The Building Accounts of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 1517-18
Title Details

266 Pages

21.6 x 13.8 cm

25 b/w illus.

Series: Oxford Historical Society New Series

Series Vol. Number: 48

Imprint: Oxford Historical Society

The Building Accounts of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 1517-18

Edited by Barry Collett and Angela Smith

With Julian Reid

  • Description
  • Contents
  • Reviews
This edition of the building accounts is put into a wider context with a study of its founder, Richard Fox.

Corpus Christi College, Oxford, was founded in 1517 by Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester. He intended it to educate students in classical Greek, Latin and Hebrew, and their literature; Erasmus praised it as a scholarly achievement, and a beacon of Renaissance classical learning.
The heart of this book is an edition of the original fortnightly building site accounts of 1517-1518, giving us a window onto a late-medieval building site, with its detailsof early sixteenth-century building materials, craft techniques, project management skills and working conditions, including siesta periods and sub-contracting. The introduction describes Fox's long road to 1517: his motives far more complicated than a bishop looking for worldly fame and heavenly reward. Born into a Lincolnshire yeoman, Fox studied law at Oxford, rebelled against Richard III and became Henry VII's closest political adviser. Taken together,they provide a detailed account of the foundation of the College, both literal and metaphorical.
Introduction
Richard Fox
The Building Accounts
The Manuscript
Editorial Note
Transcript of the Manuscript
Appendix 1: Chronology of Bishop Fox's plans and the building of Corpus Christi College
Appendix 2: A set of missing building accounts
Appendix 3: Purchase of land from master mason, John Lebons
Appendix 4: Indenture of 30 June 1513 between Bishop Fox and the Prior and Convent of St Swithun's Priory, Winchester
Appendix 5: John and Jane Huddleston and the Manor of Temple Guiting
Appendix 6: Carved details in the Hall at Corpus
Appendix 7: Fox's endowment of the College. Letter to Fox concerning property, 22 December 1516
Appendix 8: Educational opportunities offered to the sons of Fox's craftsmen
Appendix 9: The text of 1514 Artificers Act, with commentary and comment on working conditions
Appendix 10: Craftsmen and suppliers of materials listed in the Corpus building accounts
Bibliography
Index
"There is much for the reader interested in how building projects were managed, or in sources of supply, in costs, and in how new buildings were fitted-out. The ready availability of the accounts will also enable future researchers easily to make comparisons at a local level with similar accounts for other Oxford projects [.] The volume is, however, of significance for much more than this. An extensive introduction and further appendices (there are ten in all) place the building work in a broader context." THE LOCAL HISTORIAN
"This volume is not only enlightening to those interested in the process of late medieval construction, but is extremely informative on the topics of episcopacy, education, and the history of colleges." MIDLAND HISTORY
"This is a handsomely produced volume and has been skilfully edited by Julian Reid. The introduction is divided into three sections. The last two, by Angela Smith and Jane Eagan respectively, offer admirably precise and informative discussions of the account book both as a source for the building of the college and as a physical artefact." ARCHIVES AND RECORDS

Hardcover

9780904107289

June 2019

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Title Details

266 Pages

2.16 x 1.38 cm

25 b/w illus.

Series: Oxford Historical Society New Series

Series Vol. Number: 48

Imprint: Oxford Historical Society