Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/110

98 OXFORD tion of the Royal Society. The gardens lie to the north Wor- and east. Worcester College, which has recently cele- cester. brated the sexcentenary of its first building in 1283 as Gloucester Hall, was at first a place of study for Benedictines from all parts of the country, until it was dissolved at the Reformation, when the buildings passed to the see of Oxford. In 1560 the founder of St John s College reopened it as St John the Baptist s Hall, but after changing fortunes, and an attempt in 1689 to form it into a college for students of the Greek Church, it came in 1714 into the hands of the trustees of Sir Thomas Cookes, who founded the present college. The garden front still retains the antique style of Gloucester Hall, looking over the extensive gardens and pond. The other buildings rose at various periods in the 18th century, while the splendid interior decoration of the chapel, with its profusion of marble, inlaid wood, and painted panel-work, designed by Burgess, was completed in 1870. Halls. Until Laud s time the number of private halls was con siderable; by him five only were allowed to survive: Magdalen Hall, now merged in Hertford College; St Mary Hall, founded in 1333, now destined to be absorbed into Oriel, as New Inn Hall into Balliol,. and St Alban Hall into Merton ; and St Edmund Hall, which, though closely connected with Queen s College, is likely to maintain a separate existence. City The public buildings of the city, as distinct from the build- university, do not require a detailed notice. The town- hall dates from 1752, the corn exchange and post-office from 1863 and 1882 respectively. The chief hospital is the Radcliffe Infirmary, opened in 1770, and due to the same liberal benefactor who has been mentioned in con nexion with the Radcliffe Library, and who left funds for the erection of the large and important Radcliffe Obser vatory, completed in 1795. There are two ladies halls, Lady Margaret s and Somerville, and High Schools for boys and -girls. Port Meadow is a large pasture to the north-west of the city, which has belonged from time immemorial to the freemen of the city. An extensive system of drainage has been recently carried out, involving the formation of a sewage farm at Littlemore. Water is supplied from large covered tanks on Headington Hill, into which the water is forced from reservoirs at New Hinksey. The University Park, comprising 80 acres, is beautifully situated on the banks of the Cherwell. The diocese of Oxford now includes the three "home counties" of Berkshire (originally in the diocese of Wessex, then till 1836 in that of Sherborne or Salisbury), Buckinghamshire (until 1845 under the see of Lincoln), and Oxfordshire (formerly in the dioceses of Dorchester, Winchester, or Lincoln). The patents for the formation of the bishopric bear dates of 1542 and 1546. The Cathe- cathedral, already mentioned as part of Christ Church, was at first the church of St Frideswide, begun so far as the present buildings are concerned in about 1160, and forming " a fine example of Late Norman and Transitional work of early character." The nave is pure Norman ; the choir, with its richer ornament and delicate pendants, is the Transitional part; the present remarkable east end, having a circular window over two smaller round-headed ones, is believed to be a restoration of the original design. Part of the western end of the nave was destroyed by Wolsey to allow the large quadrangle to be formed. Within the cathedral the most noteworthy objects are the 15th century "shrine of St Frideswide," the modern reredos, and the bishop s throne, a memorial of Bishop Wilberforce. The stained glass is of different styles. The octagonal spire, 144 feet high, is of a peculiar pitch. The chapter house on the south side of the nave, and the fine doorway leading from it to the cloisters, are early 13th-century dral. work. Of the numerous parish churches some have already been noticed. All Saints was built early in the 18th century, from designs by Dean Aldrich, in a classical style, but with much originality of detail ; St Philip and St James s and St Barnabas s are among the most recent, the latter being in imitation of Italian style with separate campanile. The Roman Catholic church of St Aloysius in St Giles s was opened in 1875. History. The legends connecting the city with Brute the Trojan, Mempric, and the Druids are not found before the 14th century, and are absolutely without foundation. The name, which is found in the 10th century as Oxenaford, and in the llth as Oxenford, the Welsh (more modern) Rhydychain, points to a ford for oxen across the shallow channels of the divided river near Folly ] ridge, though many on theoretical grounds connect the first part of the word with a Celtic root signifying water, comparing it with Ouse, Oseney, Exford. and even Isis. The nucleus of the town was probably a nunnery, afterwards a house of secular canons, founded in honour of St Frideswide in or before the 9th century, on the site of the present cathedral. After the peace of Wedmore (886) Oxford became a border town between Mercia and "Wessex, and coins of Alfred with the legend OKSNAFORDA (on some types ORSNAFORDA) seem to prove that a mint was established there before the close of that century. The earliest undoubted mention of the city is in the English Chronicle under the year 912, when Edward the Elder made London and Oxford a part of his own kingdom of Wessex. To this period probably belongs the castle mound, still a conspicuous object on the New Road between the railway stations and the city, and similar to those found at Warwick and Marlborough. The subsequent notices of Oxford in the Chronicle before the Conquest prove the rapidly increasing importance of the place, both strategically as the chief stronghold of the valley of the upper Thames as when the Danes attacked and burned it in 1009 and Sweyn took hostages from it and Winchester in 1013 and politically as a meeting-place for gemots in which the interests of north and south England were alike affected. Witenagemots were held there in 1015, when two Danish thegns were treacherously murdered ; in 1036, when Harold was chosen king ; and in 1065. In 1018, when Cnut first became king of all England, he selected the same spot for the confirmation by Danes and English of "Edgar s law." But the murder of King Edmund in 1016 and the death of Harold in 1039 seem to have given rise to the saying that it was ill-omened for the kings of England to enter or reside at Oxford. The Domesday survey of Oxford (c. 1086) is more than usually complete, and from it we gather that about six-sevenths of the town was held in equal proportions by ecclesiastical owners, by Norman followers of the king, and by citizens, one-seventh being in the king s hands. The priory church of St Frideswide, and the churches of St Mary the Virgin, St Michael, St Peter in the East, and St Ebbe are mentioned ; from other sources it is known that St Martin s at Carfax was in existence, and not less than seven more before the close of the century. It is a curious fact that, while two hundred and forty-three houses (domi) paid tax, no less than four hundred and seventy-eight were waste (i-astae), and even of the mansiones one hundred and ninety-one were habitable and not fewer than one hundred and six waste. Oxford grew steadily when governed by the strong hand of Robert d Oili (1070?-! 119 ?). The existing remains which may be attributed to his building are the castle tower containing the church of St George and a crypt, the crypt and part of the church of St Peter s in the East, and the tower of St Michael s ; but it is known that he repaired other churches and built bridges. His nephew founded the abbey of Oseney, for Augustinian canons, in 1129. During the 12th century Beaumont Palace, built by Henry I. outside the north wall of the city, was a favourite royal residence, and the birthplace both of Richard I. and of John. In the charter granted by Henry I. the privileges of the town rank with those of London, and a large Jewry was formed near the site of the present town-hall. The flight of the empress Matilda from the castle over the ice-bound river to Abingdon in 1142, when besieged by Stephen, is a well-known incident. If we may trust the Oseney Chronicle "it is in 1133 that wo find the first traces of organized teaching in Oxford, the germ of the great university which was destined to far outstrip the city in privileges, wealth, and fame (see UNIVERSITIES). During the 13th century parliaments were often held in the town, notably the Mad Parliament in 1258, which led to the enactment of the "Provi sions of Oxford." But this time also witnessed the beginning ot the long struggle between the town and university, which produced serious riots, culminating on St Scholastica s day in 1354, and finally subjected the former to serious curtailment of its powers and jurisdiction. History has preserved the names of several heroes in the struggle for civic independence, but the issue was never doubtful, and the annals of the city in succeeding centuries admit of briefer narration. The religious orders found their way early