Picturing history: Warden's Lodgings, Merton College

Sir Henry Savile, a King James Bible translator, was born in the building near Bradley, Yorkshire, England, in 1549.

Although he was proficient in Greek, Savile loved mathematics and astronomy. His appointment as a translator of the KJB placed him in the second Oxford company, the group that translated the Gospels, Acts and Revelation.

In 1585, he was elected Warden of Merton College, Oxford. During the period of translation, he offered space in his living quarters as a place where the translators worked.

The room is known as the breakfast room of the former Warden's Lodgings at Merton. Scholars on site affirm that it is the room where the second Oxford company worked. It is highly likely that, among other things, the priceless story of the Savior's birth found in Luke 2 of the KJB was translated there.