AN INVENTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS
IN THE CITY OF OXFORD
ACCREDITED TO A DATE BEFORE 1714
(Unless otherwise stated the dimensions given in the Inventory are internal. The key-plans of those
churches which are not illustrated by hatched plans are drawn to a uniform scale of 48 ft. to the inch,
with the monumental portions shown in solid black.)
UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS
University Arms
The Bodleian Library
(1) The Bodleian Library and the Schools
Quadrangle stand to the S. of the Sheldonian Theatre
and the Old Clarendon Building. The walls are of
local rubble, ashlar-faced, and the roofs are lead-covered. There is evidence that the Divinity School
was contemplated by the year 1424 but the work proceeded very slowly. Richard Wynchecombe was mastermason in 1429 and Thomas Elkyn in 1439; on the
appointment of the latter certain restrictions in the
matter of ornament were imposed, from motives of
economy; the decision to add an upper storey as a
library seems to have been taken in 1444, after a gift
of books by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester; after
an interval building was resumed but the school was
not declared finished till 1490. In 1478 Thomas
Kemp, Bishop of London, promised 1000 marks
towards the completion of the school and this was
applied to the insertion of the stone vault erected
between the years 1480–3 and probably under William
Orchard as master-mason. Duke Humphrey's Library
was restored and rearranged by Sir Thomas Bodley
in 1598–1602. The Arts End or W. range of the
Schools Quadrangle was built in 1610–12 and in 1613
the rest of the Schools Quadrangle was begun, John
Akroyd and the Bentleys being the masons; the work
was not finally completed till 1624. The Selden End
or W. cross-wing of the building was erected between
1634 and 1637. The N. doorway was inserted in the
Divinity School in 1669 by Christopher Wren, and the
building repaired and strengthened in 1701–2. In 1831
the roof of the Picture Gallery was replaced by the
existing plaster ceiling and in 1877 the floor of Duke
Humphrey's Library was re-built and raised and the W.
window of the Selden Wing re-built. Much of the external stonework of the Schools Quadrangle has been
refaced in recent years. The Radcliffe Library was finished in 1749 from the designs of James Gibbs. Since
1860 it has formed part of the Bodleian Library. The
new building of the library, on the N. side of Broad
Street, was begun in 1937.
The Schools Quadrangle (109½ ft. by 102 ft.) is entered
by a gate-house with a tower above in the middle of
the E. range. The E. Range (Plate 54) was begun in
1613 and is of three storeys with the tower rising two
storeys above it. The restored outer archway has
moulded jambs and round arch in a square head with a
label and stops carved with angels holding blank shields;
the spandrels have arabesque ornament and shields,
one plain and one with the arms of the University; the
oak door (Plate 53), in two leaves, has five ranges of
moulded panels with jewel-ornament and shields-of-arms
of the University and the colleges founded before 1613,
the royal Stuart arms and the Prince of Wales' feathers;
the wicket in each leaf is similarly panelled but the
shields are blank; the back of the door is also panelled
and has jewel-ornament. The second and third storeys
of the tower have a two-stage oriel-window, almost
completely restored and resting on moulded and carved
corbelling; the lights are ogee-headed, except the
front lights of the upper window which have elliptical
heads; below the sills are ranges of ogee-headed
panels. The third storey of the tower has a restored
window of four double transomed lights and the top
storey has a similar window with one transom. The
tower is finished with a completely restored pierced
parapet with angle and intermediate pinnacles. The
W. face of the tower has been almost completely
restored; it is flanked by coupled columns of the five
Classical orders, superimposed, standing on pedestals
and supporting entablatures which are carried across
the front of the tower. The inner archway is original
and has moulded jambs, imposts and a round arch
with a label; the key-stone is carved with leopardfaces and the soffit has jewel-ornament. The second
storey has a six-light transomed window with a band
of ornament below and a central panel with the royal
Stuart arms; the third storey has a similar window
with two transoms. The fourth storey has a canopied
niche with a modern figure of James I flanked by
subsidiary figures; on a panel below is the inscription
"Regnante d. Jacobo regum doctissimo munificentissimo optimo hæ musis extructæ moles congesta bibliotheca et quæcunque adhuc deerant ad splendorem
academiæ feliciter tentata cœpta absoluta, soli Deo
gloria." The top storey has a window of six transomed
lights and the parapet has an ornamental centre-piece
with the royal Stuart arms. The N. and S. walls of
the tower, above the adjoining range have a four-light
transomed window in each stage. The gate-hall has
a ribbed lierne-vault (Plate 2) of stone springing from
shafts, except in the N.W. angle, with moulded capitals
and plain bases; the ribs are moulded and have bosses
or pendants at the intersections carved with foliage,
cartouches and cherub-heads, beasts' heads, monsters,
etc.; the middle boss has a cartouche of the arms of
the University. Above the doorway to the staircase
is a decayed shield perhaps of the Royal Arms. The
Mason Room, in the second storey, has a plaster vault
and the window recesses have trefoiled or ogee-headed panelling on the soffits. The windows in the
third storey have similar panelling on the soffits. The
E. window has a series of shields-of-arms and panels
in painted glass as follows—arms of (1) Wadham
College, (2) Villiers, (3) Merton College, (4) St. John's
College, (5) Exeter College, (6) Brockman impaling
Clark, (7) Herbert, (8) Balliol College, (9) Pigot,
(10) Dormer, (11) Tudor royal arms with a label, for
Edward, Prince of Wales, (12) Williams of Cornwall,
(13) Magdalen College, (14) Prideaux impaling Reynell, with the initials P.R. and the date 1637, (15)
Fletcher, (16) Tudor royal arms, (17) Crewe,
(18) Edwin Sandys as Archbishop of York (1577–89),
(19) Francis Godwin as Bishop of Llandaff (1601–18),
(20) royal arms with a differenced label, perhaps for
John, Duke of Bedford; (21) Richard Bancroft as
Archbishop of Canterbury (1604–10), (22) Sheldon;
all 16th or 17th-century; panels or quarries, (1) St.
Martin and the beggar, 14th-century, (2) a leopard
with a collar, foreign, (3) huntsman with dog,
Flemish, (4) crane on a bough, Flemish, (5) ship
with flags, Flemish, (6) eagle, Flemish, (7) two deer,
Flemish, (8) floral spray, (9) frogs and a pool, Flemish,
(10) figure subject, Flemish, with inscription, (11) red
rose, (12) figure of Fortitude, (13) figure of St. Judas
Thaddæus, (14) double rose, (15) man's head, (16) the
prodigal son with the swine, with inscription, Flemish,
(17) man beside a stream, Flemish, (18) man with staff
and pack, Flemish; mostly 16th or 17th-century. In the
W. window is a series of 16th and 17th-century panels
and quarries, many of them Flemish, as follows—
(1) allegorical figure-subject probably representing love
and religion, (2) angels with candlesticks, (3) the
Entry into Jerusalem, (4) the Entombment, (5) the
harvest-field, (6) the Virgin and Child, (7) battle-scene
with angelic host above, (8) the Descent from the Cross,
(9) funeral procession, (10) St. Anthony, (11) three
youths, (12) three men in caps and hoods with a devil
and inscription, (13) Esther and Ahasuerus, with
inscription and date 1596, (14) a goat, (15) St. Sebastian
with a merchant's mark, (16) the Child Christ, donor
and two saints, (17) man and woman with burnt
sacrifice, (18) pastoral scene, (19) St. Augustine, (20) bust
of man with hooded gown and date 1627, (21) the
Presentation in the Temple, (22) man with sword,
(23) blacksmith with the name and date Gheert de
Kuenick, 1579, (24) the Virgin and Child, (25) Samson
and Delilah, (26) three men walking, (27) St. Gregory,
(28) group of friars, bishops and abbots, (29) Christ
at Emmaus, (30) St. Paul, (31) Judas Maccabeus,
(32) martyrdom of two old men, (33) martyrdom of a
female saint, (34) St. Anne with the Virgin and Child,
(35) hunting scene with lake and castle, (36) visiting
a prisoner (?), (37) mounted man with attendants,
inscription and date 1596, (38) St. John the Baptist,
(39) house interior with figures, (40) St. John the
Baptist, (41) similar scene to No. 1, with merchant's
mark, (42) angels with candle and crucifix, (43) the
Nativity, (44) Abraham and Isaac, (45) hunting scene,
(46) Truth, (47) the Presentation in the Temple, (48)
Lot and two daughters. The side-wings of the E.
range are symmetrical and are finished with an embattled parapet with pinnacles; this and the whole of
the third or top storey have been refaced. The three
storeys have, on each side of the central doorway, three
windows each of four cinque-foiled lights, those in the
two lower storeys are partly restored and those of the
top storey are modern externally. The W. face is
similarly treated but there is only one window on each
side of the tower in each storey; in the ground floor
there are two doorways with moulded jambs and four-centred arch in a square head with beasts' heads and
foliage in the spandrels; the N. doorway was that of
the School of Metaphysics and that on the S. of the
School of Logic. In the angles of the quadrangle are
square projecting staircase-towers of the same height
as the main building; they have windows of three
cinque-foiled lights; the doorway of the N.E. staircase is similar to those in the main range but has a
thistle and fleur-de-lis in the foliated spandrels; it
was that of the Schools of Languages, Geometry and
Arithmetic; the doorway of the S.E. staircase has
roses in the spandrels and was that of the Schools of
Astronomy and Rhetoric; both doorways have
original panelled doors. Inside the E. range, the
Cataloguing Room at the N. end of the ground floor
has a ceiling divided into five bays by moulded tiebeams with curved and moulded braces forming four-centred arches, with traceried spandrels; they rest on
moulded corbels; each bay is divided by three moulded
cross-beams. The Logic Room at the S. end has a
similar ceiling but with a pendant in the middle of
each beam and resting on stone corbels; the room now
has a modern partition. On the first floor, the N. part
has been divided into three rooms; it has a ceiling of
five bays divided by moulded beams with curved
brackets, traceried spandrels and wooden corbels;
the S. room has a modern partition and ceiling-beams
similar to those in the N. room. On the second floor,
the modern ceiling incorporates, towards the S. end,
two original painted panels, one (Plate 57) with the arms
of the University with a scrolled frame and figures and
the other a portrait of Sir Thomas Bodley (Plate 57)
with a border of trophies-of-arms and armed men.
The original staircases have been removed from both
the staircase-wings.
The Bodleian Library
The N. Range of the quadrangle is treated similarly
to the side portions of the E. range, with windows,
parapet and pinnacles. Near the middle of the N. wall
is a doorway with moulded jambs and round arch in
a square head with foliage in the spandrels; the label
has defaced head-stops and the soffit is panelled. The
corresponding doorway in the S. wall is similar and
above it is a panel with a blank shield with women as
supporters. The subsidiary doorways on this side are
similar to those in the E. range and were those of the
Schools of Grammar and History and of Moral
Philosophy. Inside the range, the central corridor has
a stone vault of three bays of star-form with moulded
ribs springing from moulded corbels; there are pendants and bosses, carved with shields, beasts and
foliage, at the intersections. The rooms on the ground
and top floors have no ancient features. The E. part
of the first floor retains its original moulded ceiling-beams.
The S. Range of the quadrangle is generally uniform
with the N. range; the outer doorway has been
renewed except for part of the head. Above the
middle doorway on the N. face is a panel with a blank
shield, garter, helm and two leopards as supporters;
a second panel above has the painted inscription
"Guil. Herbert Pembrochiæ comes, Regii hospitii
Camerarius, honoratissimus Academiæ Cancellarius."
The smaller doorways were those of the Schools of
Music and Natural Philosophy. A rain-water pipe on
this wall has lugs with the initials and dates I.B., T.B.,
1617, 1618. Inside the range is a central passage
similar to that in the N. range. The first floor retains
two original moulded ceiling-beams. On the second
floor the W. window in the N. wall has the following
panels and quarries of painted glass—(1) a crown,
(2) a pope's head, (3) made-up panel with various
heads, etc., (4) a pope with nimbus, (5) cherub holding
crowned monogram, scroll with motto, (6) allegorical
subject with inscription, Flemish, (7 and 8) figures of
men, Flemish, (9) hunting-scene, Flemish, (10 and 11)
birds on trees; (2), (4) and parts of (3) are 15th-century, the rest is 16th or 17th-century. The fourth
window in the S. wall has two panels, mainly of 15th-century materials, the first has a scene described in an
18th-century inscription as William of Scotland paying
homage to Henry II; it is more probably St. Thomas
of Canterbury with the King of France; the second
panel represents the penance of Henry II before the
shrine of St. Thomas and is so described in the 18th-century inscription. The fifth window has two 15th-century panels and a crowned Tudor rose; the first
panel has a figure of a bishop or abbot with the head of
another figure; the second panel has a marriage-scene,
ascribed in a modern inscription to the marriage of
Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou. In the sixth window
are (1) a 15th-century panel with the bust of a bishop
with the initials W.A. on the mitre, (2) a 16th-century
shield-of-arms of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, with
a garter, (3) 16th-century Tudor royal arms, (4) shield-of-arms of Fitzherbert of Begbroke impaling Mounteney,
(5–7) quarries with birds, early 18th-century, (8) bearbaiting scene, Flemish, (9) gardeners with inscription,
Flemish, (10 and 11) figures of men, one reading, Flemish, (12) sheep and raven with inscription, Flemish, (13)
man having leg amputated, with date 1660, (14) donkey
addressing animals, with inscription, Flemish, (15)
boys playing game, with inscription, Flemish, (16)
man and woman, with inscription, Flemish; most of
the above are of the 17th century. The modern ceiling
incorporates twelve original wooden panels each
painted with the arms of the University in a strapwork
frame, the twelve letters of Thomas Bodley's name and
the date 1618.
The W. Range (Plate 56) of the quadrangle is of two
storeys and has the E. wall finished with four ranges of
trefoil-headed panels and divided by string-courses; this
treatment is continued round the staircase-towers in
the W. angles of the quadrangle, the whole of the top
storey with the embattled parapet and pinnacles being
largely modern restorations. In the middle of the
front is a doorway with moulded jambs and round
arch in a square head with foliage in the spandrels;
the rear-arch has trefoil-headed panels; above the
doorway is a panel inscribed "Quod feliciter vortat,
academici Oxoniens. Bibliothecam hanc vobis reipublicæque literatorum T.B.P."; it is enclosed in an
ogee crocketted head with two panels enclosing
shields-of-arms of the University and Bodley. On the
first floor is a window of seven cinque-foiled lights
with tracery in a four-centred head and moulded
reveals. The doorways in the staircase-towers are
similar to the other doorways and have original
panelled doors; they now lead to the Library, but
were formerly those of the Schools of Jurisprudence
and Medicine. The N. and S. ends of the range were
treated with panelling similar to that of the E. wall
but only the heads remain and rest on small corbels,
probably an 18th-century alteration. The ground
floor, at each end, has a window of four cinque-foiled
lights with tracery in a four-centred head; the first
floor has a window of four transomed lights, both
being entirely modern externally. The parapet-string
at the S. end retains some much-weathered bosses.
The W. wall of the range has or had a similar panelled
treatment to the other faces. Towards the N. end is a
doorway with plain jambs, two-centred arch and
labels; the soffit has trefoil-headed panels; an inner
member of the jambs is finished with small scrolls
and on it is hung the early 18th-century door of two
panelled leaves with scrolled ironwork in the head of
the arch. The parapet retains some much-weathered
bosses and on the plinth are some 17th-century scratchings. Inside the range, the ground floor forms an open
corridor or vestibule called the Proscholium. It is
covered by a ribbed lierne-vault (Plate 3) in five bays
springing from vaulting-shafts with moulded capitals
and bases; the ribs are moulded and have bosses and
pendants, carved with grotesque beast-heads, foliage,
Tudor rose and shields-of-arms of Bodley quartering
Hone. Under the N. window is a plain recess or cupboard. At the S. end are preserved a defaced 17th-century achievement-of-arms and a mutilated carving of
the royal Stuart Arms. The first floor forms the
'Arts End' (Plate 55) of the Bodleian Library. The
doorways from the W. staircases have moulded jambs
and four-centred arches in square heads. In the E. window is a collection of borders, panels and quarries of
painted glass as follows—(1) royal arms of Queen Elizabeth, (2) late 17th-century shield of the See of Canterbury impaling Kemp, (3) 17th-century shield of Bodley
quartering Hone, (4) achievement-of-arms of the University, c. 1700, (5) quarries with double roses, (6 and 7)
two panels with borders made up of fragments of 15th-century glass, each enclosing a crown made up of
similar glass, three quarries with figures and a shield-of-arms of Fitzherbert impaling Giffard, reversed.
In the N. window is a 17th or early 18th-century
bearded head. The opening in the W. wall to Duke
Humphrey's Library has a wide four-centred arch of
wood and of late 17th-century date; it has a moulded
architrave, key-block, panelled spandrels and soffit
and a frieze and cornice on the W. side; on the N.
respond is a monument to Charles I, presented by
Archbishop Laud in 1636; it consists of a rounded
and enriched niche of stone with framing, side-brackets,
cornice and pediment; in the niche is a bronze bust
of the king; on the S. respond is a monument to Sir
Thomas Bodley (Plate 31), presented by Thomas Sackville, Earl of Dorset, in 1605; it consists of a round-headed niche with cornice and pediment and contains a
painted bust. The roof (Plate 57) is low-pitched and of
seven bays divided into panels by moulded timbers;
the tie-beams have curved braces forming elliptical arches
and dwarf king-posts under the ridge; the braces
spring from stone corbels, mostly plain but some with
carved angels; the tie-beams are painted with scrolls,
swags, figures and arabesques and one has the initials
I.W.; the panels are painted with the arms of the
University in varying framework and on the intersections are shields of the quartered arms of Bodley;
the stone cornices on the side walls are painted and
have carved bosses of grotesque faces, beast-heads,
beasts, foliage, fruit, a bearded man and Tudor badges.
The E. and W. walls are lined with book-shelves with
galleries; the latter are carried on columns and
pedestals and have a balustrade of small columns and
panelled and painted soffits with metal bosses of
foliage and roses; the panels, where ancient, have
each five stars; the benches have moulded top-rails
with turned balusters and the desks are attached to the
book-cases, with shaped brackets. The two staircasewings in the W. angles of the quadrangle are evidently
additions to the original design of 1610–2 as the panelling of the W. face of the range is continued behind
them. The staircases (Plate 46) are of late 17th-century
date and of well-type, with twisted balusters, moulded
strings and square newels, continued up as columns
to the floor above; the doorways, at the top, have
square heads and are fitted with original nail-studded
and panelled doors.
The Divinity School (Plate 54) (86½ ft. by 31 ft.), with
Duke Humphrey's Library over, forms a two-storeyed
building, ashlar-faced and of five bays divided by fourstage buttresses with restored pinnacles and finished
with an embattled parapet; the N. side has a panelled
quatre-foiled plinth and the buttresses have trefoil-headed panelling in the three lower stages; the
quatrefoils enclose bosses or blank shields except on
the ends of the buttresses where they enclose half-angels
holding shields-of-arms of the University and Thomas
Chace, Chancellor (1426–31), a paly coat, etc.; on
the S. side the quatre-foiled plinth is carried round, but
the buttresses otherwise are plain and have extensions
added in 1700–1. Each bay of the side-walls of the
Divinity School has an original window of six cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a four-centred
head and moulded reveals; cutting into the middle
N. window is an inserted doorway of 1669, with
moulded and shafted jambs and trefoiled four-centred
arch in an ogee head with crockets and a finial; in the
spandrel is a monogram; on the soffit of the arch is
a book with a repainted inscription; on the panelled
reveals are some early 18th-century scratchings; the
door, of the same date, has foiled panelling, with blank
shields in the lower panels; the window-lights round
the doorway have been rearranged when the doorway
was inserted and now terminate in cusped tracery with
blind panels below; on the wall above the window
is an early 18th-century cartouche of the arms of the
University. The E. wall, now incorporated in the
W. range of the quadrangle, has the panelling of the
original buttresses continued along the wall-face for
some distance; beyond this, on each side, is a blocked
half-arch with a four-centred head, corresponding to
the outer parts of the blind window-recesses on the
inner face of the wall; the W. doorway has moulded
and shafted jambs and two-centred arch in a segmental-pointed and panelled head; the jambs have pedestals
and canopies for images; the door is now of two
leaves with traceried panels and an embattled rail;
the arrangement of the head of the doorway together
with the marks of a flat-pitched roof above it, seems to
imply that there either was, or was intended to be, a
porch at this end of the building, with a stone vault;
the side-walls and vaulting-ribs, if they were actually
erected were cut back when the existing vault of the
Proscholium was built; the blocked arches flanking
the supposed porch probably indicate an alteration in
design in the course of the actual erection. On the
inner face, the wall is divided into three bays divided
by shafts supporting two tiers of canopied niches
with figures of the Virgin, St. John, St. Peter and St.
Paul; the middle bay, above the doorway, has blind
window-tracery of four lights in a four-centred head
above which is a panelled wall-surface and an empty
niche; the inner jambs of the doorway, above the
springing-level, have the springers of a vault which
was apparently abandoned during the progress of the
work. The side-bays have each a blind window of
three cinque-foiled ogee lights with tracery in a four-centred head; the spandrels under the vault have sub-cusped quatrefoils enclosing figures holding shields.
The arrangement of the internal W. wall of the Divinity
School is uniform with that of the E. end, but the
central niche has a figure of the Virgin and Child and
the side niches figures of the four evangelists. There
are no original features on the outward face of the
wall.
The stone vault (Plate 58) is of five bays divided by
moulded four-centred arches springing from moulded
and shafted responds; above the haunches of these
arches is open 'window-tracery' under the vault itself.
The vault, in each bay, consists of a square central portion
springing from pendants flanking the cross-arches and
rectangular side-portions against the side-walls; the
vault has moulded ridge, diagonal, subsidiary and
liesne ribs, with cusped heads to the panels and carved
bosses at the intersections. The bosses include a
large number of minor ones with foliage only, a
number of bosses with separate words forming inscriptions such as "Ihc. m'cy Ladi help," "Da Deo gratias,"
"Ihc be my sped," "Da gratias Deo tuo," "Kemp
me fieri fecit," "Edwardus Quartus Rex," "Loy soit
Dieu" (or Dyew), "Ben fet" and "Thank God of
al"; in the W. bay are some bosses with similar
inscriptions painted on scrolls including "Da gloriam
Deo," the motto of Thomas Kemp. The other bosses
are as follows—E. bay, central portion (Plate 2),
(a) personal arms of Thomas Kemp, Bishop of London
(1450–89) with inscribed scroll, (b) monogram perhaps
of John Russell, Bishop of Lincoln (1480–94), (c) two
dogs, (d) a rebus for the name Lionel, probably for Sir
Lionel Woodville, Chancellor (1479–83), (e) eagle and
child, (f) mutilated initials T.K., (g) mutilated initials
and cardinal's hat, possibly for John Kemp, Archbishop
of Canterbury (1452–4), (h) monogram R.F., probably
for Richard Fitzjames, Vice-chancellor (1481), (i) monogram E.L., (j) bearded head, (k) monogram I.B. (? John
Bettys, Proctor 1476), (1) monogram W.S. (? William
Southworth, Proctor 1476) and doctor's cap, (m) Stafford knot, (n) wheatsheaf, (o) monogram W.O. probably
for William Orchard, (p) monogram T.K.; in N. sidebay, (a) mitre with the words "Sanctu~. nome~. ejus," (b)
shield-of-arms two candles saltirewise, for Thomas Chaundler, Chancellor (1472–9), (c) shield-of-arms ascribed to
John Chedworth, Bishop of Lincoln (1452–72), (d)
shield-of-arms of the See of London, (e) wheatsheaf, (f)
monogram T.K., (g) shield-of-arms of Thomas Kemp
as Bishop of London, with angel-supporters, (h) shield-of-arms of John Kemp as Archbishop of Canterbury,
with angel-supporters, (i) monograms E.L., I.B., and
L.W. (for Lionel Woodville) on separate bosses; in
S. side-bay, (a) mitre with motto of William Waynflete,
Bishop of Winchester (1447–86), (b) shield with three
wheels (? Roet-Chaucer), (c) shield with the five wounds,
(d) shield-of-arms a bend coticed charged with three wolves'
heads, (e) shield-of-arms of Richard, Lord Beauchamp of
Powyk, (f) shield-of-arms of Thomas Kemp as Bishop
of London, (g) shield-of-arms of John Kemp as Archbishop of Canterbury, (h) shield-of-arms of the University with angel-supporters, (i) shield of the personal
arms of Waynflete, with angel-supporters, (j) rebus of
Lionel. In second bay, central portion, (a) shield-of-arms of John Kemp as cardinal and archbishop,
(b) initial T. with two crossed candles, for Thomas
Chaundler, (c) monogram T.K., (d) monogram L.W.,
(e) monogram G.S. (Geoffrey Simeon, Proctor 1478),
(f) monogram W.P. (William Porter, Proctor 1481), (g)
monogram G.S., (h) monogram L.W., (i) wheatsheaf,
(j) rebus of Lionel, (k) monogram G.S., (l) fox carrying
off goose, (m) Samson and the lion; in N. side-bay,
(a) Agnus Dei on book, (b) shield-of-arms of Henry
Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury (1414–43), (c)
shield-of-arms of Waynflete, (d) shield of the arms of
the University, (e) shield of the personal arms of
Walter Lyhert, Bishop of Norwich (1446–72), (f)
shield-of-arms of John Kemp as archbishop, (g) shield-of-arms of Thomas Kemp as Bishop of London,
(h) shield-of-arms of Kemp with angel-supporters,
(i) shield-of-arms of Russell (? John Russell, Bishop
of Lincoln 1480–94) with angel-supporters, (j) initials
W.O., (k) monogram J.K., (l) man with bear, (m)
initials W.S., (n) foliage and two dragons; in S.
side-bay, (a) rose, (b) shield-of-arms of the See of
London, (c) shield-of-arms of Kemp, (d) shield-of-arms of Kemp as Bishop of London, (e) Bourchier
knot, (f) shield of the personal arms of Thomas Beckington, Bishop of Bath and Wells (1443–65), (g) shield
probably of the personal arms of Marmaduke Lumley,
Bishop of Lincoln (1450), (h) shield-of-arms of Kemp,
with angel-supporters, (i) shield of the arms of the
University, with angel-supporters, (j) monogram G.S.
In third bay, central portion, (a) Royal arms with lion
and bull supporters, (b) monogram J.M.P. perhaps
for John Martin, Proctor (1480), (c) monogram W.M.,
(d) monogram N.H., perhaps for Nicholas Halswell,
Proctor (1480), (e) monogram N.K., (f) shield-of-arms
of Exeter College, (g) shield of the arms of Strangways and Darcy quarterly quartering Meynell, (h)
shield-of-arms of James, Lord Audley (Audley impaling
Holland), (i) shield-of-arms of Ralph, Lord Greystock,
(j) man picking grapes, (k) bear-baiting, (l) monogram
W.O., (m) monogram J.K. with cardinal's hat, (n) initial
T. with two candles, for Thomas Chaundler, (o) monogram T.K., (p) jester, (q) horse and foliage; in N. sidebay (Plate 2), (a) the Virgin and Child, (b) shield-of-arms, three wheels, (c) shield of the arms of the University, (d) shield-of-arms of Kemp, (e) shield-of-arms a
lion, (f) shield-of-arms of Exeter College, (g) monogram
T.K., (h) shield-of-arms of Kemp as archbishop,
(i) shield-of-arms of Kemp as Bishop of London,
(j) shield-of-arms of Lionel Woodville, (k) monograms
W.S., L.W. and J.K. on separate bosses; in S. sidebay, (a) figures of the Trinity, (b) two angels with
book, (c) two angels holding cap, (d) two angels holding closed book, (e) shield-of-arms of Kemp, (f) two
angels holding cap, (g) shield-of-arms of Kemp as
Bishop of London, with angel-supporters, (h) shield-of-arms of Kemp as archbishop, with angel-supporters,
(i) initial C. or G., (j) monograms T.K. and G.S. In
fourth bay, central portion, (a) shield-of-arms of
Thomas Bourchier (Bourchier quartering Lovaine) as
Cardinal and Archbishop of Canterbury (1454–86), with
angel-supporters, (b) G.S. monogram, (c) the name
J. Kemp with a cardinal's hat, (d) W.M. monogram,
(e) T. Kemp monogram, (f) shield-of-arms probably
for John Russell as Bishop of Lincoln (1480–94), (g)
shield-of-arms of Waynflete, (h) shield-of-arms of Peter
Courtenay as Bishop of Exeter (1478–87), (i) quartered shield-of-arms of Richard Neville, Earl of
Salisbury, (j) M.R. monogram, (k) O.R. (?) monogram,
(l) G.S. monogram, (m) monogram of the name
William (?), (n) T.K. monogram, (o) a bull or calf,
(p) a fret, (q) J.K. monogram with hat, (r) rayed rose;
in N. side-bay, (a) St. Veronica with the vernicle,
(b) shield-of-arms of Chichele, (c) shield-of-arms of
See of London, (d) W.P. monogram, (e) shield-of-arms
of Beckington, (f) shield-of-arms of Russell, (g) shield
of the arms of the University, (h) shield-of-arms of
Kemp, (i) shield-of-arms of John Chedworth, Bishop
of Lincoln, (j) shield-of-arms of Kemp as archbishop,
(k) three interlaced dolphins, (l) owl and other birds,
(m) T.K. monogram, (n) initial T and crossed candles;
in S. side-bay, (a) the words "pater unde filius spiritus
sanctus," (b) Bourchier knot, (c) shield-of-arms of Exeter
College, (d) rose, (e) shield-of-arms of See of London,
(f) shield with a double-armed cross, (g) quartered shield
of John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, (h) shield-of-arms
of Waynflete, (i) quartered shield-of-arms of Lionel
Woodville, (j) shield-of-arms of Lumley, as before,
(k) monkey and priest's head. In W. bay, central
portion, (a) shield-of-arms of Lionel Woodville, with
angel-supporters and book, (b) shield-of-arms probably
for Richard Fitzjames, Vice-chancellor (1481), (c) the
name Kemp, (d) composite shield-of-arms perhaps for
Richard May, (e) shield-of-arms of Willoughby (Bek
quartering Ufford), (f) shield-of-arms probably for John
Arundel (Arundel quartering Carminow), Bishop of
Chichester (1459–77), (g) W.M. monogram, (h) T.K.
monogram, (i) G.S. monogram, (j) T.S. (? Thomas
Stephen, Vice-chancellor 1470–80) monogram, (k) shield-of-arms of Portugal, (l) geometrical design, (m) a
knot, (n) the name Ruer, (o) the name Row, (p) Orel
monogram, (q) W.C. monogram, (r) double Stafford
knot, (s) the name Lee with a cap above, (t) W.P.
monogram, (u) R.F. monogram; in N. side-bay,
(a) foliage, (b) shield-of-arms of Richard, Lord Beauchamp (1475–96), (c) shield-of-arms of Kemp, (d) a
dove with a painted scroll inscribed "God save mi
lorde of London," (e) shield-of-arms, probably for
Chaundler, (f) shield-of-arms, three wheels, (g) shield-of-arms of See of London, (h) an eagle with a scroll
inscribed with Waynflete's motto, (i) shield-of-arms
of Kemp, with angel-supporters, (j) shield-of-arms of
Kemp as Bishop of London, (k) shield-of-arms of
Waynflete, (l) a winged lion with a painted scroll
inscribed "Ihs est amor meus," (m) a falcon on another
bird, (n) a running horse, (o) a pelican in her piety,
(p) a wheatsheaf with two angels, (q) a winged ox with
a scroll inscribed "Dominus illuminatio mea," (r)
inscribed scrolls; in S. side-bay, (a) vine and grapes,
(b) shield-of-arms probably of Chaundler, (c) shield-of-arms of Kemp as archbishop, (d) dogs attacking deer
or boar, (e) shield-of-arms of Kemp as Bishop of
London, (f) shield with double-armed cross, (g) shield-of-arms of Waynflete, (h) lily-flowers and scrolls,
(i) shield-of-arms of Beauchamp of Powyk, (j) shield
of the arms of the University, (k) shield-of-arms of
Kemp as Bishop of London, (l) shield-of-arms of Kemp
with angel-supporter, (m) spread eagle, (n) shield of
a fesse between three Bourchier knots, (o) angel with
two candles and inscribed scroll, (p) a squirrel, (q)
angel with scroll, (r) shield-of-arms of May (?), (s)
foliage and two animals, (t) a rose. The pendants have
a canopied niche in each face, some empty and some
containing small figures of the four Evangelists and the
four Doctors. At each end of the building there is a
wall-arch with moulded and shafted jambs supporting
figures and with niches, canopies and figures in the
arch. The figures on the E. wall represent a cardinal
and a bishop and in the arch are figures of a religious
and a priest, angels and seraphim; on the W. side
are an archbishop and a bishop, and in the arch two
religious, angels and seraphim.
The Bodleian Library
The two western bays of the building are fitted with
platforms of 1660–70 against the side and end walls;
the arrangement has been somewhat altered but the
materials are old. The fronts of the platforms are
panelled and project to form seating and have a balustrade of symmetrically turned balusters. On the platforms at the E. end are three-sided pulpits or rostra
with panelled sides and enriched cappings.
Duke Humphrey's Library (Plate 57) forms the upper
storey of the Divinity School building and appears to
have been completed c. 1470. The side-bays have each
two windows divided by a small subsidiary buttress
standing on the offset at the floor-level; the windows are
each of two cinque-foiled and transomed lights in a
four-centred head with moulded reveals and label.
High up in the E. wall are two square-headed doorways,
probably inserted in 1692–3 to give access to the
galleries, and now blocked. The side-walls are finished
with stone cornices with carvings at intervals of the
heads of a king and queen, women's heads, an elephant
and castle, animals, masks and foliage. The 15th-century roof is low-pitched and of five bays with
moulded main timbers, tie-beams with curved braces
and curved braces forming subsidiary trusses without
tie-beams; the stone corbels are carved with angels
holding a shield with a book, angels supporting a
bishop's head and heads of men, women and a king.
The soffit is finished with square panels painted with
17th-century shields of the arms of the University
with strapwork; at the intersections of the ribs are
shields of the quartered arms of Bodley; nearly a
quarter of the panels have been renewed; the main
timbers are painted with scroll-work of the same
period. The library is fitted with 17th-century bookcases, projecting from the side-walls, between the
windows; the cases have moulded cornices and desks
supported on shaped brackets; the second bay has
double doors and the end bays have panelled doors
with pierced upper panels, each with fluted Doric and
Ionic columns; flanking the doors of the E. bays are
similar panels; the doors in the W. bays are modern
copies. The galleries erected in 1692–3 have been
removed. The W. wall has a wide four-centred arch
of wood inserted when the Selden Wing was added
c. 1636; it has panelled responds and soffit, architraves,
imposts and key-blocks; the E. face has a moulded
cornice and pediment.
The Selden Wing was added 1634–6 and contains the
Convocation House and the Chancellor's Court Room
on the ground floor and the Selden Library above.
The building is ashlar-faced and finished with a restored
embattled parapet and pinnacles. The ground storey
has three windows in the W. wall and one in the end
walls, each of four cinque-foiled lights with vertical
tracery in an elliptical head with moulded reveals.
In the N. part of the E. wall is a window of two
cinque-foiled lights in a square head and further N.
is a rusticated doorway with a round arch, scrolled
key-stone and flanking pilasters supporting an entablature and segmental pediment; against the pediment is
a cartouche-of-arms of Bodley quartering Hone, with
swags; the doorway is fitted with panelled doors of
two leaves with cherub-heads in the upper panels.
The library has a window in the N. and S. walls
originally of four cinque-foiled lights with vertical
tracery in an elliptical head with moulded reveals; the
traceried head of the S. window has been altered and
the N. window is modern externally; the W. wall
has been refaced and contains a restored window of
four cinque-foiled lights with tracery in an elliptical
head with moulded reveals; flanking it are two blocked
windows. Inside the building the Chancellor's Court,
formerly the Apodyterium, is a square apartment at
the N. end of the ground floor. It is covered with a
stone fan-vault with cusped and panelled cones and a
circular panel in the middle; the vault springs from
moulded corbels. In the S. wall is a doorway with an
eared architrave, side-pilasters, brackets, entablature
and pediment; it is fitted with panelled doors. The
walls are lined to a height of 12½ ft. with bolection-moulded panelling of c. 1640, finished with an entablature with panels at intervals; covering the E. doorway
is a panelled lobby (Plate 49) of the same character with
an eared architrave to the doorway, entablature with a
central panel and a pediment. Against the panelling are
benches with panelled fronts and against part of the
W. wall is a raised dais on which is a bench with
turned legs and a desk in front; in front of the desk
is a panelled enclosure with square posts and ballterminals; within it are benches and a table with
turned legs. The Convocation House (Plate 56) occupies
the rest of the ground floor. It has a stone fan-vault (Plate 4) in two bays similar to that in the
Chancellor's Court. The walls are lined to about
half this height with panelling (Plate 47) divided into
bays by Ionic pilasters supporting a bracketed and
panelled entablature; each bay has a perspective arched
panel with an eared architrave, cornice and pediment; set against the panelling are benches, those
at the S. end having shaped arm-rests; in the middle of the S. end (Plate 47) is the Vice-chancellor's
seat, raised above the others and having a hexagonal
canopy resting on two shafts; the back of the seat is
panelled and the canopy has a moulded and panelled
entablature with pierced pendants, strapwork cresting
and vases; the soffit of the canopy has radiating panels
and a pendant and the top has a low ribbed dome with
a central feature. Above the N. doorway is an entablature and pediment with a cartouche of the arms of the
University supported by two angels. The northern
portion of the room has three rows of benches interrupted by passages from the doorways; the fronts
are panelled and the bench-ends have shouldered tops
and ball-terminals. At the S. end in front of the ViceChancellor's seat is a platform enclosed on the E. and
W. sides with a single bench returned along the S. end
to a central passage. The benches have panelled
fronts and the backs have balusters with round arches
between them. The Selden End (Plate 55), forming the
first floor of the same building, is lined with bookshelves, access to the upper shelves being by wooden
galleries. The eastern galleries are approached by two
staircases in the archway opening into Duke Humphrey's
Library; these staircases are encased and have doors
with enriched panels; above the doors the casing
has a cornice with shaped brackets and a pediment.
The former staircases to the W. galleries have been
removed and modern bridges carried across the windows in the N. and S. walls. The galleries are supported by circular columns on pedestals, elliptical
arches and a continuous entablature with a panel in
the middle of each bay; above the entablature is a
balustrade with square posts, ball-terminals and turned
balusters; the soffits of the galleries have bolection-moulded panelling. Above the archway in the E. wall
is a large eared panel surmounted by a continuous
cornice with panels and brackets; on the cornice is an
inscription now overpainted, but still legible, as
follows:—"Codices MSS diversi generis codices MSS.
Graeci; Bibliothecae Baroccianae codices MSS. p.m.
MCCC Hebraici, Syriaci, Chaldaici, Aegypti, Aethiopi,
Armeniaci, Arabici, Persici, Turcici, Russiaci,
Chinenses, Japan, Graeci, Latini, Italici, Gallici,
Saxonici, Anglici, Hibernici." The ceiling is flat and
is divided by moulded cross-beams into square panels;
it has been partly repaired. The windows are framed
with panelling similar to that over the eastern arch
and have a blank cartouche in place of a key-block.
In the N. window is some re-set painted glass including
(a) 17th-century roundel with Prince of Wales' feathers;
(b) 15th-century quatrefoil with beast-heads; (c) made-up panel including 16th-century shield-of-arms of Oriel
College (reversed) and a crowned fleur-de-lis; (d) 15th-century foliage in octofoil; (e) two quarries with heads
of Charles I and Henrietta Maria; (f) 15th-century
quatrefoil with leaves; (g) 15th or 16th-century rose;
(h) 15th or 16th-century roundel with seated man with
organ; etc. In the W. window is a collection of panels
and roundels mainly of Flemish or German glass of the
16th or 17th century; they include, however, an early
16th-century roundel, with a figure of St. Dunstan
and the devil and a 15th-century roundel possibly of
the Raising of Lazarus, both English; the foreign
panels include various figure subjects, birds, beasts,
fish, etc., a subject of Elijah and Ahab with the date
1638, two representations of the Annunciation, a
Visitation, a Flagellation and a Crucifixion. In this wing
is a bell by William Yare, 1611, given by Bodley.
The Radcliffe Camera, begun in 1737 and opened in
1749, stands in the middle of Radcliffe square. It is
of three main stages and of two storeys internally.
It is ashlar-faced and is finished with a lead-covered
dome and cupola. The ground-stage is rusticated and
has a series of eight pedimented projections, the cornices of which are carried round the building. The
main stage is divided into bays by coupled Corinthian
columns supporting the main entablature; the bays
have a lower range of square windows or recesses
and an upper range of square-headed windows with
pediments alternating with round-headed niches. The
main entablature is surmounted by a balustraded
parapet with vases. The ashlar-faced drum of the
dome has segmental-headed windows and projecting
pilasters and is finished with a continuous cornice,
parapet and vases. The dome has eight panelled ribs
and lunette-lights; the octagonal cupola has a round-headed opening in each face. The interior of the
building has on both floors a series of eight piers and
arches forming a circular central area with an ambulatory, except on the N. side which is occupied by the
staircase. This is of oval form with a wrought-iron
balustrade. The upper piers have Ionic pilasters and
half-round arches with cartouches in the spandrels
and a continuous entablature. The drum has panelled
pilasters and swags and the dome itself is panelled.
Condition—Good.