New beginnings: from Rewley to St Bernard's

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'Had the annual contributions been faithfully used for the said buildings, we would not simply have a college but a great castle.'
[Abbot John Darnton of Fountains, 1489]

‘We are not amused’
The king of England was far from pleased with the Cistercians, following his visit to Oxford c. 1399, for the university procession that turned out to meet him included only five Cistercian monks; as this was a full turn out of all members of the university, it was a poor reflection on the Order. The king was clearly not amused and wrote a frosty letter to the Cistercians voicing his displeasure.
[Stevenson and Salter, The Early History of St John’s College, pp. 11-12.]

At the end of the fourteenth century, there were moves to find new premises for a new Cistercian college in Oxford, which would be nearer the town. Without their own college, it was necessary for Cistercian scholars to take lodgings in and around the town. The majority were accommodated in Trillock’s Inn (later known as New Inn Hall, which belonged to New Hall); others lodged at University College, Eagle Hall and Hinxey Hall.(10) These makeshift arrangements were hardly satisfactory. It was costly to board the monks - in the late fourteenth century, John of Furness’ annual rent for a room at University College was over thirteen shillings – and also disruptive to monastic observance.(11) If Cistercian customs and monastic discipline were to be upheld, it was necessary for the monks to have their own establishment where they could live as a community.(12) The matter was raised at the national chapter of 1398, which was held at St Mary Graces, beside the Tower of London. Here, it was agreed that a tax of £127 6s 8d should be levied for the construction of a new studium. Every Cistercian abbey in England and Wales was liable, but was taxed according to the community’s means. The great northern abbeys of Furness, Fountains and Rievaulx were the most heavily taxed, and were each to find five marks.(13)