Oriel - restoration and renewal

Whilst preparing my post yesterday about the 700th anniversary of the foundation of Oriel College by King Edward II I came upon an online feature by the people who had carried out the very impressive renovation of the College Hall and Chapel in advance of the anniversary.

The range which contains the Hall and Chapel dates from the 1620s and 1630s and, as part of a building which has been continuously occupied and used has seen many changes. The Chapel as we see it now is the result of a late nineteenth century realignment of the west end. The Hall was remodelled in the time of Queen Anne and again in 1911 by Ninian Comper, followed by the introduction of the splendid stained glass with its fine heraldry in the inter-war years.

Under the new scheme the kitchens have been completely replaced, and revealing significant evidence in their foundations of the early defences of Anglo-Saxon Oxford. The rather tired looking entrance and screens passage has been redesigned in a sympathetic way. The Hall has lost its slight sense of faded splendour, having had its panelling cleaned and lightened, the Comper cresting painted to bring out the heraldic and monogram features, and the portraits rearranged and rehung. I see that St John Henry Newman now has pride of place behind the Provost’s chair, beneath the full length eighteenth century portrait of King Edward II.

The one thing that seems to be missing is the Oriel Sword, which can be seen in the photographs of the Hall before the restoration. Whatever its true origins that seems rather a pity to this old Orielensus.

The piece about the renewal with splendid images can be seen at Oriel College Dining Hall → 5th Studio