|OPINIONS will differ as to whether the Italian style, of which this
College is a fine example, is as suitable for collegiate buildings
as the Gothic, and whether the contrast which Queen's presents to its
neighbour, University, is not more striking than pleasing; but the
intrinsic splendour of its façade, as viewed from "The High," is
indisputable. "No spectacle," said Dr. Johnson, "is nobler than a
blaze"; and those who saw the west wing of the Front Quadrangle of
Queen's in flames, one summer night in 1886, must have felt their
regrets tempered by admiration, so imposing was the sight. Happily the
damage was mainly confined to the interior of the building. A fire had
already devastated the same wing in 1778. On that occasion, as Mr. Wells
narrates in _Oxford and its Colleges_, the Provost of the day "nearly
lost his life for the sake of decorum. He was sought for in vain, and
had been given up, when he suddenly emerged from the burning pile, full
dressed as usual, in wig, gown, and bands." This recalls Cowley's
story of a gentleman in the Civil Wars, who might have escaped from his
captors had he not stayed to adjust his perri-wig. Less fortunate than
the Provost, his sense of ceremony cost him his life.
[Illustration: 034]
[Illustration: 035]
Queen's College was founded by Robert Eglesfield of Cumberland,
Confessor to Philippa, Edward III.'s queen. Impressed with the lack of
facilities for education among Englishmen of the North, he practically
restricted the benefits of his Foundation to students from the north
country, and Queen's is still intimately connected with that part of
England. Philippa did her best for her Confessor's institution, and
later queens have shewn a similar interest. The statue under the cupola,
above the gateway, represents Queen Caroline.
With the exception of the Library (1696) and the east side of the Inner
Quadrangle, all the present buildings were erected in the eighteenth
century. The Library, a handsome room in the classical style, was
decorated by Grinling Gibbons, and contains, as well as a very valuable
collection of books, ancient portraits on glass of Henry v. and
Cardinal Beaufort. The Chapel (1714) was designed by Wren, and the Front
Quadrangle by his pupil Hawksmoor.
[Illustration: 0134]
[Illustration: 0135]
Queen's is tenacious of her old customs. Still the trumpet calls the
Fellows to dinner; still, on Christmas day, the boar's head is brought
in bedecked with bays and rosemary; a survival, possibly, of the pagan
custom by which at Yule-tide a boar was sacrificed to Freyr, god of
peace and plenty.
Peace and plenty, at any rate, have characterised the annals of Queen's;
and among those who have enjoyed these good things within her walls may
be mentioned "Prince Hal," Addison (before his migration to Magdalen),
Tickell, Wycherley, Bentham, Jeffrey of the _Edinburgh Review_, and Dr.
Thomson, late Archbishop of York.