1.
Crest (heraldry)
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A crest is a component of a heraldic display, consisting of the device borne on top of the helm. Originating in the decorative sculptures worn by knights in tournaments and, to an extent, battles. A normal heraldic achievement consists of the shield, above which is set the helm, on which sits the crest, the word crest derives from the Latin crista, meaning tuft or plume, perhaps related to crinis, hair. They first appeared in a context in the form of the metal fans worn by knights in the 12th and 13th centuries. These were primarily decorative, but may also have served a purpose by lessening or deflecting the blows of opponents weapons. These fans were generally of one colour, later evolving to repeat all or part of the arms displayed on the shield. The fan crest was developed by cutting out the figure displayed on it, to form a metal outline. Torses did not come into use in Britain until the 15th century, and are still uncommon on the Continent. Crests were also mounted on a furred cap known as a chapeau. By the 16th century the age of tournaments had ended, and their illustrated equivalents consequently began to be treated as simply two-dimensional pictures. In the same period, different helms began to be used for different ranks, sovereigns and knights helms faced forwards, whereas those of peers, torses also suffered artistically, being treated not as silken circlets, but as horizontal bars. Heraldry in general underwent something of a renaissance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, crests are now generally not granted unless they could actually be used on a physical helm, and the rules about directions of helms are no longer rigidly observed. The use of crests was once restricted to those of tournament rank, i. e. knights and above and they are not generally used by women and clergymen, as they did not participate in war or tournaments and thus would not have helms on which to wear them. Some heraldists are also of the opinion that crests, as devices, are not suited for use by corporate bodies. This practice did not exist in Britain until the modern era, and arms with more than one crest are still rare. After the 16th century, it common for armigers to detach the crest and wreath from the helm. This led to the use of the term crest to mean arms. Unlike a badge, which can be used by any amount of relatives and retainers, a crest is personal to the armiger, and its use by others is considered usurpation
2.
St Andrews
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St Andrews is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland,10 miles southeast of Dundee and 30 miles northeast of Edinburgh. The town is home to the University of St Andrews, the third oldest university in the English-speaking world, according to some rankings, it is ranked as the third best university in the United Kingdom, behind Oxbridge. The University is an part of the burgh and during term time students make up approximately one third of the towns population. St Andrews has a population of 16,800, the town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle. There has been an important church in St Andrews since at least the 8th century, the settlement grew to the west of St Andrews cathedral with the southern side of the Scores to the north and the Kinness burn to the south. The burgh soon became the capital of Scotland, a position which was held until the Scottish Reformation. The famous cathedral, the largest in Scotland, now lies in ruins, St Andrews is also known worldwide as the home of golf. Visitors travel to St Andrews in great numbers for several courses ranked amongst the finest in the world, as well as for the sandy beaches. The Martyrs Memorial, erected to the honour of Patrick Hamilton, George Wishart, the civil parish has a population of 18,421. The earliest recorded name the area is Muckross, after the founding of a religious settlement in Muckross in around 370 AD, the name changed to Cennrígmonaid. This is Old Gaelic and composed of the elements cenn, ríg and this became Cell Rígmonaid and was anglicised Kilrymont. The modern Gaelic spelling is Cill Rìmhinn, the name St Andrews derives from the towns claim to be the resting place of bones of the apostle Andrew. According to legend, St Regulus brought the relics to Kilrymont and this is the origin of a third name for the town Kilrule. The first inhabitants who settled on the fringes of the rivers Tay. This was followed by the people who settled around the modern town around 4,500 BC as farmers clearing the area of woodland. In AD877, king Causantín mac Cináeda built a new church for the Culdees at St Andrews and later the same year was captured and executed after defending against Viking raiders. In AD906, the became the seat of the bishop of Alba. In 940 Constantine III abdicated and took the position of abbot of the monastery of St Andrews, the establishment of the present town began around 1140 by Bishop Robert on an L-shaped vill, possibly on the site of the ruined St Andrews Castle
3.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
4.
University of St Andrews
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The University of St Andrews is a British public research university in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland, St Andrews was founded between 1410 and 1413, when the Avignon Antipope Benedict XIII issued a papal bull to a small founding group of Augustinian clergy. St Andrews is made up from a variety of institutions, including three constituent colleges and 18 academic schools organised into four faculties, the university occupies historic and modern buildings located throughout the town. The academic year is divided into two terms, Martinmas and Candlemas, in term time, over one-third of the towns population is either a staff member or student of the university. It is ranked as the third best university in the United Kingdom in national league tables, the Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking names St Andrews among the worlds Top 50 universities for Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities. St Andrews has the highest student satisfaction amongst all multi-faculty universities in the United Kingdom, St Andrews has many notable alumni and affiliated faculty, including eminent mathematicians, scientists, theologians, philosophers, and politicians. Six Nobel Laureates are among St Andrews alumni and former staff, a charter of privilege was bestowed upon the society of masters and scholars by the Bishop of St Andrews, Henry Wardlaw, on 28 February 1411. Wardlaw then successfully petitioned the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII to grant the university status by issuing a series of papal bulls. King James I of Scotland confirmed the charter of the university in 1432, subsequent kings supported the university with King James V confirming privileges of the university in 1532. A college of theology and arts called St Johns College was founded in 1418 by Robert of Montrose, St Salvators College was established in 1450, by Bishop James Kennedy. St Leonards College was founded in 1511 by Archbishop Alexander Stewart, St Johns College was refounded by Cardinal James Beaton under the name St Marys College in 1538 for the study of divinity and law. Some university buildings that date from this period are still in use today, such as St Salvators Chapel, St Leonards College Chapel, at this time, the majority of the teaching was of a religious nature and was conducted by clerics associated with the cathedral. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the university had mixed fortunes and was beset by civil. He described it as pining in decay and struggling for life, in the second half of the 19th century, pressure was building upon universities to open up higher education to women. In 1876, the University Senate decided to allow women to receive an education at St Andrews at a roughly equal to the Master of Arts degree that men were able to take at the time. The scheme came to be known as the L. L. A and it required women to pass five subjects at an ordinary level and one at honours level and entitled them to hold a degree from the university. In 1889 the Universities Act made it possible to admit women to St Andrews. Agnes Forbes Blackadder became the first woman to graduate from St Andrews on the level as men in October 1894
5.
Academic dress
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It is also known as academical dress, academicals, and, in the United States, as academic regalia. Contemporarily, it is seen only at graduation ceremonies, but formerly academic dress was. Today the ensembles are distinctive in some way to each institution, and generally consists of a gown with a separate hood, Academic dress is also worn by members of certain learned societies and institutions as official dress. Some older universities, particularly Oxford and Cambridge, have a set of dress to be worn under the gown. In the Commonwealth, gowns are worn open, while in the United States it has become common for gowns to close at the front, as did the original roba. In either case, the American Council of Education allows for the comfort of the wearer, and concedes that lighter materials be used in tropical climates, in addition, it acknowledges cotton poplin, broadcloth, rayon, or silk as appropriate. The materials used for academic dress vary and range from the economical to the very expensive. For some doctoral graduates commencement will be the time they wear academic regalia. These rented gowns are made of inexpensive polyester or other man-made synthetic fibre. In Britain, rented gowns are almost always polyester while Russell cord, undergraduate gowns are usually made from cotton or cotton and polyester mix and are relatively inexpensive to encourage students to own them. People who choose to buy their dress may opt for finer fabrics, such as poplin, grosgrain, Percale, cotton, wool, cassimere, broadcloth, Russell cord or corded/ribbed material. For silk, there are a range of types including artificial silk/rayon, Ottoman, taffeta, satin, alpaca, true silk, pure Ottoman silk is rarely used except for official gowns as it is very expensive. Some gowns may be trimmed with lace, cords, buttons or other forms of decoration. In the past, fur has been used to line certain hoods which range from rabbit to ermine, in the past, sheepskin was widely used. Most now use imitation fur instead, mainly because of cost, some robemakers will use fur if the customer requests and pays for it, as some feel that the quality and feel of artificial fur has yet to match that of real fur. Doctors robes usually use wool flannel, panama, superfine cloth and they tend to be the most expensive because they must be dyed in a specific colour and/or be trimmed in coloured silks. Many doctoral gowns have a special undress version so adding to the cost of a full set, a full set may cost about $360 for cheap materials to as much as $5800 for high quality materials. Usually, ex-hire gowns are available for purchase at cheaper prices though the quality may be lower, many institutions whose dress includes gowns of varying lengths prescribe the appropriate length of each gown with reference to parts of the wearers body
6.
Ceremonial mace
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A ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the officials authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the mace used as a weapon. Processions often feature maces, as on parliamentary or formal academic occasions, the ceremonial mace was used as a symbol of authority of military commanders. By the 14th century, these sergeants maces had started to become increasingly decorative, as a weapon, the mace fell out of use with the disappearance of heavy armor. The history of the civic mace begins around the middle of the 13th century, the oldest civic mace in England is that of Hedon. However, the sergeants of London later gained this privilege, as did later those of York, Norwich, records exist of maces covered with silver in use at Exeter in 1387–1388, Norwich bought two in 1435, and Launceston others in 1467 and 1468. Several other cities and towns subsequently acquired silver maces, and the 16th century saw almost universal use, early in the 15th century the flanged end of the mace was carried uppermost, with the small button bearing the royal arms in the base. The Guildford mace provides one of the finest of the fifteen specimens of the 15th century, craftsmen often pierced and decorated the flanged ends of the maces of this period beautifully. These flanges gradually became smaller, and by the 16th or early 17th century had developed into pretty projecting scroll-brackets and other ornaments, the next development in the embellishment of the shaft was the reappearance of these small scroll-brackets on the top, immediately under the head of the mace. They disappear altogether from the foot in the last half of the 17th century, the silver mace-heads were mostly plain, with a cresting of leaves or flowers in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the reign of James I of England they began to be engraved and decorated with heraldic devices, as the custom of having sergeants maces began to die out about 1650, the large maces borne before the mayor or bailiffs came into general use. Thomas Maundy functioned as the maker of maces during the English Commonwealth. He made the mace for the House of Commons in 1649 and this mace is still in use today, though without the original head. The original head, which was not engraved with symbols, was replaced by one with regal symbols at the time of the Restoration of the monarchy. Oliver Cromwell referred to the House of Commons mace as a fools bauble when he dissolved the Rump Parliament in 1653, There are 10 large silver-gilt maces of the sergeants-at-arms kept as part of the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. Two date from the reign of Charles II, two from the reign of James II, three from William and Marys reign, and one from Queen Annes reign, all these are of a type almost universally adopted, with slight variations, at the Restoration. Each mace weighs an average of 10 kilograms, in the Houses of Parliament, two ceremonial maces represent the monarchs authority. The monarch is referred to as the part of Parliament and signs into law the Bills which are voted on
7.
St Mary's College, St Andrews
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The College was founded in 1538 by Archbishop James Beaton, uncle of Cardinal David Beaton on the site of the Pedagogy or St Johns College. St Marys College was intended to preserve the teachings of the Roman Catholic church against the teachings of the reformers. It was dedicated to a revival of learning on the Continental trilingual model and from the outset laid emphasis on the knowledge of Latin, Greek, St Marys College retains much of its original sixteenth century buildings, specifically the north and West ranges. The Quad contains a thorn said to have been planted by Mary, Queen of Scots. The Quad also contains the historic King James Library founded by King James VI & I in 1612, in addition the College has The Roundel, a 16th-century building dedicated for doctoral students studying divinity at the University of St Andrews. The College is one of five approved centres for the training of Church of Scotland ministers, graduates include the Very Rev Dr Finlay Macdonald, the immediate past Principal Clerk to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and a former Moderator. As of May 2015, the Faculty and School of Divinity forms a community of some 131 persons,16 members of staff,55 postgraduate students. According to The Complete University Guide 2016 the School of Divinity is placed first in the United Kingdom for undergraduate studies ahead of Durham in second place, in the 2016 Guardian University Guide it is also ranked first in the United Kingdom in religious studies and theology. The college has three research centres, the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts was founded within the College by professors Trevor Hart and Jeremy Begbie in 2000. The current director is Dr Gavin Hopps and these supporters who have continued as Patrons of the Centre include Gustavo Gutiérrez, Cardinal OBrien, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Carole Hillenbrand, Ian Linden, Julian Filokowski, J. D. Y. Peel, Rev Joel Edwards, Professor George P. Smith II, with the study of general hermeneutical theory and practice at its centre, it will be outward-looking and keen to engage with issues arising from the contemporary world. The current director is Dr. Mark Elliott
8.
St Salvator's College, St Andrews
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St Salvators College was a college of the University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. Founded in 1450, it is the oldest of the Universitys colleges, in 1747 it merged with St Leonards College to form United College. St Salvators College was founded in 1450 by Bishop James Kennedy, in 1528, the Protestant martyr, Patrick Hamilton, was burned alive outside the college, though Patrick himself was a member of St Leonards college. Initially a college of Theology and the Arts, St Salvators was created to revitalize, shortly after this, the initial site of St Leonards College was sold, though the university retained ownership of St Leonards College Chapel. Although the buildings of St Salvators College were grand by medieval standards, from 1837 the quadrangle was rebuilt and extended into its current form, with a north and a west wing in Jacobean style. To the south is the Chapel, where many university services are held, St Salvators College was residential until the unification with St Leonards. The current St Salvators Hall, which lies east of the college, is one of the halls of residence for students, the chapel, tower and Hebdomadars Building are all designated as Category A listed buildings by Historic Scotland. Other buildings and structures are listed as Category B, the college chapel is unusual for a collegiate church in that the main entrance faces out into the town, and not like those in Oxford or Cambridge, closed into the college itself. It is indeed the only chapel in Scotland with this arrangement. The chapel was used as a church after the St Leonards college chapel was unroofed in the 1750s until this arrangement was withdrawn by the university. The 1450 college had cloister buildings to the north of the college chapel - the two doors to the side of the chapel show the alignment of the cloister. It is commonly referred to as “the quad”, and is the setting of Raisin Monday festivities, the point of the post-Graduation processions. Cant The University of St. Andrews, A Short History
9.
Gaudeamus igitur
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Despite its use as a formal graduation hymn, it is a jocular, light-hearted composition that pokes fun at university life. The song is thought to originate in a Latin manuscript from 1287 and it is in the tradition of carpe diem with its exhortations to enjoy life. The lyrics reflect an endorsement of the mayhem of student life while simultaneously retaining the grim knowledge that one day we will all die. The song contains humorous and ironic references to sex and death, in private, students will typically sing ribald words. The song is known by its opening words, Gaudeamus igitur or simply Gaudeamus. In the UK, it is affectionately known as The Gaudie. The centuries of use have given rise to slightly different versions. The proposition that the lyrics originate in 1287 is based on a held in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. The music accompanying this poem bears no relation to the melody which is now associated with it, a German translation of these verses was made in about 1717 and published in 1730 without music. A Latin version in a handwritten student songbook, dating from some time between 1723 and 1750, is preserved in the Berlin State Library, however, this differs considerably from the modern text. The current Latin lyrics with a German translation were published by Halle in 1781 in Studentenlieder written by Christian Wilhelm Kindleben, below is Kindlebens 1781 Latin version, with two translations to English. The pseudo-Latin word antiburschius refers to opponents of the 19th-century politically active German student fraternities, the letter j used in some modern transcriptions does not occur in classical Latin. When sung, the first two lines and the last line of each stanza are repeated, for instance, Gaudeamus igitur, Nos habebit humus — Nos habebit humus. The first publication of the present Latin text together with the present melody was probably in Ignaz Walters 1797 operatic setting of Doktor Faust and it is also heard in Berlioz Damnation of Faust. Johannes Brahms quoted the hymn in the section of his Academic Festival Overture. Sigmund Romberg used it in the operetta The Student Prince, which is set at the University of Heidelberg and it is quoted in Johann Strauss IIs, Studenten-Polka (Française, Op.263, first performed at the Redoutensaal on 24 February 1862. The hymn is quoted, along with other student songs, in the overture of Franz von Suppés 1863 operetta Flotte Burschen, based on the original melody Franz Liszt has composed the Gaudeamus igitur—Paraphrase and later the Gaudeamus igitur—Humoreske. The melody is woven through the soundtrack of Harold Lloyds silent film The Freshman, the song is sung in the James Stewart movie The Mortal Storm
10.
Undergraduate gowns in Scotland
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Undergraduate gowns are a notable feature of academic dress for students at the ancient universities in Scotland. The most famous form of Scottish undergraduate dress is the red or scarlet gown and it is differentiated slightly according to the university at which it is worn. These gowns are worn by students of the University of St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde did not adopt the red gown, and instead students use the black supertunica, adorned with saltire blue buttons and cords. It is likely that pre-Reformation undergraduates would have worn a black supertunica in common with students at all European universities of the time, by the latter part of James VIs reign, this had formalised into scarlet. Traditionally, the red colour was symbolic of a lower status, the post-Reformation gown evolved as a uniform for students, its visibility preventing them from engaging in illicit activities in their university towns. In reference to the University of Glasgow, Here is a principal, with regents and professors in science, as there is at Edinburgh, and the scholars wear gowns. Their gowns here are red, but the Masters of Arts, a significant example of this is the actions of John Anderson, a professor at the University of Glasgow and founder of what went on to become the University of Strathclyde. As such, these became known as his Anti-toga classes, the University of Glasgows undergraduate gown is as follows, Scarlet cloth, with full sleeves half the length of the gown. At the University of Aberdeen, and particularly within the predecessor Kings College the gown has had varied fortunes over the years. During one of the slumps in its use in 1885 it was noted that fewer than one-quarter of students wore it, regulations existed compelling gown-wearing amongst students, although were rarely enforced. In 1888, a plebcite was organised at Kings by the Students Representative Council, which continued to support compulsion by 258 votes to 32 and this was to little avail, with the gown still not becoming universal as it had been previously, and remaining subject to fashion. In the 1850s, Sir George Reid painted an image of an Aberdeen student in the gown, the toga was criticised as being unsuited to the climate of Aberdeen. It was considered proper amongst students to wear an old and worn gown, a tradition of gown-tearing by older students to new bajans therefore developed. Matriculation at Aberdeen traditionally occurred on the first Sunday of term, out of enforced respect for Sabbath, despite the cost of gowns, attempts to outlaw this practice were difficult to enforce, particularly as all students of the era carried a penknife in order to mend quills. In 1924, their views were aired in the university newspaper, stating, when we leave the gates of Kings we become citizens of Aberdeen in this year of grace 1924, the undergraduate gown has lost popularity at different times in the different universities. The requirements of town residence made it impractical, however the more isolated locations of Aberdeen, at present, the gowns are most commonly a feature associated with the University of St Andrews where they are very commonly worn by students to formal events, pier walks and exams. It is perhaps most commonly seen at academic ceremonies, particularly in relation to the installation of a new Rector, the undergraduate style influences several gowns of office, particularly for members of Students Representative Councils and Rectors. The colour of the red gown is rarely defined precisely, however the University of Dundee
11.
Oxford Union
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The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. The Oxford Union is an association, holding its property in trust in favour of its objectives and members. Since its foundation, it has been independent of the University, historically, despite such restrictions since being lifted, it has remained entirely separate from the University, and is constitutionally bound to remain so. Residential memberships are available to Oxford residents who are not from the university, the Union buildings are owned by a separate charitable trust, the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust. The Oxford Union buildings are located in Frewin Court, off Cornmarket Street, the original Union buildings were designed by Benjamin Woodward and opened in 1857. The society soon outgrew these premises and commissioned Alfred Waterhouse to design a free-standing debating chamber in the gardens and this was about a decade after the completion of the Cambridge Unions premises, also designed by Waterhouse, and the exterior of the two buildings is very similar. The original Woodward debating chamber is now known as The Old Library, the Old Library is best known for its Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, referred to as the Oxford Union murals. The current debating chamber, and several extensions to the main buildings were added over the next forty years. The final extension was designed in a conventional Gothic Revival style by Walter Mills and Thorpe and it provides the MacMillan Room as well as the Goodman Library, underneath which there are basement library stacks. Many of the rooms in the Union are named after figures from the Unions past, such as the Goodman Library, with its windows. The buildings have gradually been added to paintings and statues of past presidents. The Gladstone Room also contains William Ewart Gladstones original cabinet table, the Old Library contains a fireplace situated in the middle of the floor, with a concealed flue, a rare design of which only a handful of examples survive in the UK. In the debating chamber there are busts of such notables as Roy Jenkins, Edward Heath, Michael Heseltine, George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston and William Ewart Gladstone. The piano was unveiled by Vladimir Ashkenazy, who refused to play it in front of the packed chamber because he had not warmed up. The despatch boxes which continue to be used in Union debates are modelled on those in the House of Commons, and were offered to the House during World War II. To be invited to dine at the table in the bay window. It was often said more plots were hatched around that table on a regular evening than in the Houses of Parliament on Bonfire Night. The Unions buildings were used as a location for the films Oxford Blues, Debating at the Oxford Union takes two forms — competitive debating and chamber debating
