HALLS for the accommodation of students existed in Oxford before Colleges were founded, and a few were established subsequently; of these St. Edmund Hall is the only one which retains its independence. The quaintness and irregular beauty of its buildings may plead with stern reformers for its continued survival.
Opposite to the side entrance of Queen's, St. Edmund Hall is in another respect under the wing of that College; for Queen's has the right of nominating its Principal.
The origin of St. Edmund Hall is uncertain, but it is commonly supposed to derive its name from Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1234 to 1240. Its buildings, grouped round three sides of an oblong quadrangle, date from the middle of the seventeenth century.
The first view shews the entrance to the Hall, with the interesting old Church of St. Peter-in-the-East in the background. The crypt and chancel of this Church take us back to the times of the Conqueror, and may have been the work of Robert D'Oily, one of William's Norman followers, who is known to have built Oxford Castle.
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