1633
University College is Oxford's oldest - and in the early 1600s it was
also one of the poorest. However an influential Master,
John Bancroft, changed its fortunes rather dramatically.
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a. Bancroft's study, where throughout 1633 he conducted a
highly effective fundraising campaign, targeting the Great and Good.
Entirely without a computer.
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b. The gatehouse tower had long been infested
with vampire bats. In September a delegation of townsfolk petitioned
the Master for their removal to some convenient zoo.
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c. The old West Range. Here the College's 60 undergraduates
lived amid unimaginable squalor.
In 1630 it had been condemned by the Health and Safety Inspectorate
and by the Town Council as a public health hazard.
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d. The hall, in 1633, was the scene of a series of lavish fundraising dinners
attended by some of the greatest wits of the day.
Their merry laughter resounded across Magdalen fields
during the warm summer nights of that year.
1634
In early 1634, eminent mason Richard Maude was sacked by St. John's College
and Bancroft hired him, and set him to work on the new West Range.
Maude used stone intended for St. John's. As you can see, it is a tasteful
shade of grey - quite the rage at the time.
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a. Maude set up his drawing office in the old Bursar's Pantry
He installed various innovative features, including an early
Wurlitzer jukebox.
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b. Fancy Dutch-style gable-ends - identical to the ones Maude had done
for St. John's (and would later do for Jesus College).
Cordelia comments "Maude did not have a very varied stock of
pattern-books".
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c. The new West Range, temporarily protected from the weather with
plastic sheeting.
1635
In 1635 parts of the West Range were ready for habitation, to the great relief
of the long-suffering undergraduates.
Demolition of the old North Range commenced - disturbing the
vampire bats in the gate tower, which became such a menace that
large quantities of garlic had to be worn at all times.
The smell was dreadful.
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a. Foundations for the new North range under construction.
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b. Innovative use of rolled-steel joists in the roof of the West Range.
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c. The senior common-room where, in February 1635, the famous
Bohemian necromancer
Heinrich von Fluffpotts impressed the Fellows of the College
by disappearing up his own arsehole.
The event was faithfully recorded by the Papal legate Henricus Blot,
who was there. His account can be found
in the Vatican Library.
1637
In early 1637 the West Range was finally completed and a Grand Opening was
held. The whole town admired the numerous modern features.
The old gate Tower was finally demolished and the bats banished.
The sky was dark for several hours as they flew eastward en masse.
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a.The new snooker room boasted fifteen superb tables and a 24-hour bar
serving a variety of wholesome home-cooked bar snacks, 12 different
ales and stouts, and 23 different single-malt whiskies.
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b. A typical undergraduate room with central heating, fitted carpets
room-service and a bidet.
1639
In 1639 building work ended with the North Range substantially complete.
The Civil War broke out two years later. The College (being Royalist) hit
hard times again - until the Restoration in 1660.
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a. The new Gate Tower, designed and built by John Jackson - another
local mason who took over from Maude.
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b. The old West Range, demolished later to create the
present Main Quad.
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c. A rather nice room with a bay window. I daresay somebody
quite important got this one!
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d. Somebody's room. Possibly Bill Clinton's - although that was a few
centuries later.