Our second college tour for the day was Merton College. Founded in 1264, it is one of the three colleges that vie for the title of "oldest" (the others being University and Balliol colleges).
Merton wins the contest for oldest buildings, however. Structures in the so-called Mob Quadrangle were built in the 13th and early 14th centuries. The upper floors of these buildings house the college library. The chapel is also 14th century; it was closed for restoration.
We walked through a few more quads and looked out over Merton Field and Christ Church Meadow. There was a croquet court; C was excited to play, but we ran out of time!
Gatehouse, with interesting carving of
St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Front quadrangle; chapel on the left
and porter's lodge to the right
Merton College Chapel
Mob Quad
NE corner of Mob Quad; tower-like building
in the center is the Treasury, built 1288
Ready for croquet!
Merton Field
Fellows' Quad, 1610, with its tower of the orders
(columns ascend in the order of classical architecture)
It was the first three-storey quad in Oxford
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