Oriel College, Oxford

Middle Ages On 24 April 1324, the Rector of the University Church, Adam de Brome, obtained a licence from King Edward II to found a "certain college of scholars studying various disciplines in honour of the Virgin" and to endow it to the value of £30 a year. Brome bought two properties in 1324, Tackley's Hall, on the south side of the High Street, and Perilous Hall, on the north side of Broad Street, and as an investment, he also purchased the advowson of a church in Aberford. In 1329, the college received by royal grant a large house belonging to the Crown, known as La Oriole, on the site of what is now First Quad. It is from this property that the college acquired its common name, "Oriel"; the name was in use from about 1349. The word referred to an oratoriolum, or oriel window, forming a feature of the earlier property. Early Modern of the college, looking east across the front entrance and First Quad; on the left is the tiered garden where Second Quad would be built. In 1643, a general obligation was imposed on Oxford colleges to support the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. The King called for Oriel's plate, and almost all of it was given, the total weighing . of gilt, and . of "white" plate. In the same year the college was assessed at £1 of the weekly sum of £40 charged on the colleges and halls for the fortification of the city. and during the 1830s, two intellectually eminent fellows of Oriel, John Keble and Saint John Henry Newman, supported by Canon Pusey (also an Oriel fellow initially, later at Christ Church) and others, formed a group known as the Oxford Movement, alternatively as the Tractarians, or familiarly as the Puseyites. The group was disgusted by the then Church of England and sought to revive the spirit of early Christianity. Tension arose in college since Provost Edward Hawkins was a determined opponent of the Movement. A second feast day was added in 2007 by a benefaction from George Moody, formerly of Oriel, to be celebrated on or near St George's Day (23 April). The only remaining gaudy had then been Candlemas; the new annual dinner was to be known as the St. George's Day Gaudy. The dinner is black tie and gowns, and by request of the benefactor, the main course will normally be goose. == Buildings and environs ==

First Quad (Front Quad) in the centre leads into a hall, the doors on either side lead to the undercroft (left) and chapel (right). The Oriel Street site was acquired between 1329 and 1392. Behind the high table is a portrait of Edward II; underneath is a longsword brought to the college in 1902 after being preserved for many years on one of the college's estates at Swainswick, near Bath. On either side are portraits of Sir Walter Raleigh and Joseph Butler. The other portraits around the hall include other prominent members of Oriel such as Matthew Arnold, Thomas Arnold, James Anthony Froude, John Keble, John Henry Newman, Richard Whately and John Robinson. In 2002, the college commissioned one of the largest portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, measuring , from Jeff Stultiens to hang in the hall; the painting was unveiled the following year. The stained glass in the windows display the coats of arms of benefactors and distinguished members of the college; three of the windows were designed by Ninian Comper. The bronze lectern was given to the college in 1654. The black and white marble paving dates from 1677 to 1678. Except for the pews on the west, dating from 1884, the panelling, stalls and screens are all 17th-century, as are the altar and carved communion rails. Behind the altar is the oil-on-panel painting The Carrying of the Cross, also titled Christ Falls, with the Cross, before a City Gate, by the Flemish Renaissance painter Bernard van Orley. A companion piece to the painting is in the National Gallery of Scotland. The organ case dates from 1716; originally designed by Christopher Schreider for St Mary Abbots Church, Kensington, it was acquired by Oriel in 1884. Above the entrance to the chapel is an oriel that, until the 1880s, was a room on the first floor that formed part of a set of rooms that were occupied by Richard Whately, and later by Saint John Henry Newman. Whately is said to have used the space as a larder and Newman is said to have used it for his private prayers – when the organ was installed in 1884, the space was used for the blower. The wall that once separated the room from the ante-chapel was removed, making it accessible from the chapel. The organ was built by J. W. Walker & Sons in 1988; Second Quad (Back Quad) and completed in 1796, this building houses the senior common rooms and library. 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. Its 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 First Quad are repeated on them – only here the seven gables are all alike. Between 1817 and 1819, The two-storey 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 first purpose-built senior common rooms in Oxford, above is the library. The staircases of the interior façade are decorated with cartouches similar to those found in First Quad, and likewise bear the arms of important figures in the college's history; (13) Sir Walter Raleigh who was an undergraduate from 1572 to 1574, (14) John Keble who was a fellow between 1811 and 1835, (archway) Edward Hawkins who was provost from 1828 until 1882 and (15) Gilbert White who was an undergraduate from 1739 until 1743 and a fellow from 1744 until 1793. The building was not entirely well received; William Sherwood, Mayor of Oxford and Master of Magdalen College School, wrote: "Oriel [has] 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." Statue of Cecil Rhodes On the side facing the High Street, there is a statue of Oriel graduate Cecil Rhodes over the main entrance, with Edward VII and George V beneath. These formed part of a group of seven statues commissioned for the building from the sculptor Henry Pegram. The inscription reads: "", which, as well as acknowledging Rhodes's munificence, is a chronogram giving the date of construction, 1911. The statue has been the subject of protests for several years in the wake of the Rhodes Must Fall movement in 2015. Hundreds of protestors again demanded its removal in June 2020, in the wake of the removal of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol a few days previously. The statues had been targeted during the protests that arose following the murder of George Floyd in the United States. On 20 May 2021, however, the college decided not to remove the statue despite the majority of members of a commission to decide its future recommending removal; Oriel College cited costs and "complex" planning procedures. Roughly 150 Oxford lecturers stated they will not teach Oriel students more than is required in their contracts in protest at the decision to keep the statue. Island Site (O'Brien Quad) This is a convex quadrilateral of buildings, bordered by the High Street, and the meeting of Oriel Street and King Edward Street in Oriel Square. The site took six hundred years to acquire and although it contains teaching rooms and the Harris Lecture Theatre, it is largely given over to accommodation. On the High Street, No. 106 and 107 stand on the site of Tackley's Inn; built around 1295, In 1985, funded by a gift from Edgar O'Brien and £10,000 from the Pilgrim Trust, Kylyngworth's was refurbished along with Nos. 10, 9 and 7. is a portrait bust of former student and benefactor Cecil Rhodes. 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 pulled down 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 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. In the centre of the quad is the Harris Building, formerly Oriel court, a real tennis court where Charles I played tennis with his nephew Prince Rupert in December 1642 and King Edward VII had his first tennis lesson in 1859. The building was in use as a lecture hall by 1923, and after modernisation between 1991 and 1994, funded by Sir Philip and Lady Harris, contains accommodation, a seminar room and the college's main lecture theatre. The bronze plaque in the lobby commemorates his father, Captain Charles William Harris, after whom the building is named. The building was opened by John Major, then Prime Minister, on 10 August 1993. Rectory Road Bordered by the Cowley Road, this site was formerly Nazareth House, a residential care home convent – Goldie Wing and Larmenier House are its surviving buildings. Nazareth House itself was demolished to make room for two purpose-built halls of residence, James Mellon Hall and David Paterson House. The two new halls were opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 8 November 2000. As it is about ten 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. The site has its own common rooms, squash court, gymnasium and support staff. Bartlemas Bartlemas is a conservation area that incorporates the remaining buildings of a leper hospital founded by Henry I; it includes the sports grounds for Oriel, Jesus and Lincoln Colleges, along with landscaping for wildlife and small scale urban development. In 1326 Provost Adam de Brome was appointed warden of St Bartholomew's; In 1649 the college rebuilt the main hospital range north of the chapel, destroyed in the Civil War, as a row of four almshouses, called Bartlemas House. Bartlemas Chapel and two farm cottages are the other extant buildings. Filming location The buildings of Oriel College were used as a location for Hugh Grant's first film, Privileged (1982), as well as Oxford Blues (1984), True Blue (1991) and The Dinosaur Hunter (2000). The television crime series Inspector Morse used the college in the episodes "Ghost in the Machine" (under the name of "Courtenay College"), "The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn", "The Infernal Serpent", "Deadly Slumber", "Twilight of the Gods" and "Death is now My Neighbour", In the ITV crime drama Chancer, the third quad was used in the episode "Trust" (1990). == Heraldry ==

on a roof boss , a heraldic badge used by the college, on the main gate The college's coat of arms are blazoned: "Gules, three lions passant guardant or within a bordure engrailed argent". The blazoning was recorded at the Visitation of 1574. The Prince of Wales's feathers, often adopted as insignia by members of the college, appear as decorative elements within the college buildings and appear on the official college tie. It probably represents Edward, the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, who first adopted the device, the senior grandson of King Edward II, although it may represent King Charles I, who was Prince of Wales when the building of First Quad began in the 17th century. In 2009, the College of Arms granted the college the use of a heraldic badge, particularly for the boat club and the Tortoise Club, a society of college rowing alumni. The badge is blazoned: "A tortoise displayed the shell circular azure charged with two concentric annulets argent". == Prayer and graces ==

One of the following two college prayers is recited by the provost or the senior fellow present at the conclusion of Evensong on Sundays and other services: A full list of benefactors is read out on certain occasions, including Commemoration Sunday and at services before gaudies. After the meal, the provost or the presiding fellow may recite a short Latin prayer (; 'Let praise be given to/by the Blessed One, though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen') instead of the following full post cibum grace: == Student life ==

and The Queen's Colleges. Accommodation is provided for all undergraduates, and for some graduates, though some accommodation is off-site. Between 2001 and 2010, Oriel students chose not to be affiliated to the Oxford University Student Union. In a 2010 student referendum, the junior common room decided to re-affiliate. However, in 2013, in a fresh referendum, the Oriel JCR again voted to disaffiliate from OUSU. Arts Oriel has its own drama society, the Oriel Lions, which funds college and Oxford University shows. The college also has its own student-run publication, The Poor Print, which publishes a range of content, including news, poetry, photography, science, comment, drawing, music, events and entertainment. Each issue is based around a theme, decided upon by the editors, and content comes from members of all common rooms and the college staff. Originally set up in 2013, the publication in its current guise was established in Michaelmas 2014 as an online-only magazine, with a fortnightly print edition then introduced in 2015. Sport Croquet may be played in St Mary quad in the summer, as can bowls on the south lawn of First Quad. Rowing , the double headship winning Oriel Men's and Women's Eights maintained the college's reputation for success in rowing. Rowing at the college is run by the Oriel College Boat Club, carried out from the college's own boat house near Christ Church Meadow. Oriel has had a reputation for its success in rowing, in particular the two intercollegiate bumps races, Torpids and Eights Week. As of 2018, Oriel holds 33 Torpids men's headships, the most of any college. It also holds 32 Summer Eights Headships, second to Christ Church, at 33; from 1968 to 2018, Oriel won 25 headships. In 2006, Oriel claimed the first ever double headship in Torpids, rowing over as Head of the River in both the men's and women's first divisions. In 2018, the college repeated this victory with their second double headship. It remains the only college to have achieved a double headship in Torpids. In addition to the Oxford-based races, Oriel crews compete in external events including the Head of the River Race, the Women's Eights Head of the River Race, the Henley Boat Races and regional events. In 2016 the men's first boat won the men's eights collegiate event at the Fairbairn Cup, it won again in 2017 and won the entire event in 2018. In Tom Brown at Oxford by Thomas Hughes, Oriel's win in the 1842 Head of the River Race, with Oriel bumping Trinity, was re-written as Brown's college "St Ambrose" taking first place, with "Oriel" in second place. == Associated people ==

. Oriel has produced many notable alumni, from statesmen and cricketers to industrialists; a notable undergraduate in the 16th century was Sir Walter Raleigh, an explorer during the Age of Discovery. At the graduate level, the college boasts as former fellows the principal founders of the Oxford Movement: John Keble, Edward Bouverie Pusey, and John Henry Newman. The college has produced many other churchmen, bishops, cardinals, governors, and two Nobel Prize recipients: Alexander Todd (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1957) and James Meade (Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, 1977). The professorial fellowships held by the college are the Regius Professor of Modern History, currently held by Lyndal Roper; the Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture, currently held by Hindy Najman; the Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion, currently held by Mark Wynn; and the Nuffield Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. == Notable possessions ==

Oriel has three notable pieces of medieval plate. The first is a French beaker and cover in silver gilt; past estimates on its dating from 1460 to 1470 are thought mistaken, and circa 1350, with later decoration, was later expounded. It was bought in 1493 for £4.18s.1d., under the mistaken belief that it had belonged to Edward II. Among the later plate are two flagons, two patens and a chalice which date from 1640 to 1641. The larger pieces of Buttery Plate include the Sanford and Heywood grace cups, dated 1654–1655 and 1669–1670, a rosewater ewer gifted in 1669, a punchbowl dating from 1735 to 1736, and the great Wenman tankard presented in 1679, which holds a gallon and is the largest in Oxford. Many of the 17th- and 18th-century tankards were given by commensales and commoners as a form of an admission fee. ==Honorary fellows==

Honorary fellows are: • Malcolm Airs • Sir Al Aynsley-Green • Jonathan Barnes • Linda Doyle • R. J. W. Evans • Eric Foner • Robert Fox • Charles Handy • Philip Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham • John Hegarty == See also ==