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View of the dining hall; Despite its name, New College is one of the oldest of the Oxford colleges, having originally been founded in 1379. It was founded by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester 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. New College was the first college in Oxford to centre on a main quadrangle, with student rooms, a dining hall, a library, and study rooms within the square ring of buildings and gates (first to have all of those elements). The bell tower of the cloisters was the last of the original buildings, completed in 1400. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 6/20/2008)