Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/154

OXFORD. 142 OXFORD. philosophy on the S. side, civil law on the N., geometry, arithmetic, and metaphysics on the E., and so on. With the exception, however, of those devoted to medicine and natural philosophy, they are no longer appropriated to their original purposes, but have been partly absorbed into the Bodleian Library, while another portion is used as a gallery for the celebrated marbles presented to the University in 1677 by Henry Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, and known as the " Arundel Marbles ; " while at the N.E. corner are the rooms which are now called par excellence the " schools," in which the public exami- nations of the students are held for " little-go," modera- tions, and " great-go." The principal entrance to the schools ia from Catherine-street, opposite to Magdalen Hall, under a groined archway with carved oak folding-doors. The arch is surmounted by a tower composed of the five orders of architecture, and con- taining four rooms or stories ; the first and second of these form part of the Bodleian Library and picture- gallery ; the third is the Archive Hoom, in which are deposited the muniments, registers, and various other public documents belonging to the University ; while the fourth, which was originally designed as an observatory, is now used as a class-room by the reader in experi- mental philosophy. On the western side of the schools' quadrangle is the divinity school. This building, which was the basement story of the first, or Duke Humphrey's library, was commenced in 1427, and finished in 1480. It is a fine specimen of Gothic architecture, with a vaulted roof and pendants, and an exceedingly handsome entrance doorway. By the time of Edward VI. it had become so dilapidated that weeds and nettles grew in it, and a pound was erected close by its side. In 1625, however, it was repaired so far as to bo available for the sittings of the House of Commons the House of Lords sitting in the picture-gallery, while the Privy Council met at Christ Church, when the court was driven from London in consequence of the plague. During the Civil War it was used as a granary, and at the end of the 17th century it was restored to its present state, under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, who opened the door on the N. side, both to add to the effect and give greater facilities for the entrance into the theatre. The school is now used for the recitation of the exercises prescribed by the University for the degrees of B.D. and D.D., and is bisected by a carved rail, the upper part being reserved for the examiners and disputants, and the lower for the audience. At the TV. end of the divinity school is the Convocation House, which was built in 1639, and forms the basement story to the Selden portion of the Bodleian. Its name indicates its use, and the principal public business of the University is carried on here. Here, also, degrees are conferred upon those who havo " got through the schools," or, in other words, passed their examinations, and in the vestibule adjoin- ing the vice-chancellor matriculates newly-admitted students, and gentlemen are robed before going in to take their degrees, and to give their votes at certain elections which sometimes are held in the Convocation House. On these occasions the vice-chancellor and the proctors occupy seats at the upper end of the room, where also are seats for heads of houses and doctors, and the side benches are reserved for masters of arts and the general public. Upon the occasion of conferring degrees, when a candidate's name is proposed the proctors walk once up and down the room, one on each side. Should any one wish to stop the degree, they do so by pulling at a certain part of the proctor's gown as he is passing, and from this the word " plucking" has been applied to the refusal of a " testamur," or certificate of having passed, to those who havo failed to satisfy the examiners in the public schools. To the N. of the schools, at the comer of Broad-street and Catherine-street, and directly opposite to the S. end of Park-street, are the Claren- don Buildings, which are so called from having been founded out of the money raised by the sale of Lord Clarendon's " History of the Rebellion." the copyright of which was vested in the University by the author's son in the reign of Queen Anne. The " Clarendon " was finished in 1713, from the designs of Sir John Vanbrugh, and waa used as the University printing-office till 1830, when, owing to the want of sufficient space to meet the in- creasing demand for books issued by the University, tha business of the office was removed to the present pre- mises, opposite St. Paul's Church, and near Worcester College. The N. side of this building the frontage of which is 250 feet, the wings being 288 feet long by 33 wide is devoted to the printing of classical and miscellaneous works issued under the authority of a certain number of heads of houses and professors choeen by convocation, under the name of the " delegates of the press," while the S. side is reserved exclusively for the printing of Bibles and prayer-books. A printed list of the works printed at the " Clarendon," as the University printing-house is still styled (although the original building is now used for other purposes), is given in the Oxford University Calendar, and will be found to com- prise very valuable editions of grammars, lexicons, Greek and Latin classics, the Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, ecclesiastical history and biography, and various other subjects which have been deemed worthy of a place among the standard literature of the country. Besides this the University documents, such as the exa- mination papers, class lists, public notices, &c., are printed at the Clarendon, and all works printed for the Univer- sity since 1863, and those only, have the words e Typo- graplico Clarcndonitmo, or " at the Clarendon Press," in the imprint, whereas from 1829 up to 1863 the imprint was < Typographeo Academico, or " at the University Press." Tho old Clarendon building now contains offices for the use of the registrar of the University ; the "delegates" room, in which the meetings of the Hebdomadal Council and of delegacies take place ; the vice-chancellor's justice- room ; public lecture-rooms ; rooms for the professor of experimental philosophy, and the readers in mineralogy and geology ; and in the basement some rooms appro- priated to the police, and an office for the inspector of weights and measures. Besides these apartments there are some others in tho western portion of the building, which are used as showrooms for a geological and mino- ralogical museum, which was presented to the Ashmo- lean museum in 1800 and 1832. The latter-named building, however, being found too small to receive it, it was transferred to its present site, where it may b seen every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 10 till 4 o'clock. The Ashmolean Museum stands to tho V. of the Clarendon, being separated from it by the theatre. It owes its origin to Elias Ashmole, who presented to the university his own medals, coins, books, and MSS., together with a collection of natural curiosities bequeathed to him by John Tradescant and his son in 1662. For the reception of these the present building was erected, at the expense of the University, in 1683, under the superintendence of Sir C. Wren. It contains, amongst other things, the library of William Lily, the celebrated astrologer, the MSS. of Sir W. Dugdale, Antony-a-Wood, and others, besides a collection of coins, medals, antiquities, minerals, shells, specimens of natural history, casts, models, and original portraits and pictures. In the building there are also some rooms used as lecture-rooms by tho professor of chemistry, and a laboratory for the use of himself and his classes. The Radcliffo library, which lies to the rear of the schools, ia now used as a reading-room. It was completed in 1747, in accordance with the will of its founder, John Rad- clifle, M.D., Fellow of Lincoln College, who left his property to trustees for charitable purposes. He directed them, however, first to accumulate 40,000 for the pur- chase of this site and the erection of his library, and he left i'100 per annum for the maintenance of tho fabric, and 150 per annum as a stipend for the librarian. Since the opening of the University museum the trustees have allowed the books upon natural science to be removed to that institution, but tho other volumes re- main, and the library is regarded as a sort of branch of the Bodleian. The structure is circular in form, and a spacious dome rising from its centre gives it quite a distinctive feature among all the other public buildings