Magdalen College was founded in 1458 by William Waynflete, the Bishop of Winchester and Henry VI's Lord Chancellor. Magdalen Tower and Chapel were built between 1492 and 1509 by William Orchard.

The tower, next to the bridge over the Isis, makes an imposing entrance to the City of Oxford and since the reign of Henry VIIs a traditional hymn, Hymnus Eucharisticus, has been sung by the choir of boy choristers and lay clerks of the College from the top of the tower at 6.00 a.m. on May morning.