Magdalen College

The Great Tower of Magdalen College rises above the River Cherwell as a massive rectangle of honey-colored stone topped with delicate pinnacles. Founded in fourteen fifty-eight by William of Waynflete, the college sits on the eastern edge of the city. King James the Second once demanded the fellows elect his own candidate as their president. The fellows refused, defying the king and losing their positions in the process. Their rebellion remains a defining moment in the college's long history of independence.