Hertford College Oxford

The Lodge building at Hertford with the Hall above is the work of Thomas Jackson and was built in 1887. Jackson was a prominent architect on the late Victorian scene. His first major work in Oxford was the Examination Schools designed in 1876 in what was called the Advanced Jacobean style followed by the New Quad at Brasenose and work at six other colleges. Comfortable working in any style Jackson, who was also something of an architectural historian, here used an ornate Palladian. The projecting giant corinthian columns recall the Arch of Constantine in Rome, widely spaced and pushed so far forward that they do not appear to be supporting the roof at all, acting more like Classical buttresses. I think he was trying to achieve some stylistic relationship with the existing buildings on either side but wanted to compensate for their plainness and flatness. He did other work in the college including the Bridge of Sighs.