Buildings & Estates
Merton College was reliant on its property and estates, both within Oxford and further affield, to fund and maintain its members. At the beginning of the college's life, Walter de Merton and other early benefactors of the college, acquired and bestowed land onto the college through a variety of means. Merton's archive still retains many of these early deeds and charters - documents which are often the earliest of their type.
David Loggan's depiction of Merton College in Oxonia illustrata, 1675
The earliest depiction of the buildings of Merton College, viewed from what is now Merton Street. The artist David Loggan lived in a house in Holywell Street, and was appointed engraver to the university in 1669. His detailed bird’s-eye views constitute the earliest accurate depictions of college buildings and gardens, and they will be familiar to many, since they are still frequently reproduced.
Deeds for College land in Oxford with Jewish seals, 1267
In 1267 Walter de Merton was busy consolidating what was to become today’s college site. He acquired a house on Merton Street (now part of Front Quad) from a prominent member of Oxford’s Jewish community, Jacob, son of Master Moses of London. The two seals on the document depict the Lion of Judah and are probably the earliest examples of Jewish seals from England.
Latin quitclaim and Hebrew starr for land at Barkby, 1271
A charter from 1271 includes a Hebrew ‘starr’ or quitclaim sewn onto the Latin grant of property at Barkby in Leicestershire. The two documents prove that the land was transferred legally to Walter de Merton and that it was free of previous debts to a Jewish lender, were kept safely together.
Account roll from the Kibworth Estate, 1335
Another early estate gifted to the college by the Founder was Kibworth in Leicestershire. Merton still retains records of the village dating back to the 13th century, making it one of the most complete records of one community over 750 years' worth of history.
An account roll from Kibworth from 1335 preserves a rare example of a tally-stick—a slip of wood used as a receipt and notched to indicate a given number—a practice that aided financial transactions when not all parties could read. The amounts were usually written on the stick in ink as well, as is the case here.