Brasenose College, Oxford 
The High Street facade of Brasenose College, added 1882-1911. See
all photos and larger sizes in our Brasenose College Photo Gallery.
The Old Quad (1509-18), looking northeast towards the entrance.
Northeast corner of the Old Quad, just inside the entrance.
Sundial of 1719 in the Old Quadrangle.
Brasenose College Chapel viewed from the west in the New Quad.
Chapel Quad and Brasenose College Chapel (1656-63) from the north.
Entrance porch to the Chapel.
Antechapel.
Chapel choir.
Aerial map of Brasenose College.
Location map and aerial view of Brasenose College. For a larger interactive view, see our Oxford Map.
Brasenose College in Oxford was founded in 1509 and consists of three attractive quads with a 17th-century chapel notable for its colorful fan-vault ceiling.
History
Founded in 1509 by William Smythe, Bishop of Lincoln, and Sir Richard Sutton, Brasenose College was the successor to an academic hall of the same name. The hall's last principal became the first head of the new college. The kitchen and chapel were also retained, at least for a century or two.
The college's odd name is believed to derive from a 12th/13th-century brass knocker with a lion-like face that adorned the original academic hall. This "brazen-nose" was swiped in 1333 and taken to Stamford by a group of Oxford dons and students who wanted to found a rival university there. It was only recovered in 1890, when the college purchased the house on which the knocker was displayed.
The Old Quadrangle was built first, beginning in 1509. The gables and outer battlements were added a century later. A new chapel and library and were built during the Interregnum of the 1650s, and the final addition was the New Quadrangle (1882-1911) by T.G. Jackson, who also restored the chapel.
In about 1613, a Lancashire giant named John Middleton, better known as "The Childe of Hale," visited Brasenose (which was then full of Lancashire students). A life-sized portrait of him was painted and his huge hand was carved on a stone. The Brasenose College boat is always named Childe of Hale after him.
Famous members of Brasenose College over the centuries include:
- John Foxe (1517-87), author of the Book of Martyrs
- Robert Burton (1577-1640), author of the Anatomy of Melancholy
- Elais Ashmole (1617-92), founder of the Ashmolean Museum
- Thomas Traherene (1636-74), mystic and poet
- Walter Pater (1839-94), critic and essayist
- Field-Marshal Earl Haig (1861-1928)
- John Buchan (1875-1940), statesman and novelist
- William Golding (1911-93), novelist
- Robert Runcie (1921-2000), Archbishop of Canterbury
- Michael Palin (b.1943), actor and broadcaster
What to See
Brasenose College has an intimate and cozy feel that is typical of the smaller late medieval colleges. It is clustered around three main quadrangles, none very large.
Entrance to the college is from Radcliffe Square, which leads through a stout gate tower into the Old Quadrangle (1509-18). The north wall has a large and attractive sundial (1719). Instructions for reading are on an aluminum panel at the entrance to the Hall, on the south side of the Old Quad.
Hanging over the high table in the Hall is the namesake brazen nose door knocker, dating from the 12th century.
A gateway to the left (southeast corner of the Old Quad) leads into the small and leafy Chapel Quadrangle, also known as the Deer Park, which contains the library and chapel. Both were built in 1656-63 and are considered the most ambitious Oxford buildings constructed during the Interregnum. They were designed by the mason John Jackson in an unusual Gothic-Classical hybrid.
Brasenose College Chapel (1656-63) was the last of the Oxford chapels to be built on the traditional T-plan (chancel or choir with crossing antechapel). It replaced an earlier chapel alongside the Hall, which now serves as the Senior Common Room.
The chapel roof is made of 15th-century timbers brought from the Augustinian College of St. Mary in New Inn Hall Street, but most of this is concealed by a newer ceiling. This is not as lamentable as it might be, for it is concealed by a magnificent plaster fan vault (1659), which was brightly painted in 1895 by C.E. Kempe as part of a full Victorian restoration.
The antechapel includes an interesting memorial to Walter Pater (Fellow 1864-94), flanked by figures of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Plato and Dante. There is also a fine bust of John Kaye, Bishop of Lincoln, from 1884. The choir screen and organ case are both by T.G. Jackson in 1892.
The stained glass of the west window of the chapel is by James Pearson to designs by J.R. Mortimer, from 1776. The rest is Victorian. The reredos behind the altar is made of various marbles and dates from 1738-48.
The Chapel Quad leads into the New Quadrangle (1882-1911), from which there is a fine view of the west end of the chapel and the tower of St. Mary's Church, which is perfectly framed between the buildings. The architecture of the quadrangle itself is best appreciated from its facade on the High Street.
Quick Facts
| Site Information | |
| Names: | Brasenose College; King's Hall and College of Brasenose; B.N.C. |
| Location: | Oxford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Faith: | Christianity |
| Denomination: | Anglican |
| Category: | Academic Chapels or Institutions |
| Architecture: | Gothic |
| Date: | Founded 1504; Old Quad: 1509-18; Chapel and Library: 1656-63; New Quad: 1882-1911 |
| Patron(s): | William Smythe, Bishop of Lincoln; Sir Richard Sutton |
| Architect: | T.G. Jackson (New Quad and chapel restoration) |
| Status: | active |
| Photo gallery: | Brasenose College Photo Gallery (for viewing) |
| Stock photos: | Brasenose College Stock Photos (for licensing) |
| Visitor Information | |
| Address: | Radcliffe Square, Oxford, OX1 4AJ |
| Coordinates: | 51.753055° N, 1.254668° W (view on Google Maps) |
| Lodging: | View hotels near this location |
| Phone: | 01865 277 830 |
| Website: | www.bnc.ox.ac.uk |
| E-mail: | college.office@bnc.ox.ac.uk |
| Opening hours: | Daily 2-5pm |
Travel Resources
- Oxford Map - our detailed interactive map of Oxford, plus hand-picked links to more
- Oxford Hotels - check availability, maps, photos and reviews, and book at the guaranteed lowest price
- Oxford Guided Tours - sightseeing tours and activities in Oxford
- Oxford Car Rentals - get the lowest rate by comparing multiple car companies at a glance
- Oxford Transportation - directions by train, car and bus, plus location map and links
Article Sources
- Personal visits (2005-07).
- Geoffrey Tyack, Blue Guide Oxford and Cambridge, 6th ed. (2004), 57-58.
- Geoffrey Tyack, Oxford: An Architectural Guide, 71-72.
- Nikolaus Pevsner and Jennifer Sherwood, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire (Yale University Press, 2002), 105-07.
More Information
- Virtual Tour of Brasenose College (requires QuickTime)
Last updated on March 29, 2010.
