Oriel College

Oriel College stands in the heart of Oxford, on Oriel Square. Founded in 1324 by Adam de Brome under King Edward II, it is the oldest royal foundation in the city. The college began as a small body of graduate fellows before admitting undergraduates in the 16th century. During the English Civil War, high-ranking members of the king’s Oxford Parliament stayed here. Its name comes from La Oriole, a royal manor house granted in 1329, which featured an oriel window. Oriel holds a distinguished place among Oxford colleges. It has nearly forty fellows, around three hundred undergraduates, and some two hundred and fifty graduates. The college was the last men’s college in Oxford to admit women, doing so in 1985 after more than six centuries as an all-male institution. Among its notable alumni are two Nobel laureates, and its fellows have included founders of the Oxford Movement. The college owns a painting by Bernard van Orley and three pieces of medieval silver plate. The main site includes four medieval halls: Bedel Hall, St Mary Hall, St Martin Hall, and Tackley’s Inn, the oldest standing medieval hall in Oxford. The first quad occupies the site of La Oriole, while the college grounds blend medieval and later architecture. Visitors find quiet courts, oak-panelled rooms, and a sense of history in every stone. The chapel and library reflect centuries of scholarly life. The college’s past—from royal grants to civil-war intrigues—lingers in its walls.