Corpus Christi College. Source: Album of Oxford Photographs. Click on images to enlarge them.
Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester who enjoyed the confidence of Henry VIII who emplyed him on diplomatic missions, founded Corpus Christi College in 1516. According to Elsie M. Lang, “The site on which the college stands was purchased for the most part from Merton , and the existing quadrangle , with its tower gateway , library on the south, hall on the east, chapel and members’ lodgings was the work of the founder” (163-64).
Left: The First Quadrangle. W. G. Blackall. c. 1920. Corpus Christi College. Source: The Charm of Oxford, Right: Chapel, Corpus Christi College by Allan Maciver of Aberdeen (2017).
Corpus Christi was the “was the first college to institute a public lecturer or reader in Greek; Latin also was a special feature” (164), but its chief emphasis was theology. The college welcomed foreign instructors, and a Spaniard taught Latin and a Bavarian mathematics.
One of the “most Royalist colleges” (168), Corpus had many of its members expelled during the Commonwealth, most of whom returned at the Restoration. During the earlier eighteenth century it experienced the university-wide “decay of learning” (168), but earlier than most other colleges it regained a reputation for scholarship. Its famous graduates include John Keble and Thomas Arnold.
Corpus Christi Quad by Michael Rooker (1743-1801). Signed and dated 1782. ink and watercolor, 0.292 x 0.445 (11 ½ x 17 ½ inches). Source: Courtesy of Paul Mellon Photographic Archive (PA-F05975-0047).
Changes during the Victorian Years
“As a result of the Parliamentary Commissions of 1852 and 1877 , its constitution has been altered , the restrictions removed from the fellow ships and scholarships , and commoners introduced , so that the number of its under - graduates has risen to over seventy, and for their accommodation new build ings were found necessary , the block on the opposite side of the way , at the corner of Grove Street, being erected in 1885” (223-24).
East of Corpus Christi stands Merton College.
Bibliography
Album of Oxford Photographs containing 20 Views printed by the permanent collotype process. Oxford: Miss Beesley, Fancy Stationery Repository, 43, High Street, Oxford, nd. Internet Archive version of a copy in St. Michael's College Toronto. 4 October 2012.
Lang, Elsie M. The Oxford Colleges. London: T. Werner. HathiTrust online version of a copy in the University of Michigan Library. Web. 8 November 2022.
Wells, J.. The Charm of Oxford. Illustrated by W. G. Blackall. 2nd ed. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton Kent & Co., [c.1920]. Internet Archive version of a copy in St. Michael's College Toronto. 3 October 2012.
Last modified 10 December 2022