ENGLAND AND WALES. 



those of any other college in Oxford. Oriel 

 College, a comparatively modern structure, is 

 very picturesque. New College ranks among the 

 noblest buildings in the city 'the chapel, the hall, 

 the cloisters, the groined gateways, and some 

 original doors and windows, remain in their 

 exterior at least as they came from the hand of 

 their master architect,' William of Wykeham, 500 

 years ago. Queen's College is Grecian in its style 

 of architecture. It has a spacious and handsome 

 chapel, and good library. Trinity College is also 

 Grecian in its style of architecture. University 

 College is a mixture of Gothic and Italian. 

 Exeter College has a splendid frontage to the 



I west, and its chapel (built 1857-58), in the Gothic 

 style, is the finest modern building in the city. 

 It has also an excellent hall and a beautiful 

 library. Balliol College has a remarkably fine 

 chapel, built a few years ago. The chief build- 

 ings connected with the university, besides the 

 Bodleian and the Ashmolean Museum, are the 

 Radcliffe Library, a circular structure, adorned 

 with Corinthian columns, and surmounted by a 

 dome ; the Radcliffe Observatory, crowned by an 

 octagonal tower, in imitation of the Temple of the 

 Winds at Athens ; the University Printing-office ; 

 and the Taylor Institution, founded ' for the teach- 

 ing the European languages,' an exceedingly 

 handsome and extensive range of buildings. The 

 Botanic Gardens are not far from the Cherwell, 

 and nearly opposite Magdalen College. Oxford is 

 a municipal and parliamentary borough, but its 

 magistrates have no authority over the university. 

 The city sends, since 1885, only one member; 

 the university sends two members to parlia- 

 ment. Oxford, by the Saxons called Oxnaford, 

 and in Domesday Book, Oxeneford probably 

 from its having been originally a ford for 

 the passage of oxen is of great antiquity. 

 The date of its origin is unknown, but as early 

 as the eighth century, there was a nunnery estab- 

 lished there ; and in 802, an Act of Confirmation 

 by Pope Martin II. describes it as an ancient 

 seat of learning. It is said to have been a resi- 

 dence of King Alfred, and also of Canute, who held 

 several parliaments within its walls. The towns- 

 men closed their gates against William the Con- 

 queror, who stormed the town in 1067, and gave 

 it to one of his followers, Robert D'Oyley, who 

 built a castle there, to overawe the disaffected 

 Saxons, some ruins of which are still to be seen. 

 The paction which ended the strife between 

 Henry II. and Stephen was drawn up at Oxford. 

 In the reign of Edward III. the preaching of 

 Wicliffe excited great commotion among the 

 students, and threatened the dissolution of the 

 university. In the reign of ' Bloody Mary,' Ox- 

 ford saw the martyrdoms of Ridley, Latimer $ and 

 Cranmer. During the great civil war of the 

 I7th century, it was for a while the head- 

 quarters of the royalist forces, and was con- 

 spicuous for its adherence to Charles I. Since 

 that period, it at least its university has been 

 characterised by an extreme devotion to ' the 

 church' and the 'king.' The university is errone- 

 ously said to have been founded by King Alfred ; 

 but it is certain that, from very early times, 

 students resorted to Oxford to attend lectures there 

 delivered by learned men, and that they lived in 

 the houses of the townspeople. Sometimes the 

 students combined so as to secure the services 



of a common teacher, with whom they lived in a 

 large tenement called an inn, hostel, or hall. The 

 residence of the students with the townspeople 

 gradually ceased ; and by Queen Elizabeth's time, 

 it had become obligatory on the undergradu- 

 ates to reside in some college or hall, for their 

 first twelve terms at least. But now under- 

 graduates may in most colleges live in lodg- 

 ings from the beginning of their course. The 

 colleges were founded at various periods from 

 the end of the I3th century to the beginning of 

 the 1 8th. Fourteen out of the nineteen were 

 founded before the Reformation. Under a statute 

 passed in 1868, any man may now become a 

 member of the university without becoming a 

 member of a college or hall, provided he satisfies- 

 certain disciplinary requirements ; for which pur- 

 pose, those unattached students are under the 

 control of a Board of Delegates, but no special 

 provision is made for their instruction. In Wor- 

 cester College and the halls, there is still a class 

 of fellow-commoners who pay more than the 

 ordinary fees and enjoy certain privileges. They 

 consist mainly of men above the usual age of 

 undergraduates, who wish to have the intellectual 

 advantages of the university without being subject 

 to the common routine of discipline. All other 

 formal distinctions between wealth, or position,, 

 and poverty, are almost wholly abolished. Special 

 privileges are no longer given to peers ; nor is- 

 any regard now had to the poverty of candidates, 

 as it was formerly in the case of certain scholar- 

 ships. The cost of tuition varies at different 

 colleges, but an average of ^65 may be given 

 as paid by the undergraduate during his whole 

 career. This payment is at some colleges dis- 

 tributed over three, at others, over four years. 

 Private tuition has grown to be an institution in. 

 Oxford, though not formally recognised. Many 

 of the ablest young men, after taking their degree, 

 remain in Oxford a year or two, taking private 

 pupils. Private tutors usually charge 10 a. term 

 for three hours a week. There are four terms 

 in each year. With regard to the expenses of 

 Oxford, it is impossible to be definite. They vary 

 at different colleges, not only indirectly, from the 

 tone of the society, but even directly, from the 

 charges made for necessaries. A man should 

 be exceedingly comfortable at Oxford with 200 

 a year; with .150, he can do, with economy. 

 Many young men could not with prudence be 

 exposed to the difficulty of living in Oxford on 

 less than the latter sum. There have, indeed, 

 been instances of men passing creditably through 

 the university course on .100 a year ; and returns 

 procured by the delegates for unattached students, 

 cover their board, lodging, and tuition for about 

 a year. The necessary expenses do not exceed 

 that sum. The habits of the young men cause a 

 great part of the expense. 



Cambridge, the chief town of the county so 

 named, takes its name from the river Cam, 

 anciently called the Granta. By the Saxons, Cam- 

 bridge appears to have been known as Granta- 

 brygge. The population of the municipal borough 

 in 1 88 1 was 35,363 ; that of the parliamentary 

 >orough, 40,878. The town sends one and the 

 university two members to parliament. The town 

 is not generally pretty or picturesque ; but the 

 gardens at the back of the college, by the Cam, 

 are exceedingly beautiful in summer. The history 



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