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Merton College

Merton College is one of the smaller Oxford colleges, and also one of the oldest. It is always problematic trying to pin down the exact age of Oxford colleges, but Merton can point with some certainty to 1264 as its founding date. University College and Balliol College may dispute Merton's place as the oldest college, but Merton can claim the oldest purpose-built college buildings.

Merton Hall dates to 1277, and "Mob Quad" is the oldest Oxford quadrangle, built between 1304 and 1378.

Merton owes its existence to Walter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester. In 1262 Bishop Merton made money from his estates in Surrey available for the maintenance of a new college. He must have been uncertain whether to establish his new college at Oxford or Cambridge, for he bought land in both places! But in 1270, students were accepted in Oxford.

Bishop Merton made plans for a huge chapel, but only the choir and transepts were completed. The chapel was begun about 1290, and it remains one of the finest in Oxford. The large east window is especially notable - it contains its original stained glass - and the screen was designed by Christopher Wren in 1671. The chapel also contains a 1613 bronze bust of Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian Library.

The Warden's Lodgings over the archway at the east end of the hall date from 1497. It was here that Queen Henrietta Maria stayed when Oxford was home to the royal court during the Civil War.

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Text © David Ross and Britain Express 2004