Description
Book SynopsisThe University Archives was established in 1634. Based in the Bodleian Library, it is the institutional archive of Oxford University, holding records which span just over 800 years, documenting the University’s activities and decisions throughout that time. Fifty-two documents and objects from the University Archives are showcased here, telling a wide range of intriguing stories about the University. Arranged chronologically, they deal with the University’s relations with governments and monarchs; the effects of war; teaching and student behaviour; the University’s buildings and institutions; widening access to university education; and the impact it has had on the city of Oxford and its people. Also documented here are fascinating insights into the University’s erstwhile police force, a hidden time capsule, brewing licences, brawls and illicit steeplechasing. The items – all illustrated – also often unlock human stories to which we can relate today, opening a window on the individuals (from University, city, or even further afield) whose lives the University has touched, including people who would perhaps not be expected to feature in a history of Oxford University, but whose stories are preserved forever in its magnificent archives.
Table of ContentsContents Introduction 1. The University returns to Oxford 2. The University and the book trade 3. Chancellor’s book 4. St Scholastica’s Day riot 5. Oxford and the Trojans 6. The Great Burglary of 1544 7. Langdon Hills, Essex 8. Thomas Bodley refounds the Library 9. ‘Strangers’ at the Bodleian Library 10. Beginnings of a copyright library 11. Selecting the Proctors 12. Laudian Statutes 13. ‘Mechanicall persons’ 14. The earliest honorary degrees 15. The Civil War 16. Keeping the city clean 17. Brewing 18. Ampthill Hospital 19. The brawl at the visit of Queen Anne 20. Religious uniformity 21. The Extraordinary Examination 22. Visit of the allied sovereigns 23. Daniel Robertson and the new press 24. The University Police 25. The coming of the railway 26. Horsing around 27. A cathedral of science 28. The first black student at Oxford 29. The ‘mischievous consequences’ of lodging houses 30. Oscar Wilde in the Chancellor’s Court 31. The problem of prostitutes 32. Working class education in North Staffordshire 33. Illicit goings on 34. Pioneer women in anthropology 35. War and the 1914 Vacation course for foreign students 36. Admission of women 37. Women and honorary degrees 38. Green lamps for undergraduates’ cars 39. Honorary degree for Albert Einstein 40. William Morris and the Nuffield Medical Benefaction 41. Appointment opportunities 42. Ashmolean fire-watching 43. War and Occupied Europe 44. University MPs 45. Oxford and West Africa 46. Town-gown reconciliation 47. Welcoming the new universities 48. The new Pitt Rivers Museum 49. Student protest 50. The Sheldonian time capsule 51. The New Bodleian Library remodelled 52. Admission of the first female Vice-Chancellor Further Reading Picture Credits Index
