St Mary Hall, Oxford

Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, whose claim of being founded by King Alfred is no longer promoted). In recognition of this royal connection, the college has also been historically known as King's College and King's Hall. The reigning monarch of the United Kingdom (since 2022, Charles III) is the official visitor of the college.The original medieval foundation established in 1324 by Adam de Brome, under the patronage of King Edward II of England, was the House of the Blessed Mary at Oxford, and the college received a royal charter in 1326.: 1  In 1329, an additional royal grant of a manor house, La Oriole, eventually gave rise to its common name. The first design allowed for a provost and ten fellows, called "scholars", and the college remained a small body of graduate fellows until the 16th century, when it started to admit undergraduates. During the English Civil War, Oriel played host to high-ranking members of the king's Oxford Parliament.The main site of the college incorporates four medieval halls: Bedel Hall, St Mary Hall, St Martin Hall, and Tackley's Inn, the last being the oldest standing medieval hall in Oxford.: 2  The college has nearly 40 fellows, about 300 undergraduates and some 250 graduates. Oriel was the last of Oxford's men's colleges to admit women in 1985, after more than six centuries as an all-male institution. Today, however, the student body has almost equal numbers of men and women. Oriel's notable alumni include two Nobel laureates; prominent fellows have included founders of the Oxford Movement. Among Oriel's more notable possessions are a painting by Bernard van Orley and three pieces of medieval silver plate. As of the 2020–21 academic year, the college is ranked twentieth in academic performance out of thirty colleges in the Norrington Table, having topped the table in 2015–16.

Oriel Street is a narrow but historic street running between the High Street to the north and Oriel Square to the south in central Oxford, England. The street is now blocked off to traffic by bollards at the High Street end. It passes between the main site of Oriel College (hence its name) to the east and Oriel's newer "Island" site to the west. At the High Street end to the east is the 1911 Rhodes Building, named after the former Oriel student Cecil Rhodes, who went on to colonize the African state of Rhodesia (also named after him).

The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is an English church in Oxford situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost exclusively of university and college buildings.

The Oriel Square tennis court was a real tennis court that was located in Oriel Square, central Oxford, England. The Liber Albus mentions the Oriel court being in Vinehall Lane in 1577.Charles I played tennis here with his nephew Prince Rupert in December 1642 and King Edward VII had his first tennis lesson here in 1859.The court survived until 1923, when it was used as a lecture hall by Oriel College, though it may have seen earlier use as a theatre. The site is now the location of Oriel College's Harris Building, used for student accommodation, a seminar room and lecture theatre.The only active court left in the city is the Merton Street tennis court.

Sanders of Oxford is an antique print shop situated on the High Street of the city of Oxford, England. Although stores trading in prints were once common in the country, there are now only a handful left, Sanders being one of the largest and longest running outside London. The building, Salutation House, has traded in books and prints since at least the 1840s, when it was registered as a 'Bookseller and Auctioneer & appraiser' by its then proprietor Charles Richards. In the 16th and 17th centuries the building housed the Saluation Inn and Thomas Wood was the proprietor of the Inn. Sanders possesses a token issued by Wood in 1652. The design shows a racket, a reference to the real tennis court at Oriel College. The tavern later became a coffee house kept by James Houseman. Sanders of Oxford was owned until his death in 2012 by Hon. Christopher Lennox-Boyd, second son of Conservative politician Alan Lennox-Boyd.

Magpie Lane is a narrow historic lane in central Oxford, England. It leads south from the High Street where it is at its narrowest, now completely pedestrianised as a pavement, and north from the cobbled Merton Street. To the west is Oriel College (including the Rhodes building of 1910 at the northern end) and to the east is University College, two of the oldest Oxford colleges. On the northeast corner there is a 1902 house, now the Quod restaurant. A small cul-de-sac street, Kybald Street, leads off Magpie Lane at the southern end to the east, giving access to the rear of University College and Kybald Twychen, owned by Corpus Christi College. South from Merton Street, the lane continues as Grove Walk (a.k.a. Merton Grove or Grove Passage) between Merton College to the east and Corpus Christi College to the west, giving pedestrian access via railinged gates to Dead Man's Walk, Merton Field, and Christ Church Meadows. The building in the south-western corner of Merton College is also called Grove. The name perhaps has been derived from this area having been used as an orchard.

King Edward Street is a street running between the High Street to the north and Oriel Square to the south in central Oxford, England.To the east is the "Island" site of Oriel College, one of the colleges of Oxford University. To the west are shops, including Shepherd & Woodward, the leading University outfitters, fronting onto the High Street. King Edward Street is officially designated as part of the A420 road due to the blockage of the High Street to normal traffic. The street was only created in 1872–73 by Oriel College when 109 and 110 High Street were demolished, so it is much wider than other older streets off the High Street. The buildings were mostly designed by Frederick Codd.On the wall of the first floor of No. 6, there is a large metal plaque with a portrait of Cecil Rhodes; underneath is the inscription: In this house, the Rt. Hon Cecil John Rhodes kept academical residence in the year 1881. This memorial is erected by Alfred Mosely in recognition of the great services rendered by Cecil Rhodes to his country. On No. 14 lived Felix Yusupov, one of the murderers of Grigori Rasputin.

The Chapel of Brasenose College, Oxford, dedicated to St Hugh and St Chad, was built during the seventeenth century, during Brasenose's second wave of building started under the Principalship of Samuel Radcliffe. It is believed to have replaced an earlier chapel where the Senior Common Room now is, and includes items of silverware from around the date of foundation. The chapel is in a mixture of architectural styles – Gothic, neoclassical, and baroque – and has not proven uncontroversial for this reason. The current chaplain is The Reverend David Sheen.Radcliffe having failed to start work during his lifetime, his will set aside money and instructions for the construction of the new chapel on the south side of the college. For this purpose materials were taken from college properties – particularly from St Mary's College, which provided the hammerbeam roof and other materials for the project. The chapel and library cost together £4,000 at a time when college income was £600 a year. Disputes over the will and other problems meant that work on the construction did not begin until 1656 (eight years after Radcliffe's death), and was managed by the college bursar. An "overseer" called John Jackson took control of the project, and is believed to be the chapel's primary designer. The chapel was consecrated in 1666, and must have been almost complete at that date. Various alterations were made to the chapel after completion. Although repairs were undertaken in the meantime, the interior of the chapel was renovated (having fallen into a poor state) in 1819, and the exterior beginning in 1841. In 1892–3 a new organ was purchased and fitted, paid for by the then Principal Charles Buller Heberden; the current organ was installed in 1973, and rebuilt in 2002–3.

Oriel Square, formerly known as Canterbury Square, is a square in central Oxford, England, located south of the High Street. The name was changed after the Second World War at the request of Oriel College which maintained that the square had originally been known as Oriel Square.

All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of the college's governing body). It has no undergraduate members, but each year, recent graduate and postgraduate students at Oxford are eligible to apply for a small number of examination fellowships through a competitive examination (once described as "the hardest exam in the world") and, for those shortlisted after the examinations, an interview.The college entrance is on the north side of High Street, whilst it has a long frontage onto Radcliffe Square. To its east is the Queen's College, whilst Hertford College is to the north of All Souls. The current warden (head of the college) is Sir John Vickers, a graduate of Oriel College, Oxford.

The Shelley Memorial is a memorial to the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) at University College, Oxford, England, the college that he briefly attended and from which he was expelled for writing the 1811 pamphlet "The Necessity of Atheism".Although Shelley was expelled from the college, he remains one of its most famous alumni and is now held in high honour there. In 2005, the college acquired some of Shelley's letters to further enhance its connection with the poet.

Radcliffe Square is a square in central Oxford, England. It is surrounded by historic Oxford University and college buildings. The square is cobbled, laid to grass surrounded by railings in the centre, and is pedestrianised except for access. The square is named after John Radcliffe, a student of the university who became doctor to the King, made a large fortune, and left a significant legacy to the University and his college (University College), which is nearby in the High Street to the south. The centrepiece of the square is the circular and imposing Radcliffe Camera, a library (originally for science) paid for by John Radcliffe's legacy, built 1737–48. This is part of the Bodleian Library, the main building of which is situated immediately to the north of the square. The two are connected by a tunnel and there are many books stored under the square (with space for around 600,000 volumes). These books may be requested by readers. There used to be a small underground railway to transport books between the Radcliffe Camera and the main Bodleian site. To the west is Brasenose College, one of Oxford's older colleges. To the east is All Souls College, which only has fellows and no students, and is thus largely dedicated to research. A good view can be had through the gate leading to the square, since although these are normally locked, they consist of metal railings. The eastern side of the square forms part of Catte Street. At the southern side of the square is the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, with its tall spire. This is the official church of Oxford University and is where the Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy. A good view of Radcliffe Square and the rest of central Oxford is available from the tower, which is open to the public for a charge. The square is widely regarded as the most beautiful in Oxford, and is very popular with tourists. There are no modern buildings to be seen, so it is also used as a setting for period films (e.g., Young Sherlock Holmes, in which Brasenose featured as Sherlock Holmes' college). The square was also part of the venue for the Brasenose Quincentenary Ball in 2009 which celebrated 500 years of the college.