. . . . .. - xl . ( ~ : -. ~ i : WI • '-= AM 1994.70 xl AM 1913.926 Figure 5.28 Top: Bottle belonging to Richard Walker dated 1687, the first year that the King's Head opened on Cornmarket Street. Bottom: Onion Bottle with the seal REW, dated 1699 plus a similar dated seal but without Richard and Elizabeth Walker's initials 72
KING'S HEAD GARDEN ., i:.l ~ ~ ., A}U)EN JESUS COLLEGE G - JESUS COLLEGE LANE ____________ _ H STABLES GARDEN HIGH STREET l00FEET LINCOLN COLLEGE GARDENS GARDEN -----GARDEN SHED MIT - ,-----RE..;.;B;;;A:,::CK GATE MITRE INN H=HOUSE S=SHOP SH=SHED ST=STABLE GAR=GARDEN Figure 5.29 The layout of the King's Head and surroundings early nineteenth century. (Adapted from Salter, 1926) 73 N
--~--•-»•..-:;.:...;•·' --~---..._. -- _,,_..,.-________ ~--- -~- ---. ----··--- --. ··---~----, l J Figure 5.30 Two bills to Brasenose College from Richard Walker at the King's Head both dated 1693. (Hurst Bursarial : Trademen's Bills 10) 74
Figure 5.31 Two bills to Brasenose College from the King's Head. The upper dated 1703 a year before Richard Walker's death, the lower dated 1728 when Margaret Freeman was running the tavern. (Hurst Bursarial: Tradesmen's Bills 21 & 40) 75
stretched 150 feet back opening onto a courtyard. There were also other associated buildings including stables a shed and a garden. The tavern could also be entered by a back entrance from Jesus College lane. The map shown here was adapted from one made in about 1772 (Salter, 1920) when plans for a new market were being considered. The King's Head was not however taken into the covered market until much later. In 1835 the northern half was sold by the then owner Edward Latimer to the city and in 1875 the southern half was likewise sold by his heir. Throughout Richard's time on the High Street he also had a lease on part of the tenement which housed the Crown tavern on North Gate street. Richard renewed his city wine licence in 1698 and again in 1704. He is hardly mentioned in city records and appears not to have been a freeman although an entry in 1699 suggests that he became an honorary freeman. This entry states that "Thomas Shedwell has no right to a freedom as apprentice to Robert Wordsworth, vintner, since he served his time with Mr Walker, "who is now a freeman" not with the said Wordsworth and therefore his enrolment is ordered to be struck out. " (Hobson, 1929) Richard renewed his wine licence for 21 years in 1704 but unfortunately died the same year, aged 51. His widow Elizabeth remarried Abraham Weeks M.A. in July 1707 being a very eligible, rich widow. She inherited £2,500 from Richard plus various jewellery. Richard's will is summarised in Appendix 2. His bequests totalled £3210 in cash plus the King's Head with stock and debts owing and at least one other property. It is therefore not surprising that he was considered to be a rich man. The main beneficiary of his will, after his bequests to his wife, was his nephew John Freeman but his sister Ann Tomlinson at the Three Tuns received £250 together with another sister, Jane, still living in Warwickshire. Despite his two marriages he had, no children. This fact is recorded in a memorial tablet in St Michael's Church on which is written the following, translated from Latin, "Here, near the remains of his father, lies Richard Walker a noted vintner of this city, whose exceptional kindness to his guests, liberal generosity to the poor, exceeding good will towards his friends, high sense of duty towards kin and dutiful respect to both the University and the Church won the affection of all. He deserved well of all to whom he was known and 76 especially of John Freeman, the son of one of his sisters, whom, being childless though married twice, in his life he treated as his son and at death left as heir. He died Nov 10 AD 1704 in the 52nd year of his age. The aforesaid heir, mindful of the benefits received, had this monument erected. 11 The bottles belonging to Richard Walker are all dated. Bottles are known from 1687, when the tavern was first opened, 1688 and 1690; 1693, when it probably moved to the High Street Mitre site, 1695; 1696 when it was definitely known to have been at the 146 High Street property, 1697 and 1699. There appear to be none later than 1699 bearing Richard Walker's initials. These dates indicate regular replacement of breakages similar to that seen at the Crown tavern during Anne Morrell's tenancy. Upon Richard's death the King's Head was taken over by his nephew John Freeman. He must have been born in about 1675 but the first time he appeared in the city records was to renew his wine licence in 1711. However, as already mentioned, he was named on bills paid by Brasenose College in 1704 as Richard Walker's executor and subsequent bills make it obvious that he took over the tavern upon his uncle's death. John's wife was called Margaret and their joint initials appear on the wine bottles. Figure 5.32 illustrates a detached bottle seal dated 1705 and bearing the initials IMF together with a similar on an undated bottle both of which are in the Ashmolean Museum. A similar bottle dated 1713 is in Northampton Museum. The record of their marriage has not been found but they probably married in about 1708. The baptisms of six children are recorded between 1709 and 1715, Dorothy, 1709, Richard Walker 1710, John 1711 (died in infancy), Fielder 1712, Ann 1714, Margaret 1715. Dorothy, Richard Walker, Fielder, Ann and Margaret were all beneficiaries in the will of their aunt Ann Tomlinson's of 1717 (Appendix 2). As well as takin_g over the tavern John also inherited his uncle's lease on the North Gate tenement. In 1724 he renewed his wine licence but had to pay a bond of £500 to the city because he had lost or misplaced the licence. The renewing of licences appears to have been a bad omen for, like his uncle, he died almost as soon as he had renewed it. In Heame's collections he recorded on December 27 1724 "yesterday died Mr Freeman keeper of the King's Head tavern a very rich man, little more than 50 years old. He died of Dropsy." John Freeman certainly must have been rich for he inherited not only most of Richard
xl AM 1873.255 AM 1951.18 Figure 5.32 Bottle belonging to John and Margaret Freeman at the King's Head, plus a detached seal dated 1705. They were tenants from 1704 to 1724. 77
Walker's fortune but also most of that of his aunt Ann Tomlinson when she died in 1717. After John Freeman's death his wife Margaret renewed the licence and continued to run the tavern until her own death in 1745. In city records of 1744 she was upbraided for not having paid arrears of rent on her wine licence and appeared reluctant to do so. This was probably due to the falling trade which the vintners were then experiencing due to others ignoring the licensing laws and the fact that the colleges were laying down their own cellars. The latter started as early as 1733 (see Magdalen College). After the death of Margaret the property passed to Thomas Freeman (possibly Margaret's grandson) who in 1752 was described as "of the University of Oxford, gent". At this date he leased the tavern to Thomas Robinson, victualler and the King's Head then became an inn. In 1758 the property had passed to Colwell Freeman of St James' Westminster. He being in debt sold the property and it passed out of the Freeman family. In 1815 it was occupied by Edward Latimer a wine merchant and Elizabeth his wife. In 1835 the northern part of the property was taken into the covered market and the remainder likewise in 1875. Wine bills from the King's Head have been found in college archives dating between 1693 and 1728. The early ones from Richard Walker were for Canary and Red Port and in 1703 for Sebastian and Canary. Later bills from Margaret Freeman included Mountain and Old Port (:figures 5.30 and 5.31). In the eighteenth century the High Borlace and the Constitutional Clubs met at the King's Head. 78
Inns and Vintners not associated with the main taverns Summary John Holden c. 1647 The Bear c. 1667 The Three Gates c. 1657-1667 The Castle c. 1660 William Parker c.1666 TH .1670 The Bell c.1670 John Hudson c. 1667 Thomas Butler c. 1667-1713? King's Armes inn c. 1660 William Folton c. 1684 Ann Hardingham c. 1684 William Stirke ?1652-1702 William Winchlowe -1687 Thomas Swift c.1680 Robert Wordsworth 1652-1702 Charles Turner c. 1690-1710 In addition to the five main taverns there are many vintners mentioned in the records who were connected with lesser establishments. Some vintners can be assigned to inns or taverns but there are others who at present cannot be associated with known establishments. In part this is because some inns or taverns were just called after the person running them. For example Anthony Wood says in his diary "at Swift's". It may also relate to the way the wine licences functioned. Some people who had taken out wine licences never ran taverns themselves but rented out the licences to other people. Such private transactions are often not recorded unless the right of a person to retail wine was challenged in the courts. It is also possible that some of these people were working as drawers in the main taverns. Whether inns, which could not retail wine, also had sealed wine bottles is not known. Sealed bottles are known from the Bear Inn for example but it may be that such inns held licences for short periods which are not recorded. Taverns certainly sold wine to inns but one supposes that the wine would have been sent to the inn in the tavern's bottles rather than inn bottles being sent to the taverns to be filled. The lesser establishments and vintners will be presented in approximate chronological order. 79 John Holden Obtained a licence to hang out the sign of the Royal Exchange 164 7. He was described as a vintner in the licence. The Bear Ralph and Joan Flexney ran the Bear on the High Street. They appear in the Poll Tax of 1667 as Ralph Flexney, wife and two children (Salter, 1920). A bottle bearing the initials RIF and a bear is in the Ashmolean Museum (figure 5.33). The Three Gates An inn of this name occupied the tenement on Commarket Street which later became the first site of the King's Head tavern (figure 5.1). In 1657 Oliver Yates was granted a licence to hang out the sign of the Three Gates. He appears in the 1667 Poll Tax as Oliver Yates, wife and 5 children. After Richard Walker moved the King's Head tavern to the High Street this Commarket Street tenement was occupied by a variety of tradesmen until Christopher Yeates returned it to its former usage as a retail wine outlet in about 1786. He is mentioned on a lease of that date (Salter, 1960). He gained his freedom in 177 4. There are several detached seals in the Ashmolean Museum which bear a shield and three gates (figure 5.34). "Gates" was synonymous with "Yates" in those days. As all the seals are detached it is not clear whether these came from bottles belonging to the inn run by Oliver Yates, belonged to the wine merchant Christopher Yeates or were those of a private individual by the same name. The Castle Figure 5.33 illustrates a bottle bearing the name Richard Billingsley together with a five turreted castle. This cannot be definitely linked to Oxford although the name Billingsley was quite common there at the time and the bottle was found there. A Richard Billingsley, son of Thomas, was born in St Mary the Virgin parish in 1603 and a Richard Billingsley married Elizabeth Stevens in 1617 in the same parish. In the poll tax of 1667 Richard Billingsley, cook, of Wadham, appears with wife and two children. He was living in Holywell parish at that time. The only known Castle Inn was in St Aldates on the site of what had been Knap Hall just north of the Guild Hall. The bottle probably dates from before 1660. It is impossible to know whether the Richard Billingsley who was later cook of Wadham at one time ran the Castle inn but it would not be inconsistent. The Castle certainly existed in 1664 as Wood recorded visiting it with two friends in January of that year. William Parker of Oxford, vintner, appears in a marriage bond of 1666 between Ann Tomson of Oxford
X 1/3 xl AM 1874.47 xl AM 1882.144 Figure 5.33 Top: Bottle belonging to Ralph and Joan Flexney at the Bear. Probably dates c 1665. Bottom: Shaft and globe belonging to Richard Billingsley, bearing a five turreted castle. Probably dates before 1660. 80
xl AM 1896-1908.M77 xl AM 1968.1525 Figure 5.34 Top: Detached seal with a shield bearing a chevron and three gates. Oliver Yates (Gates) ran the Three Gates inn c 1660 although this seal may have belonged to a private individual of the same name. Bottom: A detached seal bearing the initials Ill and the inscription; 'At the King's Armes, Hy Street, Oxon', date unknown. 81
at Stanton St John a village just a few miles northeast of the city. She must have died not long afterwards because there is another later bond between William Parker and Ann Ladyman of St Peter le Bailey parish. Nothing more is known of him. TH Figure 5.35 illustrates a bottle dated c. 1670 bearing a seal with the initials TH which is in the Ashmolean Museum. We do not know to whom this belonged. The Bell The initials EH occur on a bottle dated c. 1660 together with a bell (figure 5 .35). It has been linked with Edward Haynes by Leeds, (1938). The link to Edward Haynes is based on the fact that c. 1510 John Haynes was a baker and vintner and lived at the Bell on Magdalen Street (Twyne; Clark). Edward Haynes occurred in the poll tax register of 1667 when he was at the Globe inn. This is rather tenuous link although the bottle was found in Oxford in 1899 when the Clarendon Quadrangle was being excavated. However, two identical detached seals were found as far away as the USA during excavations at Jamestown, Virginia between 1938-41 and 1954-56. The bottle may therefore not have belonged to an Oxford establishment. A seal bearing the initials RT and a bell is also known. Leeds (1938) dates this as c. 1670-1680. John Hudson and Thomas Butler John Hudson, vintner, kept a racket court in the 1660s which he held on a lease from the city. This court stretched from the entrance to New College Lane northwards at the back of the octagonal chapel and was known as the Smith Gate court (Potter) (figure 5.1). In the poll tax of 1667 he appeared as John Hudson with one child and Frizewood Hudson. The child living with him was probably his son Charles. John Hudson died in 1671. In his will he bequeathed £20 each to Charles and Mary Hudson who may have been his siblings. He left £20 for the apprenticeship of his son Charles and money to his daughter Mary. His wife Mary was executor. Upon his death the lease of the tennis court was taken over by Thomas Butler. John's estate was valued at only £16 14s 10d. Thomas Butler was John Hudson's son in law. Thomas married John's daughter Mary in 1670 in St Peter's in the East parish. Thomas Butler was the son of John Butler, husbandsman of Cumnor, a village about 3 miles 82 southwest of Oxford. He was apprenticed in 1660 to Thomas Burnham, racket court keeper, at the Merton Street court, for eight years and gained his freedom in 1668 aged probably 22 or 23. In that year and in 1669 his name appeared in a list of licences for ale houses. In 1670 he married Mary and in the same year John Hudson died and Thomas took over the lease of the Smith Gate tennis court where he was named as occupier in 1675 and 1680. This tennis court closed in 1690. Thomas Butler issued trade tokens which bear some similarity to the seal on a badly damaged wine bottle in the Museum of Oxford. Figure 5.36 illustrates this bottle but whether it in fact belonged to Thomas Butler is questionable as it seems to be an early shaft and globe of pre-1670 shape which would make it too early for him. The seal is beautiful bearing a large bunch of grapes together with the initials TMB and Oxon. Obviously if this did belong to Thomas Butler it would have to date after 1670 when he married Mary. Other wine bottles with similar seals are often associated with taverns called The Vine or The Grapes but no such inns or taverns can be traced in Oxford at that date. (Rannie, 1897) makes reference to a Thomas Butler in 1713 stating that his house in Holywell had been broken into and £20 stolen. The culprit was a certain Cotton, a person of bad character, fellow of New College. Thomas Butler was described at that time as the keeper of the Cock-pit, a poor man who had laid this money by to pay his rent. If this was the same Thomas Butler he would have been aged approximately 67 which is quite possible. No record exists of any children born to the Butlers in either St Peter in the East or Holywell and St Cross parishes. King's Armes inn Figure 5.34 illustrates a detached seal in the Ashmolean Museum which bears the inscription "IH at the King's Armes, Hy St, Oxon". There were two inns in Oxford called the King's Armes. One was on Holywell Street and a venue for plays and musical performances the other was on High Street near the East Gate. In those days J was written I. The King's Armes as a building is mentioned in 1616 when Gabriel Cracknell had leave to hang out the sign of the Queen's Armes in St Peter's in the East. The name had changed to the King's Armes in a lease dated 1618. It became the Queen's Armes again during the reign of Queen Anne. No vintner with the initials JH has been linked to the inn. The leases from St John's Hospital were to Ann
xl AM 1915.2 xl AM 1896-1908.M67 Figure 5.35 Top: Shaft and globe bottle bearing the initials TH. The bottle was found during excavations in Radcliffe Square in 1910. Bottom: A broken necked shaft and globe bottle bearing a bell and the initials EH. Found in 1899 during the excavation of the Clarendon Quadrangle. 83
X 1/2 Museum of Oxford Figure 5.36 A bottle bearing the initials TMB which may have belonged to Thomas and Mary Butler. 84 xl 1/2
Hastings and her eldest son Henry. The only known vintners with the correct initials were Jane Hallam, John Hudson and John Holden. William Folton, (Felton) vintner Nothing is known about William Polton except that his will was proved in 1684 and in this he was described as a vintner. In this will he bequeathed all his goods and chattels totalling £42 ls to his father Thomas Polton, of Aston, Birmingham. His will was witnessed by Will Stirke, Will Turton and Sam Thurston. The inventory made on 19th May 1684 stated, apparel and money in purse; £27, Little gold ring 3s 6d, Trunk of goods 7s 6d, goods and debts £14 10s. Ann Hardingham, vintner. The only record of Anne Hardingham was when she was granted a licence to hang out the sign of the Bush in St Martin's parish in 1684. Since this date coincides with the date of William Folton's death it may be that she took over his licence. William Stirke; It is not known where William Stirke traded but he seems to have been active in the trade in Oxford for many years. In the poll tax survey of 1667 William Stirke was one of William Morrell's three apprentices and was living at the Crown tavern. He must have therefore been born sometime before 1652. At one time he certainly operated under a University licence. In September 1673 he agreed to take a University wine licence to run from 25 March 1674 for 10 years at a rent of £20 per annum (University Archive) but in June 1675 he was back appealing to the University to relieve him from the licence as he had suffered great opposition from the corporation to his business. He desired to be freed from his bond and to cease trading. He obviously got caught up in the ongoing row between the University and the city as to who had the right to issue licences. The archives are full of dispositions relating to the case but the final outcome is not recorded. In 1687 he was named as executor in the will of William Winslow another vintner and was said to be of Holywell and St Cross on the eastern side of the city. In this same will mention was made of John Stirke who was running the Dolphin, possible William's brother. William continued to trade after 1695 for in 1697 he took two apprentices, John Bayle of Islip and William Watts of Oxford, both for seven years. In the will mentioned above Will Strike, who was described as 85 being of the University of Oxford, had a wife called Anne but her death was recorded in 1699 and she is therefore not mentioned in his own will. It is possible that he married Anne Hardingham but this is pure speculation. No children are mentioned in his will, proved in 1706, and the main beneficiaries were his three nephews and a niece, the children of a brother living in Sileby, Leicestershire. He also mentioned another brother living in London. William Winchlowe, (Winslow), vintner. (?-1687) The name is confusing being variously spelt Winslow or Winchlowe. The only record of him as a vintner in Oxford is in his will, dated 1687, but he was obviously well acquainted with other contemporary Oxford vintners as his executors were Will Turton at the Crown and William Stirke of Holywell and St Cross. At the time of his death in 1687 he appeared to have been unmarried and without children as all his bequests were to brothers, parents and friends. The fact that his parents were still living and that he had young brothers suggests that he was not very old. His parents were William and Dorothy Winslow. He had two young brothers Robert and Edward for whom he left money to pay for their apprenticeships. He also had four sisters one of whom was called Dorothy and two older married brothers Ralph and Thomas as he left money to them and their children. He left bequests to Ann Morrell and her son William Turton at the Crown and to Ann and William Stirke. The probate valuation of his goods was £135 6s 6d including £110 in bonds. He also left £5 to Grace Turton. The will was witnessed by Richard Walker of the King's Head. Thomas Swift, Thomas Swift was mentioned by Anthony Wood as being "at Swift's". We do not know what kind of premises this was. Thomas Swift, clerk and fellow of Balliol married Mary Davenant daughter of Sir William Davenant. They had a daughter Elizabeth who died cl 670. Swift appears in a lease dated 1691 of No 46 Broad Street; " a lease to Abraham Finch, cook occupied by Elizabeth Hedges; Richard Wood is east, Thomas Swift is west, 40 years, rent 20s and 2 capons. Fine £17 ]Os after 14 1/2 years". In 1695/6 he had moved to 47 Broad Street. The lease was renewed to John Taylor, limner in the occupation of Thomas Swift, Isaac Dudley west, Grace Page, widow east, 40 years rent 40s and 2 capons. Fine £10. Figure 5.37 illustrates an onion bottle bearing the inscription Thomas Swift, Oxon. and may be dated from its shape c. 1680-90. This bottle
X 1/2 xl AM 1937.992 Figure 5.37 Onion bottle belonging to Thomas Swift. 86
was found during excavations in Broad Street (Leeds, 1938). Robert Wordsworth In the poll tax of 1667 Robert Wordsworth was named as Anthony Hall's apprentice at the Mermaid tavern. He was aged 15 at the time and gained his freedom in 1673. We do not know where Robert Wordsworth traded but he lived in St Michael's parish where the deaths of himself, his wife and two children are recorded. He died aged 50 in 1702, his widow, aged 52, died later the same year. A daughter, Ann, died aged 13 in 1693 and another daughter, Sarah, died aged 7 in 1695. The death of Edward Wordsworth is also recorded, aged 22, in 1703 but it is not clear if he was related. The births of two daughters are recorded Hanna in 1685 and the above Sarah in 1687. Since Ann's birth c. 1680 is not recorded it probably means that they moved into the parish between 1680 and 1685. In 1697 Robert took Henry Mace as apprentice for 9 years. No seals or bottles are known with Robert Wordsworth's initials. Charles Turner Figure 5.38 shows a seal from an onion bottle bearing the inscription Cha: Tumor 1690 which was found in Oxford but may not have originated there (Leeds, 1941). A ''Mr Turner the vintner" appears on a map of 1710 outlining the water supply where he is shown near Brasenose College, Clark, (1889). We do not know whether Charles Tumor, owner of the bottle, was the vintner or a private individual. James Mason All that we know of James mason is that he was a vintner and took his son Edward as an apprentice in 1704. Other seals : Detached seals and bottles now in the Ashmolean Museum. Figure 5.38 illustrates a detached seal bearing the words R. Dodwell and foliage sprigs. This is one of the few seals which are recorded as having belonged to a private individual in Oxford. Richard Dodwell was an attorney. He died in December 1722 and lived in St Michael's parish. He had four children, Mary, born 1689, Richard, born 1690, John, born 1691 and Thomas born 1692. He was a leaseholder of the Mitre in 1704. This seal was found in St Michael's St. in 1910. A bill from Richard Dodwell to New College when winding up 87 the affairs of the bankrupt chandler Robert Aldworth has survived in the college archives (figure 5.39). Figure 5.38 illustrates several detached seals. 1. Bearing the initial A with a coronet above. No other information. 2. Bearing the words WM, Pilmer 1727. This 1s possibly from Milton Cleve. 3. Bearing the words Wheeler of Minster. This was probably Minster Lovell. 4. Bearing the initials IS with a head laid sideways. No other information. 5. Bearing the name David Boyes information. No other 6. Bearing the initials HHN and a rampant lion No other information. Figure 5.40 illustrates two detached seals. 1. Bearing a shield. This was found in the grounds of Jesus College in 1905 and bears two rows of three round dots. 2. Bearing three sea horses on a diamond. No other information. Figure 5.41 illustrates two detached seals. 1. Bearing a shield with an ox on top. Found while creating King Edward Street in 1874. 2. Bearing the initials NH. No other information. Figure 5.42 illustrates two detached seals. 1. Bearing the initials RH in monogram. 2. Bearing the initials NA. Found in the river near Magdalen Bridge. Figure 5.43 illustrates Three bottles. 1. Belonged to Thomas Ansell of Wantage, dated 1792. Thomas Ansell was a tanner in Wantage. He married Mary Hawkins in 1772.
ha: \J , no 69 AM 1917.1 Davi-o Boj e.S AM 1896-1908.M73 • • Dadv-J~ AM 1910.689 AM 1953.596 d Rev Jfl.Moo,e 1Bl7 AM 1919.17 Figure 5.38 A variety of seals x 1 88 \~ A AM 1893.194 AM 1937.276 AM 1946.159
.~-;-_t~ ;_ -_.. . - ... ~ • .! <., I u '!~ ·-,~ l "'\ )r- ! I [ ) I /f :"' ·, r- I t ' / Figure 5.39 A bill of settlement by New College to Richard Dodwell, lawyer on the estate of the Oxford Chandler Robert Aldworth who had gone bankrupt. (New College Archive 11369, part) 89 J ,{ !
AM 1896-1908.M76. AM 1896-1908.M71 Figure 5.40 Top: A seal bearing a shield found in the grounds of Jesus College in 1905. Bottom: A seal bearing three sea horses on a diamond. 90
AM 1915.3 x2 AM 1894.54 x 2 Figure 5.41 Two detached seals, Top bears the initials NH Bottom: bears a shield with an ox on top. 91
AM 1937.281 AM 1896-1908.M79 Figure 5.42 Two detached seals, Top: bears the initials RH in monogram. Bottom: bears the initials NA. 92
AM 1090.253 AM 1919.17 Rev d. Jrf.Moore 1817 AM 1921.1099 Figure 5.43 Bottles bearing the seals, Thomas Ansell, Wantage, 1792; Revd. John Moore, 1817 and JS. 93
2. Belonged to the Revd. John Moore, dated 1817. No other information. 3. A bottle sealed JS c. 1800. No other information. Figure 5 .44 Illustrates an onion bottle sealed with cc and a coronet. This was found in Combury park, north of Oxford and belonged to Henry Hyde Lord Combury and 2nd Earl of Clarendon 1638-1709. Bottle in the Museum of Oxford. Figure 5.45 illustrates a broken mallet bottle in the Museum of Oxford with a seal which bears an ox. It is probable that this belonged to the City Council. This was found in the grounds ofWadham College. 94
AM 1895.16 Figure 5. 44 An onion bottle from Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire. 95
xl X 1/2 Museum of Oxford Figure 5.45 A broken mallet bottle with a seal bearing an ox. 96
6 College Cellars and Bottles The colleges We have seen that during the period 1640-1750 the colleges generally ordered in wine, to drink in hall and for special occasions, from the taverns. They often complained that this wine was of poor quality so it is unsurprising that the members of the common rooms should eventually decide to buy their wine wholesale. Such purchases however required cellarage. The records of no single college are complete but it is possible to gain an insight into the start of the college cellars by piecing together information from several sources. The archives of Magdalen, All Souls, Brasenose, Christ Church, Corpus Christi, Trinity, Jesus, Exeter, Lincoln St John's, Balliol, Oriel and New colleges were consulted. Most colleges had cellars by the seventeenth century but these were generally small so when the common rooms decided to buy and stock their own wine they often built new, larger cellars. The construction of these cellars was either paid for by the common room members, paid for by the college to encourage gentlemen commoners or funded jointly by the College and the common room. Magdalen College was the first college to have purpose built cellars of any size. These were constructed as part of the new building erected in 1733. As soon as they were built the bursars accounts began to show that wine was bought by the pipe to be bottled and laid down. The accounts also recorded the purchase of bottles and corks together with carriage charges. Only in the Trinity archives was it stated that the bottles were sealed but it is sensible to assume that the majority of them were, especially after about 1760 when many colleges had cellars. The colleges had been used to buying their wine in bottles bearing tavern seals so it is likely that they adopted a similar practice as they would not want to lose bottles by not being able to identify them. Christ Church was one of the first colleges to record the wholesale purchase of wine in 1710 but there are no records of purpose built cellars being constructed. The cellars of All Souls appear to have been started in approximately 1750 and new cellars were built at Jesus College in 1770. The existence of an early mallet bottle bearing the Jesus College seal however suggests that the college was buying wholesale wine long before these new cellars were built, probably as early as 17 40. The Jesus College records show that the new cellars there were built by subscription by the common room 97 members. Once built they began to buy wholesale wine from Southampton. They then sold it on to the common room man Jeff Neale at a profit and he then presumably sold it to members of the college by the bottle for a small profit himself. At Brasenose it is not possible to pinpoint the date at which the cellars were started as the relevant accounts are missing but from a study of tradesmen's receipts it appears to have been after 1760. When the accounts are again available in 1770 the cellars were obviously already well established. More detailed accounts are given for each college below.
All Souls College All Souls College is situated on the corner of High Street and Catte Street. It is the ninth oldest Oxford College and was founded in 1437 by Henry Chichele, who was Archbishop of Canterbury 1414-1443, as the College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed. The purpose of the foundation was to pray for the souls of all the men who had died in the wars against France. The building along the High Street frontage was begun in 1438. The front or south quadrangle, including the chapel, was built during the fifteenth century. The High Street frontage was extended and a brewhouse built in the garden in the sixteenth century. The north quadrangle, including the Codrington Library, the senior common room, hall and buttery was built during the eighteenth century. At the present day the college is for graduate students and fellows only. Past distinguished members include Sir Christopher Wren, T.E. Lawrence and Archbishop Gilbert Sheldon. The All Souls College archives contain five wine books (MS DD E330-E334) dating between 1750 and 1775. From these we can see that the main stock of college wine was laid down during 1750. At the beginning of 1750 the wine stock consisted of 131 bottles of Port, 5 bottles of Mountain, 2 bottles of Tent and 1 bottle of Sack. By the end of that year the stock had risen to 3,181 bottles of Port and 396 bottles of Mountain. The main wine cellars were under the Codrington Library with a smaller cellar under the Common Room. The Library cellars were divided into 21 bins of which initially only 7 held college wine the remainder being used by individual fellows. When the college first started to lay down wine in 1750 their supplier was Mr Goldstone of Howard Street, near the Strand, London. A pipe of Port cost £39 to lay down including the carriage and cost of corks. From 1750 to 1775 the college bought large quantities of Port, lesser quantities of Mountain and small quantities of Lisbon, Sack and Vidonia. In 1754 Mr Shepheard joined Goldstone as a supplier and in 1755 they also bought from Chalie & sons who then became their main and eventually only supplier. By the end of 1760 the cellars contained 4444 quart bottles of Port and 860 bottles of Mountain. Fellows of the college could buy wine by the bottle from the college stock or they could buy larger quantities from the wood before it was bottled off in which case they supplied their own bottles and presumably laid the 98 wine down in their own "bin". Vansittart is one of the named persons having his own "bin" and a detached bottle seal bearing his arms can be seen in the As~olean Museum. In 1760 Fellows could buy Port at 6s per gallon including corks and bottling and Mountain for 7s 6d. In 1760 the college had a supply of over 7,000 bottles which was sufficient for their needs. Bottles however, were frequently broken and notes in the wine books imply that there was a problem with people taking bottles out of college and not returning them. Haslam, (1969 & 1970) detailed the development of the wine cellars in All Souls College and produced a description of the wine bottles. His account and chronology of the bottles is generally very good. The earliest bottles are sealed with the words "All Souls" written in full whereas on later bottles the seal is abbreviated "ASCR" . Only one seal is dated (1764). Haslam assumed that the bottle dated 17 64 predated all the bottles bearing the ASCR initials presumably because it carries full wording. This led him to conclude that many of the early bottle types had disappeared and that the records of the bottle purchases did not agree with the number of known bottle types. If one assumes that the dated bottle was intended to contain wine to be drunk for some special event in 17 64, and therefore reverted to a more elaborate seal and that some of the bottles sealed ASCR pre-date it, the chronology then fits the bottles exactly to the records. We could find nothing in the college history to suggest why 17 64 was a significant date but dated bottles from Christ Church can be related at least in part to celebration dinners. This practice was certainly documented in the nineteenth century. Bottles from Stowe House, Buckinghamshire are dated 1837 and are recorded as having been used at a celebration of the coronation of Queen Victoria. A bottle sealed Rousdon Jubilee, 1887 celebrates her golden jubilee. The present study of the bottles is based on bottle shape, size (width and height) as was done by Haslam. String rim type has also been included and in this respect the study by Olive Jones ( 1986) has been very useful. A large number of dated eighteenth century bottles were also studied in the Somerset County Museum, Taunton (figure 4.7). Most of these were probably manufactured in the Bristol area but, bearing this in mind, they help in dating the college bottles. The number of payments for bottles by the college is shown in Table 6.1 together with the supplier where known. The earlier bottles can definitely be assigned to the Dennis Glasshouse near Stourbridge and although the later bottles have an unknown provenance archives
in other colleges suggest that the Stourbridge area continued to supply Oxford with bottles through to 1826 at least. No college bottles in the Ashmolean Museum bear the imprint of the Ricketts' factory of Bristol which produced many three part moulded bottles after 1822. The number of payments by All Souls between 1750 and 1806 is seventeen which directly agrees with the number of known bottle types. This equates to sixteen different seals because there are two batches of bottles of similar shape and bearing the same seal but having different string rims. These have been equated with the batches of bottles bought in 17 60. The three three part moulded bottles must post date 1822 and are approximately dated here by comparison with other similar dated bottles. The bottle dated 17 64 would appear to have been bought and filled much earlier so that the wine would be ready for drinking in 17 64. These bottles were paid for in June 1763 and were probably received by the college very early in that year. At that time Port was generally drunk about a year to eighteen months after bottling. The only other major disagreement with Haslam's chronology is with the bottle here designated seal 5 which he assigned to a much later position. A study of several of these bottles, both pint and quart suggests a much earlier date. The string rim on these bottles is of an early type and bottle dimensions and shape also suggest an earlier date. Reassigning this bottle coincidentally brings it in age next to the dated bottle and one then sees that these two bottles are of a similar light coloured glass which is quite different from that of all the other bottles. The supplier of these two batches of bottles is unknown but they may have come from the same source. Having made these two changes to Haslam's chronology there is then a correlation between the records of bottles bought and the number of different bottles known to exist (Table 6.2). The bottle purchases were recorded either as payment for bottles or as payment for the carriage on the bottles and sometimes both. In the eighteenth century tradesmen billed their customers only at six month intervals. The dates recorded in this report are the dates when the bottles were paid for. The bottles were received by the college earlier than these dates but since the delivery date is rarely specified the date of payment has been used to define the date of each bottle type. No bottle purchases were recorded after 1806 which means that the three part moulded bottles do not occur in the accounts. These can be fairly accurately dated 99 however by comparison with known dated types which are very similar. This leaves 16 bottle types dating from 1750 to 1806.
June 1750 December 1750 Bachelor, Dennis Glass House, Stourbridge May 1751 Bachelor October 1751 Bachelor June 1760 Bachelor December 1760 Bachelor July 1761 Not Known June 1763 Not Known December 1768 William Strange Aprill770 William Strange October 1772 William Strange July 1776 William Strange May 1788 Heatley May 1789 Turner October 1794 Not Known July 1800 Mrs Turner October 1800 Mrs Turner March 1806 Not Known Approximate dates of moulded bottles 1822-1825 1825-1830 1830-50 Table 6.1 Known Bottle Payment Dates and Suppliers of bottles to All Souls College 100 Number 156 4,200 3,000 7,000 2,000 3,600 1,000 1,000 2,800 1,200 3,000 3,000 3,000 6,000 2,500 3,000 3,000 3,000
DATE SUPPLIER BANKS HASLAM 1750 DENNISG/H 1 1 1751 DENNISG/H 2 2 1751 DENNISG/H 3 3 1760 DENNISG/H 4 4 1760 DENNISG/H 4 5 1761 5 5 1763 6 6 1768 W.STRANGE 7 7 1770 W.STRANGE 8 8 1772 W.STRANGE 9 1776 W.STRANGE 10 1788 HEATLEY 11 1789 TURNER 12 1794 13 1800 MRS TURNER 14 14 1800 MRS TURNER 15.><.15 1806 16 16 1815-1825 17 17 1820-1825 18 18 1830-1840 19 19 Table 6.2 All Souls College: bottles and seal types 101
1750,1751 Two batches of bottles were recorded as being paid for in 1750. The smaller number of 156, recorded in June were bottles which the college already owned, recorded as an internal transfer when the new accounts were set up. The second batch of 4,200 was probably the first major purchase and these, together with the batch of 3,000 bought in 1751 are assumed to be the earliest sealed bottles. These bottles were supplied by the Dennis Glassworks, Stourbridge. Both bear the words All Souls, Coll, C R, the two seals being slightly different. The bottle with the squarer shoulder is assumed to be the earlier but they both have relatively square shoulders, long necks and neck tops passing through the string rim with little or no bevelling back. Figure 6.1 illustrates these bottle types, seals 1 and 2. 1751 The bottle attributed to the second batch of bottles bought in 1751 bears a seal with the wording All Souls C R. These bottles were also supplied by the Dennis Glass House of Stourbridge. Figure 6.2 illustrates this bottle type, seal 3. 1760 There is a nine year gap between the two batches of bottles bought this year and the purchase of the previous batch of bottles. It is estimated that almost 5,000 bottles had been either broken or lost during this nine year period and significant replacements were necessary. Two batches of bottles were supplied this year both bearing the same seal ASCR. Both have short bodies and long necks but they have distinctly different string rims. One is a flattened SIR known on dated bottles between 1763 and 1783. This type of string rim is rare on English bottles and more commonly associated with French bottles. The other has a double string rim known on dated bottles between 1765 and 1785. This type of string rim is also not common. Both have very deep kick-ups and a study of several bottles of each type reveals considerable variation in bottle shape mainly due to sagging of both the base and neck region after manufacture. Some of these bottles are quite upright others are distinctly deformed. Both of these bottles are of particularly dark, heavy metal which means that, although they are probably two of the oldest bottles, they have a high survival potential Figure 6.3 illustrates these bottle types, seals 4a and 4b. 1761 and 1763 The bottles purchased in 1761 and 1763 are of unknown provenance. These two bottles are distinctly different from all the other All Souls bottles being much lighter in colour. The ASCR seal has abnormally large letters. For the 1764 dated bottle the college chose a more elaborate seal. They may have been intended as souvenirs. Both purchases were of a smaller number being approximately 1,000 of each. Figures 6.4 and 6.5 illustrate these bottle types, seals 5 and 6. Seal 5 exists on both quarts and pints. 1768-1776 A group of four bottles all bear similar but different seals. These seals are all engraved in a similar way suggesting that they were supplied from the same source. The Oxford China and glass dealer William Strange supplied four batches of bottles in 1768, 1770, 1772 and 1776. These two groups of bottles have therefore been matched. The shape and types of string rims on these bottles also agree with the dates. It is impossible to know what order to place them in but the present ordering is based upon bottle shape, string rim type and kick-up depth. We do not know where these bottles were made. Figures 6.6 and 6.7 illustrate these bottle types, seals 7, 8, 9 and 10. 1788 Heating supplied only one batch of bottles in 1788. He has not been traced as a bottle supplier. The bottle in the All Souls series which has the ASCR in script has been ascribed to him, the date again agreeing with shape and string rim type.. The provenance of this bottle is unknown. Figure 6.8 illustrates these bottles types, seal 11. This seal exists on both quarts and pints. 1789-1806 It seems probable that all these bottles were supplied by the Turners. The first seal has italic type and is illustrated in figure 6.9, seal 12. The next two both have a small cross between the letters but the seals are distinctly different. By this time the kick-ups were quite shallow. Figure 6.10 illustrates these bottle types, seals 13 and 14. The last two again have similar seals to each other but the one attributed to 1806 has a taller body which narrows towards the base. Figures 6.11 and 6.12 illustrate these bottle types, seals 15 and 16. Seal 16 exists on both quarts and pints. 102
Three Part Moulded Bottles Three different three part moulded bottles are known. They are all pontilled and were again probably produced in Stourbridge as they are very similar to Trinity College bottles which documents show were made by Westwood, Moores and Rider at Brierley Hill near Stourbridge at this time. They do not bear any lettering on the base which was typical of bottles produced by the Rickett' s factory in Bristol. The earliest of the three bottles, although distinctly moulded, has a crude string rim and probably dates circa 1822-1825. The second has a slightly more conical string rim and probably dates from approximately 1830. The latest has a string rim directly comparable with a bottle dated 1836 but also known on bottles up to about 1850. Figures 6.11 and 6 .13 illustrate these bottle types, seals 17, 18 and 19. 103
X 1/3 xl X 1/3 AM 1921.259 •· AM 1896-1908.Ml39 xl Figure 6.1 The two earliest known bottles belonging to All Souls College, top: seal 1, bottom: seal 2. 104
X 1/2 AM 1921.1079 Figure 6.2 The only known bottle from All Souls College bearing this wording, seal 3. 105 xl
X 1/3 xl X 1/3 AM 1994.65 xl AM 1921.1084 Figure 6.3 Two bottles from All Souls College with very different string rims but bearing the same seal, seal 4. 106 X 1/3
X 1/3 xl xl AM 1994.59 Figure 6.4 Quart and pint bottles from All Souls College having the same seal, seal 5. 107 X 1/3
X 1/2 xl AM 1921.1077 Figure 6.5 The only known dated bottle from All Souls College, seal 6 108
X 1/3 xl AM 1994.60 xl Figure 6.6 Two bottles from All Souls College bearing quite similar seals, top: seal 7, bottom: seal 8. 109 X 1/3
X 1/3 xl X 1/3 xl Figure 6.7 Two bottles bearing quite similar seals to those in Figure 6.6. Top: seal 9, bottom: seal 10 110
X 1/3 xl AM 1913.319 xl AM 1994.56 Figure 6.8 Quart and pint bottles from All Souls College having the same seal, seal 11. 111 X 1/3
X 1/3 xl X 1/3 xl Figure 6.9 Two All Souls quart bottles with the same seal showing the variation in size of free blown bottles, seal 12. 112
xl X 1/3 xl X 1/3 AM 1921.1082 AM 1921.1080 Figure 6.10 Two bottles from All Souls College having quite similar but different seals, top: seal 13, bottom: seal 14 113
X 1/3 xl X 1/3 AM 1994.64 xl AM 1921.1085 Figure 6.11 Two bottles from All Souls College. The top bottle is free blown, seal 15. The bottom bottle is three part moulded, seal 17. 114
AM 1921.1083 xl X 1/3 -A.s C.R AM 1994.62 Figure 6.12 Quart and pint bottles from All Souls College xl having very similar but slightly different seals, seal 16 115 X 1/3
X 1/3 xl X 1/3 AM 1994.61 xl AM 1896-1908.Ml42 Figure 6.13 The latest two bottles from All Souls College. Both three part moulded, top: seal 18, bottom: seal 19 116
Balliol College Balliol College is one of the three oldest colleges and lies on Broad Street. It was founded in 1263 by John de Balliol. His wife Dervorguilla of Galloway, Lady of Balliol consolidated it after he died. The Front Quadrangle and Library were built in the fifteenth century, the chapel was rebuilt in the nineteenth century and other buildings erected in the nineteenth to twentieth centuries. No sealed wme bottles are recorded from Balliol College. Despite this the archives were consulted to see whether or not the college stocked its own cellars in the eighteenth century. The archives contain a wine book which started in 1790 (MISC 167). This book was found in 1963 under the stairs leading down to the kitchen and wine cellar below the senior common room. In 1790, of the common room members, eight shared a pipe of wine. The type of wine was not specified. By 1798 only four members participated but later that year the number buying wine on account rose to ten. As well as drinking wine in the common room members had wine sent out to their rooms. Since the college had ample accommodation for all its fellows these were probably within the college. Mention of bottles is sparse but in 1797 members were . charged a deposit of 3d per bottle. Sealed bottles at this time were charged at 4d so it appears that the Balliol College bottles were not sealed. Like most of the other colleges Balliol suffered from non-payment of wine bills. A meeting was held in the common room in February 1796 where it was resolved that accounts should be regularly and promptly paid. In March 1797 the cellars contained one pipe of wine in the cask, two pipes of wine in bottles and 25 dozen bottles of the current pipe. There were also 44 dozen empty bottles. The first mention of wine types was in 1801-1805 when the college stocked Port and Sherry. In 1806 suppliers were also mentioned: Messrs Raikes and Newbury together with Syms, the Oxford wine merchant. The former supplied most of the wine. In 1810 they bought Bucellas. In 1816 the suppliers were Carbonell and Syms and the members were drinking Port, Madeira and Vidonia. One of the fellows Richard Jenkyns also bought and paid for wine for which he was reimbursed by the common room. Some Bursar's accounts which pre-date the wine book show that in 1769 the college bought Tent, Lisbon and Port supplied by Thomas Langford. Langford supplied most of the wine between 1756 and 1770. The earliest date recorded for the purchase of wholesale wine is 1756. From the accounts we can see that Balliol College bought wholesale wine but apparently did not have sealed bottles. The history of the college, Jones (1988), probably explains why this was so. He recounts that in 1701/2 Balliol College had a newly fitted out common room. He also records the number of undergraduates in residence in specific years: 1700 83 1725 100 1750 54 1775 27 1800 19 1825 76 1850 87 From this we can see that the college went into serious decline from 1725 to 1800. Making a summary of fellows elected over each twenty five year period we can see a similar but less dramatic fall off. 1675-1700 28 1700-1725 25 1725-1750 17 1750-1775 23 1775-1800 17 1800-1825 21 1825-1850 29 Balliol College came close to total collapse in the closing years of the eighteenth century. The buildings were in disrepair and the college was in debt. In 1800 the resident body shrank to about half a dozen fellows, three or four BA members and twenty five undergraduates. Although the college members were buying wholesale wine these purchases were probably not large enough to merit the outlay of acquiring sealed wine bottles. The college began to recover in 1805 and by 1815 was well on the way to both financial and academic recovery. The college then enjoyed a period of high reputation. By this time however sealed wine bottles belonging to individual colleges had been supplanted by mass produced bottles from the suppliers. 117
Brasenose College Brasenose College fronts on to Radcliffe Square and was founded in 1509 by Bishop William Smyth and Sir Richard Sutton of Lancashire. It was built on the site of Brazen Nose Hall which is thought to have taken its name from a bronze knocker or sanctuary ring in the form of an animal snout attached to the gate. Brasenose scholars may have fled the riots of 1334 and taken up temporary residence in Stamford, Lincolnshire. In 1890 the college bought a house in Stamford called Brasenose which had a bronze "nose" knocker. They brought the knocker to Oxford believing that it had once belonged to Brasenose Hall. The old quad and hall were built between 1509 and 1518, the chapel between 1665 and 1666 and the new quad between 1880 and 1909. Brasenose College archives contain a wonderful collection of tradesmen's' bills those relating to wine going back to 1693 (Brasenose 1). Unfortunately the accounts in the College records relating to wine are missing until 1773 by which time it is obvious that the cellars were long established. A study of the bills however reveals that the college's purchases from the taverns drastically reduced after 1760 which suggests that this is a likely approximate date at which the cellars became established. Figure 6.14 is a bill dated 1760 which includes Madeira, Lisbon, Mountain and Port and the hire of glasses. In the late 17th century the college was mainly supplied by the King's Head tavern run by Richard Walker and later by John and Margaret Freeman. A bill of 1704 demonstrates that the college borrowed glasses from the tavern and had to pay for broken bottles. The college was also buying wine from the Three Tuns. The early bills are for Canary, Sebastian and Port. In 1704 Lisbon and Viana were added to the list. In 1707 Palm was also bought and by 1710 the variety had extended to include Claret, Mountain, Florence, Galicia and white wine. From 1722 the main suppliers were Richard and Elizabeth Bradgate at the Three Tuns. After 1724 the college again bought from both the Three Tuns and the King's Head. In 1732 Elizabeth Bradgate supplied Port Sherry and Rhenish and she continued as their main supplier until her death in 1748. Figure 6.15 illustrates several detached seals bearing the initials BNC, CR. There are no whole bottles in the Ashmolean Museum. All the known seals are very crude and poorly executed. These are, however, quite similar in appearance to Jesus College seals dating from c 1800-1810 (see Jesus College). Brasenose College is also interesting in being home to one of the best documented undergraduate dining clubs. This club is called the Phoenix Common Room (Madon 1888). It was started in 1779 and still exists today. In the early days the club was run on similar lines to the senior common room in that the members each paid an annual subscription to employ a common room man to oversee the running of the club's cellars. They bought wine wholesale and kept it in the club's cellar which must have been somewhere in the college. The club consisted of twelve elected active members, who were undergraduates resident in the college and in this way made itself exclusive. In those days there was no junior common room so the Phoenix met, initially on Sunday evenings after supper, in each others rooms, each member's rooms being declared the common room of the day in order of seniority. When members left college they became honorary members. Active members could bring as many guests as they liked as long as the guest's share of wine was paid for. They bought wine wholesale, mostly by the hogshead. They held anniversary dinners in local inns. The Mitre, the Cross and the King's Arms are mentioned. In 1792 the only wine in the cellars was Port and Sherry. Members could buy Port for 22s to 26s per dozen bottles and Sherry for 30s per dozen. In 1800 there were 175 dozen bottles of wine in the cellars; Port at 36s, Sherry at 42s, Claret at 60s and Madeira at 72s. This gives us a good idea of why Port was such a popular drink in Oxford being only half the price of Madeira. In 1842 the fellows ofBrasenose College forced the club to meet on Tuesday evening rather than Sunday with the threat of expelling its members if they did not comply. Presumably their antics were not compatible with a Sunday evening. In 1865 the Vice-principal insisted on restricting their entertainments after 9pm. The club suffered the usual problems of members not paying their bills and finally introduced a deposit system in order to alleviate matters. There is little detailed information on wine but in 1804 Chalie was named as the wine merchant but by 1813 they had resolved that due to the inferiority of his wine they would change to John Barnes & son. They also bought from the Oxford wine merchant Latimer but declared him unsatisfactory in 1818. In 1841 Levell' s and Clowes were their suppliers. 118
I - - - - /- tf -- tJ 1-- g'; 6 Figure 6.14 Bill to Brasenose College from Walter Gardner for wine etc. supplied to the college in 1760. (Hurst Bursarial : Tradesmen's Bills 72) 119
BNC CR AM 1991.30 _BNC CR AM 1914.365 Figure 6.15 Detached seals from Brasenose College. x 1 120
Christ Church Christ Church fronts on to St Aid.ates and was founded in 1525 by Cardinal Wolsey and refounded in 1546 by Henry Vlll. It also incorporates the Cathedral which doubles as the college chapel and was founded in 1120. It is the largest Oxford college. The Chapter House was built in the thirteenth century, the hall, gatehouse and part of the Great Quad in the 1520s, the rest of the quad in the 1660s and Tom Tower in 1682. Peck.water Quad, the Library, Canterbury Gate and Quad are all eighteenth century. The most famous past member is probably C.L. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) who wrote Alice in Wonderland. The only accounts mentioning wine purchases at Christ Church prior to 1800 are contained in the disbursement books for the Audit House. The books go back to the early seventeenth century but wine was hardly mentioned before the eighteenth century. Most of the early books refer to the purchase of ale and beer rather than wine but in 1680 Mr Hall was paid £3 for wine supplied from the Mermaid tavern. In 1681 a bill of £4 14s ld was paid to Mr Hall's widow but from 1682- 1684 only ale was bought. It was not until the second decade of the eighteenth century that wine made any real impact in the accounts. Between 1705 and 1709 no wine purchases appeared in the accounts but in 1710 the first wholesale wine purchase was made when a hogshead of wine was bought for £ 19 2s 6d. No bottle purchases were mentioned this year. 6 gallons of wine were bought at 7s per gallon in 1712 and the first bottle purchase was mentioned but how many were bought and whether sealed or not is not recorded. Bottles were again purchased together with wine in 1713. This wine was ready bottled when it arrived in the college so it is unlikely that these bottles were sealed. Table 6.3 summarises the documented purchases of bottles although these are ill defined as they are often included in bills for other things or may be included in general glass bills without being specified. Non of the known dated bottles coincide with any recorded bottle purchase even allowing for the fact that the bottles may have been bought before the date on the bottle. The bill of 1783 may have been for the 1785 bottles as it was paid late in the year. To date records exist of six different seals from Christ Church of which four are dated, 1771, 1785, 1804 and 1810. Unfortunately most of these are detached seals so do not help in the chronology of cylindrical wine bottles. Figure 6.16 illustrates the two known whole bottles. One is very similar to the earliest All Souls bottles and probably dates from the 1750s. The other is slightly later and probably dates from the 1770s. Figure 6.17 illustrates the detached seals. The wines and suppliers are better documented although not thoroughly. In several years neither the supplier nor the type of wine bought was specified. On the whole however they are better documented than for most other colleges and show that the variety of wines drunk gradually increased through time. Table 6.3 presents all the recorded suppliers of wine to Christ Church. This list is far more extensive than for any other college. Port was by far the most popular wine and was bought almost every year from 1726 to 1850. Below is a summary of the wines and the years when they were bought. Port French Red Wine Claret Calcavella Sherry (Bulk after 1805) Lisbon White wine 1726-1850 1710, 1724-26 1726-1730, 1828, 1841 1769-1823 1780-1850 1843-1850 1786 Madeira 1769-1850 (bulk after 1820) Hock (ready bottled) Sauteme (ready Bottled) Bucellas 1832, 1842 1834 1828, 1834 The main wines bought in bulk were Port, Sherry, Calcavella and later Madeira. More exotic wines like Sauteme and Hock were bought ready bottled for specific celebrations such as the dinner given for the Duke of Wellington in 1834. The idea that dated college bottles were ordered to mark special celebrations cannot be fully tested but the bottle dated 1810 coincides with a celebration dinner given 121