CONTENTS
[INTRODUCTION]
[RADCLIFFE SQUARE]
[THE BROAD STREET]
[BALLIOL COLLEGE]
[MERTON COLLEGE]
[MERTON LIBRARY]
[ORIEL COLLEGE]
[QUEEN'S COLLEGE]
[NEW COLLEGE: (1) FOUNDER AND BUILDINGS]
[NEW COLLEGE: (2) HISTORY]
[LINCOLN COLLEGE]
[MAGDALEN COLLEGE: (1) SITE AND BUILDINGS]
[MAGDALEN COLLEGE: (2) HISTORY]
[BRASENOSE COLLEGE]
[CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE]
[CHRIST CHURCH: (1) THE CATHEDRAL]
[CHRIST CHURCH: (2) THE HALL STAIRCASE]
[CHRIST CHURCH: (3) "TOM" TOWER]
[ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE]
[WADHAM COLLEGE: (1) THE BUILDINGS]
[WADHAM COLLEGE: (2) HISTORY]
[HERTFORD COLLEGE]
[ST. EDMUND HALL]
[IFFLEY MILL]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
[I. CHRIST CHURCH, THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE GARDEN]
[II. ST. MARY'S SPIRE]
[III. VIEW IN RADCLIFFE SQUARE]
[IV. SHELDONIAN THEATRE, ETC., BROAD STREET]
[V. BALLIOL COLLEGE, BROAD STREET FRONT]
[VI. MERTON COLLEGE, THE TOWER]
[VII. MERTON COLLEGE, THE LIBRARY INTERIOR]
[VIII. ORIEL COLLEGE AND ST. MARY'S CHURCH]
[IX. HIGH STREET]
[X. NEW COLLEGE, THE ENTRANCE GATEWAY]
[XI. NEW COLLEGE, THE TOWER]
[XII. LINCOLN COLLEGE, THE CHAPEL INTERIOR]
[XIII. MAGDALEN TOWER]
[XIV. MAGDALEN COLLEGE, THE OPEN AIR PULPIT]
[XV. BRASENOSE COLLEGE, QUADRANGLE AND THE RADCLIFFE LIBRARY]
[XVI. CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, THE FIRST QUADRANGLE]
[XVII. CHRIST CHURCH, THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE MEADOW]
[XVIII. CHRIST CHURCH, THE HALL STAIRCASE]
[XIX. CHRIST CHURCH, THE HALL INTERIOR]
[XX. CHRIST CHURCH, "TOM" TOWER]
[XXI. ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE GARDEN FRONT]
[XXII. WADHAM COLLEGE, THE CHAPEL FROM THE GARDEN]
[XXIII. WADHAM COLLEGE, THE HALL INTERIOR]
[XXIV. HERTFORD COLLEGE, THE BRIDGE]
[XXV. ST. PETER-IN-THE-EAST CHURCH AND ST. EDMUND HALL]
[XXVI. IFFLEY, THE OLD MILL]
[OXFORD FROM THE EAST]
[INTRODUCTION]
In what does the charm of Oxford consist? Why does she stand out among the cities of the world as one of those most deserving a visit? It can hardly be said to be for the beauty of her natural surroundings. In spite of the charm of her
"Rivers twain of gentle foot that pass
Through the rich meadow-land of long green grass,"
in spite of her trees and gardens, which attract a visitor, especially one from the more barren north, Oxford must yield the palm of natural beauty to many English towns, not to mention those more remote.
But she has every other claim, and first, perhaps, may be mentioned that of historic interest.
An Englishman who knows anything of history is not likely to forget of how many striking events in the development of his country Oxford has been the scene. The element of romance is furnished early in her story by the daring escape of the Empress-Queen, Matilda, from Oxford Castle. The Provisions of Oxford (1258) were the work of one of the most famous Parliaments of the thirteenth century, the century which saw the building of the English constitution, and the students of the University fought for the cause which those Provisions represented. The burning of the martyr bishops in the sixteenth century is one of the greatest tragedies in the story of our Church. The seventeenth century saw Oxford the capital of Royalist England in the Civil War, and though there was no actual fighting there, Charles' night march in 1644 from Oxford to the West, between the two enclosing armies of Essex and Waller, is one of the most famous military movements ever carried out in our comparatively peaceful island. The Parliamentary history, too, of Oxford in the seventeenth century is full of interest, for it was there that in 1625 Charles' first Parliament met in the Divinity School. And fifty years later, his son, Charles II, triumphed over the Whig Parliament at Oxford, which was trying by factious violence to force the Exclusion Bill on a reluctant king and nation. Few towns beside London have been the scene of so many great historical events; yet any one who looks below the surface will attach less importance to these than to the great changes in thought which have found in Oxford their inspiration, and which make it a city of pilgrimage for those interested in the development of England's real life. Matthew Arnold's famous description, hackneyed though it is by quotation, gives one aspect of Oxford, an aspect which will appeal to many beside the scholar poet: