Oxford has lost. This was the priory (shortly afterwards the
abbey) of Osney, which was erected by the branch of the Thames
next west of that by which the castle stands. In its finished
state it had a splendid church, with two high towers and a great
range of buildings, but only slight fragments may now be traced.
About 1130 Henry I. built for himself Beaumont Palace, the
site of which is indicated by Beaumont Street, and the same king
gave Oxford its first known charter (not still extant), in which
mention is made of a gild merchant. This charter is alluded to
in another of Henry II., in which the citizens of Oxford and
London are associated in the possession of similar customs and
liberties. The most notable historical incident connected with
the city in this period is the escape of the empress Matilda from
the castle over the frozen river and through the snow to Abingdon,
when besieged by Stephen in 1142.
It is about this time that an indication is first given of organized teaching in Oxford, for in 1133 one Robert Pullen is said to have instituted theological lectures here. No earlier facts are known concerning the origin of the university, though it may with probability be associated with schools connected with the ecclesiastical foundations of Osney and St Frideswide; and the tendency for Oxford to become a centre of learning may have been fostered by the frequent presence of the court at Beaumont. A chancellor, appointed by the bishop of Lincoln, is mentioned in 1214, and an early instance of the subordination of the town to the university is seen in the fact that the townsfolk were required to take oaths of peace before this official and the archdeacon. It may be mentioned here that the present practice of appointing a non-resident chancellor, with a resident vice-chancellor, did not come into vogue till the end of the 15th century. In the 13th century a number of religious orders, which here as elsewhere exercised a profound influence on education, became established in Oxford. In 1221 came the Dominicans, whose later settlement (c. 1260) is attested by Blackfriars Street, Preacher’s Bridge and Friars’ Wharf. In 1224 the Franciscans settled near the present Paradise Square. In the middle of the century the Carmelites occupied part of the present site of Worcester College, but their place here was taken by the Benedictines when, about 1315, they were given Beaumont by Edward II., and removed there. The Austin Friars settled near the site of Wadham College; for the Cistercians Rewley Abbey, scanty remains of which may be traced near the present railway stations, was founded c. 1280. During the same century the political importance of Oxford was maintained. Several parliaments were held here, notably the Mad Parliament of 1258, which enforced the enactment of the Provisions of Oxford. Again, the later decades of the 13th century saw the initiation of the collegiate system. Merton, University and Balliol were the earliest foundations under this system. The paragraphs below, dealing with each college successively, give the dates and circumstances of foundation for all. As to the relations between the university and the city, in 1248 a charter of Henry III. afforded students considerable privileges at the expense of townsfolk, in the way of personal and financial protection. Moreover, the chancellor already possessed juridical powers; even over the townsfolk he shared jurisdiction with the mayor. Not unnaturally these peculiar conditions engendered rivalry between “town and gown”; rivalry led to violence, and after many lesser encounters a climax was reached in the riot on St Scholastica’s and the following day, February 10th and 11th, 1354/5. Its immediate cause was trivial, but the townsmen gave rein to their long-standing animosity, severely handled the scholars, killing many, and paying the penalty, for Edward III. gave the university a new charter enhancing its privileges. Others followed from Richard II. and Henry IV. A charter given by Henry VIII. in 1523 at the instigation of Wolsey conferred such power on the university that traders of any sort might be given its privileges, so that the city had no jurisdiction over them. In 1571 was passed the act of Elizabeth which incorporated and reorganized the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In 1635 a charter of Charles I. confirmed its privileges to the university of Oxford, of which William Laud had become chancellor in 1630. Vestiges of these exaggerated powers (as distinct from the more equable division of rights between the two corporations which now obtains) long survived. For example, it was only in 1825 that the ceremony of reparation enforced on the municipality after the St Scholastica riots was discontinued.
During the reign of Mary, in 1555, there took place, on a spot in Broad Street, the famous martyrdom of Ridley and Latimer. Cranmer followed them to the stake in 1556, and the three are commemorated by the ornate modern cross, an early work of Sir G. G. Scott (1841), in St Giles Street beside the church of St Mary Magdalen. A period such as this must have been in many ways harmful to the university, but it recovered prosperity under the care of Elizabeth and Wolsey. During the civil war, however, Oxford, as a city, suddenly acquired a new prominence as the headquarters of the Royalist party and the meeting-place of Charles I.’s parliament. This importance is not incomparable with that which Oxford possessed in the Mercian period. However the frontier shifted, between the districts held by the king and by the parliament, Oxford was always close to it. It was hither that the king retired after Edgehill, the two battles of Newbury and Naseby; from here Prince Rupert made his dashing raids in 1643. In May 1644 the earl of Essex and Sir William Waller first approached the city from the east and south, but failed to enclose the king, who escaped to Worcester, returning after the engagement at Copredy Bridge. The final investment of the city, when Charles had lost every other stronghold of importance, and had himself escaped in disguise, was in May 1646, and on the 24th of June it surrendered to Fairfax. Throughout the war the secret sympathies of the citizens were Parliamentarian, but there was no conflict within the walls. The disturbances of the war and the divisions of parties, however, had bad effects on the university, being subversive of discipline and inimical to study; nor were these effects wholly removed during the Commonwealth, in spite of the care of Cromwell, who was himself chancellor in 1651–1657. The Restoration led to conflicts between students and citizens. Charles II. held the last Oxford parliament in 1681. James II.’s action in forcing his nominees into certain high offices at last brought the university into temporary opposition to the crown. Later, however, Oxford became strongly Jacobite. In the first year of George I.’s reign there were serious Jacobite riots, but from that time the city becomes Hanoverian in opposition to the university, the feeling coming to a head in 1755 during a county election, which was ultimately the subject of a parliamentary inquiry. But George III., visiting Oxford in 1785, was well received by both parties, and this visit may be taken as the termination of the purely political history of Oxford. Details of the history of the university may be gathered from the following description of the colleges, the names of which are arranged alphabetically.
All Souls College was founded in 1437 by Henry Chicheley (q.v.), archbishop of Canterbury, for a warden, 40 fellows, 2 chaplains, and clerks. The charter was issued in the name of Henry VI., and it has been held that Chicheley wished, by founding the college, to expiate his own support of the disastrous wars in France during the reign of Henry V. and theColleges. ensuing regency. Fifty fellowships in all were provided for by the modern statutes, besides the honorary fellowships to which men of eminence are sometimes elected. Some of the fellowships are held in connexion with university offices; but the majority are awarded on examination, and are among the highest honours in the university offered by this method. The only undergraduate members of the college are four bible-clerks,[1] so that the college occupies a peculiar position as a society of graduates. The college has its beautiful original front upon High Street; the first quadrangle, practically unaltered since the foundation, is one of the most characteristic in Oxford. The chapel has a splendid reredos occupying the whole eastern wall, with tiers of figures in niches. After the original figures had been destroyed during the Reformation the reredos was plastered over, but
- ↑ Here and in some other colleges this title is connected with the duties of reading the Bible in chapel and saying grace in hall.
