It was not until the 17th century that work on the Bodleian Library began and before then books were in short supply. In 1444, Duke Humfrey, brother of Henry V, had built a moderate library, but it was broken up at the Reformation. It is from this paucity of books that the tradition of lecturing began, allowing many to learn from a single resource simultaneously. What was taught, besides a firm theological grounding, was limited to grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music; no humanities were introduced until the 16th century. The Civil War took its toll on Oxford as the University suffered from first a purging of its Royalists, having sheltered King Charles and hosted a Convocation of Parliament, in 1647, and then a purging of its Puritans in 1660. Amid the bloodshed, though, Oxford’s dreaming spires were ascending, with the skyline coming closer to the one visible today. Sir Thomas Bodley made good on his 1598 resolution to replace the previous Library, and the Bodleian was completed in 1624, despite the death of its patron eleven years earlier. By 1669, Sir Christopher Wren’s Sheldonian Theatre was completed, while the Old Ashmolean, now the Museum of the History of Science, was finished in 1683. Colleges continued to proliferate: Magdalen, Oriel, Queen’s, Corpus Christi, Christ Church, Trinity, St John’s, Jesus and Wadham were all old stagers by the 19th century. The Victorian era welcomed in new colleges and new attitudes. After the University Act of 1854 had made studying at Oxford possible for those who were not members of the Church of England, women as well as non-conformists began to get a foothold in the University. Lady Margaret Hall and Somerville were halls for women, later to become colleges, founded in 1878 and 1879 respectively, and by 1884, their residents were permitted to attend lectures and take University exams, although they were not awarded degrees until 1920. Keble College had been built under the direction of renowned architect William Butterfield though its brickwork led a French visitor to think it was a station - and its construction was followed by those of St Hilda’s, Kellogg, and Harris Manchester. In the mid-twentieth century, Oxford profited from the relocation of many academics from war-torn Europe, and further changes were made to widen access. By the new millennium, every college accepted women, while the University broadened the range of subjects it offered. More colleges were founded - including St Peter’s, St Anne’s and St Antony’s - and Oxford continued to produce notable alumni. More than forty Nobel laureates and more than fifty world leaders have to date been educated by Oxford, including four of the last seven Prime Ministers. Oxford continues to develop; its history is only a foundation.
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