1.
Neoclassical architecture
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Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century. In its purest form, it is a style derived from the architecture of classical antiquity, the Vitruvian principles. In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall rather than chiaroscuro, Neoclassical architecture is still designed today, but may be labelled New Classical Architecture for contemporary buildings. In Central and Eastern Europe, the style is referred to as Classicism. Many early 19th-century neoclassical architects were influenced by the drawings and projects of Étienne-Louis Boullée, the many graphite drawings of Boullée and his students depict spare geometrical architecture that emulates the eternality of the universe. There are links between Boullées ideas and Edmund Burkes conception of the sublime, the baroque style had never truly been to the English taste. The most popular was the four-volume Vitruvius Britannicus by Colen Campbell, the book contained architectural prints of famous British buildings that had been inspired by the great architects from Vitruvius to Palladio. At first the book featured the work of Inigo Jones. Palladian architecture became well established in 18th-century Britain, at the forefront of the new school of design was the aristocratic architect earl, Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, in 1729, he and William Kent, designed Chiswick House. This House was a reinterpretation of Palladios Villa Capra, but purified of 16th century elements and this severe lack of ornamentation was to be a feature of the Palladianism. In 1734 William Kent and Lord Burlington designed one of Englands finest examples of Palladian architecture with Holkham Hall in Norfolk, the main block of this house followed Palladios dictates quite closely, but Palladios low, often detached, wings of farm buildings were elevated in significance. This classicising vein was also detectable, to a degree, in the Late Baroque architecture in Paris. This shift was even visible in Rome at the redesigned façade for S, by the mid 18th century, the movement broadened to incorporate a greater range of Classical influences, including those from Ancient Greece. The shift to neoclassical architecture is conventionally dated to the 1750s, in France, the movement was propelled by a generation of French art students trained in Rome, and was influenced by the writings of Johann Joachim Winckelmann. The style was adopted by progressive circles in other countries such as Sweden. A second neoclassic wave, more severe, more studied and more consciously archaeological, is associated with the height of the Napoleonic Empire, in France, the first phase of neoclassicism was expressed in the Louis XVI style, and the second in the styles called Directoire or Empire. The Scottish architect Charles Cameron created palatial Italianate interiors for the German-born Catherine II the Great in St. Petersburg, indoors, neoclassicism made a discovery of the genuine classic interior, inspired by the rediscoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum. These had begun in the late 1740s, but only achieved an audience in the 1760s
2.
Broad Street, Oxford
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Broad Street is a wide street in central Oxford, England, located just north of the old city wall. The street is known for its bookshops, including the original Blackwells bookshop at number 50, locally, the street is traditionally known as The Broad. Located in Broad Street are Balliol College, Trinity College, Exeter College, the question is often asked Where is the University. These buildings form the nearest equivalent to the centre of the University, to the west, the street continues as George Street, with Magdalen Street to the north and Cornmarket Street to the south. To the east, the street continues as Holywell Street, with Parks Road to the north, the first city wall was built south of the street in 911. The street was the site where the Protestant Oxford Martyrs, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, a cobbled cross in the road opposite Balliol College marks the location. Not far away in St Giles, the events are commemorated with a Victorian stone monument, the Old Ashmolean Building was built in 1683 to house Elias Ashmoles collection. It was the worlds first museum to open to the public, the Clarendon Building was built 1711–1715 to house the Oxford University Presss printing operations. It was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, considered Christopher Wrens best pupil, the academic and physician Henry Acland lived in the street at number 40 on the site of the new Weston Library, part of Oxford Universitys Bodleian Library. His daughter, Sarah Angelina Acland, the photography pioneer, was born here. Boswells, now the largest independent department store in Oxford, was established in 1738, thorntons Bookshop, also on the south side of the street at No. 11, was founded by Joseph Thornton in 1835, but closed its shop at the end of 2002, the Victorian photographer Henry Taunt had a shop and studio at 9–10 Broad Street, moving here from Cornmarket Street in 1874. He also established a business in Boxalls Yard, behind the premises. The lease expired in 1894 and he was forced to file for bankruptcy, Blackwells bookshop, on the north side of the street, was founded by Benjamin Henry Blackwell, the son of the first city librarian, in 1879. The shop was only twelve feet square, but quickly grew to include space upstairs, in the cellar. It is now Oxfords most famous and leading bookshop, with other specialist branches elsewhere in Broad Street, the first Oxfam charity shop together with its office were established by Cecil Jackson-Cole at 17 Broad Street in 1947. There is still an Oxfam shop here and a plaque has been placed on the outside wall of the building. Media related to Broad Street, Oxford at Wikimedia Commons
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
University of Oxford
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The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university located in Oxford, England. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris, after disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two ancient universities are frequently referred to as Oxbridge. The university is made up of a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges, All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities. Being a city university, it not have a main campus, instead, its buildings. Oxford is the home of the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the worlds oldest and most prestigious scholarships, the university operates the worlds oldest university museum, as well as the largest university press in the world and the largest academic library system in Britain. Oxford has educated many notable alumni, including 28 Nobel laureates,27 Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, the University of Oxford has no known foundation date. Teaching at Oxford existed in form as early as 1096. It grew quickly in 1167 when English students returned from the University of Paris, the historian Gerald of Wales lectured to such scholars in 1188 and the first known foreign scholar, Emo of Friesland, arrived in 1190. The head of the university had the title of chancellor from at least 1201, the university was granted a royal charter in 1248 during the reign of King Henry III. After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled from the violence to Cambridge, the students associated together on the basis of geographical origins, into two nations, representing the North and the South. In later centuries, geographical origins continued to many students affiliations when membership of a college or hall became customary in Oxford. At about the time, private benefactors established colleges as self-contained scholarly communities. Among the earliest such founders were William of Durham, who in 1249 endowed University College, thereafter, an increasing number of students lived in colleges rather than in halls and religious houses. In 1333–34, an attempt by some dissatisfied Oxford scholars to found a new university at Stamford, Lincolnshire was blocked by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge petitioning King Edward III. Thereafter, until the 1820s, no new universities were allowed to be founded in England, even in London, thus, Oxford and Cambridge had a duopoly, the new learning of the Renaissance greatly influenced Oxford from the late 15th century onwards. Among university scholars of the period were William Grocyn, who contributed to the revival of Greek language studies, and John Colet, the noted biblical scholar. With the English Reformation and the breaking of communion with the Roman Catholic Church, recusant scholars from Oxford fled to continental Europe, as a centre of learning and scholarship, Oxfords reputation declined in the Age of Enlightenment, enrolments fell and teaching was neglected
5.
Nicholas Hawksmoor
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Nicholas Hawksmoor was an English architect. He was a figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Part of his work has been attributed to him only relatively recently. Hawksmoor was born in Nottinghamshire in 1661, into a farming family, almost certainly in East Drayton or Ragnall. On his death he was to property at nearby Ragnall, Dunham. It is not known where he received his schooling, but it was probably in more than basic literacy, haukesmore came to London, became clerk to Sr. Christopher Wren & thence became an Architect. Wren, hearing of his skill and genius for architecture. A surviving early sketch-book contains sketches and notes, some dated 1680 and 1683, of buildings in Nottingham, Coventry, Warwick, Bath, Bristol, Oxford and Northampton. These somewhat amateur drawings, now in the Royal Institute of British Architects Drawings Collection and his first official post was as Deputy Surveyor to Wren at Winchester Palace from 1683 until February 1685. Hawksmoors signature appears on a contract for Winchester Palace in November 1684. Wren was paying him 2 shillings a day in 1685 as assistant in his office in Whitehall, from about 1684 to about 1700, Hawksmoor worked with Christopher Wren on projects including Chelsea Hospital, St. Pauls Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace and Greenwich Hospital. Thanks to Wrens influence as Surveyor-General, Hawksmoor was named Clerk of the Works at Kensington Palace, in 1718, when Wren was superseded by the new, amateur Surveyor, William Benson, Hawksmoor was deprived of his double post to provide places for Bensons brother. Poor Hawksmoor, wrote Vanbrugh in 1721, what a Barbarous Age have his fine, ingenious Parts fallen into. What woud Monsr, Colbert in France have given for such a man, only in 1726 after William Bensons successor Hewett died, was Hawksmoor restored to the secretaryship, though not the clerkship which was given to Filtcroft. In 1696, Hawksmoor was appointed surveyor to the Commissioners of Sewers for Westminster, in July 1721, John Vanbrugh made Hawksmoor his deputy as Comptroller of the Works. By 1700 Hawksmoor had emerged as a major architectural personality, and his baroque, but somewhat classical and gothic architectural form was derived from his exploration of Antiquity, the Renaissance, the English Middle Ages and contemporary Italian baroque. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Hawksmoor never travelled to Italy on a Grand Tour. Instead he studied engravings especially monuments of ancient Rome and reconstructions of the Temple of Solomon, in 1702, Hawksmoor designed the baroque country house of Easton Neston in Northamptonshire for Sir William Fermor
6.
Listed building
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A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
7.
Oxford
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Oxford is a city in the South East region of England and the county town of Oxfordshire. With an estimated 2015 population of 168,270, it is the 52nd largest city in the United Kingdom, the city is situated 57 miles from London,69 miles from Bristol,65 miles from both Southampton and Birmingham and 25 miles from Reading. The city is known worldwide as the home of the University of Oxford, buildings in Oxford demonstrate notable examples of every English architectural period since the late Saxon period. Oxford is known as the city of dreaming spires, a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold, Oxford has a broad economic base. Its industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing and a number of information technology and science-based businesses. Oxford was first settled in Saxon times and was known as Oxenaforda, meaning Ford of the Oxen. It began with the establishment of a crossing for oxen around AD900. In the 10th century, Oxford became an important military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and was on several occasions raided by Danes, Oxford was heavily damaged during the Norman Invasion of 1066. Following the conquest, the town was assigned to a governor, Robert DOyly, the castle has never been used for military purposes and its remains survive to this day. DOyly set up a community in the castle consisting of a chapel. The community never grew large but it earned its place in history as one of Britains oldest places of formal education and it was there that in 1139 Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his History of the Kings of Britain, a compilation of Arthurian legends. Mary at Oseney and to the canons serving God in that place and we have made this concession and confirmation in the Common council of the City and we have confirmed it with our common seal. These are those who have made this concession and confirmation, a grandson of King John established Rewley Abbey for the Cistercian Order, and friars of various orders all had houses of varying importance at Oxford. Parliaments were often held in the city during the 13th century, the Provisions of Oxford were instigated by a group of barons led by Simon de Montfort, these documents are often regarded as Englands first written constitution. Richard I of England and John, King of England the sons of Henry II of England, were born at Beaumont Palace in Oxford, on 8 September 1157 and 24 December 1166 respectively. A plaque in Beaumont Street commemorates these events, the University of Oxford is first mentioned in 12th century records. Of the hundreds of Aularian houses that sprang up across the city, what put an end to the halls was the emergence of colleges. Oxfords earliest colleges were University College, Balliol and Merton and these colleges were established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Greek philosophers
8.
Bodleian Library
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The Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 12 million items, it is the second largest library in Britain after the British Library, known to Oxford scholars as Bodley or the Bod, it operates principally as a reference library and, in general, documents may not be removed from the reading rooms. They do, however, participate in OLIS, the Bodleian Libraries online union catalogue, much of the librarys archives were digitized and put online for public access in 2015. Since the 19th century a number of stores have been built. Before being granted access to the library, new readers are required to agree to a formal declaration and this declaration was traditionally an oral oath, but is now usually made by signing a letter to a similar effect. Ceremonies in which readers recite the declaration are still performed for those who wish to take them, external readers are still required to recite the declaration orally prior to admission. The Bodleian Admissions Office has amassed a collection of translations of the declaration allowing those who are not native English speakers to recite it in their first language. Whilst the Bodleian Library, in its current incarnation, has a history dating back to 1602. The first purpose-built library known to have existed in Oxford was founded in the century under the will of Thomas Cobham. This small collection of chained books was situated above the side of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin on the High Street. A suitable room was built above the Divinity School. This room continues to be known as Duke Humfreys Library, after 1488, the university stopped spending money on the librarys upkeep and acquisitions, and manuscripts began to go unreturned to the library. The late sixteenth century saw the library go through a period of decline, the furniture was sold. During the reign of Edward VI, there was a purge of superstitious manuscripts, six of the Oxford University dons were tasked with helping Bodley in refitting the library in March 1658. Duke Humfrey’s Library was refitted, and Bodley donated a number of his own books to furnish it, the library was formally re-opened on 8 November 1602 under the name “Bodleian Library”. There were around two thousand books in the library at this time, with an ornate Benefactors Register displayed prominently, in 1605, Francis Bacon gave the library a copy of The Advancement of Learning and described the Bodleian as an Ark to save learning from deluge. At this time, there were few books written in English held in the library, Thomas James suggested that Bodley should ask the Stationers Company to provide a copy of all books printed to the Bodleian. In 1610, Bodley made an agreement with the Stationers Company in London to put a copy of every book registered with them in the library, the Bodleian collection grew so fast that the building was expanded between 1610–1612, and again in 1634–1637
9.
Sheldonian Theatre
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The Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the University at the time and it is used for music concerts, lectures and University ceremonies, but not for drama until 2015 when the Christ Church Dramatic Society staged a production of The Crucible. What came to be known as the Sheldonian Theatre was Wrens second work and was commissioned by Gilbert Sheldon, in the past these increasingly rowdy occasions had taken place in the universitys church of St. Mary-the-Virgin-on-High. Sheldon was forthcoming with all three and he initially gave an impressive £1,000 and pledged to gather the needed money from like-minded sponsors. He had little luck, however, and ultimately financed nearly the entire £14,470 himself, Wrens initial designs for the Sheldonian probably included a proscenium stage that did not survive his revisions. The building that was constructed was a sharp, unmistakable break from the Gothic past, according to Wrens son, Wren designed the Sheldonian based on Serlios sixteenth-century engraving of the D-shaped Theatre of Marcellus erected in Rome in the first century BC. Like any Mediterranean theatre of that time, the Theatre of Marcellus had no roof, but 17th century Oxford was not ancient Rome, and the Theatre needed a permanent roof. The span of the D-shaped roof was over 70 feet, however, no timbers existed that were long enough to cross that distance, and Wren dismissed the obvious solution of a Gothic roof. Instead, he decided to use the flat floor grid developed twenty years before by Oxford professor John Wallis. Creating a series of trusses which were built up from shorter section and held in place by their own weight, with help from judiciously placed iron bolts, O effective that for nearly a century the University Press stored its books. And for many years it was the largest unsupported floor in existence, in 1720, surveyors inspecting the roof, following a rumour that it was no longer safe, were both surprised and impressed at what they discovered. Though sagging slightly from the weight of books, the inspectors pronounced that. The whole Fabrick of the said Theatre is, in our Opinion, like to remain and continue in such Repair and Condition, in November 2008 a four-year project to restore the ceiling fresco was completed. The thirty-two oil on canvas panels painted by King Charles II’s court painter. As part of the process, the panels had their linings replaced, holes in the canvas mended. The allegorical story depicted in the paintings shows Truth descending upon the Arts and Sciences, the building has a prominent eight-sided cupola in the centre of the roof, which is accessible via a staircase leading to the dome over the main ceiling. The cupola has large windows on all sides, providing views across central Oxford, the Theatre is used for music recitals, lectures, conferences, and for various ceremonies held by the University. Handel conducted the first performance of his third oratorio Athalia here in 1733, today, the theatre is home to regular performances by local groups, including the Oxford Philomusica and Stornoway
10.
Oxford University Press
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Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world, and the second oldest after Cambridge University Press. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the known as the delegates of the press. They are headed by the secretary to the delegates, who serves as OUPs chief executive, Oxford University has used a similar system to oversee OUP since the 17th century. The university became involved in the print trade around 1480, and grew into a printer of Bibles, prayer books. OUP took on the project became the Oxford English Dictionary in the late 19th century. Moves into international markets led to OUP opening its own offices outside the United Kingdom, by contracting out its printing and binding operations, the modern OUP publishes some 6,000 new titles around the world each year. OUP was first exempted from United States corporation tax in 1972, as a department of a charity, OUP is exempt from income tax and corporate tax in most countries, but may pay sales and other commercial taxes on its products. The OUP today transfers 30% of its surplus to the rest of the university. OUP is the largest university press in the world by the number of publications, publishing more than 6,000 new books every year, the Oxford University Press Museum is located on Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. Visits must be booked in advance and are led by a member of the archive staff, displays include a 19th-century printing press, the OUP buildings, and the printing and history of the Oxford Almanack, Alice in Wonderland and the Oxford English Dictionary. The first printer associated with Oxford University was Theoderic Rood, the first book printed in Oxford, in 1478, an edition of Rufinuss Expositio in symbolum apostolorum, was printed by another, anonymous, printer. Famously, this was mis-dated in Roman numerals as 1468, thus apparently pre-dating Caxton, roods printing included John Ankywylls Compendium totius grammaticae, which set new standards for teaching of Latin grammar. After Rood, printing connected with the university remained sporadic for over half a century, the chancellor, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, pleaded Oxfords case. Some royal assent was obtained, since the printer Joseph Barnes began work, Oxfords chancellor, Archbishop William Laud, consolidated the legal status of the universitys printing in the 1630s. Laud envisaged a unified press of world repute, Oxford would establish it on university property, govern its operations, employ its staff, determine its printed work, and benefit from its proceeds. To that end, he petitioned Charles I for rights that would enable Oxford to compete with the Stationers Company and the Kings Printer and these were brought together in Oxfords Great Charter in 1636, which gave the university the right to print all manner of books. Laud also obtained the privilege from the Crown of printing the King James or Authorized Version of Scripture at Oxford and this privilege created substantial returns in the next 250 years, although initially it was held in abeyance. The Stationers Company was deeply alarmed by the threat to its trade, under this, the Stationers paid an annual rent for the university not to exercise its full printing rights – money Oxford used to purchase new printing equipment for smaller purposes
