March Baldon, and Baldon

by, Bart.

Rudley.

Wallingford, formerly of great importance, is situated on the Thames, over which there is a bridge of 19 arches. It returns 1 M.P. Pop.2780.

Little Wittenham. Clifton Hampden. Nuneham Park, Earl of Harcourt, a handsome build

House, Sir. H. P. Willough- 5 Nuneham Courtenay. 522 ing, containing a choice co

South Hinksey.

lection of pictures.

Oxford, the capital of the county to which it gives its name, and the seat of one of the most celebrated universities of Europe, is pleasantly situate upon a gentle eminence in a valley at the confluence of two small rivers, the Isis and Cherwell. It is a place of very remote antiquity, but the period of its origin is involved in obscurity. The first fact connected with it that is known with certainty is, that in the reign of Alfred, who at one time resided at Oxford with his three sons, the place was noted for a monastery which was founded in the year 727. Oxford was twice set on fire, and otherwise suffered severely from the Danes. Edmund Ironside was murdered there. Canute frequently resided at Oxford, and held the great council of the nation there several times. Harold Harefoot, his son and successor, was crowned and died there. In the year 1067, the town was stormed by William the Conqueror, and, in order to bridle any attempt at revolt, a castle was built on the site, now partly occupied by the county gaol and the house of correction. During her contest with Stephen, the Empress Maude was closely besieged in Oxford Castle by her rival, but escaped in the night with only three attendants; and the castle surrendered next morning. In the reign of Richard II. the lectures of Dr John Wicliffe, the warden of Canterbury College, occasioned a great excitement, and afterwards produced very important results. Henry II. resided at Oxford during the greater part of his reign, and here his valiant son Richard Cœur de Lion was born. In the reign of Edward III. the university and town suffered much from a pestilence which carried off a fourth part of the students. In the martyrdoms of Mary's reign, Latimer, Ridley, and Cranmer were burnt at Oxford in front of Baliol College. During the civil wars, Oxford, after once or twice changing masters, became the head-quarters of the King. After the battle of Naseby, it surrendered to the parliamentary army under Fairfax. During the reign of James II. the university firmly resisted an illegal command of that prince to elect a Roman Catholic to the presidency of Magdalen College. James proceeded thither in person and expelled the contuma

cious members, whom, however, when alarmed by the preparations of the Prince of Orange, he afterwards restored. Since the Revolution, no event of much interest has occurred in the history of the town or university.

The origin of the University of Oxford, like that of the town, is involved in obscurity. The first places of education here appear to have been schools for the instruction of youth. The earliest charter of privileges to the university as a corporate body is of the 28th Henry III. In 1603, the university obtained from James I. the privilege of sending two representatives to Parliament.

Oxford University contains twenty colleges and five halls.

MERTON COLLEGE was founded about the year 1264 by William de Merton Lord Chancellor, and afterwards Bishop of Rochester. Its chapel, rebuilt about the beginning of the fifteenth century, is a remarkably fine specimen of Gothic workmanship, and contains an altar-piece of the Crucifixion, supposed to be by Tintoretto, and monuments to Sir Thomas Bodley and Sir Henry Saville. The library is the oldest in the kingdom.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE is said to have been founded by Alfred, but this is believed on good grounds to be a mistake. The college, as such, was erected from funds bequeathed by William of Durham, Rector of Wearmouth, who died in 1249. The funds of this college have been augmented by different benefactors, one of the most considerable of whom in modern times was Dr Radcliffe. The chapel contains a fine monument, by Flaxman, to the memory of Sir W. Jones, the distinguished Orientalist, and a curious altar-piece after Carlo Dolce, burnt in wood. The common room contains Wilton's fine bust of King Alfred.

BALIOL COLLEGE received its foundation about the year 1263 from Sir John Baliol of Barnard Castle, the father of John Baliol, King of Scotland. The library was formerly considered one of the best in the university, and previously to the Reformation was particularly rich in manuscripts.

EXETER COLLEGE was founded in 1314 by Walter Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter, Lord Treasurer of England, and Secretary of State to Edward II. It has a handsome hall and chapel, and a good library.

ORIEL COLLEGE was founded about the year 1326 by Adam de Brome, almoner of Edward II. Among the plate are two cups, one given by Edward II. and the other by Bishop Carpenter.

QUEEN'S COLLEGE derived its name from Philippa, Queen of Edward III. by whose confessor, Robert Egglesfield, it was founded in 1340. This college has been particularly patronized by the Queens of England. The whole of the buildings, with the exception of the library, were erected during the last century. The chapel has a painted ceiling of the Ascension by Sir James Thornhill, and an altarpiece by Cranke of Correggio's Night-Piece. The library contains about 20,000 volumes, and, among other curiosities, a very ancient portrait on glass of Henry V. who received his education at this college, and another of Cardinal Beaufort. NEW COLLEGE owes its establishment in 1378, to William de Wykeham Bishop of Winchester and Lord High Chancellor, in the reign of Edward III. The buildings were completed in 1386, the same year in which Wykeham began his collegiate establishment at Winchester. This is one of wealthiest co1

leges in Oxford, and possesses the most beautiful chapel in the university. Its internal decorations are remarkably beautiful and chaste, and its windows afford a magnificent display of painted glass. Among the curiosities preserved in this chapel is the superb and costly crosier of the founder.

LINCOLN COLLEGE was founded about the year 1479, by Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln. The celebrated John Wesley was a fellow of this college.

ALL SOUL'S COLLEGE was founded in the year 1437, by Henry Chicheley, Archbishop of Canterbury. The library of this college, the foundation stone of which was laid by Dr Young, author of the " Night Thoughts," was erected by Colonel Codrington, and contains perhaps the largest room appropriated to the purpose in England. The college hall contains paintings and sculptures, a fine statue of Judge Blackstone by Bacon, and a painting of the Finding of the Law by Sir J. Thornhill. MAGDALEN COLLEGE was founded by William of Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, in the year 1457. It is bound by its statues to entertain the Kings of England, and their sons, when at Oxford. The chapel contains a picture of Christ bearing the cross, said to be by Guido, and the Last Judgment.

BRAZEN NOSE COLLEGE was founded in the year 1509, by William Smyth, Bishop of Lincoln, in conjunction with his friend, Sir Richard Sutton, Knight. Its singular name is said to have arisen from the circumstance of its having been erected on the site of two ancient halls, one of which was called Brazen Nose Hall, from some students who were removed to it from a seminary in the temporary University of Stamford, which was so denominated on account of an iron ring fixed in a nose of brass, and serving as a knocker to the gate.

CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE was founded in 1516, by Stephen Fox, Bishop of Winchester. The library, which is particularly rich in printed books and manuscripts, contains a statue of the founder in his pontifical robes. In the hall are portraits of Lord Tenterden and Bishops Burgess and Coplestone, and in the chapel an altar-piece by Rubens.

CHRIST CHURCH COLLEGE, the largest and most magnificent foundation at Oxford, owes its origin to Cardinal Wolsey. Its chapel is the cathedral church of the bishopric of Oxford, and contains several ancient monuments. The hall is one of the finest in the kingdom, and is decorated with an extensive collection of portraits. The library is very rich in manuscripts, prints, and coins. In Peckwater Court, there is a collection of pictures bequeathed to the college by General Guise in 1765. The bell called Great Tom weighs nearly 17000 lbs. and is upwards of 7 feet in diameter.

TRINITY COLLEGE was originally founded and endowed by Edward III., Richard II., and the priors and bishops of Durham. Being classed with religious houses at the Reformation, it was suppressed, and Sir Thomas Pope, having purchased the site and buildings, endowed a new foundation in 1554.

ST JOHN'S COLLEGE was founded in 1557, by Sir Thomas White, Alderman and Lord Mayor of London. Its gardens are much admired; the library is one of the largest and best furnished in the university, and in the chapel there is a curious piece of tapestry representing our Savour and disciples at Emmaus.

JESUS COLLEGE was founded in 1571, by Hugh ap Rice, D. C. L., more parti

cularly for the benefit of his countrymen, the natives of Wales. This was the first college founded by a Protestant. The library has a good collection of books and some curiosities, among which is a silver bowl capable of containing ten gallons, a metal watch, given by Charles I., and a huge stirrup said to have been used by Queen Elizabeth. In the hall there is a portrait of Charles I. by Vandyke, and in the chapel a copy of Guido's “ Michael triumphing over Satan." WADHAM COLLEGE, founded in 1613, by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, is remarkable as having given rise to the Royal Society, the first meeting of which was held in a room over the gateway. The hall is one of the finest rooms in Oxford. PEMBROKE COLLEGE, originally Broadgate Hall, was converted into a college by the joint munificence of Thomas Tesdale and Richard Wightwick. Dr Samuel Johnson entered as a commoner in this college in 1728, and in the hall there is a bust of him by Bacon, a portrait of Charles I., and other paintings. WORCESTER COLLEGE was founded in 1714, from funds bequeathed by Sir Tho mas Cooke, Bart. It possesses handsome gardens, chapel, and library containing a valuable collection of architectural books and manuscripts.

Besides the colleges, there are five halls at Oxford, that is, establishments not endowed with estates, but simply under the government of a principal for the education and residence of students. These are, St Alban's Hall, which derived its name from Robert de Sancto Albano, a burgess of Oxford, in the reign of King John; Edmund Hall, said to be so called from St Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the reign of Henry III.; New Inn Hall; St Mary's Hall; and St Mary Magdalen Hall, the most considerable of the whole number, originally founded as a grammar school in 1480, by William Waynflete, the founder of Magdalen College.

The other public establishments connected with the University are,

THE SCHOOLS Containing the Pomfret statues and the Arundelian marbles. THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY, founded by Sir Thomas Bodley at the close of the sixteenth century, on the remains of one established by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. This library contains, perhaps, the most valuable collection of books and manuscripts in Europe.

THE THEATRE, built by Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Chancellor of the University in 1669, at the expense of L.15,000. It was designed and completed in five years by Sir Christopher Wren.

CLARENDON PRINTING-HOUSE, erected in 1711, with the profits arising from the sale of the Earl of Clarendon's “ History of the Rebellion," the copyright of which was presented to the University by his Lordship's son.

THE ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM, built at the charge of the University, in 1683. by Sir C. Wren for the reception of the collections in natural history belonging to Ashmole, the antiquary.

RADCLIFFE'S LIBRARY, one of the most imposing architectural ornaments of Oxford, founded by Dr Radcliffe, who bequeathed L.40,000 for the erection of the building, L. 100 per annum for the purchase of books, and L. 150 per annum for the librarian. The building was designed and executed between 1737 and 1749 by Gibbs of Aberdeen.