This richly illustrated book features archival and architectural highlights spanning the 750-year life of Merton College. Following an introductory history, this collection of treasures comprises incisive text from members and friends of the College complemented by specially commissioned photography, to reveal the stories behind the formation and growth of the first fully self-governing Oxford college.Pieces demonstrating Merton's architectural and intellectual legacy - from the University's first quadrangle to the oldest continuously functioning library for academics and students in the world - sit side by side with those that explore the impact of the cultural and scholarly giants from its storied past, including William Harvey, the physician who first described pulmonary circulation of the blood, and the College's tradition of great mathematicians from the 14th century to the 21st, not to mention the work of T.S. Eliot and J.R.R. Tolkien.