The first book-length study of musical education and culture in twentieth-century Oxford. Music has always played a central role in the life of Oxford, in both the city and university, through the great collegiate choral foundations, the many amateur choirs and instrumentalists, and the professional musicians regularly drawn to perform there. Oxford, with its collegiate system and centuries-long tradition of musical activity, presents a distinctive and multi-layered picture of the role of music in urban culture and university life. The chapters in this book shed light on music's unique ability to link 'town and gown', as shown by the Oxford Bach Choir, the city's many churches, and the major choral foundations. The twentieth century saw the emergence of new musical initiatives and the book traces the development of these, including the University's Faculty of Music and the University Opera Club. Further, it explores music in the newly-founded women's colleges, contrasted with the musical society formed in 1930 at University College, an ancient men's college. The work of Oxford composers, including George Butterworth, Nicola Lefanu, Edmund Rubbra, and William Walton, as well as the composer for several 'Carry on' films, Bruce Montgomery, is surveyed. Two remarkable figures, Sir Hugh Allen and Sir Jack Westrup, recur throughout the book in a variety of contexts. The volume is indispensable reading for scholars and students of musical life in twentieth-century Britain, as well as those interested generally in the history of Oxford's thriving cultural life.

Edition - with English translation where appropriate - of crucial documents from the early history of Oxford's University College. University College claims to be the oldest College in Oxford, tracing its origins to an endowment of 1249. This book brings together the great majority of pre-1550 documents, other than its account rolls, from the College's archives, providing a sourcebook for its early history. The first part contains editions of texts with facing translations into English, including the College's medieval statutes, and documents about its early buildings; the second deals with medieval deeds relating to the College's properties in Oxfordshire, provided as calendars, since they are considerably more formulaic. The volume also includes full notes and an introduction. Robin Darwall-Smith isArchivist of Magdalen College; he has made extensive contributions to the history of both University College and Magdalen College.

This special edition of History of Universities, Volume XXXV/1, studies and reappraises the often ignored history of eighteenth-century Oxford, caught as it is between the upheavals of the Stuart century and the reformation of the Victorian era.