Merton College

Merton College sits behind a heavy, fifteenth-century gatehouse, distinguished by the weathered stone gargoyles that peer down from its arched facade. This is one of the oldest colleges in Oxford, founded in twelve sixty-four by Walter de Merton. When the college was established, students were required to live in academic communities rather than boarding in town. Merton set the model for the collegiate system used by universities across the world today, moving scholars into organized halls focused on rigorous study and communal living.