the one from Corpus; the other had been at Oriel. Again in
1815 Thomas Arnold, afterwards headmaster of Rugby, was
elected from Corpus, with Renn Dickson Hampden of Oriel.
Later fellows were John Henry Newman (1822) and Edward
Pusey (1823). James Anthony Froude entered the college in
1835; Matthew Arnold became a fellow in 1845. Cecil John
Rhodes matriculated in 1873, and, besides his foundation of
Rhodes scholarships, made a large bequest to the college.
Pembroke College was founded in 1624. Thomas Tesdale (1547–1609) of Glympton, Oxfordshire, left money for the support of scholars in Oxford, indicating Balliol College as his preference, but not insisting on this. Richard Wightwick (d. 1630), rector of East Ilsley, Berkshire, added to Tesdale’s bequest, and though Balliol College desired to benefit by it, James I. preferred to figure as the founder of a new college with these moneys. Pembroke, which was named after William Herbert, earl of Pembroke, then chancellor of the university, was thus developed out of Broadgates Hall, which had long been eminent as the residence of students in law. The original college foundation was for a master, 10 fellows and 10 scholars, but a number of scholarships and exhibitions has been added by benefactors. Of the scholarships some are awarded by preference to candidates possessing certain qualifications, notably that of education at Abingdon school, which Tesdale intended to benefit by his bequest. The buildings of Pembroke lie south and west of St Aldate’s Church, opposite Christ Church; they surround two picturesque quadrangles, but are in great part modern. The college preserves some relics of Samuel Johnson, who entered it in 1728.
Queen’s College was founded in 1340–1341 by Robert de Eglesfield, chaplain of Philippa, queen-consort of Edward III., and was named in her honour. Her son, Edward the Black Prince, was entered on the books of the college, and Henry V. received education here. Several queens were among the benefactors of the college—Henrietta Maria, Caroline, Charlotte. The queen-consort is always the patroness of the college. The foundation consists of a provost, from 14 to 16 fellows, and about 25 scholars. There was formerly an intimate connexion between this college and the north of England. Five scholarships, called Eglesfield scholarships, are now given by preference to natives of Cumberland or Westmorland, and the Hastings exhibitions founded by Lady Elizabeth Hastings (1682–1739) are open only to candidates from various schools in these counties and in Yorkshire. This connexion dates from the foundation. Eglesfield (d. 1349) was probably a native of Eaglesfield in Cumberland, and provided that the 12 fellows or scholars of his foundation were preferably to be natives of this county or Westmorland. During the time of Wycliffe, who while rector of Lutterworth resided for two years in the college, the foundation was by a ruling of the visitor (the archbishop of York) actually confined to the two counties mentioned, and so remained until 1854. The buildings date mainly from the close of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th. They front High Street with a massive classical screen, flanked by the ends of the east and west ranges of buildings of the front quadrangle, and surmounted in the centre by a statue of Queen Caroline under a cupola. The buildings are the work of Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor. The library contains a valuable collection, especially of historical works, and is fitted with wood-carving by Grinling Gibbons. There is also here an interesting contemporary statue in wood of Queen Philippa. The chapel retains several medieval windows from the former Gothic chapel, and some stained glass painted by Abraham van Ling (1635). The college preserves two early customs—on Christmas day a dinner is held at which a boar’s head is carried in state into the hall, and an appropriate ancient carol is sung; and on New Year’s day a threaded needle, with the motto “Take this and be thrifty,” is presented to members in the college hall. The origin of this custom is traced to a rebus on the founder’s name—aiguille et fil (needle and thread).
St John’s College was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White, Kt., alderman of London (1492–1567). It occupied the site of a house for Cistercian students in the university, founded by Archbishop Chicheley in 1437 and dedicated to St Bernard of Clairvaux. White’s foundation was originally for a president, 50 fellows and scholars, and a chaplain, choir, &c., for the chapel. White established the intimate connexion which still exists between his college and the Merchant Taylors’ school in London, in the foundation of which, as a prominent officer in the Merchant Taylors’ Company, he had a share. The college foundation now consists of a president, from 14 to 18 fellowships, not less than 28 scholarships, of which 15 are appropriated to Merchant Taylors’ school, and 4 senior scholarships, similarly appropriated. The buildings incorporate some of Chicheley’s work, as in the front upon St Giles’s Street, with its fine gateway. Similarly, in the front quadrangle, the hall and chapel belonged to the house of St Bernard, though subsequently much altered. A passage with a rich fan-traceried roof gives access from the front to the back quadrangle, on the south and east sides of which is the library. The south wing dates from 1596, the east from 1631. The latter is of the greater interest; it was built at the charge of William Laud, and the designs have been commonly attributed to Inigo Jones. The north and west sides of the quadrangle, of the same period, have cloisters. The union of the classical style, which predominates here, with the characteristic late Perpendicular of the period, makes this quadrangle architecturally one of the most interesting in Oxford, as the college gardens, which its east front overlooks, are among the most picturesque. The most notable period of the history of the college is associated with Laud, who entered the college in 1589, was elected a fellow in 1593, became president in 1611 and chancellor of the university in 1629. Relics of him are preserved in the library, and he is buried in the chapel, together with White, the founder, and William Juxon, president 1621–1633, and afterwards archbishop of Canterbury.
Trinity College was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas Pope, Kt. (d. 1559), of Tittenhanger, Hertfordshire. He acquired and used for his college the ground and buildings of Durham College, the Oxford house of Durham Abbey, originally founded in the 13th century (see Durham, city). Trinity is therefore one of the instances of collegiate foundation forming a sequel to the dissolution of the monasteries, for Durham had been surrendered in 1540. Pope’s foundation provided for a president, 12 fellows and 12 scholars. There are now 16 scholarships and a number of exhibitions. There are also some scholarships in natural science, on the foundation (1873) of Thomas Millard, whose bequest also provides for a lecturer and laboratory. The front quadrangle of Trinity lies open to Broad Street; on its east side are modern buildings (by T. G. Jackson, 1887), on the north, the president’s house and the chapel in a classic style, dating from 1694. It contains a rich alabaster tomb of Pope, the founder, and his third wife, and has a fine carved screen and altar-piece by Grinling Gibbons. The remainder of the buildings, forming two small quadrangles north of the chapel, includes parts of the old Durham college, but these have been much altered. Gardens extend to the east. John Henry Newman was a commoner of this college; Edward Augustus Freeman, the historian, and William Stubbs, bishop of Oxford, were among its fellows.
University College (commonly abbreviated Univ.) has claimed to find its origin in a period far earlier than that to which the earliest historical notice of the university itself can be assigned. In a petition to Richard II., respecting a dispute as to property the members of the “mickel universitie hall in Oxford” quote King Alfred as the founder of the house, for 26 divines. The date of 872 was claimed, and in 1872 a millenary celebration was held by the college. Moreover, in 1727 a dispute as to the mastership of the college led to an appeal to the Court of King’s Bench to determine the right of visitation, and it was found that this right rested with the crown (as it now does) on the ground of the foundation by Alfred. Leaving tradition, however, it is found that William of Durham, archdeacon of Durham, dying in 1249, bequeathed money to the university to support masters at Oxford. In 1253 the university acquired its first
