Oxford - May Morning, Magdalen Tower, choir - art postcard by Davis c.1910s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  "May Morning on Magdalen Tower" - shows a choir - art view
• Publisher: Davis's, 2 Cornmarket, Oxford
• Postally used: no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Magdalen College (/ˈmɔːdlɪn/ MAWD-lin)[3] is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete.[4]. Today, it is one of the wealthiest colleges, with a financial endowment of £273.2 million as of 2018.[2]

The large, square Magdalen Tower is an Oxford landmark, and it is a tradition, dating to the days of Henry VII, that the college choir sings from the top of it at 6 a.m. on May Morning.[5] The college stands next to the River Cherwell and the Oxford botanic garden, and has within its grounds a deer park and Addison's Walk.

Magdalen College was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor.[4] Waynflete had previously founded a university hall named Magdalen Hall in 1448.[6] The founder's statutes included provision for a choral foundation of men and boys (a tradition that has continued to the present day) and made reference to the pronunciation of the name of the college in English. The college received another substantial endowment from the estate of Sir John Fastolf of Caister Castle in Norfolk (1380–1459). A second university hall named Magdalen Hall emerged on a site adjacent to Magdalen College, moved to Catte Street in 1822 and became Hertford College in 1874.[6]

Magdalen's prominence since the mid-20th century owes much to such famous fellows as C. S. Lewis and A. J. P. Taylor, and its academic success to the work of such dons as Thomas Dewar Weldon.[7] Like many of Oxford's colleges, Magdalen admitted its first mixed-sex cohort in 1979, after more than half a millennium as a men-only institution.[4] Between 2015 and 2017, 47.2% of UK undergraduates admitted to Magdalen were from state schools; 12.2% were of BME heritage and 0.7% were black.[8] In 2015, Magdalen topped Oxford's Norrington Table of college undergraduate examination results, and its average score over the 2006–2016 period is the best among the colleges

Magdalen Tower, completed in 1509, is a bell tower that forms part of Magdalen College, Oxford. It is a central focus for the celebrations in Oxford on May Morning.

Magdalen Tower is one of the oldest parts of Magdalen College, Oxford, situated directly in the High Street. Built of stone from 1492, when the foundation stone was laid,[1] its bells hung ready for use in 1505, and completed by 1509, it is an important element of the Oxford skyline. At 144 feet (44 m)[citation needed] high, it is the tallest building in Oxford. It dominates the eastern entrance to the city, towering over Magdalen Bridge and with good views from the Botanic Garden opposite.

The tower, joined to the south range of college buildings, is built in four storeys unequal in height. Octagonal turrets encase the corners; the slightly larger northwest turret encloses the spiral stair, lit by slit windows. The basement is windowless; the second and third stages have small windows in three sides; the fourth, principal storey is loftier, with a double window on each face divided by a buttress rising through the panelled frieze and mock battlements, where it is surmounted by a figure in a niche crowned by a pinnacle slightly smaller than the four pinnacles that crown the corners.

The tower contains a peal of ten bells hung for English change ringing. They were cast at a number of different foundries and the heaviest, weighing 17 cwt, was cast in 1623.[2] The bells are rung on many occasions during the year by the Oxford Society of Change Ringers at the invitation of the college. Such occasions include significant royal and college anniversaries, and after some services in the College Chapel. The bells received their last major overhaul in 2012, being returned to the tower in March of that year.

Members of Magdalen are able to procure the 10" iron key to the door at its base from the porter's lodge.

May Morning is an annual event in Oxford, United Kingdom, on May Day (1st May).

The event starts early at 6 a.m. with the Magdalen College Choir singing a hymn, the Hymnus Eucharisticus, from the top of Magdalen Tower, a tradition of over 500 years.[1] Large crowds normally gather under the tower along the High Street and on Magdalen Bridge. This is then followed by general revelry and festivities including Morris dancing in Radcliffe Square between the University Church and the Radcliffe Camera, impromptu music, etc., for a couple of hours from around 6.15am onwards.[2] There is a party atmosphere, despite the early hour. In fact, there are normally all-night balls the night before, so some people (especially students) are in formal attire (e.g. black tie/white tie or ball gown).

There is a modern tradition of students jumping from Magdalen Bridge. This occurred sporadically in the 1960s, becoming an annual event by the ?1980s. However the river is sometimes shallow, which has on occasion caused serious injury, notably in 1997 when one person was left paralyzed, and 2005 when ten were hospitalised.[3] Hence the bridge was closed every May Morning 1998-2001 and 2006-2009.

In the 19th century, the young townsmen blew horns and ran riot, after the singing.[citation needed] Activities have varied over the previous centuries. Vera Brittain wrote a poem with the title May Morning in 1916. The first ten lines depict the actual event.[4] One fictional description of the Tudor May Morning is in "Towers in the Mist" by Elizabeth Goudge.[5] Another description is found in the film Shadowlands directed by Richard Attenborough, on an episode in the life of the English scholar, writer and fellow of Magdalen's C. S. Lewis, starring Anthony Hopkins as C. S. Lewis and Debra Winger as Joy Davidman.