Magdalen College
(15) Magdalen College stands on the N. side of
High Street, immediately W. of the river Cherwell.
The walls are of local Oxfordshire stone and the roofs
are covered with slates and lead. The college was
founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete, Bishop of
Winchester. The enclosing walls were built in 1467–73
and the buildings were set out in 1473 to include some
of the buildings of St. John's Hospital; the 13th-century chapel of this hospital is still incorporated in
the range fronting the street and the Kitchen is probably
a building of late 13th or 14th-century date. The
foundation-stone (in the high altar) was laid on May 5th
1474 and work was in progress in this year on the Chapel,
Hall and Chambers; in 1475 a contract was entered
into, with William Orchard, mason, for the W. window
of the chapel and the windows of the Cloister; the
same mason contracted for further work on the chapel,
the construction of towers, etc. In 1480 the buildings
were in occupation and the Grammar School, later
known as Magdalen Hall, was begun. Magdalen Hall
formed a separate entity and occupied buildings on
this site till after a serious fire in 1820, when the Hall
was moved (in 1822) to Hertford College. The old
President's Lodging was in course of erection in
1485–8; in 1487–8 the Muniment Tower was roofed and
in 1490 the S. cloister was finished. The corner-stone
of the Bell Tower was laid in 1492 and it was completed
about 1509; William Raynold, mason, amongst others,
worked on the tower. The Range, incorporating the
hospital-chapel, was built early in the 16th century and
the range E. of the bell-tower may be of the same period.
A building called the Gallery or Election Chamber was
built to the N. of the President's Lodging c. 1520–30
and destroyed in 1770, and the President's Lodging
itself was altered in 1530–1; to this date probably
belongs the surviving ancient portion of the building. The N. wing of the range E. of the bell-tower
was perhaps built early in the 17th century and the
adjoining S. range altered at the same time; some
reconstruction was also done in the range W. of
the hospital-chapel. The Library was re-roofed in
1609–10. The surviving portion of the Grammar
Hall was built probably in 1614, the date on the W.
front. Between 1629 and 1635 a new gateway,
ascribed to Inigo Jones, was built to the W. of the
chapel and the Range S. of the kitchen was built. The
hospital-chapel was converted into chambers in 1665–6.
The New Buildings on the N. of the site were begun in
1733, from the designs of Edward Holdsworth, but
the scheme for rebuilding the rest of the college was
abandoned; in 1783 West's Building was erected on
the site of the Divinity Reader's Lodging on the
Cherwell, E. and N.E. of the kitchen. The chapel
was re-roofed by Wyatt in 1790 and the N. front of the
cloister was re-built on the old lines c. 1823; other
rebuilding on the E. and S. sides took place in 1825
and 1827. In 1822 the college took over the site and
buildings of Magdalen Hall. The chapel was restored
by Cottingham in 1829–34 and in 1844 the Inigo Jones
gateway was taken down and a new gateway built by
Pugin. In 1851 the New School-room was finished and
St. Swithun's Buildings were erected in 1880–4, partly
on the site of Magdalen Hall; this new building
involved the destruction of the Pugin gateway and a
new gateway was built on the High Street. The
President's Lodging was re-built in 1886–8. The New
School-room has been converted into a Library and
in 1931 the new Long Wall Quadrangle was completed.
The original buildings of the college survive very
largely complete; the bell-tower is a fine example of its
period and the chapel, cloister, hall and the Patten
tomb are all noteworthy.
Architectural Description—The Range fronting the
High Street has the Bell-Tower towards the E. end
with a short wing to the E. and a long wing to the W.
of it; at the W. end is the modern Gateway. The W.
wing is mainly of early 16th-century date incorporating
the lower part of the 13th-century building of St. John's
Hospital in the middle; to the W. of this, the range
may have been partly reconstructed early in the 17th
century. The wing, generally, is of two storeys with
attics and is finished with a restored embattled parapet.
On the S. front the range is ashlar-faced; the windows
of both floors are of cinquefoil-headed lights with
moulded reveals and labels and have all been more or
less restored; the blocked doorway towards the E. end
is of the 17th century and has moulded jambs and
four-centred arch with a double label; the parapet-string has a series of carvings of grotesque figures,
beasts, mitre, fleur-de-lis and foliage, most of them old;
the dormers and chimney-stacks are modern. The W.
end, has on the first floor, a restored oriel-window
representing an ancient feature; in the gable is an
oriel-window of two cinquefoil-headed lights and above
it a modern or much restored niche with a carved head,
brought from elsewhere. The N. front is ashlar-faced,
except the part incorporating the earlier building which
is of rubble and has a straight joint at its E. end. The
windows, W. of the chapel, are probably of the 17th
century but are generally similar to those on the S.
front; the two 17th-century doorways have moulded
jambs and elliptical arches in square heads with double
labels. On the angle between the wing and the
adjoining S.W. buttress of the chapel is a late 15th-century external pulpit (Plate 42) with a panelled front
on moulded corbelling and a roof or canopy with
shouldered brackets, embattled cresting and a rayed
rose on the soffit with lilies in the angles; the pulpit
is entered by a doorway with a four-centred head.
The continuation of the front, S. of the chapel, has a
17th-century doorway, with a four-centred arch in a
square head and a label; in the upper part of the
earlier building is a blocked doorway with a shouldered
head; the windows are mostly of the 17th or 18th
century; the windows and doorways in the eastern
section of the front are mainly of early 16th-century
date and similar to those on the S. front. Inside the
wing the middle part, forming the 13th-century building, was about 49 ft. by 15½ ft. and was of two storeys;
the remains of the lower storey are now to be seen in
two cellars at the E. and W. ends of the early building;
it had formerly a ribbed stone vault of four bays, drawings of which were made by Buckler in the 19th
century; this vault has been destroyed except for two
vaulting-shafts, in the W. angles of the building, with
moulded capitals and bases; in the E. cellar are
remains of four more vaulting-shafts now cut back to
the wall-face; in the E. wall is a blocked doorway
with chamfered jambs, two-centred arch and moulded
label and visible on the outer face; in the W. wall are
the rebated internal jambs of a second doorway. The
so-called chapel converted into chambers in 1665–6
was presumably on the floor above. A room towards
the E. end of the first floor of the wing has a 16th-century moulded ceiling-beam. On the attic-floor is a
16th-century fireplace with a flat four-centred arch in a
square head; at the head of the middle staircase is a
17th-century balustrade.
The Bell Tower (Plate 131) was built between 1492
and 1509 and is of four storeys and five external stages,
and is 144½ ft. high to the top of the pinnacles; it is
ashlar-faced, stands on a moulded plinth and has octagonal buttresses or turrets at the angles; the facing has
been extensively restored. The ground-stage has a doorway, in the N. wall, with moulded jambs, four-centred
arch and label with modern stops; the rear-arch is
ribbed. In the second stage, but still in the ground
storey, the E., S. and W. walls had each a window of
two cinque-foiled ogee lights with tracery in a two-centred head with a label; the E. and W. windows are
blocked and otherwise altered by the adjoining wings.
The third stage has similar windows in the E., S. and
W. walls; the fourth stage is similarly treated but in the
E. and W. windows the lights are continued down as
pierced quatre-foiled panels. The bell-chamber has in
each wall two restored windows each of three cinque-foiled ogee lights with vertical tracery in a four-centred head with a label; the lights are continued
down below a transom as blind panels; between the
windows on each face is a pilaster-buttress; the tower
is finished with a band of sub-cusped quatrefoils and a
pierced embattled parapet; the string-courses have
carved enrichments including a pair of wrestlers and a
shield-of-arms of the college; the angle-turrets are
carried up as crocketted pinnacles and the intermediate
buttresses are carried up as square pinnacles with a
niche in the outward face; the niches contain figures of
St. Mary Magdalene and St. John the Baptist, two of
which are modern. Of the ten bells, the 3rd and 4th
are by Abraham Rudhall, 1712, the 6th and tenor by
Ellis Knight, 1623, the 7th by William Dawe, early 15th-century and inscribed "Sum rosa pulsata mundi
Katerina vocata" and the 8th by Ellis Knight, 1641. In
the second storey is the early 16th-century iron frame
and works of the former clock; the frame has buttressed standards. In the tower are preserved a
collection of carved and moulded stones, some from the
former Inigo Jones Gateway and including figures of
St. Mary Magdalene, the founder and St. Swithun and
cartouches of the royal Stuart arms and those of the
college; there is also a figure of St. Mary Magdalene
from the tower and an oak door with a carved head.
The Range E. of the bell-tower and extending N. to
the main building seems to have been built, as to its
S. wing, early in the 16th century, but the N. wing is
probably an early 17th-century addition; the range is
of three storeys and has been extensively restored. The
S. front ranges with and is generally similar to the
wing W. of the tower, but the openings have all been
restored and there are three gabled dormers of stone.
The E. front has four modern gables and here again
the openings are modern restorations; set in the wall
are three carved angels holding defaced shields and also
a portcullis. The N. face of the front wing retains
some original windows and there are also some original
windows with four-centred heads to the lights on the
W. face of the N. wing. Inside the building the ground
floor of the S. wing now forms a single room and is
fitted with an early 17th-century fireplace and panelling
brought from elsewhere. The adjoining room in the
N. wing also has early 17th-century panelling brought
from elsewhere and including an overmantel of two
bays with enriched pilasters and shaped panelling in the
bays.
The Great Quadrangle has cloister-alleys on all four
sides; it has the Chapel and Muniment-tower at the
S.W. angle, with the Hall to the E. of the chapel; it
is entered by the Founder's Tower and the Library on
the W. side, and this and the N. and E. sides are
occupied by rooms.
The Chapel (Plate 128) forms the S.W. angle of the
great quadrangle and flanks St. John's Quadrangle on
the E.; it consists of a Choir (76½ ft. by 19½ ft.) and an
Ante-chapel (74 ft. by 35 ft.). It was built between 1474
and 1480 and is an ashlar-faced building with an embattled parapet. The choir is of five bays with
buttresses and crocketted pinnacles and the parapet-string is carved with grotesque beasts, foliage, etc.
The E. wall is covered by a modern stone reredos and
has two doorways now modern and blocked. The side
walls have both five restored windows, each of three
cinque-foiled ogee and transomed lights with vertical
tracery in a two-centred head with moulded reveals
and label; between the windows, internally, are wallshafts all apparently modern and perhaps inserted when
Wyatt's plaster vault was erected in 1790. Projecting
from the N.E. bay of the choir is a small chantry-chapel of two bays with a fan-vault; the panels are
foiled and the ribs moulded; they spring from moulded
corbels; the bosses are carved with flowers, foliage,
etc.; in the N. wall is a doorway with a four-centred
arch and traceried spandrels and further E. is a window
of one cinque-foiled light. The middle bay of the S.
wall has a depressed external arch below the parapet-string; it is said to have formed part of a former organ-chamber. The ante-chapel (Plate 151) is crossed by two
arcades continuing the side walls of the choir; they are
of two bays with two-centred arches of two moulded
orders, springing from shafted piers with moulded
capitals and bases and half-piers as responds. The W.
wall of the middle bay of the ante-chapel has a low-pitched gable with a central and side pinnacles; the W.
window has moulded reveals, two-centred arch and
label; the existing three lights were put in, in the 17th-century, to accommodate the painted glass renewed by
Francis Eginton in 1794. The W. doorway (Plate 129)
is set in a projection and has moulded jambs and a four-centred arch in a square head with a four-centred outer
rib standing free from the rest; the spandrels of the
doorway are carved with shields of the royal arms and
those of the founder; the label has a running lily-plant
enrichment; the projection is finished with an embattled and panelled parapet with niches in the merlons
filled with restored or modern figures, the Baptist,
Edward IV, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Swithun and the
founder; the rear-arch of the doorway is ribbed.
The side-bays of the ante-chapel have windows, three
in the N. bay and five in the S. bay, similar to those in
the choir. In the N. wall of the N. bay is a doorway with moulded jambs and four-centred arch
in a square head; the spandrels have carved angels
holding scrolls inscribed "Fecit michi magna qui
potens est" and "Hic est domus Dei et porta
celi"; the rear-arch is ribbed; above the doorway is a square opening to the adjoining munimenttower, with a diagonal design of cusped tracery. The
S.W. buttress of the ante-chapel is pierced with a doorway opening into the Chaplain's Quadrangle, S. of the
Chapel; it has moulded jambs and four-centred head.
Fittings—Brasses: In choir—(1) of William Tibarde,
[S.T.B., President, 1480] 15th-century figure of priest
in choir-vestments with foot-inscription and restored
marginal inscription with restored symbols of evangelists, two partly old; (2) of Arthur Cole, S.T.B.,
President and Canon of Windsor, 1558, figure of
priest in surplice, amess and Garter-mantle, palimpsest
on back of figure, parts, of royal arms, of figure of
priest in mass-vestments and of kneeling figure; on
back of inscription, two inscriptions to (a) Robert
Cobbe, 1516, Margery his wife, 1516, and Sir Thomas
Cobbe, 15.., (b) Margery, wife of William Chamberleyn, 1431, from the Greyfriars church London;
(3) figure of priest in academic dress, c. 1480–90;
(4) half-figure of priest in academic dress, c. 1480–90;
(5) figure of priest in academic dress, c. 1490; (6)
figure of priest in academic dress, c. 1520–30. In antechapel—(7) of Nicholas Goldwell, M.A., 1523, figure of
man in gown with scroll and shield-of-arms of Goldwell; (8) of William Goberd, B.A., 1515, Archdeacon
of Salop, figure of priest in surplice and amess, with
remains of scroll; (9) of Walter Charyls, M.A., 1502,
three-quarter figure of man in academic dress, head lost;
(10) of Ralph Vawdrey, M.A., 1478, half-figure of priest
in academic dress, with part of scroll; (11) of Thomas
Mason, M.A., 1501–2, figure of priest in academic dress;
(12) of George Lassy, c. 1500, half-figure of priest in
academic dress; on N. wall, (13) to William Grey,
1605–6, inscription only; (14) of [John Perch, M.A.,
B.P., 1487–8], figure of priest, perhaps that of John
Hygden, 1532, in cope, head and lower part modern,
with foot and restored marginal inscription of John
Perch; on S. wall, (15) to John Bentley, M.A., [1486],
inscription only; (16) to William Hasard, 1509,
inscription only; (17) to Robert Honiman, M.A.,
1616–7, mutilated inscription only; (18) to John
Caley, M.A., 1516, inscription only, palimpsest on back,
inscription to Isabel, wife of ... Fyscher, 1464; on
floor, (19) of Thomas Sondes, 1478, figure in academic
dress with mutilated scroll and marginal inscription,
shield-of-arms of Sondes (defaced) impaling a quartered
coat of Cheyney (?) and indents of three others. Chest:
In S. bay of ante-chapel—with panelled front and one
lock, 17th-century. Door: In doorway of chantry-chapel, of feathered battens with strap-hinges and
ornamental scutcheon, late 15th-century. Glass: In
ante-chapel—in eight smaller windows, glass in chiaroscuro of sepia tint, with cherubs or seraphs in tracery
and six figures under canopies in each window, as
follows—in N. bay, N.E. window, St. Anselm, St.
Nemesius, St. Huldrucus, St. Burchardus, St. Wenceslaus, St. Januarius; in S.E. window, St. Helena, St.
Patricia, St. Brigidia, St. Epimachus, St. Mary the
Virgin, St. Agathon; in W. window, St. George, St.
Cyriacus, St. Laurence, St. Nicholas, St. Hippolytus,
St. Gregory of Nyssa; in S. bay, in N.E. window, St.
Cornelius, St. Cyprian, St. Basil, St. Gregory, St.
Clement of Alexandria, St. Cyril; in S.E. window, St.
Theodosia, St. Eulalia, St. Martha, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Agnes, St. Anne; in E. window of S. wall,
St. Catherine, St. Salome, St. Euphemia, St. Christina,
St. Clare, St. Ursula; in W. window of S. wall, St.
Clement, St. Irenaeus, St. Julius, St. Aristarchus, St.
Polycarp, St. Ignatius; in W. window, St. Cleophas,
St. Barnabas, St. Crispus, St. Dionysius, St. Titus, St.
Timothy; windows ascribed to Richard Greenbury
who supplied glass to the chapel in 1632. In main W.
window, glass of similar type but lighter shade, representing the Last Judgment, said to have been from a
picture by Christopher Schwarz (c. 1590), executed in
the 17th century, damaged by a gale in 1703 and renewed by Francis Eginton in 1794. Lectern (Plate 25):
of brass with baluster-stem, ball and large eagle, given
in 1633 by Accepted Frewen, President, scrolled
acanthus feet. Monuments and Floor-slabs. Monuments: In choir—in chantry-chapel on N. side, (1) of
Richard Patten, c. 1450, father of the founder and
removed here from All Saints, Wainfleet, when that
church was destroyed in 1809 and placed in its present
position in 1833, alabaster altar-tomb and effigy, altar-tomb with sides and ends enriched with cinquefoil-headed panels, the larger panels having brackets, in
two panels at W. end standing figures of angels holding
shields with garters, one shield bearing the arms of the
founder, effigy (Plate 135) in civil costume with purse,
rosary and remains of dagger, head on cushion supported by figures of the founder and his brother John,
Dean of Chichester, feet on lilies, effigy restored in parts.
In ante-chapel—on E. wall of N. bay, (2) to John and
Thomas Lyttleton, both died 1635, alabaster wall-monument (Plate 179) by Nicholas Stone with framed
tablet surmounted by broken pediment and flanked by
draped standing figures of two youths, shield-of-arms
on apron; on N. wall, (3) to Samuel Adams, M.D.,
1711, white marble tablet with cornice, urn and
shield-of-arms; (4) of William Langton, S.T.D., 1626,
President, alabaster wall-monument (Plate 134) with
half figure of man in ruff, gown and hood, in curtained
recess with entablature and centrepiece, recess flanked
by two allegorical figures and three other figures on
cornice and centrepiece, cartouche-of-arms; on W.
wall, (5) to Walter Wallwyn, 1640, alabaster and white
marble tablet, with eared architrave, cornice, cherubs
and cartouche-of-arms; (6) to Henry Yerbury, M.D.,
1686, alabaster and black marble tablet, with bay-leaf
frame, scrolls, broken pediment and cartouche-of-arms; on S. wall of S. bay, (7) to Thomas Bayley,
S.T.P., 1706, President, marble tablet with side-pilasters, cornice, urn and cartouche; (8) of Laurence
Humphrey, S.T.D., 1589–90, President and Regius
professor of Divinity, alabaster and black marble wall-monument (Plate 34), with half-length figure of man in
gown and hood in round-headed recess, with Corinthian
side-columns, entablature and cartouche-of-arms; (9) to
Thomas Cradocke, 1678, oval draped tablet of marble,
with cartouche-of-arms; on W. wall, (10) to Nicholas
Bond, S.T.D., 1607, President, alabaster and black
marble tablet with Corinthian side-columns, entablature
and achievement-of-arms. On W. wall of middle
bay—(11) to George Hunt, LL.D., 1699–1700, stone
and stucco tablet with cherub-heads and cartouche-of-arms. Floor-slabs: In ante-chapel—(1) to S[amuel]
Adams, 1711; (2) to William Browne, S.T.B., 1678,
with defaced achievement-of-arms; (3) to Edward
Exton, M.D., 1683, with shield-of-arms; (4) to
William Nicholson, M.A., 1678, with shield-of-arms;
(5) to Samuel Russell, M.A., 1670; (6) to Richard
Russell, M.A., 1681; (7) to William Russell, M.A.,
1672. Picture: The Bearing of the Cross, by Francisco
Ribalta, c. 1570–1620. Scratchings: On various parts
of the building—numerous masons' marks. Stalls:
In S. bay of ante-chapel—twenty-nine stalls with shaped
and moulded divisions, moulded arm-rests and carved
misericordes (Plate 138) as follows—N. side, (a) grotesque mask, (b) winged monster, (c) grotesque mask,
(d) fox and geese, (e) grotesque mask, (f) swan, (g) grotesque mask, (h) tumbler; W. side, (a) birds fighting,
(b) winged monster, (c) horse, (d) grotesque mask,
(e) ditto, (f) owl and mouse, (g) shield-of-arms of the
college; S. side, (a) bust of man with cap, (b) beast's
head, (c) winged monster, (d) rose-bush, (e) pelican in
her piety, (f) grotesque mask, (g) eagle and prey,
(h) hare, (i) crouching ape, (j) grotesque mask, (k) ditto,
(l) horse on its back, (m) winged monster, (n) crouching
ape; side-carvings, all foliage or flowers except one
with dogs' heads, 15th-century; stall-backs mostly
destroyed but two bays re-set against E. wall, with buttressed pinnacles and trefoiled and sub-cusped heads
with foliated spandrels and crocketted ogee label.
The Muniment Tower adjoins the N. side of the antechapel, to which the ground-floor forms a vestibule;
it is of three storeys, ashlar-faced and finished with a
restored embattled parapet with a pinnacle at the N.W.
angle. The doorway in the W. wall has moulded
jambs and four-centred arch in a square head with a
shield-of-arms of the founder encircled by the garter
in one spandrel and a rose with a lily-spray and scroll
in the other; it was formerly masked by an early 17th-century Renaissance setting and its position has been
altered; the window, to the S., is modern except for the
S. splay and part of the sill. In the N. wall is an
original window of two cinque-foiled lights in a square
head with a restored label; in it are some fragments
of 15th to 17th-century glass including borders, inscriptions, a man's head, a crozier-head, etc. The vestibule
has a stone vault (Plate 3) with ridge, diagonal, subsidiary and wall ribs springing from shafts with moulded
capitals and bases; the central boss is carved with five
roses and lilies; the other bosses are carved with a
Majesty, angels with shields charged with the emblems
of the Passion, the arms of the college and those of the
see of Winchester, a pelican in her piety, a cross, vineleaves and human faces, flowers and foliage. On the
E. of the vestibule is a corridor to the cloister with a
ribbed four-centred barrel-vault. The two upper floors
of the tower have each a window in the N. and W.
walls similar to the N. window of the vestibule but of
three lights. Both rooms are paved with old glazed
tiles.
Magdalen College
The S. Range of the Great Quadrangle, E. of the
chapel, forms the Great Hall on the first floor with the
Senior Common Rooms below. The range is of two
storeys, ashlar-faced and divided externally by buttresses
with pinnacles and having embattled parapets all
similar to those of the chapel; at the E. end is a low-pitched gable with pinnacles and a S.E. stair-turret
finished with an octagonal capping. On the ground
floor the Senior Common Room was formerly the
Vestry of the chapel; it has, in the N. wall, a blocked
original window of two cinque-foiled lights in a square
head; further E. is an altered doorway with a four-centred head. In the S. wall are two windows
originally of similar type but altered for later windows
and with the sills cut down. The room is lined with
late 17th-century panelling with an entablature; the
fireplace has a cornice and overmantel with a large
panel flanked by carved consoles and finished with an
enriched entablature; the panel has an achievement-of-arms of the founder. A series of roundels of foreign
painted glass of the late 15th to the 17th century, from
Tubney House, Berks., are to be fixed in this room. The
passage to the E. has remains of an original window
in the S. wall and a wide arch in the middle formerly
supporting the central hearth in the hall above. In the
E. wall is a doorway with a four-centred head. The
Fellows' Smoking Room, formerly the Bursary, has an
original doorway, with moulded jambs and four-centred arch, in the N. wall; above this and the
Common Room doorway are 17th-century cartouches
of the royal Stuart arms and those of the founder; the
room is lined with re-set early 17th-century panelling,
with an overmantel, probably of the 18th century. In
this room is a 14th-century chest.
The Great Hall (72½ ft. by 29¼ ft.) is approached by
a staircase and an original archway at the E. end of the
cloister, with moulded jambs and four-centred arch in
a square head, with traceried spandrels enclosing shields
of the arms of the college; the rear-arch is moulded
and the raking soffit is ribbed. The Hall, itself, is of
five bays, each, except the N.W. bay, with an original
or partly restored window of two cinque-foiled ogee and
transomed lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred
head with a label; the N.W. bay has a three-sided oriel,
restored externally and having three cinque-foiled ogee
and transomed lights on the face and two on each
canted return; the archway opening into it is four-centred and ribbed on the soffit. In the E. reveal
is a short wall-passage to the leads of the cloister. In
the E. wall are three original doorways to the buttery
and pantry, with moulded jambs and four-centred
heads; there is also a serving-hatch of similar form;
one doorway has an original door. The roof is modern.
The early 17th-century screen (Plate 133) is of five bays
with two doorways, flanked by fluted Corinthian
columns supporting a continuous entablature with a
carved frieze; the projections over the columns have
each a shield-of-arms and an obelisk; the arms are those
of the college (2), the founder and Maltravers; the bays
and doors of the screen have four ranges of enriched
panels; in the bays the lowest have arcaded panels and
the two upper have small arcaded panels surrounded by
subsidiary ones; the gallery-front is divided into bays
by coupled Corinthian columns supporting an enriched
entablature; the bays have enriched arcaded panels
enclosing shields-of-arms and the pedestals of the
columns are carved with lilies; the bays have carved
achievements-of-arms of the founder, Winchester See
impaling the same, the royal Stuart arms and a series of
small shields of Bishop Fox, Derwentwater (?), Arundel,
etc. The back of the screen has simple early 17th-century panelling; at the head of the stairs is an enriched cross-arch of oak with Ionic side-pilasters and
shields of the royal Stuart arms, the college and the
Prince of Wales' feathers. The N., S. and W. walls of
the hall are lined with early 16th-century linen-fold
panelling, extending up to the window-sills on the side
walls and two tiers higher on the W. wall; it is finished
with an entablature of which the frieze (Plate 50) on the
W. wall is original and carved with scrolls, figures,
heads, lilies, pots of ointment, the royal Tudor arms
and those of the founder and the college; on the W.
wall also are three groups of carved panels; the middle
group (Plate 137) is of nine panels of which five represent
scenes from the life of St. Mary Magdalen (a) the
Magdalen washing the feet of Christ, (b) Christ at
Bethany with the inscription "Martha solicita es et
turbaris erga plurima Maria optimam partem elegit"
and the date 1541, (c) the Magdalen anointing the head
of Christ, (d) Christ appearing to the Magdalen in the
garden with inscriptions "Noli me tangere" and
"Rabboni", (e) the Magdalen and the disciples with
the inscription "Vidi dominum"; the other panels
have (f) figures of St. John the Baptist and St Mary
Magdalen with the date 1541, (g) the royal Tudor arms
and badges, (h) half-figure of Henry VIII with his name
and (i) the Prince of Wales' feathers; the side groups
(Plate 127) are each of four panels, on the N., (a) composite shield of the founder, (b) shield of Arundel
quartering Maltravers, (c) head of a bearded and turbaned man with the letters IVM on the collar, (d) head
of woman; on the S., (a) shield as (b) above, (b) arms
of the founder with initials, (c) woman's head, (d) man's
head; on the architrave of the entablature is a painted
inscription from Colossians iii, 16–17 with the date
1681. The panelling on the side walls is divided into
bays by fluted Ionic pilasters and has a 17th-century
frieze (Plate 50) carved with scrolled monsters. Against
the side-walls are fixed benches. In the oriel of the hall
is a series of mid 16th-century shields-of-arms in
wreaths or cartouches and mostly surmounted by
mitres, as follows—(a) John Longland, Bishop of
Lincoln, 1521–47, (b) John Stokesley, Bishop of
London, 1530–39; (c) the founder with a garter,
(d) John Veysey or Harman, Bishop of Exeter, 1519–54,
(e) Edward Lee, Archbishop of York, 1531–44, (f) John
Harley, Bishop of Hereford, 1553–4, (g) Thomas
Bentham, Bishop of Lichfield, 1560–79, (h) John
Parkhurst, Bishop of Norwich, 1560–75, (i) Richard
Mayo or Mayhew, Bishop of Hereford, 1504–16,
(j) Royal arms of Queen Elizabeth with the date 156;
also a 16th or 17th-century medallion-portrait of the
founder and 17th-century portraits of Charles I and
Henrietta Maria, the latter dated 1632. To the E. of the
hall are a buttery and pantry with a cellar and passage
below. The cellar has two original doorways with four-centred heads and the modern staircase incorporates
two early 17th-century oak archways with four-centred
heads and some late 17th-century balusters; in the S.
wall is a blocked 15th-century window of three cinque-foiled lights. The floor above has similar windows of
two lights.
The Kitchen Range adjoins the hall-range on the E.
The Kitchen itself is probably of late 13th or 14th-century date and formed part of the hospital buildings;
the S. wing seems to have been built in 1635. This
wing is of four storeys and has three gables on the S.
front; the partly restored windows have four-centred
lights and moulded labels. The windows in the E.
wall are mostly modern. The main larder on the
ground floor of this range has a deep recess in the N.
wall with moulded jambs and four-centred arch in a
square head. The kitchen has a restored ashlar-faced
N. wall with three blocked lancet-windows perhaps
originally of late 13th or 14th-century date and a round
window in the gable, also blocked. In the W. wall is
an early 17th-century doorway, now disused; it has
a moulded oak frame with a four-centred arch. The N.
fireplace has a high cambered lintel and the S. fireplace has a three-centred arch; both are inserted in
the earlier building. The roof is perhaps of the 16th
century and is of four bays with tie-beams, collars and
curved wind-braces; the queen-posts are probably
later insertions.
The Great Quadrangle (Plates 109, 130) (125½ ft. by
152½ ft. excluding the cloister) was built c. 1475–90 and
is surrounded by a cloister which is incorporated in the
ranges in the E., N. and W. but is a single-storey building on the S.; the N. cloister was re-built in 1824, on
the old lines and the S. cloister has been much refaced.
The walls are ashlar-faced. There is some evidence
that the cloister-alleys were not originally contemplated and that the buttresses were added when the
cloister-windows were inserted; the figures crowning
the buttresses were added c. 1509 and were repaired in
1605 and at various later dates; some have been
renewed. Each bay of the cloister, except one on
the W., has a more or less restored external window
of three septfoiled lights with tracery in a four-centred
head with moulded reveals and label; those on the E.
and W. are largely original. The fourth window of the
S. cloister has a modern doorway below the middle
light; the S. cloister is finished with a restored embattled parapet with pinnacles over the buttresses.
The buttresses on the other three sides are surmounted
by carved figures as follows, beginning at the S.E.
angle and proceeding N. and W.—E. side, (a) human
monster with mask on belly, (b) two human figures
wrestling, (c) winged monster, (d) hart or yale,
(e) dragon, (f) greyhound, (g) monster with human
head, (h) griffin, (i) monster with bird's head and
human head above breasts, (j) monster with beast's
head holding an owl and a head, (k) seated beast; N.
side, (a) seated monster with three heads, (b) monster,
half woman, (c) monster, half man, (d) seated camel,
small animal on its back, (e) man in civil dress and hat,
(f) man in armour, perhaps Goliath (g) David or
Samson and the lion, (h) jester; W. side, (a) Moses,
(b) possibly Jacob and the angel, (c) doctor of medicine,
(d) lawyer, (e) pelican, (f) seated lion. The E. range
is of two storeys with a modern embattled parapet,
with old carvings of beast-heads and foliage on the
string-course; the W. face of the upper storey has a
series of partly restored windows of one or two
cinque-foiled lights with labels, spaced regardless of the
bays of the cloister below; where the wall passes over
the S. cloister, it is carried on a four-centred wall-arch
with two mortices in the face of each voussoir. The E.
face of the range is modern. Inside the range, the inner
wall of the cloister-alley has a series of 15th-century
doorways with moulded jambs and four-centred heads;
there is also a series of one and two-light windows all
blocked and bearing little relation to the chambers
and partitions behind. The passage to the kitchen
has a series of chamfered beams and is entered by a
partly restored archway with a four-centred head.
This range was designed to be of three storeys with
attics, as is evident from the fireplaces remaining high
up in the S. wall, one of which is cut by the ceiling of
the first-floor room and one is in the gable; there are
also remains of fireplaces at the former second-floor
level in the cross-walls. The rest of the range has no
ancient features. The N. Range is generally similar
to the E. range but is almost entirely modern externally.
Inside the range the inner wall of the cloister-alley is
ancient and has a series of doorways and windows
similar to those in the E. range. The rest of the range
has no ancient features. The W. Range is divided
into two unequal portions by the Founder's Tower.
The part to the N. has the Old Library on the first
floor; this is finished towards the court with a
restored parapet with old carvings of human figures
and grotesques on the string; the partly restored
windows are of two cinque-foiled lights with moulded
reveals and labels. The W. face of this part of the
range has a similar parapet and carvings; the windows
are partly restored and are of one or two lights on the
ground-floor, with a range of two-light windows
lighting the library above; all of them have or had
cinque-foiled lights. Inside this part of the range, the
inner wall of the cloister-alley has a series of doorways
and windows similar to those on the other two sides;
the doorway to the library-staircase has traceried
spandrels enclosing painted shields with a rayed Tudor
rose and the arms of the College. The Old Library
has a late 18th-century plaster vault but above this is
an older timber roof, presumably that erected in
1609–10; it is of fourteen bays with collar-beams
supporting king-posts; the scissor-braces are later
additions. The Founder's Tower (Plates 130, 132)
is of late 15th-century date and of four storeys with a
restored embattled parapet, crocketted pinnacles and
an embattled and pinnacled stair-turret at the S.E.
angle. The ground storey forms a gatehouse to the
great quadrangle; the outer archway has moulded
jambs and four-centred arch in a square head with
quatre-foiled spandrels enclosing roses and lilies; the
spandrels have each a hand holding a blank scroll in
addition; the outer order of the arch is carried up as
a four-centred rib with open cusped spandrels in a
square head with an enriched label and stops, probably
modern, and carved as angels holding shields, one bearing the college arms. The late 15th-century doors are
in two leaves with two ranges of cinquefoil-headed
panels, foliage-spandrels and a moulded middle rail;
there is a wicket in the S. leaf; the doors have some
modern repair. Above the arch is a range of panels
with trefoiled and sub-cusped heads and an embattled
capping. The inner archway has moulded jambs and
four-centred arch; above it is a range of diagonal
cusped panels with an embattled capping; the buttresses, flanking the archway, have modern figures of
angels. The gate-hall has a restored ribbed lierne vault
of two bays, springing from moulded and carved
corbels; the bosses are carved with shields, one bearing a fesse, foliage, roses, fleurs-de-lis, human masks
and vine-leaves with grapes. The side-walls have
each a four-centred arch to the cloister-alley, with a
panelled soffit springing from carved and moulded
corbelling. Beneath these arches are fixed two panels
of 15th-century character, with the royal arms and those
of the founder and angel-supporters. The first and
second floors of the tower have, on each face, a much
restored two-storeyed bay-window finished with a
panelled embattled parapet and having three lights on
the face and two on the canted sides; all have trefoiled and sub-cusped heads and the mullions are carried
up to form blind panels between the windows, also
with cusped heads. Flanking the bay-windows on
the outer face are four niches with canopies of broken
tabernacle-work and containing figures of Edward IV
and the founder and of St. Mary Magdalene and St.
John the Baptist. In the room on the first floor the
bay-windows have four-centred and panelled arches
with three half-angels at the apex; an angel on each
arch bears a shield-of-arms of the king and the college
respectively; in the N. wall is a fireplace with moulded
jambs and four-centred arch in a square head with
foliage-spandrels. The ceiling has moulded beams and
joists forming three bays; the panelling is probably
modern. In the room are two early 16th-century
Flemish tapestries (Plate 136) both forming part of one
subject and said to represent the betrothal of Prince
Arthur and Katherine of Aragon. In the room on the
second floor, the arches to the bay-windows are similar
to those below, but have no angels; the ceiling has
moulded cross-beams. The top storey of the tower
has a restored window in each wall; those in the E.
and W. walls are of three cinque-foiled lights with
labels and those in the N. and S. walls are of one and
two lights respectively. The low-pitched roof has
heavy chamfered tie-beams. Adjoining the tower
on the N.W. is a small annexe forming part of the
President's Lodging. It is of three storeys with a
restored embattled parapet and a turret at the N.W.
angle. On the first floor is a projecting oriel-window
resting on embattled corbelling and finished with an
embattled capping; it has three cinque-foiled lights on
the face and one on each return. The floor above has
a single cinque-foiled light. The W. Range, S. of the
Founder's Tower, is generally similar to the other
ranges of the cloister-quadrangle but has, on the upper
floor, five partly restored oriel-windows, three on the
E. and two on the W. face; they rest on corbelling
and have embattled cappings; each window has two
cinque-foiled lights on the face and one on each return.
Below those on the W. face are a pair of windows of
two cinque-foiled lights in square heads. The S. end
of the range, above the cloister-alley, is formed by a
half-gable carried on a relieving arch, below which is
an inserted doorway to the leads, now blocked. Inside
this part of the range, the inner wall of the cloister
has two blocked windows recently uncovered. The
bed-rooms on the first floor have original moulded
ceiling-beams; both rooms have fireplaces with
moulded jambs and four-centred arches; the S.W.
oriel-window has a squint in the S. splay; the S.E.
oriel-window is modern.
The President's Lodging, formerly enclosing a quadrangle with the Election Chamber on the N. side, was
re-built in 1886–8 except for the one-storeyed kitchen-wing extending to the N. This is ashlar-faced and
was built probably early in the 16th century. The
embattled W. wall now rises high above the building
and is continued N. as a high garden-wall; this appears
to have formed the W. wall of the Election Chamber,
pulled down in 1770. The Lodging also includes
rooms in the Founder's Tower and the range to the
S. of it.
The Old Grammar Hall (Plate 132), W. of the President's Lodging was built in 1614, probably as an addition to an earlier building, now destroyed. It is of three
storeys with attics, but the N. part is of two storeys only.
The S. wall is largely a restoration of 1849; it is gabled
and has diagonal buttresses at the angles and a small
embattled turret at the S.E. angle, with a pyramidal
capping. The windows, where original, have elliptical
heads to the lights but one window high up in the
turret is pointed and has the lower part filled with
pierced quatrefoils. The E. wall of the main block
is embattled and has a doorway with a four-centred
arch in a square head. In the W. gable is a panel
with the date 1614. The building has now been
converted into sets of chambers. The N.W. room was
formerly a kitchen and has a wide fireplace with a
four-centred arch. A room on the first floor has
moulded ceiling-beams. Adjoining the building on
the W. is a garden-wall, probably of the same date,
with a doorway and several blocked openings; the
doorway has a four-centred head.
The New Buildings, N. of the main quadrangle, were
begun in 1733 and are ashlar-faced and of three storeys.
The S. front has an entablature and parapet, with a
pediment over the middle bay. The ground floor,
except in the end bays, has an open loggia with round
arches.
The Boundary Wall, on the N. and W. sides of Magdalen Grove, dates from late in the 15th century and is
finished with a restored embattled parapet. At the
angle of St. Cross and Long Wall Street is a projecting
tower, carried up above the wall and having restored
loops and an embattled parapet.
Condition—Good.