0:00:02 > 0:00:05If every cloud has a silver lining, then how could a cloud as dark and forbidding
0:00:05 > 0:00:08as the Black Death in the middle of the 14th century
0:00:08 > 0:00:11have led to architectural creativity and innovation?
0:00:11 > 0:00:13The answer lies here at New College, Oxford.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20This is Climbing Great Buildings,
0:00:20 > 0:00:21and throughout the series,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24I'll be scaling our most iconic structures,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27from the Normans to the present day.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30I'll be revealing the buildings' secrets and telling the story
0:00:30 > 0:00:33of how British architecture and construction developed
0:00:33 > 0:00:36over 1,000 years.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52Today, I'll be climbing amongst the dreaming spires of Oxford.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Built in 1379, New College has earned its place
0:00:55 > 0:00:58on my architectural journey for one important reason -
0:00:58 > 0:01:01it set the template for the Quadrangle,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04that enduring symbol of Oxford and Cambridge colleges.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06We may take it for granted now,
0:01:06 > 0:01:10but this was the first time anywhere in the world a college was designed
0:01:10 > 0:01:13and constructed with all the essential buildings
0:01:13 > 0:01:16for educating students in a single place.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19New College Oxford was the brainchild of one remarkable man -
0:01:19 > 0:01:21William Wykeham, the Bishop of Winchester.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Here, he created a training ground
0:01:24 > 0:01:28for a new generation of educated clergyman, kind of a priest factory.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32At the time, it was the largest of all the Oxford colleges,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34in fact, bigger than all the others combined.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37And the first to be set out as a system,
0:01:37 > 0:01:41a coherent plan with all the buildings combined in one place.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44That's why it was a blueprint for university college buildings
0:01:44 > 0:01:45for centuries to come.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Built just inside the city walls, the T-shaped chapel where students
0:01:53 > 0:01:57would worship lies to the west and next to it is the Great Hall,
0:01:57 > 0:01:59where fellows would eat and socialise.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02The buildings on the other three sides
0:02:02 > 0:02:04contain the students' accommodation,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07the kitchens, library, bursary and warden's lodgings.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13I'm going to clamber all over this college
0:02:13 > 0:02:16to get close up to parts of the buildings we never normally see.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19As always, I'll be joined by top climber, Lucy Creamer,
0:02:19 > 0:02:24and her riggers, along with daredevil cameraman, Ian Burton.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27They're going to help me scale these buildings so I can investigate
0:02:27 > 0:02:28the innovation of the Quad.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Handsome space, isn't it?
0:02:30 > 0:02:32It's got serenity to it.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34What more do you want when you're studying?!
0:02:34 > 0:02:37And meet the man whose idea it was to build this college.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39So this is William Wykeham.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41- Quite small, isn't he?- He is.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47Along the way, I'll learn I'm not quite the climber I hoped I was.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52- Shunt, shunt, shunt...! - Watch as my shunt gets...snarled.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Thrill as I scream and plunge!
0:02:58 > 0:03:01New College's origins lie in the Black Death.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06In the mid-14th century, Europe was decimated by the plague,
0:03:06 > 0:03:07which would eventually wipe out
0:03:07 > 0:03:09almost half the population of Britain.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13The clergy who would often tend to the sick and dying
0:03:13 > 0:03:14were hit particularly hard.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17So William Wykeham built a New College to repopulate the clergy
0:03:17 > 0:03:21with a new generation of young priests.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25Back then, the only way to enter the college was through this gatehouse
0:03:25 > 0:03:27on the western side of the Quad.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29New College has the oldest of Oxford's college gatehouses,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33and above that main entrance arch were the warden's lodgings -
0:03:33 > 0:03:35there were rather more windows then than now,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38which showed that he had the eye on the outside world -
0:03:38 > 0:03:39no midnight dalliances,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43no priests trying to bring in lady friends, God forbid.
0:03:47 > 0:03:53But it didn't stop there, because the warden had large windows on the inside of the college as well.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56But if the architecture had been doing its job,
0:03:56 > 0:03:58the pupils wouldn't have needed an eye to be kept on them,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01because this, the prototype Oxford Quad,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04should have cultivated an atmosphere of learning.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12When New College was conceived in 1379,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16there were very few people who could read or write.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19It was a privilege confined to the church and a few nobles.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23700 years ago, the very concept of formal education was novel,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25and it needed a new type of architecture.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29For the first time, a college provided everything, from food and lodging
0:04:29 > 0:04:34to a place to worship, and even somewhere to keep cash.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39For my first climb, I'll be ascending this fortress-like building, called the Muniment Tower.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Back in 1379, with no banks to keep your valuables secure,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45this tower was used to keep everything safe,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49from the college's money to its priceless holy relics.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54It's that first step isn't it? Right down to the ground.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56- Stretch out...- Ready for the up?
0:04:56 > 0:04:58I'm going to scale this tower to get face-to-face
0:04:58 > 0:05:00with the man who built New College,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04and get a better view of his great architectural achievement, the Quad.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07The college is built of locally quarried limestone,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10and the masons here went to great pains
0:05:10 > 0:05:12to give this place a sense of grandeur.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Bit of a change here, Luce, you see,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19where the stone turns from a dreft rubble down there
0:05:19 > 0:05:22to much neater blocks, you know, smoothly dressed.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26I think it's about the first time you see this in Oxford.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29So why the sudden change?
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Well, it's interesting, isn't it? It is interesting.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34It seems they've come across a good supply of this stone,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36which makes a more monumental facade,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38it doesn't look sort of roughshod,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41the way you'd build a barn or a commonplace house.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44From here, it leads up
0:05:44 > 0:05:49to these sculpted figures, so makes it a nice, smooth piece of wall,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51to give these a noble setting.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53- We're almost there, I think.- Yeah.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58The life of William Wykeham is a tale of rags to riches.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Born into a peasant family,
0:06:00 > 0:06:04he rose to become one of the wealthiest men in the country
0:06:04 > 0:06:05and an advisor to kings.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07So this is William Wykeham.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10- He's quite small, isn't he?- He is.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12But look at what you can see there.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16- Patchy stonework.- Yeah, on top.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- It's your colours, lady.- Green?
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Yeah, I think he's painted green.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Oh, OK.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27So, he would have been shimmering green?
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Yeah, there's a bit of red in the band around his bishop's mitre
0:06:31 > 0:06:33and he's showing himself, hands clasped,
0:06:33 > 0:06:39eyes raised aloft to heaven, actually looking at the Virgin.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41- Yeah. - There's Angel Gabriel opposite him.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44He's in a pretty star-studded line-up, isn't he?
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Look back at that gatehouse.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49You see exactly the same permutation, don't you?
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Wykeham, the Virgin Mary, the Angel Gabriel.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55It's on the front of the gatehouse as well,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58so one, two, this is the third time you have the chance to see him,
0:06:58 > 0:06:59and here he is in vivid colour!
0:06:59 > 0:07:03He'd have stood out against this blank stonework,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06so what you get is a 14th century Piccadilly Circus,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10a big advertising board to say, "Look at me,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12"I'm in the presence of the Virgin."
0:07:12 > 0:07:16And the scholars of this college who're looking up, thinking,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18"If I'm going to aspire to greatness
0:07:18 > 0:07:23"in the priesthood, here is a man who's inherited the wealthiest Bishopric in Britain,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27"spending his money to show us all how he can gain an audience with the Virgin."
0:07:27 > 0:07:29I don't mean that cynically, because, of course,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32he's preparing his way for heaven, isn't he?
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Wykeham was a fiercely pious man.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37But when it came to the college's wealth,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39he put his faith in stone and iron.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Between William Wykeham and the Virgin Mary,
0:07:41 > 0:07:46you find a pretty defensive looking window with thick iron bars
0:07:46 > 0:07:48no more than about four inches apart.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50You certainly couldn't get through there.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54It seems at first at odds with this fine sculpture,
0:07:54 > 0:07:55but then a thought occurs to you.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Maybe, because Wykeham is one of the wealthiest men in England,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02it's probably a good idea to show off the fact
0:08:02 > 0:08:04that you've got money to hide.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13New College was a leap forward in architectural planning
0:08:13 > 0:08:15as much as it was style.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Although other colleges had grown organically, this was the first time
0:08:19 > 0:08:21one had been constructed with such a clear vision.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25The top of the Muniment Tower is a great place to look at the Quad.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29You can see that the chapel nibbles a bit out of the corner,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31but actually, the facing walls are parallel,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35so it must have been set out very clearly, geometrically,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38on a piece of parchment. That makes it very important.
0:08:38 > 0:08:46It's a pioneering move - the Quad which became synonymous with Oxford and Cambridge Colleges starts here.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53- The sky's getting dark too, isn't it?- Yes, I think it's windy.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00I enjoyed that, I liked seeing the traces of colour on Wykeham's robe,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04that was something I'd never have been able to see from ground level.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Looking back on the Quads, it's a handsome space, isn't it?
0:09:07 > 0:09:09It's got serenity to it.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11What more do you want when you're studying?
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Cool! Look at that for a view!
0:09:17 > 0:09:19That is an amazing view, isn't it?
0:09:19 > 0:09:21I think we're just in time, Luc, you know?
0:09:21 > 0:09:23The whole idea of having a cloister,
0:09:23 > 0:09:28a place of shelter in a college like this, has suddenly come home to me.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30So shall we dive for it?
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Let's do it, let's escape from this dreaded British summer time!
0:09:38 > 0:09:40They are big drops.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Here comes the thunder, the great British summer time is with us.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47I bet that hasn't changed since the Middle Ages.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Fortunately, it's a little drier in the Muniment Tower.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56A quick dash down the steps and I'm in the top floor, the safe room.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03The Muniment Tower has the least altered interiors at New College.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Those iron bars you saw in the windows outside
0:10:05 > 0:10:10have oak shutters inside them, there's a metal door into this room.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12A very attractive stone vault overhead,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15no doubt for fire protection.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Then there are these marvellous caustic tiles,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22the name comes from the fact they're clay tiles
0:10:22 > 0:10:26and they're impressed with a design and that impression is filled
0:10:26 > 0:10:29with a different-coloured clay,
0:10:29 > 0:10:30and so the two tones,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33they're solid, and you can walk on them and wear them out,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36and the design still stays in them. These are 600 years old. Amazing.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39This room is built for security
0:10:39 > 0:10:43for documents stored in cupboards and chests like this.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46But it's a very beautiful space.
0:10:52 > 0:10:53In the 14th century,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56the tower housed the college's most treasured artefacts.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Today, it still contains the college's valuables, but in the form
0:10:59 > 0:11:04of archival documents, including statutes written by Wykeham.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08This is a draft copy of the college statutes,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10dates from the founder's lifetime.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12How thorough was Wykeham
0:11:12 > 0:11:15in setting the agenda, the rules for the pupils?
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Very thorough indeed.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20There are numerous...
0:11:20 > 0:11:24There are 68 statutes altogether, a fair number of them
0:11:24 > 0:11:28are concerned with what we might call day-to-day procedure.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33So what was Wykeham concerned the students might get up to
0:11:33 > 0:11:34without these rules?
0:11:34 > 0:11:39Oh, well, there's a statute expressly forbidding
0:11:39 > 0:11:42riotous behaviour, rowdy games,
0:11:42 > 0:11:44dancing and leaping about in the hall.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48So there is one statute which expressly forbids them to do this.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51So what about unwelcome guests?
0:11:51 > 0:11:52There is a distinct statute saying
0:11:52 > 0:11:55that outsiders should not be brought into college
0:11:55 > 0:11:58if they're going to be a burden on the college,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00they could not come for more than two days,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02and must not stay overnight.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Here, we've got a little picture of a college official,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08probably one of the porters,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10evicting a very well-dressed young man
0:12:10 > 0:12:12who clearly outstayed his welcome.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14He's apoplectic!
0:12:14 > 0:12:18His cheeks have gone red, yes!
0:12:18 > 0:12:19It seems that student behaviour
0:12:19 > 0:12:23was as much a concern then as it is today.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27As a training centre for priests,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29the college's focal point is inevitably its chapel.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32I want to get a look at its immense gothic windows,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35so it's back up to the roof of the Muniment Tower.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40That is painful.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Goes right up your coccyx.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46The riggers have set up something called a traverse tyrolean
0:12:46 > 0:12:50that stretches all the way from one side of the Quad to the other.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52I'm getting used to heights now.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54But it's still a sheer drop.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02This is all very pleasant, like a Victorian cable car ride.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Gosh, what a view that is.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Amazing to get that perspective straight down on the hall.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13You can see the hall's fairly small windows.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16OK, they look big from here, but when you compare them
0:13:16 > 0:13:19with the chapel windows next door,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23you realise they're in fact much smaller in size. Here's the chapel.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27And he virtually replaced the entire wall with glazing.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32Back in the 14th century, large glazed windows were rare.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Common homes held little more than holes in their walls with shutters,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39so these vast chapel windows would have been spectacular.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43What made their grand scale possible was the development of tracery,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46that's the stone lattice work that holds the glass.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48This is the point of this little excursion.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52We want to see how tracery patterns change.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56And it's all about what's called the perpendicular style,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00and how the verticals meet the top of the arch.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03The tracery at the top of the window doesn't bend to the arch,
0:14:03 > 0:14:05but drives straight into it,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08becoming more of a grid, part of a radical new departure.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11To understand it properly, though, you need to draw.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20In the middle of the 13th century,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23we had what's called the geometric style, which is all about circles.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Then came the roticulated style,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29as one of the early 14th century styles.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33But New College marks something of a departure - now vertical lines
0:14:33 > 0:14:37dominate and the floor thrillingly reaching right up into the vaults.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41This leads to the beginning of a whole fashion in Britain,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44replacing as much wall as you can with as much window as you like.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48It's at its early stages here, but here you see a seed which
0:14:48 > 0:14:52was to be sown and which would only grow in the following two centuries.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56The windows are incredible, but it's inside the chapel I want
0:14:56 > 0:15:02to explore next, so I need to get down and once again, Lucy isn't going to give me the easy option.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04- All right, so what do I do with this?- Just drop it.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Don't hit the lights, the Victorian lamp.
0:15:08 > 0:15:09Seems to be a risky move!
0:15:09 > 0:15:15Oh, boy, if it swings and goes through that window, I think my life has ended.
0:15:15 > 0:15:16You ready?
0:15:16 > 0:15:17Go on.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25I think on balance, that went well, not even the plants were harmed in that particular stunt!
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Right, so let's get down.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32Well, stage one was easy enough, but getting down isn't quite as simple as I thought.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34See you later, Ian.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Shunt, shunt, shunt!
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Oh, yeah.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40I just want to make sure the shunt works.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42No.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Welcome back to Smooth Moves In Climbing.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54I'm your host Jonathan Foyle, and I'll be embarrassing myself on buildings across the nation.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Watch as my shunt gets...snarled.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Thrill as I scream and plunge.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03HE CHUCKLES
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Take two. Farewell, Ian.
0:16:12 > 0:16:19After my slightly less than elegant descent, I want to explore the interior of the T-shaped chapel.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21The chapel at New College was highly innovative -
0:16:21 > 0:16:25originally intended to be a single space, Wykeham split it into two,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28the smaller anti-chapel which forms the top of the T
0:16:28 > 0:16:31was used for meetings and the resolution of disputes,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35whilst the main chapel was reserved for the communal masses,
0:16:35 > 0:16:37held seven times a day.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42The interior of the main chapel is a hotchpotch of restoration and renovation.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45The original screen behind the altar known as the reredos
0:16:45 > 0:16:48depicting saints, kings and bishops, was destroyed
0:16:48 > 0:16:50during the Reformation,
0:16:50 > 0:16:54and what we see now is a 19th-century recreation.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59Sadly, most of the original woodwork has also been replaced.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04But there was one surviving part of the woodwork which still continues to surprise and delight.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08They're called misericords and are, in a sense, mercy seats.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11They're delightful pieces of carving.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15They act as mercy seats because priests and trainee clergymen
0:17:15 > 0:17:17weren't allowed to sit during long masses,
0:17:17 > 0:17:20so they allow you to be propped.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24I've got to say, they feel pretty good after a day in a climbing harness.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28These beautiful original hand-carved seats each tell a story -
0:17:28 > 0:17:32some depict English folk tales and mythical characters,
0:17:32 > 0:17:37whilst others portray Christian parables and allegories of college life.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40There are 62 misericords at New College,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and this one is my favourite.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47It shows Wykeham standing on a bridge out of Oxford gesturing to five
0:17:47 > 0:17:50ruddy-cheeked lads coming from the Oak Lees of the country.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54He says, "Come on, lads, come through the civilising machine that is Oxford,"
0:17:54 > 0:17:57proud even then of its pinnacles.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00By the time they emerge, they're dressed as priests,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04even a cardinal in this case, carrying croziers and staffs.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09It's the gateway to wealth, fame and virtue - New College in a nutshell.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18William Wykeham established from the start that New College was to have a musical future
0:18:18 > 0:18:22and made provision in its statutes for 16 choristers to sing daily.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25It's a tradition that continues to the present day.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48For my third climb, I'm going next door to the ante-chapel.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52I want to get up close to the beautiful stained glass that I saw from the outside. But, before I do,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55there's one more thing I want to take a better look at.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59The corbels - these are the stone blocks that support the roof,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03and are often carved to depict prominent figures of the day.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06I'm level with the corbels now and you can see that they have
0:19:06 > 0:19:09crowns and mitres on, they're kings and bishops.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12This chap looks a lot like Richard II.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16It would be surprising if the King weren't here in the main space of the chapel.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21After all, he was the king under who Wykeham operated.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25He was Bishop of Winchester in his reign from 1377 to 1399,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28which means if Richard II is there,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32well then, that chap in the corner must be our man Wykeham.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34An expressive chap, isn't he?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37His mouth is kind of... It's a noble sort of smile.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40One thing I've noticed from being up at this height, couldn't
0:19:40 > 0:19:46see it from ground level, is that this one character, the Richard II, is different to all the others.
0:19:46 > 0:19:52He's very big - his shoulders extend beyond the innermost arch, so he seems to have been an afterthought,
0:19:52 > 0:19:57or maybe someone said to the sculptor, "No, make the present king
0:19:57 > 0:20:01"the biggest of them all - doesn't matter, just chop out what you need,
0:20:01 > 0:20:03"but get him in in full size".
0:20:04 > 0:20:08OK, now, I need to...shift over.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11To do that, I've got to use my shunt.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21That is the only way to travel for me now.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24It's great to see these windows close up.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26The colours are very different to those we saw
0:20:26 > 0:20:30in Lincoln, for example, those dark solid blues and reds.
0:20:30 > 0:20:36Here there's the background colour of pure white glass on which are...
0:20:36 > 0:20:41lemons and oranges, it's a new kind of palette of those colours.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Rather disconcertingly called yellow stain.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Yellow stain was a new chemical process that glaziers had discovered, which allowed
0:20:49 > 0:20:55them to paint many different colours on a single piece of glass without having to use lead to separate them.
0:20:55 > 0:21:01It was this glazing innovation that helped to create the wonderfully rich images in this chapel.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06It's extraordinary from this perspective, you're surrounded by saints.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Interesting, it's like a great picture book for these students
0:21:09 > 0:21:13to take note of and look at the fathers of the church.
0:21:13 > 0:21:20But then, you see an inscription running right the way around the bottom, "Pray for William Wykeham,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23"Bishop of Winchester, founder of this college",
0:21:23 > 0:21:27amongst all the saints, all the kings in this chapel, ultimately,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Wykeham doesn't let you forget about him.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34This place is a place where you pray and remember him in perpetuity.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42Wykeham's master plan wasn't all about grand chapels and even grander windows.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46New College's prime function was to educate the young men who attended,
0:21:46 > 0:21:50so not only did he put all the buildings required for their education in one place,
0:21:50 > 0:21:55he also had the scholars and their masters living together for the very first time.
0:21:55 > 0:22:01Previously, undergraduates lived in crowded and insanitary hostels in the town, where they could easily
0:22:01 > 0:22:05be led astray by the temptations medieval Oxford had to offer.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09I want to find out what student life was like in the 14th century.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Right, let's go into the hall, and have a look at Wykeham's great
0:22:14 > 0:22:18- dining room for his students. - It's a grand space, isn't it?
0:22:18 > 0:22:23It's absolutely huge, it's vast, certainly on an aristocratic, if not princely scale.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26What would have changed since the students knew it?
0:22:26 > 0:22:30The biggest thing apart from the portraits and napkins is the lack of a fire.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35There should be a fire burning or smouldering away in the middle of that floor down there.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39- Smoke going up through the roof.- Do we know what times of day they ate?
0:22:39 > 0:22:42That's quite interesting, because the dinner, the main meal,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44was actually about 11 o'clock or noon,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46with supper held in the afternoon,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49and then you had a collation before.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Medieval dinners were much earlier in the day than they came later on.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57- But once the tables were cleared away...?- There was also...
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Some teaching went on here, lectures might be given,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04disputations might take place, all in Latin and without any drink.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08When the food went, the drink went away, you couldn't drink after dinner.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11So no drinking after meals, but during meals, what did they have?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14They drank ale, which the college would have brewed.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18In a hall this size, you have enormous kitchens, a brew house,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22you brew your own ale and it would be drunk in reasonably prodigious quantities.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- What about getting up to the loo? - If you want to go to the loo,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29you've got to follow me round the Quadrangle, through the passage,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32into the garden until you finally get to the long room.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35In the middle of the room, there was a great row of cubicles.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38I was looking for the loos. They don't exist today.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42They were up here, the cesspit, enormous cesspit was downstairs,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45but in 1868,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47JC Buckler drew
0:23:47 > 0:23:50and made a record of the whole place before it was dismantled.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55It's quite unbelievable, because what we had was about 52...
0:23:55 > 0:23:57loos in here,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00half of them faced one way and half of them faced the other.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Right, so if I sit in this direction...
0:24:03 > 0:24:05..And I sat that,
0:24:05 > 0:24:09there could have been 25 fellows facing this way, 25 fellows facing that way.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Like a game of musical chairs. It's a bit personal, isn't it?
0:24:12 > 0:24:16No, there were partitions. That's the wonderful thing about this record, there was a partition all
0:24:16 > 0:24:19the way round, so you couldn't see anyone from where you were sitting.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22- Like a squared snake, as it were? - That's right, yes.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25You could just sit and look up at this fantastic roof.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28This is what really tells us about Wykeham,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32is the money he spent on the roof of a lavatory building,
0:24:32 > 0:24:36enormous oak beams, wonderful great brown posts.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38It is actually very pleasant.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43- I could spend a very happy hour in here reading the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.- I think you could.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52For my final climb, I'm scaling the tallest building in the college,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56the Bell Tower, to get the best view of Wykeham's achievements.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59- Last one, Jonathan.- Yes, it is.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01It's a craggy looking building, isn't it?
0:25:01 > 0:25:06Well, it's a crag I wouldn't want to climb on, because it's falling down, unfortunately.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- Ropes are the way forward then? Yeah.- Yeah.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11You want harnesses rather than fingertips on this.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Let's try and keep ourselves off the building as much as possible.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19It's not the prettiest part of the building, but it'll give us the best view, isn't it?
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Certainly the highest part of the college.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24So race you to the top, yeah?
0:25:24 > 0:25:25Right, let's go.
0:25:27 > 0:25:32The tower, along with the cloisters, was somewhat of an afterthought,
0:25:32 > 0:25:36built by different masons some ten years after the main building.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39As a result, the tower, whilst functional and well proportioned,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42is less ambitious than the rest of the college.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47From this vantage point, you can see that the chapel is a bit dislocated from the cloisters.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49The cloisters seem a bit tacked on.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52You might expect the main front of a chapel, its door,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55its major window there to be shown off to best effect,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59but actually it's screened by this cloister to the extent
0:25:59 > 0:26:03there's a bit of an awkward - how would you characterise that, Luce?
0:26:03 > 0:26:07- A back passage?- Something like that! Maybe a bin shelter.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10That kind of function. A slightly lost bit of space.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14It just doesn't hang together in terms of planning.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18The windows are also less ambitious,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22their square-headed design being much closer to the domestic
0:26:22 > 0:26:25than to the ecclesiastical architecture of the day.
0:26:27 > 0:26:33I wanted to see these windows close up because they're not typical of the Bell Tower windows in Oxford.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Have a look at the crossing tower of Merton.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Much more decorative. Big windows.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44Whereas here, the tracery is very simple by comparison,
0:26:44 > 0:26:46just square-headed windows.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50Of course, those towers are integral to the structure, whereas this is a detached Bell Tower.
0:26:50 > 0:26:57If you look down there, you can see it happens just some way along one side of the cloister.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59It might be here, it could have been plonked further along.
0:26:59 > 0:27:04It feels very much like an afterthought in planning, and also in detail.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08In fact, you get the sense that the money was starting to run out.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17How's it going, Jonathan?
0:27:17 > 0:27:19It's going well, it's going very well.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22This is just one of the most famous views of England.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26It's graced a billion and one calendars I should think, and you get to see it.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30It's also graced probably a billion and one episodes of Morse.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32JONATHAN LAUGHS
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Not now, Lewis!
0:27:40 > 0:27:46Now, this Bell Tower may not be the most beautiful amongst them or the best part of this college,
0:27:46 > 0:27:51but it's a great view from which to see the rest of this stupendous achievement.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56On the hall and the chapel, all of those various parts of the college which William Wykeham built
0:27:56 > 0:28:01and which are so well resolved into this functioning machine
0:28:01 > 0:28:05for generating new priests and learned men.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08When he died in 1404, aged 80,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12he must have looked back on his achievements here
0:28:12 > 0:28:13and been a happy man indeed.
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