Cecil Rhodes
Oriel College
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People these days who wish to tear down Rhodes statue at Oriel College seem to forget that he not only bequeathed Oriel the Rhodes Scholarships
but his money also paid for the building that his statue looks over. The staff of Oriel at the time of the opening of the new building recognized
the contribution Rhodes made to their college and honored not only his generosity but his achievements. Those who now want to tear down his statue should be ashamed
of themselves, they not only disrespecting Rhodes but those who honored him.
STATUE OF RH0DES AT OXFORD. A statue of Rhodes has been placed in a central position in a niche of the facade of the new holdings of Oriel College, facing the High Street. He is represented in a lounge suit, with his hat in his left hand, and the right hand pointing to the ground. The statue is made of white stone. It is owing to the handsome legacy that the college received from Rhodes that it has been found possible to realise the long cherished ambition of giving it a High Street front. [Source: Birmingham Mail - Tuesday 12 September 1911, p 5] ORIEL NEW BUILDINGS. RHODES'S BENEFACTION. OPENING CEREMONY. 1911 Sept. 28th. Oriel College celebrated a notable landmark in its history on that day, when the new buildings were opened which it has been enabled to erect on a site facing the High-street by the bequest of Cecil Rhodes. More than 400 old members of the college and their friends were present, by invitation of the Provost and Fellows, at the service of dedication in St. Mary's Church and at the opening ceremony which followed. The place and the form of the service alike recalled the close connexion which has existed for 600 years between the University church and the college, of which the latest buildings now confront it across the street; and the unusual character of the occasion was reflected in the nature of the congregation which gathered a little before 12 o'clock outside the south doorway. The body of the church was nearly full when the surpliced procession of the Provost, Fellows, and scholars entered from the chapel which is named after the true founder of the college. Adam de Brome. Behind a verger came a small body of scholars now in residence, followed by the Fellows and by the Provost, Dr. C. L. Shadwell, who was attended by the college porter and butler. As the procession wound its way to the lectern, three psalms were repeated anti-phonally by the Fellows and scholars; and the congregation, which was apparently a little perplexed by the chaplain's preliminary I antiphon and the distribution of the verses, joined for the most part in the scholars' alternate responses. The chosen psalms were the 91st, the 122nd, and the 133rd; and the solemnity of the associations which fill St. Mary's for all Oxford men was deepened as the voices took up the burden of the first, with its promise of corporate blessing, and went on, in the second, to the gladness of corporate reunion. These two psalms are as peculiarly expressive of the spirit of all such gatherings as the famous lesson from the 14th chapter of Ecclesiasticus, which was next read by the Provost. Later came the prayer of thanksgiving for "the benefits which we enjoy through the munificence of Cecil John Rhodes our Benefactor, by whose liberality a House hath been builded for the increase and extension of our College"; and presently the sentences and prayer recalling the original dedication of the college—" the House of the Blessed Mary the Virgin in Oxford." Finally, like an assurance of reply to the verses of the commemoration psalm—" Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes I will wish thee prosperity "—came the concluding words repeated by the chaplain, "We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks." On leaving St. Mary's the procession, followed by the congregation, went out by the southeastern door, immediately opposite which across the High-street is the new doorway of the college, over which the statue of Cecil Rhodes looked down on the scene. The door was now opened for the first time, and the gathering followed the Provost into what was formerly the quadrangle of St. Mary Hall, but for 15 years past has been part of Oriel. The Provost, attended by the Fellows and scholars, took his seat on a platform erected under the old chapel and facing the new north front of the Quad. The archietect was Mr Basil Champneys (17 September 1842 – 5 April 1935) and the cost for the building at the time was £40 000 (£40,000 in 1911 is worth about £4,833,128.91 today 2021). [Source: The Queen - Saturday 07 October 1911. p 70] |
Rhodes monument at Oriel College
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