The Bodleian Library, Oxford. The Old Schools Quadrangle

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..