Brasenose College - originally Brazen Nose College (in full: The King's Hall and College of Brasenose, often referred to by the abbreviation BNC), is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m. Brasenose is home to the oldest boat club in the world, Brasenose College Boat Club.
The College was founded in 1509 by a lawyer, Sir Richard Sutton, of Prestbury, Cheshire, and the Bishop of Lincoln, William Smyth. A foundation stone was laid in this year, although it was not until 1512 that a royal charter was obtained from Henry VIII. Smyth provided the money for the college's foundation, and Sutton acquired the property. The college still maintains traditional ties to its official Visitor, the Bishop of Lincoln. It was built on the site of several of the medieval Oxford Halls, which were institutions which originally existed just as lodging houses, but which had grown to become a seats of learning. Brasenose Hall, Little University Hall and St Mary's Entry were amongst the Halls taken over by Brasenose College during its establishment.
The name "Brasenose" is thought to originate from a brazen (bronze) door knocker in the shape of a nose; the nose-shaped door knocker which hangs above the high table of the main hall of Brasenose College is thought to be the original door knocker belonging to Brasenose Hall. In the 1330s, a group of students left Oxford for Stamford in Lincolnshire led by a student from Brasenose Hall, and are thought to have taken the door knocker with them. Another brass knocker in the shape of a nose was fixed to the college gate in the early 16th century, and this has remained above the main entrance ever since. However, in 1890, a house in Stamford named "Brazenose" bearing a 12th-century door knocker in the shape of a nose was put on sale. The house was purchased by the college for the sake of the door knocker, which was removed and placed in the hall, believed to have been returned to its rightful home. The house, and remains of the Hall, are now part of the estate of Stamford School. Interest in the college's history by its members is still strong, and in 2006, Brasenose students made a pilgrimage to Lincoln and Stamford.
Source & More Information: Wikipedia, Brasenose College, Oxford, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brasenose_College,_Oxford