Q is for The Queen's College, Oxford

A – Z OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Q is for The Queen’s College

Oxford

 

Today we travel to Oxford

To

The Queen’s College, University of Oxford

Oxford is a city in central Southern England

and is the county town of Oxfordshire

High Street entrance

The Queen’s College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford.  It was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Queen Philippa of Hainault, the wife of King Edward III of England. 

The college is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture. 

The main quad

The college has one of the best-stocked college libraries in Oxford.  The current lending library consists of around 50,000 volumes. The Upper Library is considered one of the finest rooms in Oxford and has been a focal point for the College ever since its construction at the end of the 17th century. It has been included in many lists of the best and most beautiful libraries in the world. 

As in many Oxford libraries the Upper Library remains as a silent reading room for students. The open cloister below the Upper Library was enclosed in the 19th century to form the Lower Library, which now houses the bulk of the lending collection. The college has one of the largest (around 100,000 volumes) and most diverse collections of rare books in Oxford.

http://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/library

The Chapel at Queen’s College is noted for its Frobenius organ in the West gallery which was installed in 1965 replacing a Rushworth and Dreaper organ from 1931.  The earliest mention of an organ dates from 1826.  The Chapel Choir has been described as “Oxford’s finest mixed-voice choir.”  

The Chapel has stood virtually unchanged since it was consecrated by the Archbishop of York in 1719.

The Chapel of The Queen's College, Oxford. Looking west towards the Frobenius organ

Wikipaedia commons

I lay down in this strange bed

Thoughts whirling round in my head

The insistent, insidious voice

Have I made the right choice?

I’ve worked hard for this over the years

So I will fight through these tears

Living in this great big city among millions

 I’m changing like a chameleon.

Shall I go home?

Is the underlying tone

I will carry on with this endeavour

I know that I am clever.

I will weather this storm

Until it becomes the norm

New friends from all parts of the country

At this prestigious university

I will have an adventure

So I’m going to stand tall and strong

And keep on keeping on.

Oxford High Street 1890 – 1900 Wikimedia Commons

Oxford aerial view 2008 Wikimedia Commons