The new foundation

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A building contract
In the early sixteenth century, Abbot Huby of Fountains made an agreement with William Orchard, a mason at Oxford, regarding the supply of stone for St Bernard’s. This stated that William should supply stone for building work at the college for 2.5 years; Huby, for his part, agreed to remove the soil in the quarry, to expose the stone that was required for St Bernard’s as well as for building work that William was completing elsewhere in the university (for example, at Magdalene College). Whilst William was a contractor and a renowned architect, it is not known if he was actively involved in the building of St Bernard’s, or if his role here was simply to supply the stone.

[Stevenson and Salter, The Early History of St John’s College, pp. 28-9; the agreement is printed on pp. 83-4. ]

There had been little improvement by 1495, when Marmaduke Huby succeeded to the abbacy of Fountains. The college was in a ruinous state, resources were lacking and numbers were low. Huby, however, was determined to set St Bernard’s on its feet and made it his mission to bring building work to completion and provide the college with enough books, furnishings and relics. He sought to instil in his fellow abbots a sense of pride in and responsibility for their studium, and urged each to donate eight, ten or twelve books, depending on his monastery’s resources. Huby himself was to select these books, lest any abbot saw this as an opportunity to rid the monastery library of useless material. Huby also sought to raise a subscription for the college.(24) Marmaduke Huby’s dedication and drive meant that within several years he had made spectacular progress, succeeding where others had failed – or had neglected to go. By the time of his death in 1526, the building work had been finished, although the proper college chapel, which is now the chapel of St John’s, was not built until after 1530.(25)

The chapel of St John's College, Oxford, formerly St Bernard's
© St John's College

Huby is today commemorated as the man who did the most for St Bernard’s, and his remarkable contribution to the Cistercian studium was noted by his contemporaries; the provisor of St Bernard’s claimed that there was no abbot his equal; the abbot of Rievaulx praised his zeal and fidelity, and his willingness to use Fountains’ wealth for the good of the Order.(26)