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                                OXFORD

   THE ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS VOLUME WERE ENGRAVED AND PRINTED BY THE
                    CARL HENTSCHEL COLOURTYPE, LTD.

          [Illustration: THE CLARENDON BUILDING, BROAD STREET


 It is the Roman Doric portico of the “Building” we see rising in the
centre of the picture, surmounted by a huge leaden figure, forming one
                  of the _acroteria_ of the pediment.

 This noble piece of architecture was erected from the proceeds of the
sale of copies of Lord Clarendon’s _History of the Rebellion_, completed
                               in 1713.

Looking west, on the right are some old houses, beyond which lie Trinity
                        and Balliol Colleges.]




                    OXFORD · PAINTED
                    BY JOHN FULLEYLOVE R.I.
                    DESCRIBED BY EDWARD
                    THOMAS · PUBLISHED BY
                    A. & C. BLACK · LONDON · W

                   _Published November 1903_




Prefatory Note


Most of these chapters have been filled by a brief search into my
recollections of Oxford. They aim, therefore, at recording my own
impressions as faithfully as the resultant stir of fancy would allow.
But I am also deeply and obviously indebted to several books, and in
particular to the histories of Oxford by Parker, Maxwell Lyte, and
Boase; to Mr. F. E. Robinson’s series of College Histories; to
_Reminiscences of Oxford_ and its companion volumes from the Clarendon
Press; and, above all the rest, to Anthony à Wood, and to the Rev.
Andrew Clark’s perfect editions of that writer’s _Life and Times_, and
of John Aubrey’s _Brief Lives_. The Editors of _The Daily Chronicle_,
_The Illustrated London News_, and _Crampton’s Magazine_ have kindly
given me permission to reprint a few pages from my contributions
thereto.

                                                   EDWARD THOMAS.




Contents


CHAPTER I
                                                                    PAGE

ON ENTERING OXFORD                                                     1


CHAPTER II

THE STONES OF OXFORD                                                  23


CHAPTER III

DONS ANCIENT AND MODERN                                               69


CHAPTER IV

UNDERGRADUATES OF THE PRESENT AND THE PAST                           101


CHAPTER V

COLLEGE SERVANTS OF THE PRESENT AND THE PAST                         147


CHAPTER VI

THE OXFORD DAY                                                       165


CHAPTER VII

IN A COLLEGE GARDEN                                                  207


CHAPTER VIII

OLD OXFORD DAYS                                                      219


CHAPTER IX

THE OXFORD COUNTRY                                                   245


CHAPTER X

IN PRAISE OF OXFORD                                                  255




List of Illustrations


                                   Owner of Original.

1. The Clarendon Building,       _Mr. John Fulleylove, R.I._   _Frontispiece_
     Broad Street

                                                             Facing page

2. Oxford, from the Sheldonian   _Mr. Cecil Turner, M.A._              6
     Theatre

3. Bishop Heber’s Tree           _Mr. John Fulleylove, R.I._           8

4. St. Edmund’s Hall                “          “                      12

5. The University Church of         “          “                      18
     St. Mary

6. Iffley Church from the        _Mr. J. W. Taphouse_                 20
     South-East

7. Tom Tower, Christ             _Mr. F. E. Sidney, F.S.A._           24
     Church College

8. St. Giles’s, looking towards  _Rev. George Wharton, M.A._          26
     St. Mary Magdalen
     (South)

9. Christ Church--Interior of    _Mr. J. W. Taphouse_                 28
     Latin Chapel

10. St. Peter’s-in-the-East          “       “                        30

11. University College--Private      “       “                        34
      Garden of the Master

12. Merton College and St.           “       “                        36
      Alban’s Hall

13. Oriel College        _The Royal Institute of                      38
                         Painters in Water-Colours_

14. Grove Street         _Mr. J. W. Taphouse_                         40

15. New College          _Mr. John Fulleylove, R.I._                  42

16. Interior of the                 “   “                             44
      Bodleian Library

17. Interior of the      _Sir William R. Anson, Bart.,                46
      Library, All         D.C.L., M.P._
      Souls’ College

18. The Cloisters,       _Mr. John Fulleylove, R.I._                  48
      Magdalen College

19. St. John’s College              “   “                             50

20. Magdalen Tower and              “   “                             52
      Botanic Garden

21. Magdalen Tower and              “   “                             54
      Bridge

22. All Souls’ College   _Mr. F. P. Osmaston, M.A._                   56
      and the High
      Street

23. Interior of the      _Mr. John Fulleylove, R.I._                  58
      Sheldonian
      Theatre

24. Corpus Christi                  “   “                             60
      College

25. Christ               _Mr. J. W. Taphouse_                         62
      Church--Peckwater
      Quadrangle

26. The Radcliffe        _Mr. Henry Silver_                           64
      Library, or
      Camera Bodleiana,
      from All Souls’
      College

27. Entrance Gateway of  _Mr. J. W. Taphouse_                         66
      Hertford College
      and the Radcliffe
      Library

28. Interior of the      _Mr. James Or