New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Its official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always called "New College". One of the most famous and academically successful of the Oxford colleges, it stands along Holywell Street and New College Lane (known for Oxford's Bridge of Sighs), next to All Souls College, Hertford College, The Queen's College and St Edmund Hall.
The College is one of the main choral foundations of the University of Oxford. The College Choir has a reputation as one of the finest Anglican choirs in the world and have recorded over seventy albums, and have been awarded two Gramophone Awards.
In 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £143m. In 2006 New College sold some of these assets to provide a substantial salary windfall for its fellows (among other uses).
Despite its name, New College is one of the oldest of the Oxford colleges, having originally been founded in 1379. The second college in Oxford to be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, it was founded by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester as "The College of St Mary of Winchester in Oxford".
New College was founded in conjunction with the famous Winchester College, which was envisaged as a feeder to the Oxford college, and the two institutions have striking architectural similarities: both were the work of master mason William Wynford. The grand collection of buildings is a testament to Williams's experience in administering both ecclesiastical and civil institutions as the Bishop of Winchester and High Chancellor of England.
Both Winchester College and New College were originally established for the education of priests, there being a shortage of properly educated clergy after the Black Death. William of Wykeham ordained that there were to be ten chaplains, three clerks and 16 choristers on the foundation of the college. The original choristers were accommodated within the walls of the college under one schoolmaster. Since then the school has expanded and in 1903 moved to New College School in Savile Road.
As well as being the first Oxford college for undergraduates and the first to have senior members of the college give tutorials, New College was the first college in Oxford to be designed around a main quadrangle.
Admiring William of Wykeham's achievements in creating his twinned institutions, King Henry VI modelled the establishment of his new schools, King's College, Cambridge and Eton College, upon Wykeham's formation of New College and Winchester College.
Indeed, the link that King's College, Cambridge and Eton College share is a direct copy of William of Wykeham's link between New College and Winchester College.
New College has formal ties with Winchester College, Eton College, and King's College Cambridge dating back to 1444, a four-way relationship known as the Amicabilis Concordia.
The four institutions share formal ties to this day; King's is New College's official sister college.