Michael Henderson suggests

Email registration

Free weekly email update

Great products and special offers for Spectator readers

Click here for great value events

Click here for exclusive articles, offers, tasting notes and discussion

Whisper or scream

Robin Holloway

Wednesday, 25th June 2008

Robin Holloway attends the Spanish premiere of Helmut Lachenmann's Little Match Girl

It isn’t just books that are on show. Brasenose has given Edward Lear’s hyper-realist lithograph of a Javan squirrel. And Somerville College has the sad letter Lear wrote in 1885 when his publisher refused his Nile Diaries.

Early on in their 700-year existence, college libraries realised that they were stores for clever people’s bric-à-brac, as well as for their books. There’s Dr Johnson’s gruel mug — kept for him whenever he returned to his old college, Pembroke. It’s the size of a biggish jug, decorated with charming little blue flowers and butterflies.

William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England (1324–1404) — who founded New College and paid for the first purpose-built college library there — left his mitre, with its seed pearls, semi-precious stones and silver gilt to the college. And here it is, alongside the boots of William Wayneflete (1395–1486), who founded Magdalen College — huge red things, made out of Italian velvet and silver-gilt bellflowers, lined with felt.

And for those who are feeling left a bit one down by all these geniuses, there’s some consolation in remembering quite how stupid clever people can be. Nuffield College has lent a 1942 letter to Churchill from Lord Cherwell, the government’s chief scientific adviser during the war, on the benefits of carpet-bombing German cities. ‘Investigation seems to show that having one’s house demolished is most damaging to morale,’ concluded one of the great minds of the 20th century.

Previous page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

More articles from: Robin Holloway | this section

Print this article | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comment

Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit

Food for thought

Simon Hoggart

My favourite programme last week was France on a Plate (BBC4, Sunday) in which Dr Andrew Hussey investigated the link between gastronomy and la gloire; French glory and destiny.