Peterhouse,  St.  John's,  Queens',  Jesus,
naturally  received  particularly  severe  treat-
ment; while  others  are  said  to  have  been
more  leniently  dealt  with,  sometimes  on
account  of  personal  influence,  e.g.  Benjamin
Whichcote  saved  many  of  the  Fellows  of
King's,  or  because  of  their  well-known
Puritan  tradition,  e.g.  Emmanuel.
Oxford,  as  the  centre  of  the  Royalist  in-
terest, could  expect  small  mercy,  and  Heads
of  Colleges  and  Fellows  were  treated  as  at
Cambridge.  In  1647  a  special  ordinance
was  passed  for  the  visitation  and  reformation
of  the  University  by  a  commission  of  fourteen
laymen  and  ten  divines  under  the  Chancellor,
the  Earl  of  Pembroke.  The  Covenant  was
to  be  enforced,  the  Directory  used,  and  an
inquiry  made  about  those  who  had  carried
arms  against  Parliament.     There  was  a  Court


of  Appeal.in  the  form  of  a  standing  committee,
under  Sir  N.  Brent,  Warden  of  Merton,
formerly  Laud's  vicar-general.  Nearly  five
hundred  Heads,  Canons,  and  Fellows  were
expelled,  and  their  places  filled  by  Presby-
terians and  Independents.  Oxford,  however,
remained  in  spite  of  all  this  a  rallying-point
for  the  Church,  as  the  deprived  Dean  of
Christ  Church  performed  the  Church  services
near  his  college,  and  they  were  largely
attended  by  graduates  and  undergraduates,
apparently  without  much  hindrance  from  the
new  authorities.
