Many of the posts on Clay Lane are by well known writers such as William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. Others are by less well known authors who have something no less important to say.
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William King (1685-1763), a former secretary to the Chancellor of Oxford University, was elected Principal of St Mary Hall (later incorporated into Oriel College) in 1719. During this period he was the acknowledged leader of the Jacobite party at the University. King resigned in 1727, and dedicated himself to satire and public speaking (he delivered the oration at the opening of the Radcliffe Camera in 1749), always courting controversy; but after meeting ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ in 1750 his enthusiasm for the Jacobite cause faded and he formally renounced it in 1761. He was on friendly but fractious terms with Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope and other literary figures of the age.
