Colleges of Oxford

October 18, 2022

The University of Oxford has thirty-nine colleges and six permanent private religious halls. These institutions are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university. The colleges are not only student residences but have the responsibility of teaching undergraduate students. Most colleges take both graduates and undergraduates, but several are for graduates only.

Behind the walls is where you will find the peace and quiet of Oxford.

Magdalen College

You do not just walk into the colleges, most are private and do not allow visitors, and those that do, require a fee.  I chose to visit Magdalen because I had read about the gardens.  The college was founded in 1458 with a large endowment, a substantial library, and some very impressive buildings.  Sadly I am here in the fall and while lovely, the gardens are probably better appreciated in the Spring.

Christ Church

Christ Church is one of the largest and wealthiest of all the colleges of Oxford. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is a joint foundation of the university and the cathedral of the Oxford diocese.

The cathedral was originally the church of St Frideswide’s Priory,  the patron saint of Oxford.

In 1522, the priory was surrendered to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who had selected it as the site for his proposed college. However, in 1529 the foundation was taken over by Henry VIII. Work stopped, but in June 1532 the college was refounded by the King. In 1546, Henry VIII transferred to it the recently created See of Oxford from Osney. The cathedral’s official name is Ecclesia Christi Cathedralis Oxoniensis, given to it by Henry VIII’s foundation charter.

Christ Church Cathedral is one of the smallest cathedrals in the Church of England.  The tour of the Cathedral itself takes half an hour there is so much history as to be overwhelming, but it is a stunning building.

Alice in Wonderland and Christ Church

Alice was the daughter of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church, where Charles Dodgson (Lewis Caroll)  lectured in mathematics.  Alice was three when her father became Dean. Alice and her sisters were playing in the deanery garden when Dodgson went to photograph it, and that is how they met.

In 1862, Dodgson (Carroll), his friend Duckworth and the three Liddell sisters, including Alice, rowed up the River Isis to the town of Godstow. On the boat trip, Carroll began spinning the story of a bored girl named Alice looking for adventure. Everyone loved his stories  and they asked him to write “Alice’s Adventures.” Two years after their boat trip, Carroll penned Alice’s Adventures Underground and in 1865 the story was published.

Those on the boating trip,  Canon Robinson Duckworth and Alice’s sisters, Lorina and Edith, appear in the book as the Duck, the Lory—a sort of parrot—and the Eaglet respectively.