Brasenose College (in full: The King's Hall and College of Brasenose) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
History
The College was founded in 1509 by a lawyer, Sir Richard Sutton, and the Bishop of Lincoln, William Smyth. Smyth provided the money for the college's foundation, and Sutton acquired the property. It was built on the site of Brasenose Hall - one of the mediaeval Oxford institutions which originally existed just as a lodging house, but which had grown to become a seat of learning.
The name "Brasenose" is thought to originate from a brazen (brass or bronze) door knocker in the shape of a nose.
The nose-shaped door knocker which hangs above the high table of the main hall of Brasenose College is thought to be the original door knocker belonging to Brasenose Hall. In the 1330s, a group of students left Oxford for Stamford in Lincolnshire led by a student from Brasenose Hall, and are thought to have taken the door knocker with them. In 1890, a house in Stamford named 'Brasenose' bearing a 12th-century door knocker in the shape of a nose was put on sale. The house was purchased by the college for the sake of the door knocker, which was removed and placed in the hall, believed to have been returned to its rightful home.
Often referred to by the abbreviation, "BNC", Brasenose stands near the Radcliffe Camera in the centre of Oxford.
Notable former students
Fictional Brasenose
Brasenose College is Lonsdale College in the Inspector Morse novels and TV adaptations.
External links
Last updated: 05-06-2005 08:44:35
