Merton College, Oxford
Merton Collegeone ofconstituent colleges ofUniversityOxford inUnited Kingdom. The squat, square towerits chapelone ofcity's landmarks. Mob Quad, built in14th century, isoldest quadrangle (or court)any Oxford or Cambridge collegesetpatterncollegiate architecturefuture generations. Another remarkable,little known, architectural feature istunnel, which has an opening inold drying room, located insubterranean realm ofcollege known as The Underworld,which leads todoor tostock room ofcollege bar. The doorlocked andwhereabouts ofkeys have been unknownmany years, sinceformer bar steward leftcollege.
| Tablecontents |
|
2 Notable former students 3 Academics/Teachers 4 Grace 5 External links |
History
The college was founded1264 by Walter de Merton, makingone ofearliest-established colleges ofUniversity. (The titleearliest-establisheddisputed between Merton College, Balliol College University College.) Withegregious interruption ofEnglish Civil War it's beenfairly sleepy place ever since. In recent years,college has achieved high placingsNorrington Table, confirming its reputation ashavensome ofswottiest swotsOxenford.
Notable former students
- Max Beerbohm
- Frank Bough
- Leonard Cheshire
- Lord Randolph Churchill
- John Duns Scotus
- T. S. Eliot
- Tim Jackson
- Kris Kristofferson
- Airey Neave
- WilliamOckham
- David Parkinson
- Siegfried Sassoon
- Howard K. Smith
- Frederick Soddy
- Richard Steele
- Andrew Wiles
- John Wycliffe
Academics/Teachers
- John Bainbridge
- Edmund Blunden
- Walter de Merton
- Sir Henry Savile
- J. R. R. Tolkien
Grace
The college preprandial grace, always recited before formal dinnersusually by one ofaforementioned swots,based on verses 1516Psalm 145. The precise words ofLatin eludememory ofpresent contributor, butstarts something like:
Oculi omniumte respiciunt, Domine. Tu das escam illorumtempore opportuno. Aperis manum tuam, et imples omne animal benedictione.
Thisstandard fare,ends withconventional doxology. The words ofpostprandium, if one exists,not known.
