Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/155

Rh OXFORD. 143 OXFORD. of Oxford. It has a rustic basement 100 feet in diameter, and the ascent to the library is by a spiral stone stair- case. Over the entrance is a portrait (said to be the only original one of him) of the founder, by Sir Godfrey Kneller, and round the room is a gallery supported by Ionic pilasters. It contains casts of celebrated ancient busts and statues, the " Corsi" marbles, several modern casts, busts, statues, and models, and from the outer balustrade surrounding the library a panoramic view of the city can be obtained. Besides this library, Dr. RadclilFe's bequests founded the observatory and tho infirmary, and he left to University College, of which he was once a member, large sums for repairs and new buildings, whilst he also left 600 per annum for two " travelling fellowships" which number, however, has since been increased by tho University Commissioners, under the Act of 1854, to three, each of the annual value of 200, and tenable for three years. Dr. Radclifle also gave the painted window at the E. end of University College Chapel, i'200 to be equally divided in restoring parts of All Saints' Church and Peckwater Quadrangle in Christ Church, and the asylum on Headingtou Hill, which lies over Magdalen Bridge, about a mile to the N.E. of the city, has been, with the sanction of his trustees, so much benefited by the funds left by him for charitable objects that the committee have given it the name of the Radcliffe Asylum. The University Museum was com- menced in 1855, and by 1860 was so far completed that tho British Association for the advancement of Science held its first meeting there in the June of that year. It is ornamented with elaborate iron-work and de- corative sculpture, both within and without : tho latter has been liberally presented to it by various benefactors tho Queen having given the statues of five eminent philosophers which stand in the area, the gentlemen of the city of Oxford having erected tho statue of the late Prince Consort which faces the entrance, and many private persons having contributed to its utility or ornamentation by placing in it works illustrative of' science and art. The building contains lecture-rooms, work-rooms, laboratories (of which there is a spacious one for the use of students in chemistry at the south- western angle), a library and reading-room, and at the back a small observatory for the use of the classes of the professor of astronomy. Tho museum was designed for the promotion of the study of natural science, and in tho area and corridors are placed various collections illustra- tive of the different subjects of education taught within its walls, such as models and instruments of experimental physics, a pathological series in the medical department, zoological and mineralogical specimens, a largo collection of shells, and various other objects, a great part of which are arranged for exhibition, and are open to the inspec- tion of students and visitors. It is in the charge of the keeper of tho Ashmolean Museum, who has an official residence adjoining the S.E., and is open to members of the University from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. in winter, and till 5 p.m. in summer. Visitors are not admitted till after 2 p.m., in order that tho students may not be disturbed, and the library is open two evenings in each week during term time. There is no fee charged, either to members of the university or to strangers, for admission to view tho collections. The " Taylor and Randolph Institution" is so called from its founders. Sir Robert Taylor, lit., was a sculptor and architect of some eminence, who in 1788 bequeathed tho bulk of his property, after accumu- lating for a certain period, for the purpose of " erecting a proper edifice and establishing a foundation for the teaching and improving in the European languages." In 1700 Dr. Francis Randolph, principal of St. Alban's Hall, left money for ' erecting a building for the recep- tion of the Pomfret statues belonging to tho university of Oxford, and for paintings, engravings, and other curiosities which may occasionally bo left to that learned ." Tho union of these bequests and a grant from the funds of tho University resulted in the erection of tin: juv-ic-nt building, at tlio comer of Beaumont and St. Giles's streets, and close by tho Martyrs' Memorial. It was commenced in 1811, and completed in 1845, from tho designs of Professor Cockerel], D.C.L. Its entire extent is 240 feet by 102, and to give elevation to it tho whole of it is raised upon a terrace, by which a light and spacious crypt, or basement, is obtained. Al- though the building is of the Palladian or Italian school in its disposition, its order is Ionic, and its details and ornamentation are taken from the temple of Apollo Epieurius, at Basso, near Phigalea, in Arcadia. The pediment of the portico is surmounted by a figure of Apollo, and on the sido of each wing, facing the fore court, are four attached Ionic columns, with enta- blatures and vases, while at the entrance to the Taylor Institute, in St. Giles' s-street, are four sculptured figures emblematical of tho four European continental languages of Germany, Franco, Italy, and Spain, and having en- graved at their bases tho names of the most celebrated literary characters of tho countries which they respec- tively represent. Tho centre portico opens into tho principal sculpture-gallery, an apartment 90 feet by 28, and containing casts from celebrated antique statues (such as the Laocoon, tho Torso Belvidere, the Floren- tine Boar, the Nine Muses, &c.) and busts, together with a portion of the collection of marbles presented by tho Countess of Pomfret. Leading from this room and forming a wing to it is the " Chautrey Gallery," mea- suring 180 feet by 28, and containing the original models for the principal works of the late eminent English sculptor, Sir Francis Chantroy, and the remainder of tho Pomfret marbles. Upstairs are the Raffaelle and Angelo gallery, containing about 190 original drawings by tho former artist, and about 87 by the latter, the whole having been purchased by subscription for 7,000. Tho picture-gallery is 96 feet long by 28 wide, and 28 feet high. It contains copies of Raffaelle's cartoons, his "School of Athens," and other paintings and portraits, and a considerable number of modern busts, models, and statues. In the Taylor Institution there is a library, which is open between 11 a.m. and5 p.m., except during the long vacation, when it is closed at 4 p.m. All mem- bers of the University have free access to it, and resident graduates may take out of it books for perusal in their own rooms. There are also lying on tho table the lead- ing newspapers and periodicals of Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. The Randolph galleries are open every day to members of tho University and persons introduced by them, without any fee, between tho hours of 1 1 a.m. and 4 p.m., except for a few weeks during the long vacation for tho purpose of cleaning. On Thursdays they are thrown open to the public without any restric- tion, no introduction whatever being required. Tho Botanical Gardens, which now occupy a site used in ancient times as a Jewish burial-ground, are entered by a gateway designed by Inigo Jones. Outside tho walls on the left is the porter's lodge, and near it the professor's official residence and some lecture-rooms, in which there is a valuable library of rare works upon botany and natural history. The gardens are well supplied with British and foreign plants, flowers, and shrubs, have commodious conservatories, greenhouses, and hothouses, and as they are constantly receiving additions by subscriptions and donations, will eventually rank among the first in England. All the various public institutions which have just been described are under the care and superintendence of delegates, cura- tors, librarians, and other officers appointed by tho governing bodies of the University, and paid either out of the university or by special bequests left for the purpose by their founders and benefactors, and some have pro- fessorships attached to them, whose duty it is to lecture upon and illustrate the objects committed to their charge. Tho UNIVERSITY OP OXTOHD is a corporation holding its title and privileges under an Act passed 13 Elizabeth, and confirmed by several acts np to the present reign. It is governed by official persons chosen out of its own body, acting together under the title of the " chancellor, masters, and scholars, of the University of Oxford," and having a common seal. Tho chancellor is the chief
 * of the University. Ho is always a person of

distinction, is elected for life, and is non-resident. He