Salton House

Salton House is the ninth founded college of the University of Aldergate.

Saltonians are an odd breed, in a way that's difficult to qualify. There don't seem to be as many of them as there ought to be. All colleges have their hermits, but Saltonians seem especially allergic to daylight. They're probably nice enough once you get to know them - but you never will get to know them, and that's the point.

History
The near-total absence of contemporaneous records is conclusive evidence of an effort by somebody-or-other to suppress virtually all information about the life of John Salton. It is clear that he was a scholar, most likely at Curmantle, and he appears to have traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia Minor. Speculation that he may have been an agent for the Office of Invitation is, like all such speculation, unconfirmed.

One thing is known for certain: that in 1300 he returned to England and began construction of what would become Salton House on land purchased from the University. He brought with him from the continent a person known to history only as "Floris," who appears to have been a wealthy free-Frisian. When the house was completed, Floris transplanted his entire household to Aldergate - their number and nature being the subject of such wildly varying accounts that the history of the next few decades is, if anything, even more obscure than Salton's early life.

From what survives of Salton's own writings it seems that he hoped to establish a sort of model village of self-contained agriculture and industry. This dream, sadly, was doomed by recurring outbreaks of illness and internal violence, and in the early 1340s Salton gifted most of his estate back to the University for the construction of Ockham College.

Whoever Floris may have been, his limited historical record ends entirely after 1346. A virtual recluse, John Salton may also have been an invalid; he continued to live at Salton House until at least 1365, either entirely alone or with an unspecified number of the surviving members of the Floris clan.

The one well-documented fact that is known about John Salton's life is the year of his death. His body, "waysted and pitieful," was found on his front doorstep in the winter of 1365. Salton House then stood empty until 1381, when it was partially razed during the Forsaking of Aldergate. Contemporary claims that John Salton himself was seen fleeing during the fire - though interesting tidbits of folklore - can be discounted as implausible.

Following the Forsaking, Vice-Chancellor Calpurnia Arkwell claimed what survived of the Salton House compound as reverted property of the University. Repairs and renovations were undertaken throughout the following decade, and Salton House was founded as a college in 1399 upon the coronation of Henry IV.

Architecture
There is something inescapably melancholy about Salton House. The picture is of Długosz House in Poland, and it's the spitting image of the college's main entrance (hardly a gatehouse) on Queen's Parade.

The other public face of Salton House is the blank, windowless brick wall that fronts on University Place. Over time this wall has been used and re-used by students as a canvas, projection screen, etc., and it serves as the venue for the annual Aldergate Sevens Tourney.