University of Oxford

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Origin and history

The most extraordinary myths have at various times prevailed as to the fabulous antiquity of Oxford as a seat of learning. It is sufficient to mention that the fifteenth century chronicler Rous assigns its origin to the time when "Samuel the servant ofGod was judge in Judæa"; while a writer ofEdward III's reign asserts that theuniversity was founded by "certainphilosophers when the warlike Trojans, under the leadership of Brutus, triumphantly seized on the Islands of Albion". A much more long-lived fiction — one, indeed, which, first heard of in the middle of the fourteenth century, persisted down to the nineteenth — was thatKing Alfred, well-known as a patron ofeducation, was the real founder of Oxford University. Thetruth is that it is quite impossible to asign even an approximate date to the development of theschools which in Saxon times were grouped round the monastic foundation ofSt. Frideswide (on the site of what is now Christ Church) into the corporate institution later known as Oxford University. Well-known scholars were, weknow, lecturing in Oxford ontheology and canon law before the middle of the twelfth century, but these were probably private teachers attached toSt. Frideswide'smonastery. It is not until the end of Henry II's reign, that is about 1180, that weknow, chiefly on the authority ofGiraldus Cambrensis, that a large body of scholars was in residence atOxford, though not probably yet living under any organized constitution.

Half a century later Oxford was famous throughoutEurope as a home ofscience and learning;popes and kings were among its patrons and benefactors; the students are said to have been numbered by thousands; and the climax of its reputation was reached when, during the fifty years between 1220 and 1270, the newly-founded orders offriars —Dominican,Franciscan,Carmelite, and Austin — successively settled atOxford, and threw all their enthusiasm into the work of teaching. Kindled by theirzeal, the older monastic orders, encouraged by adecree of the Lateran Council of 1215, began to found conventualschools at Oxford for their own members. The colleges ofWorcester, Trinity, Christ Church, and St. John's are all the immediate successors of theseBenedictine orCistercian houses of study. Up to this time the secular students had lived as best they might in scattered lodgings hired from the townsmen; of discipline there was absolutely none, and riots and disorders between "town and gown" were of continual occurrence. The stimulus of the presence of so many scholars living under conventual discipline incitedWalter de Merton, in 1264, to found a residential college, properly organized and supervised, for secular students. Merton College (to the model of which two institutions of somewhat earlier date, University and Balliol soon conformed themselves) was thus the prototype of the self-contained and autonomous colleges which, grouped together, make up the University of Oxford as it exists today. The succeeding half-century saw the foundation of ten additional colleges: two more were founded during theCatholic revival underQueen Mary; and three in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. Between 1625 and 1911 — that is, for nearly three centuries, there have been only three more added to the list, namelyWorcester (1714), Keble (1870), and Hertford (1874), the first and last being, however, revivals rather than new foundations.

The institution of "non-collegiate" students (i.e. those unattached to any college or hall) dates from 1868; one "public hall" (St. Edmund's) survives, of several founded in very early times; and there are several "private halls", under licensed masters who are allowed to take a limited number of students. As a corporate body, theuniversity dates only from the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when, under the influence of the chancellor, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1571, incorporating the "chancellor, masters and scholars" of Oxford. In the same reign were imposed upon theuniversity the Royal Supremacy and the Thirty-nine Articles, subscription to which was required from every student above the age of sixteen; and from thatdate, for a period of three centuries, theuniversity, formerly opened to allChristendom, was narrowed into an exclusivelyAnglican institution and became, as it has ever since remained, in spite of subsequent legislation abolishing religious tests, the chosen home and favourite arena ofAnglican controversy,theology, and polemics. Keble, however, is now the only college whose members must beAnglicans by creed, although a certain number of scholarships in other colleges are restricted to adherents of the English Church. Attendance at the collegechapels is no longer compulsory; and there is no kind of religious test required for admission to any college (except Keble) or for graduating in Arts, Science, or Civil Law. Only the faculty of Divinity (including the degrees of bachelor and doctor) remains closed by statute to all except professingAnglicans; and the examiners in thetheologicalschool, which is open to students of any creed or none, are all required to beclergymen of theChurch of England.

Constitution and government

Taken as a whole, theuniversity consists of about 14,500 members, graduate and undergraduate, having their names on the registers of theuniversity as well as of the twenty-six separatesocieties (colleges, halls, public and private, and the non-collegiate body) which together form the corporation of theuniversity. Of the above number about 3800 are undergraduates, of whom the great majority are reading for thedegree of B.A., and about a thousand are graduates, either tutors, fellows of colleges, officials of theuniversity, or M.A.'s unofficially resident within its precincts. About 4800 members of theuniversity are thus actually living inOxford, the remainder being those who, while keeping their names "on the books", reside in other parts of the kingdom. All masters of arts remaining on the registers areipso facto members of "Convocation", the legislative and administrative body through which theuniversity acts; and those actually residing in Oxford for a fixed period in each year form the smaller body called "Congregation", by which all measures must be passed previous to their coming before "Convocation". Legislation in every case, however, must be initiated by the "Hebdomedal Council", consisting of the vice-chancellor, proctors, and eighteen members elected by "Congregation".

The executive officers of theuniversity comprise the chancellor, a nobleman of high rank, as a rule non-resident, who delegates his authority to the vice-chancellor, the head of one of the colleges, and the two proctors, who are elected by the several colleges in turn, and assist the vice-chancellor in the enforcement of discipline, as well as in the general supervision of alluniversity affairs, including the administration of itsproperty and the control of its finances. The peculiar feature of the constitution of Oxford (as of Cambridge), when compared with that of every otheruniversity in the world, is that the authority of the vice-chancellor and proctors, that is of the centraluniversity body, while nominally extending to every resident member of theuniversity, is not as a matter of fact exercised within the college walls, each college being, while a constituent part of theuniversity, autonomous and self-governing, and claiming entire responsibility for the order and well-being of its own members.

The collegiate system

According to the combineduniversity and college system which prevails atOxford, each college is an organized corporation under its own head, and enjoying the fullest powers of managing its ownproperty and governing its own members. Each college is regulated not only by the generalstatutes of theuniversity, but by its own separate code ofstatutes, drawn up at its foundation (as a rule centuries ago) and added to or amended since as found expedient. Every college is absolutely its own judge as to the requirements for admission to its membership, the result being that in no two colleges is the standard ofnecessaryknowledge, or themental equipment with which a youth enters on hisuniversity career, identical or even necessarily similar. The mere fact of a man having matriculated at certain colleges stamps him as possessed of more than average attainments, while at others the required standard may be so low as to afford no guarantee whatever that their members are in any real senseeducated at all.

The twenty-one colleges and four halls, and the delegacy of non-collegiate students — that is of students not affiliated to any college or hall — have all the same privileges as to receiving undergraduate members; and no one can be matriculated, i.e. admitted to membership of theuniversity by the central authority, until he has been accepted by one of the above-mentionedsocieties. The colleges provide a certain number of sets of rooms within their own walls for students, the remainder living in licensed lodgings in the city. Meals are served either in the college halls or in the students' rooms; and attached to every college is achapel where daily service is held during term according to the forms of theChurch of England.

Tuition examination and degrees

Theuniversity provides 130 professors, lecturers, and readers to give instructions in the several faculties oftheology (9), law (8), medicine (17), naturalscience, including mathematics (27), and arts, including ancient and modern languages, geography, music,fine arts, etc. (69). The chief burden of tuition, however, does not fall on this large body of highly-equipped teachers, whose lectures are in many cases very sparsely attended, but on the college tutors, whose lectures, formerly confined to members of their own colleges, are now practically open to the wholeuniversity. The extension of, and great improvement in, the tuition afforded by the college tutors has led to the practical disappearance atOxford, at least in work for honours, of the private tutor or "coach", who formerly largely supplemented the official college teaching. What is noteworthy at Oxford is the trouble taken by tutors in the work of individual instruction, which, while involving a great, and sometimes disproportionate, expenditure of time and talent, has done much to establish and consolidate the personal relations between tutor and pupil which is a distinctly beneficial feature of the Oxford system.

Examinations

For students aspiring to theB.A. degree are prescribed two strictly-defined compulsory examinations, and two so-called public examinations, in which candidates may choose from a wide range of alternative subjects.Responsions, generally passed before matriculation, includes Latin, Greek, and mathematics, all of a pretty elementary kind. The second compulsory examination, that inHoly Scripture (for which a book ofPlato may be substituted), includes the Greek text of two of the Gospels. In the two "public examinations", i.e. Moderations and the Final Schools, either a "pass" or "honours" may be aimed at. The passman must first satisfy the examiners in Moderations (i.e. classics combined withlogic or mathematics), and then for his Final School may choose between various subjects, such as classics, mathematics, naturalscience, and modern languages. The "honour-man", if aiming at "greats", has, as a rule, first a searching examination in classics, and then a final examination in ancient history and philosophy; the successful candidates in both these examinations being divided into four classes. A first class in "Greats" (orliteræ humaniores) is still reckoned the highesthonour attainable in the Oxford curriculum; but the student has seven other Final Honour Schools open to him, those of modern history (which now attracts the largest number of candidates), mathematics,jurisprudence,theology,English literature, Oriental studies, and naturalscience.

Degrees

A student who has passed the examinations requisite for theB.A. degree, can further qualify himself for the degree of (a) Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, by passing two examinations in medical and surgical subjects; (b) Bachelor of Civil Law, by passing an examination in general jurisprudence, Roman, English, orinternational law; (c) Bachelor of Theology (if inorders of the Church of England), by presenting two dissertations on atheological subject. For what are known as "research degrees" (Bachelor of Letters or Science) two years of residence are required, followed by an examination, or the submission of a dissertation showing original work. Candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Music are exempted from residence, and need only have passed the examination of Responsions. Bachelors of Arts can present themselves for the degree of Master at the end of a stated period, without further examination; but the Bachelor of Medicine must pass an examination or submit a dissertation before obtaining the degrees of M.D. or Master of Surgery: and there is a similar qualification required for proceeding to the degrees of Doctor of Divinity, of Civil Law, of Music, and of Letters or Science. There is now no religious test in the case of any degrees excepting those oftheology; but all candidates for masters' ordoctors' degrees have to promise faithful observance of thestatutes and customs of theuniversity. Honorary degrees in all the faculties may be granted to distinguishedpersons, without examination, bydecree of Convocation.

Diplomas in certain subjects, as health,education, geography, and political economy, are granted by Convocation after a certain period of study and an examinational test. These diplomas are obtainable bywomen students, who are not eligible for any degrees, although they may, and do, enter for the same examination as men. The halls ofwomen students are entirely extra-collegiate; butwomen receive on examination certificates testifying to the class gained by them in such honour-examinations as they choose to undergo.

Expense of the university course

It is difficult to fix this even approximately, so much depends on a student's tastes, habits, and recreations, and also on the question whether the sum named is to include his expenses for the whole year, or only for the six months of theuniversity terms. £120 a year ought to cover the actual fees and cost of board and othernecessary charges, which are pretty much the same at all the colleges; and if another £100 or £120 be added for the supplementary expenses of college life, and vacation expenses as well, we arrive at what is probably the average annual sum expended. A man with expensive tastes or hobbies may of course spend double or treble that amount, whereas members of some of the smaller colleges may do very well on much less; while the emoluments of the numerous college anduniversity scholarships and exhibitions lessen the expenses of those who hold them by a corresponding amount. The Rhodes Scholarships, open to Colonial and American students, are of the annual value of £300 each; but it is to be considered that their holders have as a rule to make this sum suffice for all their wants, in vacation as well as in term-time.

University and college buildings

The chiefuniversity buildings are grouped round the quadrangle of the Bodleian Library, founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, and first housed in the room (built in 1480) known as Duke Humphrey's Library. Since 1610 the Bodleian has received by right a copy of every book published in the kingdom, and it now contains more than 500,000 books and nearly 40,000manuscripts. In the galleries is an interesting collection of historical portraits. West of the Bodleian is the beautiful fifteenth-century Divinity School, with its elaborate roof, and further west again the Convocation House, built in 1639. Close by are the Sheldonian Theatre, built by Wren in 1669, where the annual Commemoration is held, and honorary degrees are conferred; the Old Clarendon Printing-house, built in 1713 out of the profits of Lord Clarendon's "History of the Rebellion"; the old Ashmolean Building, and the Indian Institute, built in 1882 for the benefit of Indian students in theuniversity. South of the Bodleian rises the imposingdome of the Radcliffe Library, founded in 1749 by Dr. William Radcliffe for books on medicine andscience but now used as a reading room for the Bodleian. The Examination Schools (1876-82), a fine Jacobean pile which cost £100,000, are in High Street; and the chief otheruniversity buildings are the New Museum (1855-60), an ugly building in early French Gothic, containing splendid collections of naturalscience and anthropology, as well as a finesciencelibrary; the Taylor Buildings and University Galleries, a stately classical edifice containing the Arundel and Pomfret Marbles, a priceless collection of drawings byRaphael,Michelangelo, Turner, and other masters, and many valuablepaintings; the Ashmolean Museum, behind the galleries, containing one of the most complete archæological collections inEngland; the new Clarendon Press (1830), and the Observatory, founded in 1772 by the Radcliffe trustees.

Taking the different colleges in alphabetical order, we have:All Souls, founded byArchbishop Chichele in 1437, in memory of those who fell in theFrenchwars. Its features are the absence of undergraduate members, the magnificent reredos in thechapel, re-discovered and restored in 1872, after being lost sight of for three centuries, and the splendidlibrary, especially of works on law.

Balliol, founded by Devorgilla,widow of John Balliol, about 1262, and distinguished for the brilliant scholarship of its members, and the liberality and tolerance of its views. The buildings are mostly modern, and of little interest; in the fine hall (1877) is a striking portrait ofCardinal Manning (a scholar here 1827-30). Opposite the Master of Balliol's house a cross in the roadway marks the spot where Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer were burned in 1555 and 1556; and the so-called Martyrs' Memorial (by Gilbert Scott, 1841), opposite the west front of the college, commemorates the same event; it was erected chiefly as a protest against the Tractarian movement headed byNewman.

Brasenose, founded in 1509 by Bishop Smyth of Lincoln andSir Richard Sutton, as an amplification of the much older Brasenose Hall, a knocker on the door of which, in the shape of a nose, is the origin of the curious name. In thechapel, a singular mixture of classical and Gothic design, are preserved two pre-Reformationchalices. A magnificent new south front in High Street (by Jackson) was completed in 1910.

Christ Church, the largest and wealthiest college inOxford, founded as "Cardinal College" byThomas Wolsey in 1525, on the site ofSt. Frideswide's suppressedpriory, and re-established byHenry VIII as Christ Church in 1546.Wolsey built the hall and kitchen (1529), the finest inEngland, and began the great ("Tom") quadrangle, which was finished in 1668. The old monastic church, dating from 1120, serves both as the collegechapel and as thecathedral of theAnglican Diocese of Oxford, erected byHenry VIII; inCatholic times Oxford formed part of the immenseDiocese of Lincoln. Peckwater Quad was built 1705-60, and Canterbury Quad (on the site ofCanterbury Hall, aBenedictine foundation), in 1710. The hall andlibrary contain many valuable portraits and otherpaintings.

Corpus Christi, founded in 1516 by Bishop Richard Foxe ofWinchester, and dedicated to Sts. Peter, Andrew, Cuthbert, and Swithin, patrons of the four sees, (Exeter, Bath,Durham, and Winchester), which he had held in turn. The buildings, though not extensive, are of great interest, mostly coeval with the founder; and the college possesses some valuable old plate.Angels bearing the Sacred Host are depicted in an oriel window over the great gateway.Corpus Christi has always maintained a high reputation for sound classical learning.

Exeter, founded in 1314 by Bishop de Stapleton ofExeter. Most of the buildings are modern; thechapel (1857) being an elaborate copy by Gilbert Scott of the Sainte Chapelle atParis. There is a charming little garden. Exeter has of recent years been more frequented byCatholic students than any other college.

Hertford, revived in 1874, having been originally founded in 1740 but dissolved in 1818 and occupied by Magdalen Hall. A handsome newchapel by Jackson was opened in 1909.

Jesus, frequented almost exclusively byWelsh students, was founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1571; and more than half the scholarships and exhibitions are restricted topersons ofWelsh birth oreducation. Sir John Rhys, the eminent Celtic scholar, is the present principal. The buildings are modern, or much restored.

Keble, founded by subscription in 1870 in memory of John Keble, and now the only college whose members must, by the terms of its charter, all be members of theAnglican Church. It is governed by a warden and council (there are no fellows), and one of its principles is supposed to be special economy and sobriety of living. The buildings of variegated brick are quite foreign to the prevailing architecture of Oxford, but thechapel is spacious and sumptuously decorated.

Lincoln, founded by Bishop Richard Fleming and Thomas Rotherham, both of Lincoln, inhonour of the B.V.M. and All Saints, specially toeducate divines to preach against theWycliffianheresies. The buildings are of little interest, but thechapel contains some very good seventeenth centuryItalianstained glass.

Magdalen, perhaps the most beautiful college inOxford, if not inChristendom, was founded in 1458 by Bishop Waynflete ofWinchester. Thechapel, hall,cloisters, tower, and other buildings, all erected in the founder's lifetime, are of unique beauty and interest. The extensive and charming grounds include the famous "Addison's Walk", and a deer-park with fine timber. The musical services in thechapel are famous throughoutEngland. Magdalen possesses much landedproperty, and is one of the wealthiest colleges in theuniversity.

Merton, founded in 1264 byWalter de Merton, in Surry, and transferred to Oxford in 1274, was the first organized college, and the prototype of all succeeding ones. Thelibrary (1349) is the oldest inEngland, and the so-called "Mob" quad is of the samedate. Thechapel, of exquisite Decorated Gothic, contains some beautiful oldstained glass. Merton was specially intended by its founder for theeducation of thesecular clergy.

New, founded in 1379 on a magnificent scale by Bishop William de Wykeham, ofWinchester (founder also ofWinchester College). The splendidchapel, with its elaborate reredos, was restored in 1879; the ante-chapel windows contain the original pre-Reformation glass, and there are many fine brasses. Other features of the college are the picturesquecloisters (used during the Civil War as a depot for military stores), the great hall, with its rich panelling, the valuable collection of old plate, and the lovely gardens, enclosed on three sides by the ancient city walls. New College vies with Magdalen in the excellence of itschapel choir.

Oriel, founded by Edward II in 1326 on the suggestion of his almoner, Adam de Brome; but none of the buildings are older than the seventeenth century. The college is identified with the rise of theOxford Movement, led byNewman, who was a fellow here from 1822 to 1845. There are two portraits of him (by Ross and Richmond respectively) in the college common-room.

Pembroke, second of the four colleges ofProtestant foundation, erected in 1624 out of the ancient Broadgates Hall, and chiefly notable for the membership of Dr. Samuel Johnson, of whom there is a fine portrait and various relics.

Queen's, founded in 1340 by Robert de Eglesfield,chaplain to Queen Philippa, inhonour of whom it was named. The buildings are mostly late seventeenth-century; there is some goodDutch glass in thechapel, and a very valuablelibrary, chiefly historical. The hall is hung with (mostly fictitious) portraits of English kings, queens, and princes.

St. John's, formerly St. Bernards, a house of studies forCistercianmonks, was refounded in 1555 by Sir John White, inhonour ofSt. John the Baptist. Thechapel, hall, and other parts of the outer quad belong to the monastic foundation; the inner quad, with its beautiful garden front, was built by Archbishop Laud, president of the college 1611-21. The gardens are among the most beautiful in Oxford.

Trinity, originally Durham College, a house of studies for the DurhamBenedictines, was refounded by Sir Thomas Pope in 1554. The old monasticlibrary, and other fragments of the buildings ofDurham, remain; thechapel, with its fine wood-carving by Grimling Gibbons, is from designs by Wren.Newman became a scholar of Trinity in 1819; he was elected an honorary fellow in 1878, and visited the college ascardinal in 1880. A fine portrait of him, by Ouless, hangs in the hall.

University, which ranks as the oldest college, though its connexion withKing Alfred, said to have founded it in 872, is absolutely legendary. It was really founded by Archdeacon William ofDurham in 1249, and acquired its present site a century later. None of the buildings are more than two hundred years old. Frederick William Faber, the famous Oratorian, was a member of this college, which was much identified with theCatholic revival in James II's reign.

Wadham, founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, in completion of her husband's designs; it occupies the site of a house of Austin Friars, who probably laid out the beautiful garden. Wadham is interesting as a fine specimen of Jacobean work, and as the only college whose buildings remain practically as left by their founder.

Worcester, established in 1283, under the name of Gloucester College, as a house of studies forBenedictines from Gloucester and other greatEnglishabbeys, survived as Gloucester Hall for a century and a half after theReformation, and was re-founded and endowed by Sir Thomas Cookes, under its present name, in 1714. There still remain the ancient lodgings used by the students of the severalabbeys, overlooking the finely-timbered grounds and lake. The interior decoration of the eighteenth-centurychapel is very sumptuous.

The only survivor of the once numerous "public halls" is "St. Edmund's", founded in the thirteenth century inhonour ofSt. Edmund Rich,Archbishop ofCanterbury,canonized byInnocent III in 1247. The buildings are all of the seventeenth century. This hall is closely connected with Queen's College, theprovost of which appoints the principal.

Catholics at the university

Besides thecolleges and single public hall, there are at present three "private halls" conducted by licensed masters (i.e. M.A.'s authorized and approved by the Vice-Chancellor) and receiving a limited number of undergraduate students. Two of these halls are inCatholic hands, one (Pope's Hall) founded for students belonging to theSociety of Jesus, and the other (Parker's Hall) established by Ampleforth Abbey, in Yorkshire, forBenedictine students belonging to thatmonastery. Good work is done in both of these institutions, the members of which, for the most part, are preparing to take part in tuition at theEnglishJesuit andBenedictine colleges; and many of their members have obtained the highest academical honours in the variousuniversity examinations. TheFranciscanCapuchin Fathers have recently (1910) opened a small house of studies for junior members of their Order; they have at present the status of non-collegiate students. The layCatholics who enter theuniversity as undergraduates have no college or hall of their own underCatholic direction, but become members of any one of the colleges which they desire to join, or of the non-collegiate body which, since 1868, has been authorized to receive students who are not members of any college or hall.

Catholics are, of course, exempt from attending the collegechapels, and they have a centralchapel of their own, with a residentchaplain appointed by the UniversitiesCatholic Board (of which one of theEnglishbishops is chairman), who says Mass daily for theCatholic students. The Board also appoints every term a special preacher or lecturer, who gives, by the special injunction of theHoly See, weekly conferences to the students on some historical,theological, orphilosophical subject. There are two or three residentCatholic fellows and tutors in theuniversity; but the general tone and spirit of the instruction given in the lecture-rooms, though not on the whole anti-Catholic, may be described as generally non-religious. The missionchurch of St. Aloysius is served by severalJesuit fathers, and good preachers are often heard there; and severalreligious communities have recently been established in the city. The number ofCatholic members of the University, graduate and undergraduate, resident in Oxford does not exceed a hundred.

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