OXFORD UNIVERSITY. 



OXFORD UNIVERSITY. 



SO 



church, is a singularly interesting edifice : the tower and spire, and 

 the chancel are of the decorated style, but the body of the church is 

 perpendicular ; the south porch, an incongruous addition with twisted 

 pillars, was erected by Archbishop Laud. The spire is the finest 

 feature of the exterior ; it has elaborate pinnacles, with statues in 

 niches, and bold crockets and finials. St. Martin's, or Carfax church, 

 the tower of which, with its illuminated clock, fronts the High-street, 

 is usually regarded as the city church, it being attended by the mayor 

 and corporation. St. Peter's-in-the-East is the oldest church in the 

 city. It has a crypt of early Norman date ; the chancel is wholly 

 and the nave partly Norman ; the south aisle [is of the decorated 

 character. A few years back it was admirably restored. St Mary 

 Magdalene's church has some beautiful decorated feature?. When the 

 Martyrs' Memorial, which stands close to it, was built, this church 

 was carefully restored, and a new aisle, called the Martyrs' aisle, 

 added. St. Giles's church is partly of early English date. St Michael's 

 church is ancient but of different dates. St. Aldate's church is partly 

 of the decorated style. All Saints' church, erected from the designs 

 of Dean Aldrich early in the 18th century, is a curious mixture of 

 clastic and gothic forms. At the time of the Census of 1851 there 

 were S2 places of worship in Oxford, of which 19 belonged to the 

 Established church, 4 to Methodists, 3 to Baptists, 2 to Independents, 

 and 1 each to Quakers, Swedenborgians, Roman Catholics, and Jews. 

 There were 81 day schools, of which 23 were public schools with 

 9833 scholars, and 58 were private schools with 1121 scholars. There 

 are a book-club, a reading-room, a savings bank, a house of industry, 

 a medical dispensary, and a pauper lunatic asylum for the city and 

 borough. 



Some remains of Oxford castle and of the ancient town wall, as 

 well as of the works raised for the defence of the town in the civil 

 war of Charles I., are still in existence. The town-hall erected in 

 1745, and subsequently improved, is a spacious stone building. 

 There is a town-jail or bridewell. The conuty-hall was erected in 

 1840 at a cost of 15,000f. The other public buildings are the music- 

 hall and the Radcliffe infirmary. The market-days are Wednesday 

 and Saturday. Pairs are held three times in the year. The prosperity 

 of the town depends to a great extent on the University. Consider- 

 able traffic is carried on by the river, by the Oxford Canal, which 

 here communicates with it, and by railway. Oxford has railway com- 

 munications with the south and west of England, and with Wales by 

 eat Western railway ; and with the north and east of England, 

 the midland counties, and Scotland by means of the North-Western 

 railway and connected lines. Quarter-sessions for the city, weekly 

 petty sessions, a mayor's court, and a county court are held. 



The see of Oxford was founded by Henry VIII. in 1542; the seat 

 of it was at first fixed in the abbey church of Osency, but removed in 

 1546 to Christ church in Oxford. The diocese includes the countiee 

 of Oxford, Berks, and Bucks, each of which constitutes an arch- 

 deaconry. The chapter consists of the bishop, the three archdeacons, 

 i, chancellor, and eight canons. The income of the buhop 

 is 6000*. 



OXFORD UNIVERSITY. The origin of the Cniveriity of Oxford 

 is unknown. It has been said by many of our elder writer* that it 

 was founded by Alfred the Great. This statement is now generally 

 admitted to be fabulous, but it appears certain that Oxford was a place 

 of study in the reign of Edward the Confessor, if not earlier. 



Thn first places of education in Oxford appear to have been schools 

 for the instruction of youth. Thene schools were either claustral, that 

 is, appendages to convents and other religious houses; or secular, 

 snch as were kept by, or hired and rented of, the inhabitants of 

 Oxford. When many of these secular scholars resided in one house, 

 it gut the name uf Hall or Hostel (terms which are not yet out of 

 nse), and governors or principals were appointed to superintend the 

 discipline and thn affairs of the house. It is difficult to discover any 

 traces of a regular plan of education in Oxford before the foundation 

 of the first college by Walter de Merton. The statutes of this founder 

 for bis college are well digested : and they have been adapted with 

 little alteration to succeeding times in other colleges as well as his. 

 In the reign of Stephen, Vacarins, a Lombard by birth, establihed a 

 school of Roman law at Oxford. In the time of Henry III., we are 

 told by Wood in his ' Annals' (vol. I p. 206) that the number of 

 students amounted to 30,000; and even when Merton college was 

 founded, they are said to have amounted to 15,000. (Oul. Rishanger, 

 in Chron. sno manuscript. BibL Cott, Claud, D. vi, quoted by Wood, 

 nt supra, p. 266.) These numbers are evidently great exaggerations, 

 but there is no doubt that the University was then frequented by a 

 great number of student*, and many foreigners resorted to it from 

 Parts and other place*. 



'arliest charter of privileges to the University of Oxford as a 

 corporate body is of the 28th Hen. III. (Pat. 28 Hen. HI. m. 6, 

 'Libertates eoncewso Cancellario Universitatls Oxon.') It was fol- 

 lowed by numerous other charters, some of fresh privileges, and others 

 of general confirmation of the privileges formerly granted. The regu- 

 lation of the as-ise of bread and beer, and the supervision of weights 

 and measures, were granted to the chancellor of the university by Pat. 

 32 E<lw. III., m. 5. 



lame jealousy of the authority of the University which existed 

 in early time* among the townsmen of Cambridge, prevailed at Oxford 



also. The quarrels between the scholars and the townsmen often 

 broke out into open violence, sometimes accompanied with bloodshed. 

 Matthew Paris makes mention of these riots as early 113 1240. On 

 several occasions the scholars quitted the University for a time. At 

 one period they retired to Northampton, at another to Stamford. The 

 most serious riot on record was on the day of St. Scholastica the 

 Virgin, February 10th, 1354-55, wheu many lives were lost. Grosteste, 

 Bishop of Lincoln, in whose diocese the University then was, placed 

 the townsmen under an interdict, from which he released them in 

 1357, upon condition that the commonalty of Oxford, every year after, 

 should celebrate an anniversary on St. Scholastica's day, in St. Mary's 

 church, for the souls of the clerks and others killed in the conflict; 

 and that the mayor for the time being, the two bailifls, and three score 

 of the chiefest burghers, should personally appear on the said day in 

 St. Mary's church at mass, and offer at the great altar a penny each. 

 The mayor nnd commonalty at the same time gave a bond to pay a 

 hundred marks yearly to the University, as a compensation for the 

 great losses occasioned by the fray; but the bond was not to be 

 enforced so long as the mayor and 62 burghers came yearly and per- 

 formed the penance. The penance was mitigated in the reigu of 

 Elizabeth, and still more subsequently, but the citizens were not 

 wholly absolved from it till 1825, when the University seal was affixed 

 to an instrument which entirely released them from its observance. 



This University has been long governed by statutes, or bye-laws, 

 originated by the university authorities, and confirmed by the charters 

 of the kings of England. Those at present in force were drawn up in 

 1629, and confirmed by a charter from King Charles I., in 1635. The 

 corporation of the University is styled ' the chancellor, masters, and 

 scholars of the University of Oxford.' The highest officer is the 

 chancellor, who is elected by the members of convocation. At first 

 the election was for one, two, or three years; but afterwards for life. 

 The person chosen was a resident member of the University, and 

 always an ecclesiastic until the time of Sir John Mason, in 1553, who 

 was the first lay-chancellor. Since the time of Archbishop Sheldon, 

 in 1667, it has only been conferred upon noblemen of distinction who 

 have been members of the University. The vice-chancellor is elected 

 for four years, by annual nomination. He is always a resident member 

 of the University, and president of one of the colleges. The other 

 principal officers are the seneschallus, or high steward ; two proctors, 

 whose duty is to inspect the conduct of the members of the University 

 as to all matters of discipline and good order ; four pro-proctors ; a 

 deputy steward ; a public orator ; an assessor ; a registrar ; librarians 

 of the Bodleian and Radoliffe libraries ; keepers and curators of the 

 theatre, museums, galleries, Ac. ; and six commissioners of the markets. 



The constitution of the University differs scarcely at all from that of 

 CAMBRIDUK. There are 19 colleges and five halls at Oxford. As at 

 Cambridge the colleges are corporate bodies; but at Oxford the halls 

 are not incorporated, and consequently whatever estates or other 

 property they possess are held in trust by the University ; in all other 

 respects they possess equal privileges. Previous to the Act 17 and 18 

 Viet. cap. 81, passed August 7th, 1854, every student at the University 

 was obliged to have his name entered on the books of some college or 

 ball, but by the 25th section of that Act the vice-chancellor is cm- 

 powered to license Members of Convocation to open their residences, 

 if within a mile and a half of Carfax, for the reception of students 

 who shall be matriculated, and admitted to all the privileges of the 

 university, without being entered as members of any college or hall. 

 The Aot also provides that after the first day of Michaelmas term 

 1854 no oath is to be taken or declaration made on matriculating, or 

 on taking the degree of B.A. Each of the colleges and halls furnishes 

 members both for the legislative and executive branch of university 

 government. The whole business of the University is transacted in 

 two distinct assemblies, termed ' Houses,' namely, the House of Con- 

 gregation, and the House of Convocation, which are constituted much 

 like the regent and non-regent houses at CAMBRIDGE. The chancellor, 

 or vice-chancellor, or, in his absence, one of his four deputies, and the 

 two proctors, or, in their absence, their respective deputies, preside in 

 both bouses, where their presence is necessary on all occasions. The 

 business of the congregation includes the reception of statutes framed 

 by the hebdomadal council, and their transmission, if approved, to the 

 house of convocation. The power of convocation extends to all 

 subjects which are connected with the affairs of the University. In 

 the enacting of new or the explaining of old statutes, some restriction 

 is imposed. If the statute to be explained be a royal, or, as it is 

 commonly called, a Caroline statute *, the royal permission is first to 

 be obtained. As in congregation, so also in convocation, the chan- 

 cellor or vice-chancellor singly, and the two proctors jointly, are 

 officially invested with an absolute negative upon all proceedings 

 except in elections. In both houses, when the negative of the vice- 

 chancellor, or of the proctors, is not interposed (an interposition 

 almost as rare as the royal veto in parliament), every question is decided 

 by the majority. For the bettor government of the University, there 

 Is an hebdomadal council, consisting under the provisions of the Act 

 of 1854, of the chancellor, vice-chancellor, the provosts, six heads of 



* The Caroline statutes transmitted by Charles I., and confirmed by convoca- 

 tion, are those which relate to the hebdomadal meeting, to the nomination of 

 what are called collectors In Lent, to the election of proctors, and to the pro- 

 curatorial cycle. 



