Where is Merton?

In 1264, Henry III's Lord Chancellor, Walter de Merton, thought he'd take a break from running the country to set up a college in Oxford. He came up with a completely innovative self-governing community of academics. This worked so well that it became the model that all the other Oxford and Cambridge colleges subsequently followed.

Clearly ahead of his time, Walter chose an excellent location for his college. Merton is situated on a beautiful, quiet, cobbled street, but with the High Street running parallel it is right in the middle of the city centre with shops, restaurants, libraries, and laboratories all within 5 or 10 minutes' walk. At the same time, though, the south side, bordered by the medieval city walls, looks out onto open meadow land running down to the river Thames. Even more impressively for a medieval bishop, Walter chose a site that was equally well-located for the railway station and the University sports centre, 10 minutes walk away to the west and east, respectively.

Merton has changed massively since it was founded, of course. Its ancient buildings now house state of the art technology, and its size has increased greatly. But fundamentally, its purpose and its atmosphere remain the same. By studying at Oxford you are a member of a world class university. But at the same time, as a member of Merton, with fewer than 100 undergraduates in each year, you still have the feeling of a being part of a family.