New College

Performance Spaces

Overview

History

Bibliographic Sources

Events
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17th c. view
Entrance
Great Quad
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Venue Type & Location

College

Site Name: New College
Location: Oxford
County: Oxfordshire
Location Type: Town - in town at determined location
http://www.new.ox.ac.uk

Performance Spaces

Hall

Overview

New College is situated between Holywell Street on the N and New College Lane along the S. It was originally named St Mary College of Winchester but has been known as New College since 1400. The main buildings, including the hall, are built from Oxfordshire limestone.

The hall, on the upper floor, is approached by steps under the Muniment Tower, on the NE range of the Great Quad, with the chapel directly W. Though the 14th c. hall has been updated, its skeleton is largely unaltered.

Performance History

Entertainers of various kinds were paid for performances by New College in the 15th and early 16th c.

Current Status

The buildings continue in use as New College.

History of the Venue

1379 New College founded by William Wykeham, bishop of Windsor.

1380 First foundation stone of the building laid.

1386 Main buildings in Great Quadrangle completed.

1400 Cloister consecrated and bell tower completed.

1449 Small wing added E of the main E range.

1500--1 Fireplace and chimney built along the N wall of the hall to replace the central hearth.

1533--5 Ceiling and linenfold panelling installed.

late 16th c. Attics added to rooms around the Great Quad.

1674 3rd story added to all buildings around the Great Quad, including the hall.

1682--3 New wing corresponding to the Senior Common Room and 2 ranges N and S of the Garden Quad built (RCHM, Inventory of Historical Monuments: Oxford 84).

1700 A block to the SE of the S range added.

1707 W side block added.

1711 Iron screen closing the Great Quad installed.

1722 The hall's undercroft built and the original floor replaced with marble pavement.

1786 Original hall roof replaced by James Wyatt, with a low plaster ceiling beneath.

1865 George Gilbert Scott hired to replace the hall roof. He removed the plaster ceiling and installed the present timber roof with the aim of restoring the original look of the hall.

1865 Upper windows of the hall filled with painted glass by Messrs. Clayton and Bell.

1870 George Gilbert Scott demolished buildings on the S side of Holywell to make new buildings.

Record Source

REED Oxford 1.17, 21, 25, 30, 36, 38, 76--7, 79--80, 85

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • Alton, R.E. 'The Academic Drama in Oxford: extracts from the Records of four Colleges.' Malone Society Collections 5 (1959): 29–95.
  • Ayliffe, John. The Ancient and Present State of the University of Oxford. 2 vols. London: Printed for W. Mears & J. Hooke, 1723.
  • Boase, Charles W. Oxford. Historic Towns. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1890.
  • Buxton, John, and Penry Williams. New College Oxford. Oxford: New College, 1979.
  • Colvin, Howard. Unbuilt Oxford. New Haven: Yale UP, 1983.
  • Elliott, John R., Jr., and Alan H. Nelson (University); Alexandra F. Johnston and Diana Wyatt (City), eds. Oxford. Records of Early English Drama (REED). 2 vols. London; Toronto: The British Library; U of Toronto P, 2004.
  • Hereford, B. George. New College 1856–1906. Toronto: Henry Frowde, 1906.
  • Hibbert, Christopher and Edward, eds. The Encyclopaedia of Oxford. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan London Ltd., 1988.
  • Loggan, David. Oxonia illustrata, sive, omnium celeberrimae istius universitatis, collegiorum, aularum, bibliothecae Bodleianae, scholarum publicarum, theatri Sheldoniani, nec non urbis totius scenographia. Oxford: e Theatro Sheldoniano, 1675.
  • Lyte, H.C. Maxwell. A History of the University of Oxford from the Earliest Times to the year 1530. London: MacMillan & Co., 1886.
  • McConica, James, ed. The Collegiate University. The History of the University of Oxford. vol 3. Oxford: Clarendon P, 1986.
  • New, Edmund H., E.G. Withycombe and Gilbert Murray. The New Loggan Guide to Oxford Colleges. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1932.
  • Pechell, John. The History of the University of Oxford, from the death of William the Conqueror, to the demise of Queen Elizabeth. Oxford: Printed by W. Jackson & J. Lister, for J. & F. Rivington, 1773.
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, and Jennifer Sherwood. Oxfordshire. 1974. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1999.
  • Prickard, A.O. New College Oxford. London: J.M. Dent & Co., 1906.
  • Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of Oxford. London: HMSO, 1939.
  • Salter, H.E., and Mary D. Lobel. A History of the County of Oxford: The University of Oxford. The Victoria History of the Counties of England. vol 3. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1954.
  • Smith, A.H. New College Oxford and its Buildings. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1952.
  • Speed, John. Map of Oxford. 10/27/2008 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:John_Speed%27s_map_of_Oxford,_1605.jpg)
  • Sturdy, David. Historic Oxford. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus, 2004.
  • Woolley, A.R. Oxford University and City. London: Art and Technics Ltd, 1951.