New College (with Photos!)

WARNING: This one is long, with lots of pictures!

Oxford is a unique place in many ways, including its collegiate system. The university is comprised of 38 semi-autonomous colleges, each with its own governing body, endowment, library, dining hall, accommodations, et cetera (not to mention its own character, history, and inter-college rivalries). Every student is affiliated with a college, and many are also housed in their college's accommodations. For undergraduates, most of their classes will be taught in college (and in fact undergraduates are admitted to the university through application to their colleges of choice). For graduates, the college serves as a social, rather than academic, center since classes are taught in their respective departments.

I am lucky to be a part of one of the oldest and most beautiful of the Oxford colleges: New College (website, Wikipedia). New College isn't new. At all. It was founded in 1379 by a man named William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, and was originally established to train priests (i.e. to repopulate the priest population after the Black Death did a good number of them in). So, why the name? Well, our friend Billy wanted to dedicate his college to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but a college had already been founded in her honor (now known as Oriel College). Thus, it was named the New College of St. Mary the Virgin, or "New College" for short.

The entrance to the college from Holywell Street.

New College sits on Holywell Street, which used to mark the northern border of the town of Oxford.

The entrance to New College.

A view of the Old Buildings as you enter New College.

A closer view of the Old Buildings (on the right) and the Old City Wall (in front).

The Old Buildings constituted the original New College quad (which I'll discuss a bit later), and I believe they were constructed at the time of New College's founding, either in the late 14th or early 15th century. In front of the Old Buildings, you can see the Old City Wall, which used to surround the town of Oxford.

A view of the New Buildings from the Old Buildings.

A view of the New Buildings from the Old Buildings.

The New Buildings were built in the 19th century and now serve primarily as accommodations for undergraduates. The mail room, some lecture rooms, and I believe some offices also call the New Buildings their home.

Entrance to the Front Quad through the Old Buildings.

A... thing in the entranceway to the Front Quad.

A view of the Front Quad from the NE corner, looking toward the Warden's lodgings.

A view of the Front Quad from the SE corner, looking toward the Chapel.  

A view of the Front Quad from the SW corner, looking toward the Hall.

The Front Quad of New College is apparently the first quad that had all the facilities necessary for student life in one place: a chapel, a dining hall, student accommodations (which are now offices), and the Warden's lodgings. The current Warden of New College, Sir Curtis Price, told me that his lodgings are the oldest continuously-occupied lodgings in England. Every single Warden has lived in that room since the founding of New College.

A close-up of the New College sundial.

The New College sundial was commissioned in 1999 and built in the year 2000, which is represented at the top by the Roman numerals MM. On the bottom of the sundial is the 'reflection' of MM, WW, which stands for William of Wykeham. You can watch a live stream of the sundial, including directions for how to read it accurately, here.

The gargoyles of New College.

Dozens of gargoyles, each with its own personality, surround New College's Front Quad on the tops of its buildings. One of my projects this year will be to learn more about their purpose, and if each one has its own significance.

PLEASE KEEP OFF THE GRASS

As is common in other Oxford colleges, the lawns of New College are kept in immaculate condition. It's very difficult to see grass like that and NOT do a cartwheel in it.

A view of the New College Hall, looking toward the high table.

A view of New College Hall, looking toward the entrance.

The New College Hall is elegant, as you might expect, and reminds me quite a bit of Dunster's dining hall. The long tables, the dark wood, even the paintings of past wardens (rather than house masters) hung on the walls.

William of Wykeham

The painting of William of Wykeham hangs front and center, right above the high table reserved for fellows.

Another thing, found in the entrance to the Chapel and the Cloisters.

The Ante-Chapel

The Ante-Chapel

The Ante-Chapel (or, more simply, the entrance to the Chapel) is beautiful in and of itself. The room is filled with monuments to various members of New College's past (including a plaque dedicated to those of New College who perished in WWI), and has some pretty remarkable stained glass.

The Chapel, from the entrance.

Close-up of the front of the Chapel.

Detail of the pews.

The Chapel, looking toward the entrance and the massive organ.

This stunning chapel is the home to the world-famous New College Choir, a boys choir founded by William of Wykeham in conjunction with New College. According to their website,

[William of Wykeham] provided for sixteen choristers and a dozen clerks to sing the daily office in his magnificent mediaeval chapel.

Thus, the choir has always been an integral part of college life since its inception. Even today, the young choristers are trained in the New College School right across the street, and every once in a while you'll see them running around. ADORABLE!

View of the Cloisters from the Chapel entrance.

A view of the Cloisters, looking toward the Chapel.

A passageway alongside the Cloisters.

The Cloisters is a grassy quad adjacent to the Chapel, and has made its own impact on popular culture.

The Cloisters Tower

This tower appeared in BBC2's Climbing Great Buildings where host and architectural historian Dr. Jonathan Foyle scaled the building. But more importantly...

The Ferret Tree

I went on a tour of New College during my first week here, and as soon as we entered the Cloisters the guide said, "This tree may seem familiar." Well, to me it didn't, but I'm also a disgrace to my generation. This tree, dubbed the "Ferret Tree" by my sister, appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Why is it called the Ferret Tree? Observe:

The Cloisters Tree: Where Draco Malfoy turns into a ferret.

The gate at the entrance to the New College gardens.

To the east of the Front Quad are the New College gardens, marked by an ornate gate. At the top of the gate is the New College (and William of Wykeham's) coat of arms, and the motto, "Manners Makyth Man."

A view of the Mound.

It's a bit difficult to see in the above picture, but at the center of the gardens is a giant mound, covered in trees, with one set of stairs leading to the top. Although some say it's a burial mound, the most likely explanation is that it's a bunch of excess dirt from when the ground New College now sits on was being leveled. I hear that if you climb to the top of the mound and clap in the right spot, the mound will squeak back at you. I would have tried it, but there were a lot of tourists roaming around and 'the public' is not allowed on the mound. I didn't want to start a trend.

The Old City Wall and accompanying herbaceous border.

The Old City Wall, which once was the northern border of the town of Oxford, now marks the edge of the New College gardens. When William of Wykeham acquired the land that butted up against this wall for his college, part of the deal with the city was that he would be responsible for the upkeep of the wall. To this day, the mayor of Oxford will walk along the wall once every three years to make sure it's being cared for.

My tour guide told the group that the herbaceous border running alongside the Old City Wall is the longest herbaceous border in the country (or something along those lines). I just looked that up, and that was a lie. It's not even the longest herbaceous border in Oxford. That title belongs to the one at Rhodes House, which is 200 yards away.

A view of New College from the gardens.

A shot of the gardens.

The Weston Buildings

New College is a fantastically wonderful place, but I, unfortunately, do not live on it's 14th-century grounds. I live in its graduate accommodations, the Weston Buildings, which is a couple blocks away. These buildings were built over ten years ago, and the rooms are quite lovely. At some point I will post some pictures of my room for all to see, but that will have wait until it's clean (don't hold your breath).

That's it for the New College tour. I hope all is well back in the States!
Alyce