Merton College, Chapel, Front Quadrangle is a Grade I listed building in the Oxford local planning authority area, England. First listed on 12 January 1954. Chapel.
Merton College, Chapel, Front Quadrangle
- WRENN ID
- inner-column-sorrel
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Oxford
- Constituency
- Oxford West and Abingdon MP: Layla Moran (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 12 January 1954
- Type
- Chapel
- OS grid reference
- SP 516 060
- Coordinates
- 51.75107, -1.25253
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Merton College Chapel, located in the Front Quadrangle, dates back to 1485. The site originally housed the church of St John Baptist, which served as a chapel in 1274. The choir of the new chapel was constructed between 1290 and 1294 using Wheatley stone, with some materials sourced from Iffley and Cowley. It features notable stained glass from around 1300. The crossing was added between 1330 and 1335, and the south transept was completed in 1368, with its windows altered in the 15th century. The north transept was built from 1419 to 1425. A bell tower was constructed from 1448 to 1451 using Headington and Taynton stone, with mason Robert Jannyngs working until 1449. The west window is from the late 15th century. The chapel underwent restoration by Edward Blore from 1838 to 1843 and again by Butterfield in 1854. The entire structure was re-faced between 1970 and 1971.
Local climate
Merton College, Chapel, Front Quadrangle sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 77% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 70% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 50% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- Flood risk assessment
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