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The new foundation
(5/9)
A building contract
In the early sixteenth century, Abbot Huby of Fountains made an agreement
with William Orchard,
a mason at Oxford, regarding the supply of stone for St Bernard’s.
This stated that William should supply stone for building work at the
college for 2.5 years; Huby, for his part,
agreed to remove the soil in the quarry, to expose the stone that was
required for St Bernard’s as well as for building work that William
was completing elsewhere in the university (for example, at Magdalene
College). Whilst William was a contractor and a renowned architect,
it is not known if he was actively involved in the building of St Bernard’s,
or if his role here was simply to supply the stone.
[Stevenson and Salter, The Early History of St John’s College, pp.
28-9; the agreement is printed on pp. 83-4. ]
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There had been little improvement by 1495, when Marmaduke
Huby succeeded to the abbacy of Fountains.
The college was in a ruinous state, resources were lacking and
numbers were low. Huby, however, was determined
to set St Bernard’s on its feet and made it his mission to bring building
work to completion and provide the college with enough books, furnishings
and relics. He sought to instil in his fellow abbots a sense of
pride in and responsibility for their studium, and urged each to
donate eight, ten or twelve books, depending on his monastery’s resources.
Huby himself was to select these books, lest any abbot saw this
as an opportunity to
rid the monastery library of useless material. Huby also sought
to raise a subscription for the college.(24) Marmaduke
Huby’s dedication
and drive meant that within several years he had made spectacular
progress, succeeding
where others had failed – or had neglected to go. By the time of his
death in 1526, the building work had been finished, although the
proper college chapel, which is now the chapel of St John’s, was not
built until after 1530.(25)
The chapel of St John's College, Oxford, formerly St Bernard's
© St John's College
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Huby is today commemorated as the man who did the
most for St Bernard’s,
and his remarkable contribution to the Cistercian studium was noted
by his contemporaries; the provisor of
St Bernard’s claimed that there
was no abbot his equal; the abbot of Rievaulx praised
his zeal and fidelity, and his willingness to use Fountains’ wealth
for the good of the Order.(26) <back> <next>
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