The main buildings of Jesus College are located in the centre of Oxford between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket and Market Street. Jesus College was founded in 1571 by Queen Elizabeth I, upon the petition of a Welsh clergyman, Hugh Price. The foundation charter gave to the college the land and buildings of White Hall, a defunct academic hall, to which new buildings were added. The first quadrangle, which included the hall, chapel, and principal's lodgings, was completed between 1621 and 1630; it has been described as "small and pretty" and possessing "a curious charm". Construction of the second quadrangle began in the 1630s and was completed in about 1712. Further buildings were erected in a third quadrangle during the 20th century, including science laboratories, a new library, and additional accommodation. The chapel was extensively altered in 1864; one historian of the college described the work as "ill-considered". The Fellows' Library, restored in 2007, contains 11,000 antiquarian books. A project to build new student and teaching rooms opposite the college was completed in 2010. Eleven parts of the college are listed buildings. (Full article...)

William Beach Thomas (1868–1957) was a British author and journalist known for his work as a war correspondent and his writings about nature and country life. The son of a rural clergyman, he won an exhibition to Christ Church, Oxford, became president of the Oxford University Athletics Club. Finding work as a schoolmaster unpleasant, he turned his attention to writing articles for newspapers and periodicals, and began to write books. During the early part of the First World War Beach Thomas defied military authorities to report news stories from the Western Front. As a result he was briefly imprisoned before being granted official accreditation as a war correspondent. His reportage for the remainder of the war received national recognition, despite being criticised by some and parodied by soldiers. Beach Thomas's primary interest as an adult was in rural matters. He was conservative in his views, and feared that the post–Second World War socialist governments regarded the countryside only from an economic perspective. He was an advocate for the creation of national parks in England and Wales, and mourned the decline of traditional village society. (Full article...)

Lady Margaret Hall (generally known as "LMH") was established in 1878 and was the first college for women at the university. It began to admit men as students in 1979, and was the first of the women's colleges (along with St Anne's) to become a mixed-sex institution. The college, set in spacious grounds in Norham Gardens to the north of the city centre, is named after Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII and a renowned patron of learning. Its first principal was Elizabeth Wordsworth, the great-niece of the poet William Wordsworth. Giles Gilbert Scott, famous for designing Liverpool Cathedral and the K2 red telephone box, designed the college's Byzantine-style chapel. There are approximately 600 undergraduate and postgraduate students; former students include the former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, the writer Antonia Fraser, the former director general of MI5 Eliza Manningham-Buller, and the actor Samuel West. LMH's motto is "Souvent me Souviens", an Old French phrase meaning "I remember often". (Full article...)