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Merton College, the first fully self-governing College in the University, was founded in 1264 by Walter de
Merton, sometime Chancellor of England and later Bishop of Rochester. The College features four
Quadrangles, one of which is Mob Quad. This is the oldest quadrangle in the University and was built in
three phases. Mob Library is the oldest continuously-functioning library for university academics and
students in the world. The Gatehouse dates from the early fifteenth century, when Henry V granted a
royal 'licence to crenellate', which allowed for the construction of the battlement tower above the
present-day Lodge.

What is now the quire of Merton Chapel was begun in the late 1280s, as part of the Church of St Mary &
St John. It was built to replace the Parish Church of St John the Baptist which stood on the site now
occupied by the north wing of Mob Quad. To this day, the Chapel contains one of the finest pre-
Reformation lecterns surviving in England, originally given to College in 1504. A screen by Christopher
Wren was added in 1673. Edward Blore, William Butterfield, and Sir Gilbert Scott contributed to its
restoration during the Gothic revival of the 19th century.

Visitors will also have access to the Fellows garden which features an Ancient mulberry, said to have
associations with James I. There are also specimen trees, a long mixed border and recently established
herbaceous bed. Relax at Tolkien’s table and enjoy a view over Christ Church meadow.

Merton College was originally founded for 20 fellows, with undergraduates being formally admitted in the
early 1380s. It was then that John Wyliot, a former Fellow and Sub-Warden, endowed a number of
scholarships known at Merton as Postmasterships. Over the centuries, many eminent scholars and cultural
leaders have called Merton home. They include four Nobel Prize winners, the mathematician who solved
Fermat’s Last Theorem, the physician who discovered the circulation of blood, and the founder of the
Bodleian Library.

Find out more about the history of Merton College and its notable members:

https://www.merton.ox.ac.uk/about/history-merton

https://www.merton.ox.ac.uk/merton-college-warmemorial

https://www.merton.ox.ac.uk/750th-anniversary-1264-2014

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