Editing Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford (section)

==Buildings and grounds==
[[File:LMH Hall.png|alt=The Hall, LMH|thumb|upright=1.3|The Hall, LMH]]
The development of the college's buildings is perhaps best thought of as a zigzag, beginning in the 1870s at the end of Norham Gardens and making its way down towards the River Cherwell, and then running back towards Norham Gardens forming quadrangles on the return journey. The following account of the buildings moves through the college as these spaces emerge for a visitor entering the college at the Porters' Lodge and walking to the river. Because of the way the college developed, the dates and styles of the buildings enclosing the quadrangles are not all of a piece.

===Laetare Quadrangle===
[[File:Leatare Quadrangle, Lady Margaret Hall Oxford.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|Laetare Quadrangle]]

The Laetare quadrangle was completed in March 2017 and includes both the college's newest and oldest buildings. The main entrance consists of the front gates flanked by classical columns along with the Porters' Lodge (2017). Unlike most other Oxford colleges, the Porter's Lodge is freely accessible 24/7 to visitors and members of the public even during term time, and visitors are not charged for entry. It is also wheelchair accessible, and is participating in the Safe Lodge Scheme, in which students from other participating colleges who feel vulnerable or unsafe can go there and receive free transportation back to their own college, which is later charged to their student account.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/community/personal/safe-lodge#:~:text=If%20something%20has%20happened%2C%20or,services%20made%20available%20if%20needed.|title=Safe Lodge|website=www.ox.ac.uk|access-date=2024-09-12}}</ref> On the North West side the Donald Fothergill Building (2017) contains student accommodation while the Clore Graduate Centre (2017) extends further out to the South East towards the University Parks.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/alumni/new-buildings-2007-2017|title=New buildings 2007–2017|website=Lady Margaret Hall|language=en|access-date=2017-04-02}}</ref>

The college's oldest buildings are along the southeast side of the Laetare Quadrangle. The college's original house, a white brick gothic villa, is now known as "Old Old Hall", while the adjoining red-brick extension designed by [[Basil Champneys]] is known as New Old Hall (1884).<ref name=":0" /> Old Old Hall originally housed the college chapel until the construction of the [[Deneke Building]]. Opposite the entrance is the Wolfson West (1964), which was previously the entrance to the college.

Old Old Hall, which had been built as a speculative development on land leased from [[St John's College, Oxford|St John's College]], was described as an "ugly little white villa" by the college's founder, [[Edward Talbot (bishop)|Bishop Talbot]] in his 1923 history of the college.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=1587104|title=Sir Reginald Blomfield's Designs for the Garden of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford|first=Eileen|last=Stamers-Smith|date=3 August 1996|journal=Garden History|volume=24|issue=1|pages=114–121|doi=10.2307/1587104}}</ref> On several occasions in the 20th century, consideration was given to demolishing the earliest buildings of the college, but the temptation was resisted.

The only remaining visible evidence of the road that used to run alongside Old Old Hall and past the steps of Talbot Hall are the two large [[linden trees]], which used to line the pavement before the road was removed to allow expansion of the college. The two smaller trees were planted during construction of the quadrangle. The recent expansion designed by [[John Simpson (architect)|John Simpson Architects]] was modelled after the [[Porta Maggiore]] in [[Rome]], in conjunction with the simple façade of the Wolfson West building.

The MCR, located in the Clore Graduate Centre, is named after the first female [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]], [[Benazir Bhutto]], who studied at the college from 1973 to 1977.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/oxford/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8661000/8661776.stm|title=BBC – Oxford University's famous south Asian graduates|website=news.bbc.co.uk|date=5 May 2010|access-date=2017-08-30}}</ref>

===Wolfson Quadrangle===
[[File:LMH Talbot Hall.png|thumb|upright=1.3|The Wolfson Quadrangle outside Talbot Hall]]
The architect of the main early college buildings, including Lodge, Talbot and Wordsworth, was [[Sir Reginald Blomfield]], who had earlier worked on other educational commissions such as [[Shrewsbury School]], and [[Exeter College, Oxford]]. He used the [[French Renaissance architecture|French Renaissance style]] of the 17th century for the buildings and chose red brick with white stone facings, setting a tone the college was to continue to follow in later work.
These buildings describe the south and east of the Wolfson Quadrangle and run out into the gardens to the east. Blomfield was also involved in establishing and planning the gardens.

The central block, the Talbot Building (1910) on the North East of the main quad houses Talbot Hall and the Old Library (currently a reception and lecture room),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/About-LMH/Virtual-tour/Talbot-Hall.aspx|title=LMH, Oxford – Talbot|website=Lmh.ox.ac.uk|access-date=2017-03-11}}</ref> while the accommodation for students and tutors is divided between three wings, the Wordsworth Building (1896), the Toynbee Building (1915) and the Lodge Building (1926).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/About-LMH/Virtual-tour/Eleanor-Lodge.aspx|title=LMH, Oxford – Eleanor Lodge|website=Lmh.ox.ac.uk|access-date=2017-03-11}}</ref>

Talbot Hall contains some fine oak panelling donated by former students to honour Elizabeth Wordsworth and, prior to the Deneke Building, was used as a dining hall for the students. In recent years, it is used to house termly live music nights among other college events. [[File:Lady Margaret Hall Library.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Lady Margaret Hall Library]] The portraits in the Hall include the  work of notable artists; among the portraits of principals are:
* Sir [[J. J. Shannon]]'s portrait of [[Elizabeth Wordsworth|Dame Elizabeth]]
* [[Philip de László]]'s of [[Henrietta Jex-Blake|Miss Jex-Blake]]
* Sir [[Rodrigo Moynihan]]'s of [[Lynda Grier|Dr Grier]]
* [[Maud Sumner]]'s of [[Lucy Sutherland|Miss Sutherland]]
In the old Library is a marble statue by [[Edith Bateson]].

On the North West is the Lynda Grier building (1962) housing the college library;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/About-LMH/Virtual-tour/Library.aspx|title=LMH, Oxford – Library|website=Lmh.ox.ac.uk|access-date=2017-03-11}}</ref> this was officially opened by [[Queen Elizabeth II]] in 1961.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/about-lmh/lmh-library|title=LMH Library|website=Lady Margaret Hall|language=en|access-date=2017-08-23}}</ref> The ground floor of Lynda Grier was originally student accommodation but in 2006 it was converted into a law library, which was opened that year by [[Cherie Blair]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/About-LMH/Virtual-tour/Library.aspx|title=LMH Library|publisher=Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford|access-date=17 January 2010}}</ref> The library was of great importance when founded as women were not permitted to use the [[Bodleian Library]], and thus is relatively large for an Oxford college. Since 2016 the library has also featured a feminist book collection curated by Associate Fellow [[Emma Watson]], called "Our Shared Shelf". This collection supports a feminist book club that runs at the college.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/our-academics/associate-fellow|title=Associate Fellow|publisher=Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford|access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref> The Briggs room originally contained the entire archive of rare and antiquarian books donated to the college over the years. However, due to its size of around 2,000 books, the archive is now stored in the Lawrence Lacerte Rare Books Room in the new Law Library extension on the ground floor. The collection includes a [[Quran]] created {{Circa|1600}} and a Latin translation of [[Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems|Galileo's ''Dialogo'']] from 1663.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/lmh/rare_books|title=Oxford LibGuides: Lady Margaret Hall Library: Special Collections|first=James|last=Fishwick|website=libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk|access-date=25 March 2020}}</ref>

Lynda Grier and Wolfson West were designed by [[Raymond Erith]]. In recent years the Wolfson Quadrangle, in contrast to many [[Oxbridge]] quadrangles, has been planted with wildflowers instead of an intensively managed, striped quadrangle lawn.

===Lannon Quadrangle===
[[File:Lannon quad LMH.png|alt=Lannon Quadrangle, Lady Margaret Hall|thumb|upright=1.3|Lannon Quadrangle]]

Named after former principal, [[Frances Lannon|Dame Frances Lannon]], the quadrangle consists of the Sutherland Building (1971) and the Pipe Partridge Building (2010).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/About-LMH/Virtual-tour/Pipe-Partridge.aspx|title=LMH, Oxford – Pipe Partridge|website=Lmh.ox.ac.uk|access-date=2017-03-11}}</ref> Behind this is Sutherland's sister building, Kathleen Lee (1972), which houses the JCR.

The first phase of the recent plan to expand the college, the Pipe Partridge Building, was completed in early 2010 and was opened by the [[Chancellor of the University of Oxford]], [[Lord Patten of Barnes]], in April 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/News/Opening-of-the-Pipe-Partridge-Building.aspx|title=opening of the Pipe Partridge Building|date=26 April 2010|publisher=Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford|access-date=2 July 2010}}</ref>

The Pipe Partridge Building includes the 136-seat Simpkins Lee Theatre,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.simpkinsleetheatre.com/|title=Simpkins Lee Theatre|website=Simpkinsleetheatre.com|access-date=7 February 2016|archive-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221163025/http://www.simpkinsleetheatre.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> a dining hall, seminar rooms and 64 new undergraduate study bedrooms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnsimpsonarchitects.com/pa/Lady-Margaret-Hall.html|title=Lady Margaret Hall Phase I and II|website=Johnsimpsonarchitects.com|access-date=7 February 2016}}</ref>

It won the [[Georgian Group]] award for the best new building in the classical tradition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/News/News-archive-2010/Pipe-Partridge-wins-an-award.aspx|title=Pipe Partridge wins an award|website=Lmh.aox.ac.uk|access-date=7 February 2016}}</ref>

===Chapel and Deneke===
[[File:Deneke Building LMH.png|thumb|The 1932 Deneke Building]]
To the northeast extends the large [[Deneke Building]] (1932) along with the hall and the college's [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine-style]] chapel where the choir practises and carol services are held in Michaelmas term. These were designed by [[Giles Gilbert Scott]]. The dining hall has a reputation for serving the best meals of any Oxford college, and is one of only a few Oxford colleges to serve [[Halal]] meals. The chapel has simple decoration with several paintings on the walls, and a statue of [[Margaret Beaufort]] that lies in the central section of the chapel. The passageway that leads to the chapel is referred to within the college as "Hell's Passage". The name was derived from the 19th-century illustrations of [[Dante]]'s ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'', by [[John D. Batten]], that used to decorate its walls.<ref name="Hell's Passage">{{cite web|url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/about-lmh/principal/hells-passage-principals-blog/hells-passage |title=Hell's Passage? |website=lmh.ox.ac.uk|access-date=22 February 2019}}</ref>

The chapel is in the form of a [[Greek cross]] and was dedicated by the college's founder Edward Stuart Talbot, in January 1933.<ref>Alden (1958)</ref>

In the autumn of 2019, [[Andrew Foreshew-Cain]] became Chaplain.
In April 2019, he and other [[LGBT]] clergy in the [[Church of England]] started the ''Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England'', calling on the church to allow same-sex couples to be married in Church of England parishes and to stop discriminating against people in such marriages.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Siddons |first1=Edward |title=The rebel priest: 'Gay people in the church are not going to go away' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/07/rebel-priest-gay-church-campaign-same-sex-marriage |access-date=11 January 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=7 May 2019}}</ref>

===Gardens and grounds===
[[File:Talbot from the Sunken Gardens.jpg|thumb|Talbot Hall and the Toynbee buildings, as seen from the Gardens]]

Lady Margaret Hall is one of the few Oxford colleges that backs onto the [[River Cherwell]]. It is set in spacious grounds (about {{convert|12|acre|m2}}). The grounds include a set of playing fields, netball and [[tennis court]]s, a punt house, [[topiary]], and large herbaceous planting schemes along with vegetable borders. There is a Fellows' Garden – hidden from view by tall hedgerows – and a Fellows' Lawn, on which walking is forbidden.