early established in its upper part. This institution bears the name of the Clarendon Press from the fact that it was founded partly from the proceeds of the sale of the earl of Clarendon’s History of the Rebellion, the copyright of which was given to the university by his son Henry, the second earl. In 1713 it occupied the building erected for it close to the theatre; in 1830 it was moved to the larger buildings it now occupies in Walton Street. Printing in Oxford dates from the seventh or eighth decade of the 15th century, but was only carried on spasmodically until 1585, when the first university printer was Joseph Barnes. All the subsidiary processes of type-founding, stereotyping, &c., are carried on in the buildings of the press, and paper is supplied from the university mill at Wolvercote. The press is to a large extent a commercial firm, in which the university has a preponderating influence, governing it through a delegacy. The Broad Street building is used for other purposes of the university, as is the adjacent Old Ashmolean building, which originally (1683) contained the Ashmolean Museum, described hereafter, and now affords rooms for the School of Geography (1899). To the south of the old schools, between Brasenose and All Souls colleges, is the fine classical rotunda known as the Radcliffe Library or camera, founded in 1737 by the eminent physician John Radcliffe (1650–1714). The architect was James Gibbs. In 1861 the building was devoted to the purpose it now serves, that of a reading room to the Bodleian Library, the collection of medieval and scientific works it contained being removed to the University Museum. The exterior gallery round the dome is celebrated as a view-point.
To the south of the Radcliffe Library, bordering High Street, is the church of St Mary the Virgin, commonly called the University church, on a site which is traditionally said to have been occupied by a church even from King Alfred’s time. Its principal feature is a fine Decorated tower and spire, dating from the early part of the 13th century. The body of the church, however, is mainly an excellent example of Perpendicular work. The main entrance from High Street is beneath a classical porch erected in 1637 by Morgan Owen, a chaplain of Archbishop Laud; the statue of the Virgin and Child above it was alluded to in the impeachment of the archbishop. On the north side of the chancel is a building of earlier date than the present church; it is Decorated, of two storeys, and has served various purposes connected with the university, including that of housing a library before the foundation by Humphrey, duke of Gloucester. The university sermons are preached in St Mary’s church.
A massive pile of classical buildings (1845) at the corner of Beaumont and St Giles’s Streets is devoted to the Taylor Institution, the University Galleries and the Ashmolean Museum. Sir Robert Taylor, architect (1714–1788), left a bequest to establish the teaching of modern European languages in Oxford, and to provide a building for the purpose, and the eastern wing is devoted to this purpose, containing a library. In the University Galleries the most notable features are the celebrated Arundel marbles, a large series of drawings for pictures by Raphael and Michelangelo, and models for busts and statues by Sir Francis Chantrey. The new building for the Ashmolean Museum was added in 1893; and in connexion both with the building and with subsequent additions to the collections the benefactions of Charles Drury Edward Fortnum (1820–1899) should be remembered. The nucleus of this collection was formed by John Tradescant, a traveller and botanist (1608–1662), who left it to Elias Ashmole (q.v.), who added books, paintings and other objects, and presented the whole to the university in 1679. When the museum was moved from the Old Ashmolean building, the collection was in great part distributed; thus, books were sent to the Bodleian Library, and natural history objects to the University Museum. The Ashmolean Museum now contains excellent collections of Egyptian, Greek, Roman and British antiquities, and many other objects, among which perhaps the most widely famous is the Alfred Jewel, an ornament of crystal, enamel and gold, bearing King Alfred’s name, and found at Athelney. The University Museum is an extensive building close to the parks, opposite Keble College. Its foundation was the outcome of the necessity of keeping pace in the university with the extended range of modern scientific study. It was built in 1856 seq., and contains the following departments:— medicine and public health, comparative anatomy, physiology, human anatomy, zoology, experimental philosophy, physics, chemistry, geology, mineralogy and pathology. There is also here the Pitt-Rivers ethnographical museum, which had its origin in the collection of Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers, presented to the university in 1883. Additional buildings contain the Radcliffe Library and various laboratories. The university observatory is in the parks, not far from the museum, but an older observatory is that called the Radcliffe (1772–1795), built by the trustees of the Radcliffe bequest, as was the Radcliffe Infirmary (1770) standing near the observatory, in Woodstock Road. Opposite Magdalen College, by the banks of the Cherwell, is the beautiful botanic garden founded by Henry Danvers, earl of Danby, in 1622, with which are connected a library, herbarium and museum. The Indian Institute (1882), in Broad Street, was founded as a centre for the study of Indian subjects, and for the use of native students in the university and prospective Indian civil servants. The Oxford Union Society, the principal university club, founded in 1825, has its rooms, with library and debating hall, near Cornmarket Street.
Ancient buildings in Oxford, apart from collegiate and university buildings, are mainly ecclesiastical, but there are a few notable exceptions. The castle, which, as already indicated, was erected by Robert d’Oili at the west of the ancient city, retains its massive tower, standing picturesquely by the river, and a mound within which is a curious chamber containing City buildings. a well. There is also a Norman crypt-chapel, but the county court and gaol buildings adjacent are modern. Among old houses, of which not a few survive in Holywell Street and elsewhere. Bishop King’s palace in St Aldate’s Street may be mentioned; it has been in great part defaced by modern alterations, while the remaining front is a beautiful half-timbered and gabled example dated 1628; but ornate ceilings preserved in some of the rooms date from the erection in the time of Edward VI. Kettell Hall in Broad Street is another fine house, now used as a private residence, but formerly put to collegiate use, having been built by Ralph Kettell, president of Trinity (1599–1643). Among ancient churches in Oxford, after the cathedral and St Mary’s, the chief in interest is St Peter’s-in-the-East, which has a fine Norman chancel, crypt and south doorway, with additions of Early English and later date. St Michael’s church, the body of which as now existing is of little interest, has a very early tower (11th century) of massive construction, which probably served as a defence for the north gate of the city. St Giles’s church has Norman remains, but is chiefly notable for the excellent character of its Early English portions and for a beautiful font of that period. Holywell church retains a fine Norman chancel arch; and the churches of St Mary Magdalen, St Aldate’s, St Ebbe’s and St Thomas the Martyr are all of some antiquarian interest in spite of extensive modern alteration. Only the 14th century tower remains of St Martin’s church at Carfax, the body of the church, which was a complete reconstruction of 1820, being removed at the close of the century, in the course of street-widening. Some of the modern churches are on sites of early dedication. The church of All Saints in High Street was rebuilt in 1706–1708 from the design of Dean Aldrich, and is a good classical example. Beneath several buildings in this part of the city the crypts of earlier halls or other buildings remain. In the suburb of Cowley are remains, including the chapel, of the hospital of St Bartholomew, originally a foundation for lepers (1126). The village church at Iffley, not far beyond the eastern outskirts of the city, with its ornate west end, tower and chancel, is one of the most notable small Norman churches in England. Of modern city buildings, the only one of special note is the town hall (1893–1897), which has a striking frontage upon St Aldate’s Street.
“The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of
Oxford” form a corporate body, within which the colleges are so
many individual corporations. The university was
governed by statutes of its own making, which were
codified and brought out of the confusion into which
they had fallen in the course of centuries in 1636, during
University constitution and adminis-
tration.
Laud’s chancellorship. A commission was appointed to
inquire fully into the condition of the university in 1850;
it reported in 1852, and in 1854 the constitution was amended by
the Oxford University Act. In 1876 another commission was
appointed, and in 1877 the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge
Act was passed. This act provided for the appointment of commissioners
who (1882) made statutes for each college, excepting
Hertford, Keble and Lincoln, the first and second of which are
modern foundations, while the third is governed under statutes of
1855. The highest officer of the university is the chancellor, who is
elected by the members of convocation, holds office for life, and is
generally a distinguished member of the university. He does not
take an active part in the details of administration, delegating this
to the vice-chancellor, who is, therefore, practically the head. He
is nominated annually by the chancellor, and must be the head of a
college. He appoints four pro-vice-chancellors, also heads of colleges,
to exercise his authority in case of necessity. The high steward is
appointed for life, with the duty of trying grave criminal cases
when the accused is a resident member of the university. Two
proctors are appointed annually by two of the colleges in rotation;
their special duty is a disciplinary surveillance over members of the
university in statu pupillari when these are not within the jurisdiction
of their colleges. They are assisted by four pro-proctors. The
principal duty of the public orator is that of presenting those who
are to receive an honorary master’s degree, and of making speeches
in the name of the university on ceremonial occasions. The registrar
acts as the recorder of the various administrative bodies of the
university, and the secretary to the Board of Faculties has similar
duties with regard to these boards, his work being closely associated
with that of the registrar. The chancellor’s court exercises civil
jurisdiction in cases in which one of the parties is a resident member
of the university. The university returns two members (burgesses)
to parliament, the privilege dating from 1604.
The Hebdomadal[1] Council consists of the chancellor, vice-chancellor, immediate ex-vice-chancellor and proctors as official members, and of eighteen other members (heads of houses, professors, &c.) elected for terms of six years by the congregation of
the university. The council takes the initiative in promulgating,- ↑ From Greek ἑβδομάς, the number seven; the Hebdomadal Board instituted in 1631 was appointed to hold a weekly meeting.
