Winter wonderland

Trinity was founded in 1555, the fourth new college in the 16th century.

The classic image of Trinity is the one you see from the dark blue, wrought-iron gates on Broad Street looking up the main drive to the Chapel Tower with a magnificent magnolia grandiflora growing up the south wall of the chapel.

The lawn to the right sports a variety of trees which look infinitely more dramatic covered in snow than they do the rest of the year.

The Blue Atlas cedars (cedrus atlantica) look particularly in their element when under a white, frosted mantle. Perhaps the most interesting tree on the lawn is the Indian Bean Tree (catalpa bignonioides) which is more than 100 years old.

The species was brought from the United States in 1726, its name referring to native American tribes.

In late summer it bears scented white flowers and long, fine, seedpods which certainly look like very elegant beans.

There are two quadrangles beyond the Chapel Arch: the first is the heart of the college buildings, called Durham Quadrangle as a tribute to the fact that the college stands on what used to be Durham College.

A Benedictine foundation, Durham College was a cell of the Abbey of St Cuthbert in Durham from which a few carefully chosen monks would be sent to study in Oxford. The College was surrendered twice to the Crown, once in 1540 and finally in 1545.

The redundant premises lay empty for eight years before Trinity's founder, Thomas Pope, decided this was an ideal site for his new project.

In the centre of Durham Quadrangle is an octagonal raised area which looks as if it ought to be a large pond but is in fact grassed over. When covered in snow it looks as if a small, but exquisite ice- dance could be performed on it.

The land surrounding the buildings was know as The Grove but some of this was conveyed to St Bernard's College, an outpost of Christ Church's (later to become St John's College) in the early years of the college's history.

The remaining part of the Grove, also known as the Wilderness, is a plantation which is a glorious blaze of spring bulbs later in the year. However, that moment when you first see the exquisite beauty of a frosted clump of small, brave snowdrops against frosted ferns and snow-laden trees is very hard to beat.

Beyond Durham Quad, with the Dining Hall to the left, one comes in to Garden Quad, so called because the three-sided quadrangle (built by Wren) looks down the vista of the Long Lawns towards the Parks Road gates which famously never open. The story goes that when Charles I was taken away from Oxford back to London for the trial that was to lead to his execution, Trinity College, loyal Royalists that they were, swore that those gates would never be opened until a Stuart sat once again on the throne. The gates do look suitably sorrowful in this photograph thus backing up the theory that the college is still in mourning for the Stuarts.

At the top of the Lawns a statue of Cardinal Newman gazes down at this quintessentially English view; if you have such a famous old boy why not have a stature of him? The snow in the pictureseems to dress him in Ermine, perhaps a premonition of his likely canonisation which is now in the air?

To the right the President's private garden backs on to his dwellings, a gothic Victorian house designed by the famous Oxford architect, Jackson. Beyond and to the right lies what remains of the Grove.

Trinity is famous for its lavender. It won an award from the Oxford Preservation Society five years ago.

The variety is Munstead and is grown formerly in a square in front of the Kettle Building.

Paul Lawrence, Trinity's head gardener, describes himself as a plantsman. He is fascinated by plants and says that the flower is only one aspect of a plant. He finds the structure, the outline and the colour of the stems just as important as the petals.

Paul and his team of two gardeners follow a maintenance programme throughout the year. Having a routine and sticking to it as best you can his Paul's recipe for a beautiful garden.

The garden is known for its collection of Salvia, many of which are concentrated in the President's Garden.

Paul loves the structure in Trinity Gardens. The shape of the trees and shrubs, statues, such as the pair of griffins in the Fellows' Garden - griffins being Trinity's symbol - the long walls and, of course, the shape of buildings themselves. All this provides the perfect stage for a fall of snow.

Following the coronation of William of Orange, England, and not least, Oxford, was caught up in a craze for Dutch-style gardens - dwarf trees, topiary, pyramids and pilasters. At Trinity a hedge of yews was planted - now only two remain, randomly mixed in with other deciduous trees.

In 1794 Humphrey Repton visited and praised the fact that "the ancient style of garden was very properly preserved there". In 1713 trees were planted to form a walk. Some 48 limes and 48 Dutch elms were established and were to last for nearly 200 years.

During the Second World War, fire watcher were posted on the chapel tower and those on duty reported that they could see fires in Birmingham and London illuminating the sky on the nights that the raids came.

Many water tanks were built in Oxford in case the city was bombed, including three in Trinity.

One in Garden Quad, one in the Rose Garden (which no longer exists) and one close to the south wall in the main garden, this being mainly to protect the New Bodleian building.

The college grounds, dining hall and chapel are open to the public on weekday afternoons, subject to college events.

Visitors can also enjoy the gardens (including the Fellows' Garden and the President's Garden), on two days each year when they are opened as part of the National Garden Scheme.

Further reading about the college's history: Trinity 450 Years of an Oxford College Community by Clare Hopkins.

OUP. ISBN 0-19-951896-3