Limited edition giclée print
Edition of 500
Print size 329mm x 483mm
Printed on 310gsm
standard fine art paper

University College was founded in 1249 by William of Durham and was the earliest college of its kind in the country. There were claims that the college was possibly founded even earlier by King Alfred but these were found to be untrue.
Behind a wrought iron screen in a domed and columned chapel designed by Basil Champneys is the Shelley Memorial. The full size white marble figure depicts Shelley’s naked body as it was found on a Ligurian beach after he had drowned in 1822. It is supported by a richly designed bronze pedestal and bronze winged lions with the muse of poetry between them. The statue was originally commissioned by Lady Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley’s daughter in law, for the Protestant Cemetery in Rome but it was found to be too large for the plot. It was then presented to the college by the sculptor, E. Onslow Ford as Shelley had studied at University College in 1810, although he was expelled the following year.