Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/6

Exeter College is the fourth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1314 as "Stapeldon Hall" by Walter de Stapeldon, Bishop of Exeter, as a school to educate clergy. It is located on Turl Street in the centre of the city, opposite Jesus College. The college expanded in the 16th century after donations from Sir William Petre, a former Exeter graduate. The oldest remaining part of the buildings, Palmer's Tower, dates from 1432, and the hall was built in 1618. Further additions were made in the 17th and early 18th centuries, before Sir George Gilbert Scott's additions in the mid-19th century, including the chapel (inspired by the Sainte Chapelle in Paris), the library and the Broad Street range. It is the real-life basis for the fictional Jordan College in Philip Pullman's novel trilogy His Dark Materials, and the final episode of the television detective series Inspector Morse saw Morse suffering a heart attack inside Exeter College. Former students include the writers J. R. R. Tolkien, Alan Bennett and Martin Amis, the artist Edward Burne-Jones, and the first Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan. The college has a close relationship with Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Since 1985, 26 undergraduate students from Williams spend their junior year at Exeter each year as full members of the college. (Full article...)