[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] The College is part of University of Oxford and students are entitled to use its facilities.[EBOLD][PARA]Merton is [ITAL]one of Oxford's prettier colleges (and claims to be the oldest),[EITAL] 600 yards from Carfax, with [ITAL]magical [EITAL]gardens (where Tolkien wrote 'Lord of the Rings'), a [ITAL]beautiful [EITAL]chapel and [ITAL]bizarre [EITAL]gargoyles.[ITAL]  [EITAL]The Mob Quad is the oldest quad in Oxford and home of the library (the oldest in England), which is supposedly haunted and contain Chaucer's Astrolabe.  [ITAL]Merton is a gourmet's paradise[EITAL], employing a top chef[ITAL].  [EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL]Friendly [EITAL]bar; student bands and fortnightly bops in JCR (cap 200); Winter Ball; [ITAL]strong [EITAL]Choral Society; the University Drama Society [ITAL]attracts many thesps.  [EITAL]Interdenominational chapel.  Sports facilities (10mins walk) shared with [ULNE]Mansfield College[EULNE]; [ITAL]Women's rowing, fencing and American football are strong, as is ballroom dancing; emphasis on sports participation rather than achievement.  [EITAL]Everyone lives in; many [ITAL]elegant [EITAL]rooms.  Shared doctor and nurse; hardship fund.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Roger Bannister (the original 4-minute miler); Frank Bough (sports presenter and sherbert-dipper); T S Eliot (poet); Kris Kristofferson (singer); Jeremy Isaacs (Chairman of Royal Opera); Robert Morley (actor); Crown Prince Naruhito (Japanese heir apparent); John Wycliffe (theologian).