[9] The original medieval foundation established in 1324 by Adam de Brome, under the patronage of King Edward II of England, was the House of the Blessed Mary at Oxford, and the college received a royal charter in 1326.

[16] On 24 April 1324,[17] the Rector of the University Church, Adam de Brome, obtained a licence from King Edward II to found a "certain college of scholars studying various disciplines in honour of the Virgin" and to endow it to the value of £30 a year.

[18] In the early 1410s several fellows of Oriel took part in the disturbances accompanying Archbishop Arundel's attempt to stamp out Lollardy in the university; the Lollard belief that religious power and authority came through piety and not through the hierarchy of the Church particularly inflamed passions in Oxford, where its proponent, John Wycliffe, had been head of Balliol.

Disregarding the provost's authority, Oriel's fellows fought bloody battles with other scholars, killed one of the Chancellor's servants when they attacked his house, and were prominent among the group that obstructed the Archbishop and ridiculed his censures.

The Visitors, on their own authority, elected fellows between 1648 and October 1652, when without reference to the Commissioners, John Washbourne was chosen; the autonomy of the college in this respect seems to have been restored.

Bishop Fuller appointed a commission that included the Vice-Chancellor, Peter Mews; the Dean of Christ Church, John Fell; and the Principal of Brasenose, Thomas Yates.

[10]: 241 In the early 19th century, the reforming zeal of Provosts John Eveleigh and Edward Copleston gained Oriel a reputation as the most brilliant college of the day.

At that time Oxford separated male and female students as far as possible; Vera Brittain, one of the Somerville students, recalled an amusing occurrence during her time there in her autobiography, Testament of Youth: [...] the few remaining undergraduates in the still masculine section of Oriel not unnaturally concluded that it would be a first-rate "rag" to break down the wall which divided them from the carefully guarded young females in St. Mary Hall.

Great perturbation filled the souls of the Somerville dons when they came down to breakfast one morning to find that a large gap had suddenly appeared in the protecting masonry, through which had been thrust a hilarious placard:

Throughout that day and the following night the Senior Common Room, from the Principal downwards, took it in turns to sit on guard beside the hole, for fear any unruly spirit should escape through it to the forbidden adventurous males on the other side.

[22]: 29  Nothing survives of the original buildings, La Oriole and the smaller St Martin's Hall in the south-east; both were demolished before the quadrangle was built in the artisan mannerist style during the 17th century.

The room above has a particularly fine plaster ceiling and chimney piece of stucco caryatids and panelling interlaced with studded bands sprouting into large flowers.

[20] In the centre of the east range, the portico of the hall entrance commemorates its construction during the reign of Charles I with the legend Regnante Carolo, 'Charles, being king', in capital letters in pierced stonework.

In 2002, the college commissioned one of the largest portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, measuring 92 by 58 inches (230 by 150 cm), from Jeff Stultiens to hang in the hall; the painting was unveiled the following year.

[11][page needed] The window next to the entrance on the east side contains the arms of Regius Professors of Modern History who have been ex officio fellows of the college.

During this work, the chandelier, given in 1885 by Provost Shadwell while still a fellow, was put back in place, the organ was restored, the painting mounted behind the altar, and the chapel repainted.

[citation needed] In the south range, parts of the medieval buildings survive and are incorporated into staircase ten — the straight, steep flight of stairs and timber-framed partitions date from a mid-15th century rebuilding of St Mary Hall.

[citation needed] On the east side of the quad is a simple rustic style timber-frame building; known as "the Dolls' House", it was erected by Principal King in 1743.

Parts of the street wall incorporated into this range show traces of blocked windows dating from the same period of rebuilding in the 15th century as the present-day staircase ten.

[citation needed] The building was not entirely well received; William Sherwood, Mayor of Oxford and Master of Magdalen College School, wrote: "Oriel [has] broken out into the High, ... destroying a most picturesque group of old houses in so doing, and, to put it gently, hardly compensating us for their removal.

"[38] On the side facing the High Street, there is a statue of Oriel graduate Cecil Rhodes over the main entrance, with Edward VII and George V beneath.

106 and 107 stand on the site of Tackley's Inn; built around 1295,[11][page needed] it was the first piece of property that Adam de Brome acquired when he began to found the college in 1324.

[citation needed] Bartlemas is a conservation area that incorporates the remaining buildings of a leper hospital founded by Henry I;[51] it includes the sports grounds for Oriel, Jesus and Lincoln Colleges, along with landscaping for wildlife and small scale urban development.

[52] In 1649 the college rebuilt the main hospital range north of the chapel, destroyed in the Civil War, as a row of four almshouses, called Bartlemas House.

[59] One of the following two college prayers is recited by the provost or the senior fellow present at the conclusion of Evensong on Sundays and other services:[60] Modern: O merciful God and Father, from whom the whole family in Heaven and Earth is named, who art always to be praised both in the living and in the dead: we give Thee hearty thanks for our memorable Founder Edward II, Adam de Brome and all other our Benefactors; and we beseech Thee that we may rightly use the advantages afforded in this place by their munificence; and this life ended, may with them be made partakers of the glorious resurrection to the Life Everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[60] Traditional: Lord God, the resurrection and the life of all who believe, who art always to be praised both in the living and in the dead, we give Thee hearty thanks for our memorable Founder Edward II, Adam De Brome our principal Benefactor, and all other our Benefactors, by whose benefits we are here maintained in godliness and learning; and we beseech Thee that, using Thy gifts rightly, we may be led to the immortal glory of the resurrection, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The translation is reputedly by Erasmus in his Convivium Religiosum of a grace recorded by Saint John Chrysostom:[61] Benedicte Deus, qui pascis nos a iuventute nostra et praebes cibum omni carni, reple gaudio et laetitia corda nostra, ut nos, affatim quod satis est habentes, abundemus in omne opus bonum.

Per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum, cui tecum et Spiritu Sancto sit omnis honos, laus et imperium in saecula saeculorum.

Blessed God, who feeds us from our youth and provides food for all flesh, fill our hearts with joy and gladness, that we, having enough to satisfy us, may abound in every good work.

[66] The college also has its own student-run publication, The Poor Print, which publishes a range of content, including news, poetry, photography, science, comment, drawing, music, events and entertainment.