page_title: Buildings of Jesus College, Oxford
section_title: Construction and fittings
hierarchical_section_title: Buildings of Jesus College, Oxford / First quadrangle / Chapel / Construction and fittings
caption_attribution_description: English: Pediment over the chapel doorway of Jesus College, Oxford, containing a relief of two putti (NOT cherubs)
context_page_description: The main buildings of Jesus College, one of the colleges of the University of Oxford, are located in the centre of the city of Oxford, England, between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street, and Market Street. Jesus College was founded in 1571 by Elizabeth I caused by the petition of a Welsh clergyman, Hugh Price, who was treasurer of St David's Cathedral. Her foundation charter gave to the college the land and buildings of White Hall, a university hall that had experienced a decline in student numbers. Price added new buildings to those of White Hall, and construction work continued after his death in 1574. The first of the college's quadrangles, which includes the hall, chapel, and principal's lodgings was completed between 1621 and 1630. Construction of the second quadrangle began in the 1630s, but was interrupted by the English Civil War and was not completed until about 1712. Further buildings were erected in a third quadrangle during the 20th century, including science laboratories, a library for undergraduates, and additional accommodation for students and fellows. In addition to the main site, the college owns flats in east and north Oxford, and a sports ground.
context_section_description: Construction of the chapel began when Griffith Powell was Principal (1613–1620). It was finished under Sir Eubule Thelwall (who took office in 1621), with the Bishop of Oxford leading the dedication ceremony on 28 May 1621. Thelwall's portrait, displayed in the hall, shows him holding a roll inscribed "A plan of the Chappell in Jesus Coll., Oxford built by Sir Eubule Thelwall", reflecting the fact that he was the main donor towards the chapel's construction. There are four windows facing the quadrangle in the Perpendicular style. Seats were added in 1633, and it was extended in two directions in 1636. The east end was moved to reach Turl Street, a new east window was added and the previous window was converted into an arch; at the other end, the entrance was moved further to the west. Sir Charles Williams of Monmouthshire, south Wales, paid £200 towards the final bill of £211.
  The architectural historian Giles Worsley has described the chapel's east window as an instance of Gothic Revival architecture, rather than Gothic Survival, since a choice was made to use an outdated style – classical architecture had become accepted as "the only style in which it was respectable to build". The window has seven main sections ("lights") topped with five-headed flower shapes, or cinquefoils, and tracery running vertically. The chapel is one of various buildings at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge from the first half of the 17th century where Gothic designs were deliberately chosen in preference to Classical; other examples are the chapel of Lincoln College, Oxford, the chapel windows and hall roof at Wadham College, Oxford, and the library of St John's College, Cambridge, where the library of 1624 was built with Gothic windows since "some men of judgement" preferred the old fashion as it was "most meet for such a building". Similarly, the artist and art historian Aymer Vallance, writing in 1908, said that Gothic architecture, though "ailing and doomed", "lingered longest" at Oxford University, adding that the chapel windows of Jesus and Wadham were "almost as astonishing for their period" as the "magnificent" 1640 fan-vaulted entrance to the hall of Christ Church, Oxford, built nearly three hundred years after fan vaulting had been used in the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral. The only examples of classical style in Oxford before the Civil War were Archbishop Laud's Canterbury Quad at St John's and a few gateways such as those at the Botanic Garden by Nicholas Stone; Cambridge had even less. The chapel has not been universally appreciated, however:  the antiquarian and archivist Rowley Lascelles wrote in 1821 that "excepting that it was built by private contributions from the gentry of Wales, it would be cruel to say any thing about it".
  The chancel measures 16 feet 6 inches by 22 feet 9 inches (5.03 by 6.93 m), and the main body of the chapel measures 52 feet 6 inches by 22 feet (16 by 6.7 m). A London merchant, Lewis Roberts, gave "some hundreds of white and black marble stones ... towards ye paving of the upper part of the chapel", according to Francis Mansell in his inventory of 1648. It is unclear when these were added to the floor; some are still in position, although others were removed in the 1864 renovation. The oak pulpit dates from the early 17th century, and has moulded rectangular panels. There is a bell turret on the west end of the roof, which has trefoil-shaped openings on the west and east sides, and panels decorated with trefoils on the other two sides. It was built in about 1915, replacing an earlier turret of similar shape.
  The porch at the chapel entrance was moved to its present position when the chapel was extended in 1636. The door jambs are moulded, as are the tops of the columns.  The arch is divided into segments, with a rose in the left spandrel and a thistle in the right spandrel. The use of the rose and thistle (national emblems of England and Scotland respectively) in this way dates the porch to the reign of King James I, who used these flowers, halved, as his badge after his accession to the E
caption: The tympanum above the entrance to the chapel
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