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  University Oxford
  Picture
  </td><td Bgcolor "#000033">&nbsp</td>
  College Name Oriel College
  Named For Blessed Virgin Mary
  Established 1324
  Sister College Clare College, Cambridge <br> Trinity College, Dublin
  Head Name Provost
  Head Sir Derek Morris
  JCR President Frank Hardee
  Undergraduates 304
  Graduates 158
  Homepage Homepage




Oriel College (in full: '''The House of Blessed Mary the Virgin in Oxford commonly called Oriel College, of the Foundation of Edward the Second of famous memory, sometime King of England'''), located in Oriel Square, Oxford , is the one of the constituent Colleges of the University Of Oxford in the United Kingdom .

Fifth oldest of the Oxford colleges, Oriel has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford, a title formerly claimed by University College .


HISTORY

Founded in )

The name "Oriel" was being used from about 1349 and is thought to originate from a tenement known as Seneschal Hall or La Oriole granted to the college in 1327 . The word "oriel" probably referred to either a balcony or Oriel Window forming a feature of the earlier property.

In 1442 Henry VI sanctioned an arrangement whereby the town was to pay the college £25 a year from the fee farm in exchange for decayed property, allegedly worth £30 a year, which the college could not afford to keep in repair. The arrangement was cancelled in 1450.Crossley, Alan (editor), 'Medieval Oxford', ''A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 4: The City of Oxford'' (1979) - Oxford University Press British History Online ISBN 0197227147

When the Oxford Parliament was assembled during the English Civil War , Oriel housed the Executive Committee of the Privy Council, Parliament being held at neighbouring Christ Church .Spears, Royston, ''Oxford and the Civil War - Orders of the day, Volume 30, Issue 6, Nov/Dec 1998'' The Sealed Knot

During the early 1720s , a constitutional struggle began between the Provost and the Fellows, culminating in a lawsuit. In 1721 , Henry Edmunds was elected as a Fellow by 9 votes to 3, his election was rejected by Provost George Carter, and on appeal, by the Visitor, Edmund Gibson , then Bishop of Lincoln. Rejections of candidates by the Provost continued, fuelling discontent amongst the fellows, until a writ of attachment against the Bishop of Lincoln was heard between 1724 and 1726 . The opposing fellows, lead by Edmunds, appealed to the first set of statutes, claiming the Crown as Visitor, making Gibson's decisions invalid; Provost Carter, supported by Bishop Gibson, appealed to the second set, claiming the Bishop of Lincoln as Visitor. The jury decided for the fellows, supporting the original charter of Edward II.

In the )

In 1985 , the college became the last all-male college in Oxford to admit women.


BUILDINGS AND ENVIRONS


First quadrangle

Nothing survives of the original buildings, which were demolished when the Quadrangle was built in the 17th Century . The south and west ranges and the clock tower were built around 1620 to 1622 , the north and east ranges and the chapel buildings date from 1637 to 1642 .
. The oriel above the chapel door was used by John Henry Newman during his time as a fellow of the college, it now has modern stained glass commemorating Newman and his life. The chapel was consecrated in 1642 and still retains nearly all of its original fittings.


Second quadrangle

Originally a garden, the demand for more accommodation for undergraduates in the early 18th Century resulted in two free standing blocks being built. The first block erected was the Robinson Building on the east side, built in 1720 by Bishop Robinson at the suggestion of his wife, as the inscription over the door records. It's twin block, the Carter Building was erected on the west side in 1729 , as a result of a benefaction by Provost Carter. The two buildings stood for nearly a hundred years as detached blocks in the garden and the architectural elements of the First quad are repeated on them - only here the seven gables are all alike. In the early 19th Century they were joined up to the Front quad with their present, rather unsatisfactory connecting links.

The north range houses the Palladian library and senior common rooms - designed by James Wyatt , it was built between 1788 and 1796 on a bequest from Edward, Baron Leigh , formerly High Steward of the University and an Orielensis. The two-story building has Rusticated arches on the ground floor and a row of Ionic columns above, dividing the façade into seven bays - the ground floor contains the senior common rooms and above is the library. On the 7th March 1949 , a fire spread from the roof, resulting in the total loss of just over 300 printed books and the few manuscripts on exhibition, over 3,000 books needed repair, though the main structure suffered little damage and restoration took less than a year.


St Mary Hall/Third quadrangle

The Mediaeval Rectory house of St Mary’s Church served as an annex to Oriel College upon its foundation. It steadily developed into an independent entity and in 1545 the door between St Mary Hall and Oriel College was blocked up. The Hall took on its own Lecturer s but the Principals of St Mary Hall continued to be Fellows of Oriel for another hundred years. By 1875 its undergraduate body had risen to 60, a large number at that time. In 1902 , the Hall was incorporated into Oriel College, though some remnants of the relationship still exist - the post of Vicar of St Mary's Church carries dining rights at Oriel.

Parts of the mediaeval buildings survive and are incorporated into staircase ten - the straight, steep flight of stairs and timber framed partitions, date from a mid- 15th Century rebuilding of St Mary Hall.

The former Chapel, Hall and Buttery of St Mary Hall, built in 1640 , now form part of the Junior Library and Junior Common Room. Seen from the Third quad, the Chapel, with its Gothic windows, can be seen to have been built neatly on top of the Hall, a unique example in Oxford of such a plan.

On the east side of the quad is a simple rustic style timber-frame building, known as the "the Dolls House", it was erected by Principal King in 1743 .

In 1826 , an ornate range was erected in the Gothic Revival style, incorporating the old gate of St Mary Hall, on the west side of the quad. The large projecting window on the first floor, at the north end, was once the drawing room of the Principal of Hall. Parts of the street wall incorporated into this range show traces of blocked windows dating from the same period of rebuilding in the 15th century as staircase ten.

of Oriel College, looking south, with the Rhodes Building in the foreground]]
The building pictured in the infobox is the Rhodes Building, built in , wrote:

Oriel broken out into the High, ... destroying a most picturesque group of old houses in so doing, and, to put it gently, hardly compensating us for their removal.



The "Island" site

A Convex Quadrilateral of buildings, bordered by Hight Street, Oriel Street and King Edward Street meeting in Oriel Square. The site took six hundred years to acquire and is now dominated by student accommodation, although some Fellows live there, and there is a teaching room, the Basil Mitchell Room, on Staircase 28.

On the High Street, Nos. 106 and No.107 stand on the site of Tackley's Inn, built in around 1320, it was the first piece of property that Adam de Brome acquired when he began to found the college.Pantin, W.A., ''Tackley's Inn'' Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society, Oxford ( DOC ) It comprised a hall and chambers leased to scholars, behind a frontage of five shops, the scholars above and a cellar of five bays below. The hall, which was open to the roof, was 33 feet long, 20 feet wide, and about 22 feet high; at the east end was a large chamber with another chamber above it. The south wall of the building, which survives, was partly of stone and contained a large two-light early 14th century window; the cellar, of the same date, is the best preserved medieval cellar in Oxford, and has a stone Vault which is divided into four sections by two diagonal ribs, with carved Corbel s. Originally it was entered by stone steps from the street.

The Oriel Street site was acquired between 1329 and 1392. The name "Oriel Street" was in use by 1850 ; from 1210 it was called "Schidyerd Street", and between 1542 and 1772 it was known as "St Mary Hall Lane".

King Edward Street was created by the college between 1872 and 1873 when 109 and 110 High Street were demolished. The old shops on each side of the road were also demolished and rebuilt, and to preserve the continuity, the new shops were numbered 108 and 109–112. Named after the college's founder, the road was in opened in 1873. On the wall of the first floor of No. 6, there is a large metal plaque with a portrait of Cecil Rhodes , underneath is the inscription:
In this house, the Rt. Hon Cecil John Rhodes kept academical residence in the year 1881. This memorial is erected by Alfred Mosely in recognition of the great services rendered by Cecil Rhodes to his country


The Harris Building (formerly a Real Tennis court where King Charles I played tennis with his nephew Prince Rupert in December 1642 and King Edward VII had his first tennis lesson in 1859 ), is now given over to student accommodation, a seminar room and lecture theatre.


Rectory Road


Bordered by the Cowley Road , this site was formerly Nazareth House, a residential care home Convent - Goldie Wing (shown left), Larmenier House and neighbouring cottages on Rectory Road are its surviving buildings. Nazareth House itself was demolished to make room for two purpose-built halls of residence, James Mellon Hall (shown right) and David Paterson House. The two new halls were opened by Queen Elizabeth II on November 8 2000 .Royal visit brightens up the day thisisoxfordshire.com news report

As is about 10 minutes walk from College and more peaceful than the middle of the city, it has become the principal choice of accommodation for Oriel's graduates and finalists." Oriel Graduate Accomodation ", ''orielmcr.org''. URL last accessed on < 2006-04-23 >. The site also has its own common rooms, squash court, Gymnasium and support staff.


Bartlemas

In 1328 ).
Bartlemas is now a conservation area that incorporates the remaining buildings of the leper hospital, college sports ground, landscaping for wildlife, with some small scale urban development.


THE COLLEGE GRACE


"''Benedicte Deus, qui pascis nos an iuventute nostra et praebes cibum omni carni, reple gaudio et laetitia corda nostra, ut nos, affatim quod satis est habentes, abundemus in omne opus bonum. Per Jesum Christum Dominum Nostrum, cui Tecum et Spiritu Sancto sit omnis honos, laus et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen.''"

"Blessed God, who feeds us from our youth and provides food for all flesh, fill our hearts with joy and gladness, that we, having enough to satisfy us, may abound in every good work. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with You and the Holy Spirit, be all honour, praise, and power for all ages. Amen."


THE COLLEGE ARMS

]]
]] In Heraldic terminology: ''Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or within a bordure engrailed argent''

The arms of the College are basically those of the founder Edward II , the three gold lions of England. However, as no-one can bear another's arms unaltered, a silver border was added "for difference".

The three feathers, often adopted by members of the College, can be found in decorations around college and is the motif on the college crested tie. It probably represents Edward, The Black Prince ; however, it has been suggested that it stands for King Charles I , who was Prince Of Wales when the college was rebuilt in the 17th Century .

College colours are two white stripes on navy.


STUDENT LIFE

Oriel has a reputation for its success in Rowing , in particular the two college rowing events Torpids and Eights Week . In 2005 they remained " Head Of The River " in Torpids and rowed over second in Eights Week. In 2006 Oriel claimed the double headship in Torpids, rowing over as Head of the River in both the men's and women's first divisions.

Since 2001, Oriel College students have chosen not to be affiliated to the University-wide Students' Union, OUSU . The college had a reputation for students to be more Right -leaning than the other Oxford colleges. This is no longer the case.

As well as rooms for accommodation, the buildings of Oriel include the Chapel, Hall, two libraries, a bar, and common rooms for dons, graduates and undergraduates. There are also sports ground and boat-house facilities.

Accommodation is provided for all undergraduates, and for some graduates, though some accommodation is off-site. Members are generally expected to dine in hall, where there are two sittings every evening, one informal and one formal (where jackets, ties and gowns are worn). The Bar, situated underneath the Hall, serves food from mid morning and drinks in the evening. There is both a Junior Common Room (JCR), between Second and Third quad, and a Middle Common Room (MCR), on the Island Site.

The college lending library supplements the university libraries (many of which are non-lending), with over 100,000 volumes, it is one of the largest college libraries in the university. The library will purchase any book needed for the course. Most undergraduate tutorials are carried out in the college, though for some specialist papers undergraduates may be sent to tutors in other colleges.

Croquet may be played in St Mary quad in the summer as can Bowls in the First quad. The sports ground is mainly used for Cricket , Tennis , Rugby and Soccer . Rowing is carried out from the boat-house across Christ Church Meadow .


PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH ORIEL COLLEGE

See Also: List of Oriel College people



Oriel College has housed many notable and famous people, from Statesmen to Cricketers to Industrialists . The most famous of these is probably Sir Walter Raleigh , a 16th Century Explorer .

Oriel has produced two Nobel Prize winners: Alexander Todd (Chemistry) and James Meade (Economics). It has also produced many churchmen, several bishops, cardinals, and governors.

As with all Colleges, Oriel has a more or less permanent set of teaching staff, known as dons. Robert Evans and Sir John Elliott , both Regius Professors Of Modern History are currently on its staff, three former dons, including Thomas Arnold , have also held the post.

:See also


REFERENCES



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