The Colleges of Oxford. Various
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treason.
“On Jan. 7, 1689, the Fellows of University deputed Master Babman to go to him and ask him if he would resign his post, to whom, after deliberation lasting many days, Walker answered that he would not.
“On Jan. 22, after this answer had been brought to Oxford and conveyed to the Vice-Chancellor, the latter summoned the Fellows to appear before the Visitors on Jan. 26, in the Apodyterium of the Venerable House of Convocation.
“Where on Jan. 26, between 9 and 10 a.m., there appeared in person and as representing the College the following Fellows—Mr. Will. Smith, Tho. Babman, Tho. Bennet, Francis Forster, and besought the Vice-Chancellor, Proctors, and Doctors of Divinity representing Convocation to remedy certain grievances in the College, specially concerning the Master and two Fellows. To them a citation was then issued by the Vice-Chancellor, Proctors, Doctors of Divinity, and others, as the ordinary and legitimate patrons and visitors of the College, to appear before them in the College Chapel on Monday, Feb. 4 following between 8–9 a.m.
“On the appointed day there met in the chapel between 8–9 a.m. the Vice-Chancellor, Gilbert Ironsyde, S.T.P., Rob. Say, Byron Eaton, Master of Oriel, W. Lovett, Tho. Hyde, Chief Librarian, Tho. Turner, President of C.C.C., Jonath. Edwards, S.T.P., Thom. Dunstan, Pres. of Magdalen College, Will. Christmas, Jun. Proctor, and others. After the Litany had been repeated, the Vice-Chancellor prorogued the meeting to the common-room, where were present the afore-mentioned Fellows, and in addition Edw. Farrar, Jo. Gilve, Jo. Nailor, Jo. Hudson. The Fellows preferred a complaint that the statutes of the Realm, of the University, and of the College had been violated by Obadiah Walker, Master or Senior Fellow of the College. They objected in particular that he had left the religion of the Anglican Church, established and confirmed by the statutes of this Realm, and betaken himself to the Roman or papistical religion; that he had held, fostered, and frequented illegal conventicles within the aforesaid College; that he had procured to be sequestred unto wrong uses and against the statutes the income and emoluments of the Society; also that he had had printed books against the Reformed religion, and that within the College, and had published the same unto the grave scandal as well of the University as of the College. All these charges were amply proved by trustworthy witnesses, whereupon the visitors decreed that the post of Mr. Obadiah Walker was void and vacant. At the same time, at the instance of the said Fellows, Masters Boyse and Deane, Fellows of the College, who had left the religion of the reformed Anglican Church, were ordered to be proceeded against so soon as a new Master or Senior Fellow was chosen.”
Mr. Obadiah Walker lived for many years after the accession of William and Mary. He was a man of great piety and vast and varied learning, as is shown by his books upon Religion, Logic, History, and Geography. He wrote a book upon Greenland, and made experiments in physics. A near friend of the great benefactor of the College, Dr. John Radcliffe, he sought to convert that famous physician to the Roman faith, but found him as little inclined to believe in transubstantiation as “that the phial in his hand was a wheelbarrow.” In spite of their want of religious sympathy, however, the two men liked each other’s society, and the great physician, who respected Walker’s learning, gave him a competency during the latter years of his life. In the College archives is an elegant letter addressed by O. Walker, then Master, to Radcliffe, thanking him for his gift of the east window of the College chapel. It runs thus:
“Sir, we return you our humble and hearty thanks for your noble and illustrious benefaction to this ancient foundation; your generosity hath supplyed a defect and covered a blemish in our chapell; the other lesse eminent windows seemed to upbraid the chiefest as being more adorned and regardable than that which ought to be most splendid; till you was pleased to compassionate us and ennoble the best with the best work. Other benefactions are to be sought out in registers and memorialls, yours is conveyed with the light. The rising sun displays the gallantry of your spirit, and withall puts us in mind as often as we enter to our devotions to remember you and your good actions towards us. Nor can we salute the morning light without meditating on ye Shepherds and ye Angells adoring the true Sun. And yr holy praise and prostration by your singular favour is continually proposed, as to our sight and consideration, so to our example also. And so we do accept and acknowledge it, not only as an object moving our devotions, but as praise of ye artificer who hath not only observed much better decorum and proportion in his figures, but hath all so ingeniously contrived that the light shall not be hindred as by ye daubery of ye others.”—The letter concludes with a prayer that Dr. Radcliffe may prosper in his profession.
The following quaint “letter sent by the College to begge contributions towards the building the East Side of the quadrangle about ye end of 1674 or beginning of 1675 to the gentlemen in the North Parts” may fitly conclude our notice of this college (vide MSS. W. Smith, x. 239).
“Gentlemen,
“Your aged mother, and not yours alone, but of this whole University, if not all other such nurseries of Learning, at least in this nation, craves your assistance in the Time of her Necessity. It is not long since her walls Ruining and her Buildings, almost, after so many years, decayed; It pleased God to excite two of her sonnes in especiall manner, Mr Charles Greenwood, the tutor, and Sr Simon Benett, his pupill, to compassionate her decay, Repair her Ruins and Renew with Great Augmentation her former glory. But the late civil warrs and other alterations intervening not only interrupted that progresse which in a small time would have finished the work; But also disappointed her of the Assistance of Diverse, who were willing to contribute to her repairs.
“And we have very good Hopes that you will not be wanting to us in this our Necessity; this being a college designed for and most of the preferment in it limitted to Northern Scholars. A college which hath had the felicity to be herselfe at this present time DCCC. years old. … In recompense she may justly expect that as she hath fostered your youths, so you would cherish her age.”
Additional Notes.
p. 9. On Clerical Fellows.—It should be added that the statutes of 1736 provided that the two senior Fellows of the foundation of Sir Simon Bennet might study Medicine or Law. In 1854 the general ordinances of the Commissioners provided that there should be six (i.e. half of the) Fellows in Holy Orders. More recently clerical Fellowships have been practically abolished in the College.
p. 14. Anti-Norman feeling.—A spirit of Rivalry with Cambridge may with more reason be alleged in explanation of the acceptance of the Aluredian Legend.
p. 14. On the Legend of King Alfred.—The Court of King’s Bench only decided that the College is a Royal Foundation, not that it was actually founded by King Alfred. Cp. the Preamble of Statutes of 1736: “it manifestly appears by a Judgement lately given in our Court of Kings Bench that the college of the great Hall of the University, commonly called University College, in Oxford, is of the foundation of our Royal Progenitors.”
p. 23. On Northern Scholars.—The College lost its one-sided Northern character in 1736, when new statutes ordained that Sir Simon Bennet’s Fellows were to come from the Southern Province of Canterbury (in partibus regni nostri Australibus oriundi).
II.
BALLIOL COLLEGE.[7]
By Reginald L. Poole, M.A., Balliol College.
The precedence of Balliol over Merton College depends