The Bodleian Library, Oxford

Sir Thomas Bodley founded the Bodleian Library in 1598. He restored the derelict University Library over the Divinity School but this soon became too small and a new wing was added. The Schools Quadrangle was then erected to the east of the extended library and Sir Thomas Bodley’s will provided for a third storey to be added to this.
The Gate Tower, or Tower of the Five Orders, is a magnificent frontispiece on the east range of the Schools Quadrangle ornately decorated with grotesques and strapwork. The five superimposed orders of columns are Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite. A sculptural group was carved on the fourth storey of the tower in 1620 after a visit by James I. Originally coloured, it shows the king seated under a canopy presenting his writings to a female figure ‘University’ with ‘Fame’ blowing a trumpet. The royal coat of arms appears on the roof-line between the Gothic pinnacle and the roof turret.