edmund Audley, Bi shop of Sal isbu ry, andthe College, for that - ;p urpose bu t for some reason

,

no t now known,th i s benefacti on never took place.

The endowmen ts ofthe Founders were soon fol

lowed by a g reater n umber of’

benefac t ions dhan it

wi l l be poss i ble, or mayb e thought necessary, to spec ify

.

i n thi s place. The fi rs t was’

that'

ofEl i zabethMorley, al ready not i ced , widow ofRobert M orley,ci t i zen and draper of London , who i n 15 15 demi sed

certai n es tates to the College,by an i ndentu re tr1par

t i te between hersel f,William Porter, Warden of New

College, and Matthew Smyth , Pri ncipal of Brasen Nose,on cond i t ion that a Pri est shou ld be appo i n ted from theFellow s

{ of the College to celebrate mass i n the College chapel , and preach once a year, h imself or by de

pu ty,i n S t.Margaret’s church ,Wes tminster ; and that

an ob i t or commemorat i on should be kept for her

after her decease on the 26th ofJanuary, at wh ichthe Warden ofNew Col lege i s to be reques ted -to

at tend , ,and he i s to recei ve for hi s at tendance eigh t

pence and a d i nner. I n the followi ng year, John Cox

ofKi rtl i ngton , Oxfordsh i re, on n early the same terms,gave a messuage i n Chi ppi ng Wycombe, and moneyto pu rchase lands, to p rov ide two Pri es ts, bei ng Fel

lows,for ,nearly the same servi ces.

Among the founders of Fel lowsh i ps are, John VVillia

’

mson, Clerk , Parson of S t.Geo rge’s, Can terbury,who i n 15 21 bequeathed a sum to -found two Fel low

sh ips, to ; be held -by person s born i n the ci ty and

coun ty of Chester, of the name, cousenage, or l i neage

ofJohn Wi ll i amson , or John Port, Serj ean t at Law,and afterwards J u s ti ce ofthe King’s Bench , who corrveyed the benefaction to the College. ,

In 15 28, John.

£44 BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE.

L incoln has al ready been men tioned. That to Brasen

Nose ,con s i s ted of lands and money , for the foundat i on of one Fellowshi p , to be called Mrs.Frankland

’

s

Fellowsh i p,wi th a preference of her k i nd red , espe

c ially the Trapps and Sax ies , and for fou r Scholar

shi ps. Li t tle i s known of the personal hi s tory of th is

l ady. She had two husbands,Henry Saxy, and

Franklan d. She l ived at the Ryehouse i n t he pari shofStans ted Abbots , Hertfordshi re, and at ai res idence

i n Ph i l i p lane, A ldermanbu ry , London , which she dev i sed to Cai u s College. Her wil l, dated at the .Ryehou se

,Feb.20, 15 86, i s an eminen t proof of p i ety,

l i beral i ty, and good sen se.She bequeathed some verycu ri ou s and val u able artl cles of plate to.th i s College

,

the greater part of wh ich was s tolen no t many years

afterwards. Her.n ame,wi th tha t of the . learned and

p i ou s Nowel l,i s s t il l repeated in the common.grace

after meat in the Hall ; and the Society erected a‘

moaumen t o ver her grave in St.Leonard Fos ter,.achu rchi n London , wh ich was demol i shed i n the great fi re

,

and not rebu i l t. There i s a very fine portrai t of th islady i n the Hal l

,i n wh ich she i s represen ted hold i ng

a watch i n her hand , ofthe form called hun t ingwatches. The mean i ng of th i s i s somewhat obscu re ;and i t may certai n ly be doubted whether spring

watches ofany descript io n were i n ven ted before the .middle of the seven teen th cen tu ry.

The Scholarsh i ps and Exh i bi t i on s were con tri bu tedby a very n umerou s.l i s t ofbenefactors

,ofwhom. i t.

may be suflic ient ,to gi ve the names , dates , numbers, an d

local p references. John Claymond , firs t Presi den t o f.Corpu s

,15 36, s i x Scholars, from Frampton near Bos

ton in Li ncoln sh i re, the place of_

h is b ir th, Moreton ,


.er

.

S tock ton on Tees,O verton

,or Havant

,o r Mo t tes

fo n t i n Hampsh i re, Benager near lVells , or Monk

to n near Tau n ton ,‘

i h Somersetsh i re,Cleeve i n G lou-v

ces tersh ire, an d Oxford , or the coun t ies i n wh ich th ese

places are s i tu ated to be chosen by the Presiden t,V ice-Pres iden t

,and Human i ty Reader -

ofCorpu s ,and to hear the Human i ty and G reek Readers ofthat College. Humphrey Ogle, of Sal ford i n Ox ford

sh i re, Archdeacon ofSalop, 15 43, two Scholars , fromPrescot i n Lancashi re

,or Lichfield, o r the d iocese of

Chester. Hen ry Fi sher,fishmonger of Lo ndon , 1662,

one Scholar, to be elec ted by the Sk i n ners’ Company

fromTu nbridge school. Joh n Lord Mordaun t , 15 70.Nowel l, Dean ofS t.Pau l’s , 15 72, th i rteen Scholars ,from the free- sch ool ofMiddleton i n Lancash i re, o rthe school s ofWhalley and Burnley , o r any other

schools i n that coun ty “.‘ Joyce Frank land , already

n oticed , fou r Scholars. James B inks , al ias S toddard ,ofSt.Ola v e Jewry

,London

,1607. George Palyn ,

c i ti zen and gi rdler of Lo ndon , 1609, from the cou n ty

o f Ches ter. Samue l Radcl iffe, D.D.Pri nci pal from1614 to 1648 , from the school ofSteeple Aston , Ox

fo rd shire,Rochdale

,or Middleton

,Lancash i re, or any

ofthe Undergraduates ofBrasen Nose who are unp referred. John Mi lward , of Haverfordwes t i n the

county ofPembroke, Gen t.165 4, al ternately from

Th is excel len tman founded at one and the same t ime a free-schoo lat Middlet on , and t h i rteen Scho larsh ips in th is Co llege ; and as thesebenefact ions were both ofthemes tabl ished by royal paten t, (her Majesty also ofher free bounty encouraging and ass is t ing him,) he chosethat the schoo l should be called Queen Eliz abeth

'

s schoo l , and theScholars Queen Eliz abet h’s Scho lars." Charton’

s Life ofNowell,p.199.

246 BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE."

Bi rm ingham school or that of Haverfordwest. John

Cartwright, ofAynho, Northamp ton shi re, Esq.1665 ,

from the school ofAynho , or the pari shes of Bud

worth or Wrenbu ry, i n Cheshi re, or Northampton

sh i re,or Oxfordshi re. Anne Walker, 1675 , from

Oxfordsh i re.Hugh Henley, 1675 . Thomas Chu rch ,B.D.1676, from hi s k i ndred born at Nan twich i n the

cou n ty ofChester, or the cou n ty at large. Richard

Reed , of Lugward i ne in ‘Herefordsh i re, Esq.from hi s

posteri ty, or from the school of Bosbu ry i n Hereford

sh i re, or the free- school of the c i ty of Hereford.

Sarah Duchess Dowager ofSomerset, 1679, and byher wil l 1686, from the free-school s o f Manchester,Marlborough , and Hereford , al ternately.Some of these.Scholarsh ips and Exhi b i t ion s were,

afterwards augmen ted i n v al ue,o r i ncreased i n num

bers. I n 1680, Thomas Yates , D.D.Pri nci pal , aug

men ted Chu rch’s Scholarsh i p s,and endowed three

,to

be of the l i neage of h i s father, of M iddlewi ch , Che

sh i re , o r of the coun ties of Northampton and Wi lts.

WVi lliamHulme,of the coun ty ofLancas ter, i n 1691,

left es tates i n the neighbou rhood of Manchester,to

mai n tai n as Exhibi t i oners fou r of the poores t Bachelors ofArts, to be nominated by the Warden of Manches ter and the Rectors ofBury and Pres twich forthe t ime bei ng. At the

,t ime of h i s death these Ex

h ib itions amoun ted to 15 1.each,bu t from the i ncreased

valu e of the estates, Brasen Nose s treet, and other

hou ses i n Manchester, havrng been bu i l t Upon part of

them,the t ru stees were empowered by Act of Parl i a

men t i n 1795 to gran t to the Exhibi t ioners, who

had fo r some years been i n creased to the number

often , and are now fifteen , such farther allowance

248 B RASEN NOSE COLLEGE.

ethirty-two Scholars

,and fi fteen Exhibi t ioners , vba

s i des a great n umber of i ndependen t members. The

B ishop ofLi ncoln i s V i s i tor.

tThe BUILDINGS of.th is Col lege, constructed oft he Head ington s tone, were all comp leted i n the l i fet ime of- the Founders , ,

and s t i l l preserve much of the

o rigi n‘al ' form,although i n some of themcon si derable,

and ‘

,not

{u nnecessary-r alterat i on s have taken place.

The .whole are comprised i n one large quadrangle,a l esse r cou rt towards the sou th , what are called the

new build i‘

ng s ,(apartmen ts for seven studen ts ,)and thePrinci pal’s lodgings. These la s t were formerlymearto the gateway on t he sou th , bu t i n 1770 an elegan t

hou se was'

erec ted for the Princi pal i n the H igh- street,on the spot where 'Haberdashers’ Hall formerly s tood.The large quadrangle “ con ta i n s the Hall and cham

bers for the Society ; the les ser cou rt i s occup ied

Ofthe statue in the centre ofthis quadrangle there are variousopin ions. The guides cal l it Cain and Abel , and may, perhaps , just ifyt hemselves fromno less authori ty t han ShakSpeare in Hamlet , How

the knave jowls it to t he ground, as if it were Cain's jawbone, that“.d id.thefi rstmurder An imals were killed in sacr ifice before Abelwas slaiu, so t hat Cainmig ht k il l h imWi th thejawbone ofsome beas t ;and in the pr ints in some ofour B ibles , taken fromapaint ing by GerardHoet , Cain is represented as us ing that weapon. Others have supposedthat the v icto rious figure is Samson.Here isundoubtedly the‘

jawbonebut when Samson slew a thousandmen wi th ajawbone, there was , wemay be sure, no conflict , or entangl ing with limbs , as in this statue and

perhaps it was the study ofsome sculptor , whose princ ipal object wasthat display'

ofmuscular s trength and act ion. The intel l igent co rre

sponden t , t o whomI amindebted for the only valuable part ofthisnote, in formsme, that he was once asked whether i t was Hercules andAntaeus?It was given to the Co llege by Dr.C larke ofAll Souls , who purchased it fromastatuary in London.

BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE. “249

ch iefly by the Library and Chapel , which s tand on

the s i te ofSal i sbu ry Hall. The grand and ex ten s i vefron t of the Col lege forms the wes t s ide of what i snow called Radcl iffe squ are, and, wi th the except i on ofthe att ic o ver the whole bu i ld i ng, which was added

abo u t the t ime of James I.is probably seen nearly ini ts orig in

’

al s tate. The tower i s of a pu rer Goth i cthan any other part of the bu i ld ings , but , i n

'couse1quenco ofthe add i t i on ofthe att i c, seems d ispropo rlt ionately

‘

low. I t was at firs t‘

twice the he igh t of~ theo ther par ts of th e bu i ldi ng

,bu t now the adj acen t

rooms are two th i rd s oftheheight of the tower. I n thepri n t gi ven i n Mr.Churton

’

s Lives of “theFou ndersthere -are on ly two t i ers ofwi ndows , for - the g round lfloor and fi rs t floor, bu t n ow

'

there are th ree, fo r the

grou nd -floo r,first floor, and att i c, o r garret , -wi th dor

mer w i ndows ou'

the i n s ide of the qu ad rangle , and aneven parape t on the outs ide. Somefewwi ndows remai n i n thei r o rigi nal .shape, bu t many have beensashed , and are parallelo

'

grain s , i nstead of the semic ircular t0ps ‘

represen ted i n the pri n t".

The H A L L,on the sou th side ofthe grea t quad rangle

,

i s a spac iou s and lofty room,i ts windows decorated

'

wi th

the arms ofthe Fou nders and benefactors, and i ts wallsw i th portrai ts ofthe Fou nders 5

,one ofAlfred

,mo

dern , Dean Nowell”

; the -Pr i ncipal s Radcliffe,Yarbo

rough , and Cleaver, of Sarah Duches s ofSomerse t,Mrs.Joyce Frankland and Joh n Lord Mordau n t.

Mr.Churton has remarked , that the ground hav ing been variouslybui lt upon , is cons iderably elevated above its ancient level. Li ves oftheFounders , pp.284, 285 .

5 These are finely engraved in Churton’s Li ves ofthe Founders, andLife ofNowel l.

25 0 BRASEN NOSE C OLLEGE.

There are two anci en t portrai t s of the Fou nders inthe fine bay wi ndow at the upper end of the Hall , and

two bu sts of the same, gi ven probably by Dr.SamuelRadcl iffe, whose arms appear u nder them but the mostremarkable scu lptures at tached to thi s part of the College are two bus ts of Alfred and Erigena

,over the

door of the Hal l towards the quadrangle. These aresai d to have been d i scovered when the workmen wered igging the fou ndat ion ofthe College. That of Alfred i s i n h igh preservat ion , and ri ch i n express ion , butby what art i s t , or at what t ime they were execu ted, is

now beyond conj ectu re. John Scotu s Erigena i s said

to have been the fi rs t l ectu rer in Un i vers i ty Hall inthe t ime ofAlfred , bu t the c i rcumstances ofhi s l ife,and part icu larly of hi s death , are i n vol ved i n m uch uricertai n ty.What al l au thors concu r i n represen ti ng i s,that he was one of the ables t scholars of h i s

‘

age, and

ofa bold and en terpri s ing sp i ri t.The presen t Lord Curzon gave the fire-place of th i s

Hal l,and hi s i n i t i al s A.C.(Asheton Curzon ,) appear

in the wai n scot. Prior to th i s (abou t the year 1760)there was

”

a cen tral fi re, as i n other Colleges, bu t th i s

ves t ige of an t iqu i ty has totally d i sappeared. Thefami ly of th i s venerable Nobleman were all s tuden t s ofth i s hou se.

The L I BRARY , which was coeval wi th the foundat ion;stood on the north s ide ofthe quad rangle, oppos i te tothe Chapel

,u n ti l the year l663, when i t was con verted

i n to chambers. The p resen t Li brary was then bu i l t

o ver the clo i s ter, between theChapel and the sou th s ideofthe i nner cou rt, pri ncipally at the ex pence of thebenefactors who contri bu ted to the Chapel. I ts wallswere formerly hung wi th portrai ts, some ofwhich

95 2 BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE.

rarely happen,that two copyi st s shal l fi l l thei r.page

preci sely wi th the same number of words ; whence

the in i t ial s of the second leaf of a manu scri p t wi l l

mark that i nd i v idual copy, and no other. For this

reason the mode here prescribed was the commonprecau t ion and cu s tom of the t imesThe Fou nder

,Bishop Smyth

,John Longland , Bi

shop ofLincoln , and Archdeacon Bothe (probably

John Bo the,or Boo the

,Archdeacon of Hereford ,

were some of the earl ies t con tribu tors of book s to thi sLi brary and were followed by Roger Brasg irdle, Fel

low, Judge Harper, al ready ment ioned, and o thers‘

in.

the reign of Queen Eli zabeth and by that true son

of the Chu rch of England,Henry Mason

,S.T.B.

Rector of S t.Andrew’s Undershaft,who was depri ved

ofhi s l i v i ng by the Presbyterian s in the time ofCharles I. He gave as many book s as were though tto be worth The ch ief access i on which the

Li brary has of la te years rece i ved was the ent i re and

valuable collec t ion,

of Prin ci pal Yarborough,gi ven

by h i s hei rs at law,(he having d ied i n tes tate,) the clas

s ical part of wh ich are i l l u strated by the manuscri p t

notes and man uscri pt collation s of the learned Wasse,

ofQueen’s College, Cambridge, from whom ,or hi s

hei rs , Dr.Yarborough pu rchased them.Dr.Ben tley,ifwe may cred i t VVhis ton , characteri zed ,Wasse i n

these words : When I am dead Wasse will be the

mos t learned man i n England. Wasse,however

,

d ied“too soon to attai n th i s honou r.

The firs t CHAP E L belonging to thi s College s tood

Lives ofthe Founders; p.’319.In h is books i s wr itten Librurn donavit Bo the Arch idiaconus

istarn ,”and the same, with the change ofname, in those.ofLongland.

ERASEN NOSE COLLEGE.

o ver the But tery, on the sou th s ide of the quad rangle,and

, _Wood very erroneou sly th i nk s

,never was cou se

crated. The exac t day, i ndeed , ofth i s ceremony canno t be as cer tai ned , bu t i t appears to have been be

tween Sep t.1, and Oct.”

18 , 15 12, and the Feas t ofDes

d icat io n long con t i nu ed to be an an n i versary.

The Fou nder, Bi shop Smyth , bequeathed many o r

namen ts to th i s Chapel,book s

,chal i ces

,and ves tmen ts

be longing to hi s domes t i c Chapel ; but, owi ng ei ther

to v iolence or fraud,they never reached the i r dest i na

t i on.There i s s t ill ex tan t, however, a schedu le oftheorigi nal furn i t u re ofth i s Chapel, whi ch, as u s ual atthat t ime, was ofthe mos t cos t ly k i nd , an d was p ro.bably removed by King Edward

’

s v i s i to rs.

Th is Chapel was con verted i n to chambe rs ‘ abou t

the same t ime wi th the Li brary , when i t i s though tS i r Chri stopher Wren , at that t ime a very you ng

man , gave the plan s for that and the new Chapel.The foundat i on - s tone ofthe Chapel was laid June 26,1666, on the s i te whe re Li ttle Edmu nd Hal l s tood , orrather on a garden between tha t and Haberdash ers

’

H al l. I t was partly bu ilt wi th the materi als of the

ancien t Chapel of S t.Mary Co l lege where Erasmu s

s t ud ied , and was fin i shed,wi th the clois ter adjo ini n g,

Now the Common Room. Some ofthe orig in "Gothic windowsare st i ll discern ib le on the south s ide. CHURTON.

The guides somet imes co nfound this with St.Mary Hall , ato tal lydist inct and distant place. S t.Mary College, in the parishes ofSt.Peter ia' the Bai ley and '

s t.Michael , was founded bv Thomas Ho lden ,E sq.and El iz abet h h

i

s wi fe, in 1435 ,for Student Canons ofthe o rder ofS t.Aus tin.The gateway, leading into New Inn Hal l lane, st i ll remains.Part ofthe inter io r is occupied by the house ofthe Regius Prok ssor ofPhys ic , he ld by lease under Brasen Nose College, and retains marks ofant iquity probably as old as the days when Erasmus wrote and studiedin this calmretmt.

$ 5 4 B RASEN NOSE O COLLEGE.

(lately fo rmed in to chambers ,) in1666. On the 17thofNovember i t was con secrated to the memory of S t.Hugh

,

and S t.Chad , by Blandford, Bi shop of Oxford ,who had abou t a year before performed that ceremonyfor the Chapel of Un i vers i ty C ollege.The ex pences of bu i ld i ng were defrayed by a very numerous l i s t of benefactors, at the -head of which stands(Dr.Samuel Rad cl iffe, Pri nci pal from 1614 to 1647,when , after a sp i ri ted an d conscien t iou s res i s tance, he

was ej ected by the Parl i amen tarian v i s i tors,and d ied

i n 1648. A s th i s even t happened so l ong before thefoundati on ofthe Chapel

,i t i s p robable that he had

very early determ i ned to con tri bu te to a new erecti on.

However th i s may be, we find that he gave as muchland at Pid ing ton in Northampton sh i re as prod uced

The same fund was i n creased afterward s by the

Princi pal and Fellows, and by many o ther gen tlemen.who retai ned a gratefu l remembrance of thei r educa

t i on here ; and the money, thu s l i beral ly con tri bu ted ,proved s uffi ci en t to bu i ld both the Chapel and Li

The archi tectu re i s of o the m i x ed k i nd, which at

th i s t ime pre vai led i n most eccles i as t i cal s tructu res.

Here we have Goth i c.arched wi ndows wi th.Corinth ian p i lasters, compen sated, however, i n some degree

by an excel len t imi tati on , i n wood , of a Goth i c stone

roof, and ye t more by an ai r of s imple elegance d i ffu se d over the whole i n terior. The beau t i ful eas tw i ndow , the g ift of Princ ipal Cawley, i s one ofthefi nes t ofPearson’s work s , and was execu ted , i n 1776,from d rawings made by Mort imer. The al tar i s decorated wi th much taste. Both the Chapel and an te

hhapel con ta in the remai n s and monumen ts ofmany

25 6v BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE :

of much actual serv i ce. He ‘

res igned i n Decemberfollowing ‘. Dr.Samuel Radc l iffe has : been n ot i cedamong

’

the benefac tors. Hav i ng been.ejec ted by the

Parl i amen tary .v i s i tors, he was succeeded , i n c ouse

quence of the same u su rped au thori ty , by Dan ielG reenwood

,whomAntony Wood call s a severe and

good go vernor.” On the Res torat i on , Greenwood

was obl iged to g i ve place to Dr.Thomas Yate, who

had been'

elected by the College ,ou the ejec t ion lof

D r.Radcl iffe. The memory of Dr.Yate i s yetjheldi n reverence

,and hi s character i s wel l expressed on

h i s mon umen t i n the clo i s ter, Colleg ii pater et patro

nus, et tertius tantumnon Fundator.” The Society

i s i ndebted to h im , among other benefits, for the ad

vowson of Middleton "Cheney , and.for a _valuable

Abstract of_ the Ev idences and Charters of the Colleg

‘

e ,” wh ich Mr.Churton p ronounces a work ‘

ofi nfin i te labou r, execu ted wi th the.mo st exact ' fidel i tyand j udgmen t Dr.Ralph Cawley , who d ied .ih

1777, .i s n umbered among the benefactors to the

Chapel,an d bequeathed h i s book s fo r the u se of suc

ceeding Pri ncipals. He also performed in h i s l i fet imewhat D r.Yate i n tended, had he not been preven tedby

‘

age and infirmities , the res torat i on of the mon ument ~ofBi shop Smyth i n Li ncoln cathedral. The

p resen t P r i nci pal i s the s i x teen th from the foundat ion.

The coPious and elaborate Life ofNowell , lately published by thehistorian ofthis Co llege, p recludes the necess ity ofsayingmore ofhimin th is place. Such Lives shewwhatmay st ill be done by careful andjudicious research in rev iving the memory ofthose past t imes , in thehisto ry ofwhich both Church and State are in no small degree ia

3

terested.

BRASEN NOSE COLLEGE. Q 5 ?

Of the fifteen '

Prelateswho are e numerated amongthe scholars of th i s Soc i ety, s i x were promoted to sees

i n I reland , and two to the Bi shopri c ofSod or andMan. Few ofthem‘

have occup ied much spac e i n our

eccles ias t i cal ann al s..Hugh Curwin, or Caren , to

whom Camden was :maternally related,and who se ne

phew was Arch bi shop Bancroft, yie ld ed a mod eratec ompl i ance wi th the rel igion ofQueen Mary’s reig n ,but conformed more hearti ly to the Reformation.Being des i rou s of ret i remen t in h i s old age

,he soli

c i ted pe rmi ss i on to exchange the Archbi shopri c of

Dubl i n for the B i shopri c of Oxford,

“one

,

” says Ful ler,

ofthe bes t i n I reland, for one of the wors t i n England.” Barnes

,Bi shop ofDurham , appears to have

been a man of eq u i v ocal charac ter ; bu t he had themagnanimi ty to forgi ve the celebrated Bern ard G i l

p i n, who w i thstood h im to h i s fac e.” Wo lton,Bi

shop ofExeter, and nephew to Dean Nowel l, was anable su pporter ofthe reformed rel igi on , and composedmany p iou s t ract s to promote i ts p ri nci ples. Mi les

Smi th,Bi shop ofGlouces ter, was o ne ofthe greates t

scholars ofh i s day , n o t only i n G reek and Lati n , bu tin the Eas tern languages , and one

'

ofthe p ri n ci paltranslato rs .ofthe B ible, to which he wro te the verylearned preface wh ich i s p refixed to some of the ed it i on s.Among the scholars o f thi s hou se were two bro

thers ofDean Nowel l ; Robert Nowell , the Queen’sAttorn ey General ofthe Cou r t ofWard s, and Laurence Nowell , Dean ofLichfield , an emi nen t an t iquary, and rev i ver of the s tudy of the Saxon lan

guage ' : -Caldwel l,the learned Pres iden t of the Col.

Charton's L ife ofNowel l, p.934— 239.

S

‘

BRASEN’

NOSE COLLEGE.

lege of Phys i ci an s z— Will iam Whi tti ngham ,Dean of

Durham,

-o ne ofthe poetical coadj u tors of S ternho ld

and Hopk i n s i n the t ran sl ati on ofthe Psalm s. Hewas also concerned -ih the Geneva tran s lat ion of

,theB ible

,and was an excellen t Hebrew scholar. Hi s deo

faci ng some ofthe mon ument s ofDurham cathed rali s the ch ief s tai n o n h i s memory z— Fox , the martyrolog is t , afterwards ofMagdalen — Si r John Sav i le

,Ba

ron of the Exchequer, and hi s younger and more em i

uen tly learned brother, S i r Hen ry Sav i le , afterwards

W arden of Merton and Provos t ofEton,where be

p ri n ted hi s beau t i ful and”

most accurate edi ti on of S t.

Chrysos tom ‘

z— Ba

'

rnaby Barnes,the d ramat i c poet

i

Ferd inand Pul ton,one of ou r early law-wr i ters z— Je

remiah S tephen s , Prebendary ofSal i sbu ry,the able

coadj u tor of S i r Henry Spelman i n the p ubl i cat ion ofthe Cou nci l s -S i r John Spelman

,the learned son -

ofh i s mo re '

learned father , S i r Henry, au thor of the Li feofAlfred the Great , and ed i tor of a Saxon Psal terBrerewood , mathemat i c i an , andfi rs t p rofesso r ofast ronomy i n G resh am College, whose learned work s werepu bl i shed by hi s nephew , S i r Robert Brerewood g— s

Ralph Radcl iffe, who establ i shed a flou ri shi ng schooland fam i ly at H i tch i n i n Hertford sh i re, and wrote several t ragedi es and comed ies z— Richard Crompton , a

barri ster and law-wri ter — Humph rey Lluyd , or Lloyd ,the Welch h i s tori an — Si r John Stradl i ng, poet, the

fi fth ofthe origi nal Baronet s created by James I.whoi n h i s you th was accoun ted a m i racle for h i s readi

See Verses De Musa Hen.Savilli Equitumdoct iss.et Coll.JED.Nas i ol imalumn i ,

MusamSav illi lactarunt uberanostra, &c.by Principal Radcli lfe, in Goffe’s U ltimaLineaSavili i, 1622.


brok e l i ved,who was orderly i n h i s conduc t there

The Rev.John Watson , late Rector of S tockport ,Cheshi re

,au thor of the H i s tory ofHal i fax , the H i s

tory of the Earl s ofWarren and Su rry , and otherwork s .ou Engl i sh an ti qu i t ies — and the late Rev.

Joh n Whi taker, B.D.Rector ofRuan-Langhorne,Cornwal l, the learned au thor ofthe H i s tory ofManchester, St e.who en tered th i s College i n -175 2,

~ and

cont i nued abou t twel ve mon ths , after which he was

elected Scholar of Corpu s.

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