Report

ROYAL COMMISSION ON THE ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS OF ENGLAND

Report to the King's Most Excellent Majesty

May It Please Your Majesty.

We, the undersigned Commissioners, appointed to make an Inventory of the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions connected with or illustrative of the contemporary culture, civilization and conditions of life of the people in England, excluding Monmouthshire, from the earliest times to the year 1714, and to specify those which seem most worthy of preservation humbly submit to Your Majesty the following Report on the Monuments of the City of Oxford, being the Nineteenth Report on the work of the Commission since its appointment.

2. We desire humbly to submit to Your Majesty our deep feelings of loyalty and devotion to Your Majesty on Your Accession, and we gratefully acknowledge our re-appointment to continue the important and enduring task which Your Majesty's predecessors entrusted to us.

3. We desire to place on record the great loss which the Commission has suffered through the death of Mr. Mill Stephenson, F.S.A., who for very many years acted as the Commission's Referee on monumental brasses and other matters. We further desire to record our regret at the death of Sir John Cotterell who served as a Commissioner during the survey of the County of Hereford of which he was Your Majesty's Lieutenant. We also desire to place on record our appreciation of the long and valued services of Mr. J. W. Bloe, O.B.E., F.S.A., the Commission's Chief Investigator, who retired in May, 1937.

4. We have pleasure in reporting the completion of our inquiries into the City of Oxford, an area containing 293 monuments within the existing boundaries of the city.

5. Following our usual practice, we have prepared an illustrated volume containing a full Inventory of the monuments in the City, which, under the advice of the Lords Commissioners of Your Majesty's Treasury, will be issued as a non-Parliamentary publication.

6. The order of describing the monuments has been varied in this volume, as the normal arrangement under parishes was found to be impracticable. The monuments will thus be found grouped under the headings of University Buildings, Colleges, Ecclesiastical and Secular buildings. The detailed Inventory is introduced by the usual Sectional Preface.

7. As in previous volumes, the description of monuments have been referred for revision to the heads of each college, the incumbents of each parish, and to the principal owners of domestic buildings, and we are satisfied that no important monument dating from the earliest times to the year 1714 has been omitted.

8. Our special thanks are due to Dr. A. D. Lindsay, C.B.E., Vice-Chancellor of the University, the heads of the Colleges, to the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Oxford, to the incumbents of the various parishes, and to the owners of houses for valuable assistance in our investigation.

We are furthermore indebted to the Oxford Committee of the Victoria County History; to the Rev. H. E. Salter, D.Litt., F.B.A., for reading the proofs, to Mr. E. T. Leeds, F.S.A., Dr. H. H. E. Craster, F.S.A., Dr. R. W. T. Gunther, Dr. H. W. Garrod, C.B.E., F.B.A., Mr. J. N. L. Myres, F.S.A., Mr. W. A. Pantin, F.S.A., Mr. D. B. Harden, Mr. A. H. M. Jones, and Mr. T. Harold Hughes, F.R.I.B.A., for their valuable co-operation and assistance. We are particularly indebted to Mr. Greening Lamborn for reading the proofs of the volume, for much valuable assistance in heraldic matters and for many suggestions and emendations; as also to Mr. J. H. Harvey for providing us with copies of certain extracts from original documents.

9. We humbly recommend to Your Majesty's notice the following monuments in Oxford as "especially worthy of preservation":—

University Buildings

(1) The Bodleian Library, dating from the 15th century.

(2) The Sheldonian Theatre, built 1664–9 from the design of Wren.

(3) The Old Clarendon Building, built 1711– 13 from the design of Hawksmoor.

(4) The Old Ashmolean Building, built 1679–83.

(5) The Botanic Gardens. Gateways, built 1632–3 from the designs of Nicholas Stone.

Colleges

(6) All Souls College, dating from the 15th century. Chapel, Old Library, etc.

(7) Balliol College, dating from the 15th century. Old Hall, Library and glass.

(8) Brasenose College, dating from early in the 16th century. Hall, Chapel, Gatehouse, etc.

(9) Christ Church with the Cathedral, the latter dating from the 12th century. Great Quadrangle, Hall, Cathedral, Cloister, Peckwater Quadrangle, etc.

(10) Corpus Christi College, dating from early in the 16th century. Hall, Chapel, Cloister, etc.

(11) Exeter College, dating from the 15th century. Hall, Gatehouse, etc.

(13) Jesus College, dating from late in the 16th century. Hall, Chapel, Principal's Lodging, etc.

(14) Lincoln College, dating from the 15th century. Hall, Chapel, Kitchen, etc.

(15) Magdalen College, dating from the 15th century. Hall, Chapel, Bell-tower, Founder's Tower, Cloister, etc.

(16) Merton College, dating from the 13th century. Chapel, Mob Quadrangle, Fellows' Quadrangle, etc.

(17) New College, dating from the 14th century. Hall, Chapel, Gatehouse, Cloister, Belltower, etc.

(18) Oriel College, dating from the 17th century. Hall, Chapel, buildings of St. Mary's Hall, etc.

(19) Pembroke College, dating from the Middle Ages with the early 16th-century building called Wolsey's Hospital, now the Master's Lodging.

(20) The Queen's College, dating from late in the 17th century. Hall, Chapel, Library, etc.

(21) St. Edmund Hall, dating from late in the 16th century. Chapel, Hall, etc.

(22) St. John's College, dating from the 15th century. Hall, Chapel, Library, Canterbury Quadrangle, etc.

(23) Trinity College, dating from the 15th century. Hall, Chapel, Library, etc.

(24) University College, dating from the 17th century. Hall, Chapel, Gatehouse, etc.

(25) Wadham College, dating from early in the 17th century. Complete building of this period.

(26) Worcester College, dating from the 15th century. Ranges of late mediæval cameræ.

Ecclesiastical

(27) All Saints Church, entirely re-built in 1707–8.

(32) St. Giles Church, dating from the 12th century, with much 13th-century work.

(34) St. Mary the Virgin, dating from the 13th century, with 14th-century spire and 15th-century nave and chancel.

(36) St. Michael, dating from the 11th century; with late 13th-century glass.

(38) St. Peter in the East, dating from the 12th century, with Crypt and vaulted chancel.

(44) Iffley Parish Church, dating from the 12th century, with 13th-century extension to the chancel.

Secular

(50) The Castle, mound, tower and crypt dating from the 11th century.

(51) The City Wall, dating from the 13th century and earlier.

(54) Mitre Hotel. 13th-century cellar, superstructure mostly c. 1631, with 18th-century front.

(63) Nos. 86–7 High Street. Early 17th-century house.

(64) No. 90 High Street. House of c. 1625, with ceilings and overmantels.

(69) Nos. 106 and 107 High Street. Remains of Tackley's Inn with vaulted cellar, of early 14th-century date.

(74) No. 126 High Street. 15th-century house with 17th-century front.

(78) Kemp Hall. Timber-framed house of c. 1637.

(79) Beam Hall, Merton Street. 15th and early 17th-century house.

(81) Postmaster's Hall, Merton Street. House of c. 1600.

(102) No. 103 Cornmarket Street. 15th-century house, with 16th-century paintings.

(103) Golden Cross Hotel. House with 15th-century N. wing and 17th-century S. wing.

(122) Vanbrugh House. 17th-century house, with an early 18th-century front.

(124) Frewin Hall. Mediæval and later house, with remains of St. Mary's College.

(152) Littlemore Hall, 82–3 St. Aldates. 15th and early 17th-century house.

(154) The Old Palace, St. Aldates. House mainly of c. 1628.

(183) Judge's Lodging. Stone house of 1702.

(247) Stone's Almshouses. Stone building of 1700.

(258) Iffley Rectory. 13th-century and later house.

10. We offer our grateful thanks to Mr. O. G. S. Crawford, F.S.A., for supervision of descriptions of Earthworks, to Dr. Tancred Borenius, F.S.A., for advice as to the attribution of pictures, and to Mr. H. B. Walters, O.B.E., F.S.A., for the revision of the description of Bells.

11. We desire to express our acknowledgment of the good work accomplished by our Executive Staff in the persons of Mr. J. W. Bloe, O.B.E., F.S.A., Mr. E. A. R. Rahbula, O.B.E., M.C., F.S.A., Mr. G. E. Chambers, F.S.A., Mr. A. T. Phillips, M.C., F.S.A., Mr. J. Charlton, Mr. A. R. Dufty, Mr. R. W. McDowall, Miss V. M. Dallas, and Mr. F. T. A. Power, M.C.

12. The next Inventory of the Commission will deal with the monuments of the County of Dorset, in respect of which Your Majesty's Lieutenant, Lord Shaftesbury, is now a member of the Commission.

13. Our Secretary, Mr. Clapham, has recently completed twenty-five years' service with the Commission. We gladly take this opportunity of cordially acknowledging the value we attach to his personal collaboration and likewise our regard for his technical experience and intuitions, upon which we always rely with confidence.

CRAWFORD & BALCARRES (Chairman).

J. G. N. CLIFT

ARTHUR EVANS

D. H. MONTGOMERIE

CHARLES PEERS

HARTINGTON

E. V. LUCAS

E. E. DORLING

A. HAMILTON THOMPSON

GEORGE HILL

ROSE GRAHAM

A. W. CLAPHAM (Secretary).

1938.

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