Middlesex
Middlesex is a historic county in south-east England. It is now entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and its area is now mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in other neighbouring ceremonial counties. It was established in the Anglo-Saxon system from the territory of the Middle Saxons, the largely low-lying county, dominated by clay in its north and alluvium on gravel in its south, was the second smallest county by area in 1831. The City of London was a county in its own right from the 12th century and was able to exert control over Middlesex. Westminster Abbey dominated most of the financial and ecclesiastical aspects of the county. As London grew into Middlesex, the Corporation of London resisted attempts to expand the city boundaries into the county, in the 18th and 19th centuries the population density was especially high in the southeast of the county, including the East End and West End of London. From 1855 the southeast was administered, with sections of Kent and Surrey, the City of London, and Middlesex, became separate counties for other purposes and Middlesex regained the right to appoint its own sheriff, lost in 1199.
In the interwar years suburban London expanded further, with improvement and expansion of public transport, after the Second World War, the population of the County of London and inner Middlesex was in steady decline, with high population growth continuing in the outer parts. Since 1965 various areas called Middlesex have been used for cricket, Middlesex was the former postal county of 25 post towns. The name means territory of the middle Saxons and refers to the origin of its inhabitants. The word is formed from the Anglo-Saxon, i. e. Old English, middel, in an 8th-century charter the region is recorded as Middleseaxon and in 704 it is recorded as Middleseaxan. The Saxons derived their name from seax, a kind of knife for which they were known, the seax has a lasting symbolic impact in the English counties of Essex and Middlesex, both of which feature three seaxes in their ceremonial emblem. Their names, along with those of Sussex and Wessex, contain a remnant of the word Saxon, there were settlements in the area of Middlesex that can be traced back thousands of years before the creation of a county.
Middlesex was formerly part of the Kingdom of Essex It was recorded in the Domesday Book as being divided into the six hundreds of Edmonton, Gore, Hounslow and Spelthorne. The City of London has been self-governing since the century and became a county in its own right. Middlesex included Westminster, which had a degree of autonomy. Of the six hundreds, Ossulstone contained the districts closest to the City of London, during the 17th century it was divided into four divisions, along with the Liberty of Westminster, largely took over the administrative functions of the hundred. The divisions were named Finsbury, Holborn and Tower, the county had parliamentary representation from the 13th century
Greek tragedy
Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Asia Minor. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, Greek tragedy is widely believed to be an extension of the ancient rites carried out in honor of Dionysus, and it heavily influenced the theatre of Ancient Rome and the Renaissance. Tragic plots were most often based upon myths from the traditions of archaic epics. In tragic theatre, these narratives were presented by actors, the most acclaimed Greek tragedians are Aeschylus and Euripides. The origin of the tragedy has been a matter of discussion from ancient times. The primary source of knowledge on the question is the Poetics of Aristotle, Aristotle was able to gather first-hand documentation from theater performance in Attica, which is inaccessible to scholars today. His work is invaluable for the study of ancient tragedy. According to Aristotle, tragedy evolved from the dithyramb, an Ancient Greek hymn. The term τραγῳδία, derived from goat and ᾠδή song, means song of the goats.
Others suggest that the term came into being when the legendary Thespis competed in the first tragic competition for the prize of a goat, there are other suggested etymologies for the word tragedy. The Oxford English Dictionary adds to the reference to goat song. J. DAmico, on the hand, suggests that tragoidía does not mean simply song of the goats. Other hypotheses have included an etymology that would define the tragedy as an ode to beer, jane Ellen Harrison pointed out that Dionysus, god of wine was actually preceded by Dionysus, god of beer. Athenian beer was obtained from the fermentation of barley, which is tragos in Greek, thus, it is likely that the term was originally meant to be odes to spelt, and on, it was extended to other meanings of the same name. She writes, Tragedy I believe to be not the goat-song, but the harvest-song of the cereal tragos, the origin of Greek tragedy is one of the unsolved problems of classical scholarship. Ruth Scodel notes that, due to lack of evidence and doubtful reliability of sources, still, R. P.
Winnington-Ingram points out that we can easily trace various influences from other genres. How these have come to be associated with one another remains a mystery however, speculating on the problem, Scodel writes that, Three innovations must have taken place for tragedy as we know it to exist. First, somebody created a new kind of performance by combining a speaker with a chorus, this performance was made part of the City Dionysia at Athens
Orphism (religion)
Orphics revered Persephone and Dionysus or Bacchus. Orpheus was said to have invented the Mysteries of Dionysus, poetry containing distinctly Orphic beliefs has been traced back to the 6th century BC or at least 5th century BC, and graffiti of the 5th century BC apparently refers to Orphics. Classical sources, such as Plato, refer to Orpheus-initiators, and associated rites, as in the Eleusinian mysteries, initiation into Orphic mysteries promised advantages in the afterlife. Distinctively Orphic views and practices are attested as early as Herodotus, the recently published Derveni papyrus allows Orphic mythology to be dated back to the end of the 5th century BC, and it is probably even older. Other inscriptions found in parts of the Greek world testify to the early existence of a movement with the same core beliefs that were associated with the name of Orphism. The Orphic theogonies are genealogical works similar to the Theogony of Hesiod and they are possibly influenced by Near Eastern models.
Athena saves the heart and tells Zeus of the crime who in turn hurls a thunderbolt on the Titans, the resulting soot, from which sinful mankind is born, contains the bodies of the Titans and Dionysus. The soul of man is divine, but the body holds the soul in bondage. Thus, it was declared that the returns to a host ten times. Many of these differ from accounts in the classical authors. Firmicus Maternus, a Christian author, gives a different account with the book On the Error of Profane Religions and he says that Jupiter originally was a king of Crete—a concept of Euhemerus—and Dionysos was his son. Only his heart was salvaged by Athena, a statue of gypsum was made to look like Dionysos, and the heart is placed within. The Protogonos Theogony, composed c.500 BC which is known through the commentary in the Derveni papyrus, the Eudemian Theogony, composed in the 5th century BC. It is the product of a syncretic Bacchic-Kouretic cult, the Rhapsodic Theogony, composed in the Hellenistic age, incorporating earlier works.
It is known through summaries in neo-Platonist authors,87 hexametric poems of a shorter length composed in the late Hellenistic or early Roman Imperial age. Surviving written fragments show a number of beliefs about the similar to those in the Orphic mythology about Dionysus death. Bone tablets found in Olbia carry short and enigmatic inscriptions like, the function of these bone tablets is unknown. Gold-leaf tablets found in graves from Thurii, Thessaly, although these thin tablets are often highly fragmentary, collectively they present a shared scenario of the passage into the afterlife
Oxford University Press
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, 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 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
London
London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, education, fashion, healthcare, professional services and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region.
Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud.
From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
Shamanism
The word shaman probably originates from the Tungusic Evenki language of North Asia. The term was introduced to the west after Russian forces conquered the shamanistic Khanate of Kazan in 1552, Mircea Eliade writes, A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be, shamanism = technique of religious ecstasy. Shamanism encompasses the premise that shamans are intermediaries or messengers between the world and the spirit worlds. Shamans are said to treat ailments/illness by mending the soul, alleviating traumas affecting the soul/spirit restores the physical body of the individual to balance and wholeness. The shaman enters supernatural realms or dimensions to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community, Shamans may visit other worlds/dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls and to ameliorate illnesses of the human soul caused by foreign elements. The shaman operates primarily within the world, which in turn affects the human world. The restoration of balance results in the elimination of the ailment, hundreds of books and academic papers on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic journal being devoted to the study of shamanism.
The word shaman probably originates from the Evenki word šamán, most likely from the dialect spoken by the Sym Evenki peoples. The Tungusic term was adopted by Russians interacting with the indigenous peoples in Siberia. It is found in the memoirs of the exiled Russian churchman Avvakum, adam Brand, a merchant from Lübeck, published in 1698 his account of a Russian embassy to China, a translation of his book, published the same year, introduced the word shaman to English speakers. The etymology of the Evenki word is sometimes connected to a Tungus root ša- to know, other scholars assert that the word comes directly from the Manchu language, and as such would be the only commonly used English word that is a loan from this language. This proposal has been thoroughly critiqued since 1917, ethnolinguist Juha Janhunen regards it as an anachronism and an impossibility that is nothing more than a far-fetched etymology. Ethnolinguists did not develop as a discipline nor achieve contact with these communities until the late 19th century, there is no single agreed-upon definition for the word shamanism among anthropologists.
The English historian Ronald Hutton noted that by the dawn of the 21st century, the first of these uses the term to refer to anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered state of consciousness. The second definition limits the term to refer to those who contact a spirit world while in a state of consciousness at the behest of others. Problematically, scholars advocating the third view have failed to agree on what the defining technique should be, the fourth definition identified by Hutton uses shamanism to refer to the indigenous religions of Siberia and neighboring parts of Asia. According to the Golomt Center for Shamanic Studies, a Mongolian organisation of shamans, Shamans are normally called by dreams or signs which require lengthy training. However, shamanic powers may be inherited and colleagues mention a phenomenon called shamanistic initiatory crisis, a rite of passage for shamans-to-be, commonly involving physical illness and/or psychological crisis
Bedford College, London
Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for the education of women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, the became a constituent school of the University of London. It played a role in the advancement of women in higher education. The college became coeducational in the 1960s. In 1985, Bedford College merged with another of the University of Londons colleges – Royal Holloway College, the merged institution was named Royal Holloway and Bedford New College. While this is still the name, for day-to-day use the college is called Royal Holloway. Mrs. Reid and her circle of well-educated friends were believers in the need for improving education for women. In 1849, she leased a house at 47 Bedford Square in the Bloomsbury area of London, the intention was to provide a liberal and non-sectarian education for women, something no other institution in the United Kingdom provided at the time. Reid placed £1,500 with three trustees and persuaded a number of her friends to serve on the management committees.
At the outset, the governance of the College was in the hands of the Ladies Committee and the General Committee made up of the Ladies, the professors of the college and three trustees. Initially the professors were shocked by the low educational standards of the women entering the college. In response to this, Reid founded a school close to the college in 1853 in an attempt to provide a standard of entry. In 1860, the college expanded into 48 Bedford Square which enabled it to become a residential establishment, the Residence was under the charge of a matron, who introduced the practice of students helping towards the running of the house and keeping their own accounts. Elizabeth Reid died in 1866 and left the college in the hands of three female trustees, the trustees insisted upon a new constitution. The Council was replaced by a Committee of Management, and the college was reconstituted as an Association under the Board of Trade, in 1874, the Bedford Square lease expired and the college moved to 8 and 9 York Place, off Baker Street.
The two houses acted as one, with the using the downstairs rooms and the upstairs being the Residence. As numbers began to rise, the college expanded with the addition of extensions housing science laboratories, in the late-1870s, an entrance examination was introduced and a preparatory department set up for those who did not meet the standards required for college-level entry. In 1878, degree examinations of the University of London were opened to women, Bedford College students began gaining University of London Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Masters degrees from the early-1880s
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, which includes Hampton Court Palace. Hampton is served by two stations, including one immediately south of Hampton Court Bridge in East Molesey. Hampton adjoins Bushy Park on two sides and is west of Hampton Wick and Kingston upon Thames, there are long strips of public riverside in Hampton and the Hampton Heated Open Air Pool is one of the few such swimming pools in Greater London. Hampton Ferry provides access across the Thames to the park of Molesey. The most common type of housing in the north of the district is terraced homes, the combined population of the Hamptons was 37,131 at the 2001 census. The name Hampton may come from the Anglo-Saxon words hamm meaning an enclosure in the bend of a river and ton meaning farmstead or settlement. The ten years to 1911 saw the highest percentage of population increase, a further 25% rise took place in the 1920s. Writing between 1870–72 his national gazetteer, John Marius Wilson technically described Hampton Wick as a hamlet, world War I impacted the business, which rebranded as The Thames Riviera, rivalling the hotel in Maidenhead for the name, followed by The Palm Beach and The Casino.
This high precision survey was the forerunner of the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain which commenced in 1791, in the report of the operation Roy gives the locations of the ends of the baseline as Hampton Poor-house and Kings Arbour. The latter lies with the confines of Heathrow Airport and it is certain that the cannons have been disturbed and slightly moved over the intervening years Hampton Academy, an Academy in Hampton Hampton School, an independent school for boys. Lady Eleanor Holles School is an independent school for girls and it is 83rd in the schools league table. The latter two schools achieved 100%5 A*-Cs at GCSE and share a new-for-2000 Millennium Boathouse and Cambridge Boat Race and Womens Oxford v Cambridge Henley Boat Race participants of this century have attended the schools. The church buildings are a significant presence in the many of them being architecturally stand-alone listed buildings in otherwise often quite homogenous 20th century housing estates. The ministers and members provide a range of services for the community, Hampton Youth Project has been an economically and recreationally resourceful youth centre since 1990.
Built in a coach depot on the Nurserylands Estate it offers a wide programme of activities for those aged 11–19. Hampton Station is on the London Waterloo to Shepperton train line, Thames Waters fresh water operations provide a source of local employment. A group of 17 offices and storage premises including warehouse units, the large operational Water Treatment Works, owned by Thames Water, is between the Upper Sunbury Road and the River Thames. It was built in the 1850s after the 1852 Metropolis Water Act made it illegal to take drinking water from the tidal Thames below Teddington Lock because of the amount of sewage in the river
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain.
The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
Iliad
The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Then the epic narrative takes up events prophesied for the future, such as Achilles imminent death and the fall of Troy, although the narrative ends before these events take place. However, as events are prefigured and alluded to more and more vividly. The Iliad is paired with something of a sequel, the Odyssey, along with the Odyssey, the Iliad is among the oldest extant works of Western literature, and its written version is usually dated to around the 8th century BC. Recent statistical modelling based on language evolution gives a date of 760–710 BC, in the modern vulgate, the Iliad contains 15,693 lines, it is written in Homeric Greek, a literary amalgam of Ionic Greek and other dialects. Note, Book numbers are in parentheses and come before the synopsis of the book, after an invocation to the Muses, the story launches in medias res towards the end of the Trojan War between the Trojans and the besieging Greeks.
Chryses, a Trojan priest of Apollo, offers the Greeks wealth for the return of his daughter Chryseis, held captive of Agamemnon, although most of the Greek army is in favour of the offer, Agamemnon refuses. Chryses prays for Apollos help, and Apollo causes a plague to afflict the Greek army, after nine days of plague, the leader of the Myrmidon contingent, calls an assembly to deal with the problem. Under pressure, Agamemnon agrees to return Chryseis to her father, Achilles declares that he and his men will no longer fight for Agamemnon but will go home. Odysseus takes a ship and returns Chryseis to her father, whereupon Apollo ends the plague, in the meantime, Agamemnons messengers take Briseis away. Achilles becomes very upset, sits by the seashore, and prays to his mother, Achilles asks his mother to ask Zeus to bring the Greeks to the breaking point by the Trojans, so Agamemnon will realize how much the Greeks need Achilles. Thetis does so, and Zeus agrees, Zeus sends a dream to Agamemnon, urging him to attack Troy.
Agamemnon heeds the dream but decides to first test the Greek armys morale, the plan backfires, and only the intervention of Odysseus, inspired by Athena, stops a rout. Odysseus confronts and beats Thersites, a soldier who voices discontent about fighting Agamemnons war. After a meal, the Greeks deploy in companies upon the Trojan plain, the poet takes the opportunity to describe the provenance of each Greek contingent. When news of the Greek deployment reaches King Priam, the Trojans too sortie upon the plain, in a list similar to that for the Greeks, the poet describes the Trojans and their allies. The armies approach each other, but before they meet, Paris offers to end the war by fighting a duel with Menelaus, urged by his brother and head of the Trojan army, Hector. While Helen tells Priam about the Greek commanders from the walls of Troy, Paris is beaten, but Aphrodite rescues him and leads him to bed with Helen before Menelaus can kill him
St John's College, Oxford
St Johns College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1555 by the merchant Sir Thomas White, the college occupies a central location on St Giles and has a student body of approximately 390 undergraduates and 250 postgraduates. As well as over 100 academic staff, the college is supported by a number of other staff. On 1 May 1555, Sir Thomas White, lately Lord Mayor of London, initially the new St Johns College was rather small and not well endowed financially. During the reign of Elizabeth I the fellows lectured in rhetoric and dialectic, however, St Johns initially had a strong focus on the creation of a proficient and educated priesthood. White was Master of the Merchant Taylors Company, and established a number of educational foundations, although the College was closely linked to such institutions for many centuries, it became a more open society in the 19th century. Female students were first admitted in 1979, and Elizabeth Fallaize was appointed as the first female fellow in 1990, although primarily a producer of Anglican clergymen in the earlier periods of its history, St Johns gained a reputation for both law and medicine.
The patronage of the parish of St Giles was included in the endowment of the college by Thomas White, vicars of St Giles were formerly either Fellows of the College, or ex-Fellows who were granted the living on marriage. The College retains the right to present candidates for the benefice to the bishop, today St Johns maintains the largest endowment of the Oxford colleges, for example owning the Oxford Playhouse building and the Millwall F. C. training ground. The college is situated on a single 5.5 hectares site, most of the college buildings are organised around seven quadrangles. The Front Quadrangle mainly consists of buildings built for the Cistercian St Bernards College. Construction started in 1437, though when the site passed to the crown in 1540, due to the Dissolution of the Monasteries, much of the exterior was as it is now, christ Church took control of the site in 1546 and Thomas White acquired it in 1554. Front Quad was gravelled until the colleges 400th anniversary when the current circular lawn, the turret clock, made by John Knibb, dates from 1690.
The chapel was built and dedicated to St Bernard of Clairvaux in 1530, the chapel was re-dedicated to St John the Baptist in 1557. The Baylie chapel in the north-east corner was added 1662-9 and refitted in 1949, in 1840 the chapels interior underwent major changes which created the gothic revival pews, wall arcading and west screen. Thomas White, William Laud and William Juxon are buried beneath the chapel, all three were presidents of the college, with the latter two holding the role of Archbishop of Canterbury. Choral services have been sung in the chapel since 1618, orlando Gibbonss famous anthem This is the record of John was written at the Colleges request, and presumably received its first performance here. The college in 1620 commissioned the anthem As they departed from Michael East, the college choir today sings evensong services on Sundays and Wednesdays during term time, as well as singing the grace at Sunday formal hall
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College /ˈbeɪliəl/, founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Among the colleges alumni are three former ministers, five Nobel laureates, and numerous literary and philosophical figures, including Adam Smith, Gerard Manley Hopkins. In 2012 Balliol had an endowment of £62. 5m, Balliol College was founded in about 1263 by John I de Balliol under the guidance of the Bishop of Durham. Under a statute of 1881, New Inn Hall was merged into Balliol College in 1887, Balliol acquired New Inn Halls admissions and other records for 1831–1887 as well as the library of New Inn Hall, which largely contained 18th-century law books. Along with many of the ancient colleges, Balliol has evolved its own traditions and customs over the centuries, the patron saint of the College is Saint Catherine of Alexandria. On her feast day, a dinner is held for all final year students within Balliol. This festival was established by 1550. Another important feast is the Snell Dinner and this dinner is held in memory of John Snell, whose benefaction established exhibitions for students from the University of Glasgow to study at Balliol one of whom was Adam Smith.
The feast is attended by fellows of Balliol College, the current Snell Exhibitioners, by far the most eccentric event is The Nepotists carol-singing event organised by the Colleges Arnold and Brackenbury Society. This event happens on the last Friday of Michaelmas term each year, on this occasion, Balliol students congregate in the college hall to enjoy mulled wine and the singing of carols. The evening historically ended with a rendition of The Gordouli on Broad Street, outside the gates of Trinity College, verses of this form are now known as Balliol rhymes. The best known of these rhymes is the one on Benjamin Jowett and this has been widely quoted and reprinted in virtually every book about Jowett and about Balliol ever since. This and 18 others are attributed to Henry Charles Beeching, the other quatrains are much less well known. For many years, there has been a traditional and fierce rivalry shown between the students of Balliol and those of its neighbour to the east, Trinity College.
It has manifested itself on the field and the river, in the form of songs sung over the dividing walls. The rivalry reflects that which exists between Trinity College and Balliols sister college, St Johns College, Cambridge. In college folklore, the rivalry back to the late 17th century. In fact, in its form, the rivalry appears to date from the late 1890s
