Dr James Griffith was an Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 academic and administrator. He was elected as a Fellow of University College, Oxford

University College, Oxford

.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...

 in 1784. From 22 January 1808, he was Master

Master (college)

A Master is the title of the head of some colleges and other educational institutions. This applies especially at some colleges and institutions at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge .- See also :* Master A Master (or in female form Mistress) is the title of the head of some...

 of the College until his death in 1821.

James Griffith was Master of Univ when Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...

 was expelled as an undergraduate after writing a provocative pamphlet on The Necessity of Atheism

The Necessity of Atheism

The Necessity of Atheism is a treatise on atheism by the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, printed in 1811 by C. and W. Phillips in Worthing while he was a student at University College, Oxford. A copy of the first version was sent as a short tract signed enigmatically to all heads of Oxford...

in 1811. Shelley was called in to see Griffith and a number of college fellows on 25 March 1811. When Griffith asked Shelley if the pamphlet was his, Shelley remained silent. Shelley's friend, Thomas Jefferson Hogg

Thomas Jefferson Hogg

Thomas Jefferson Hogg was a British barrister and writer best known for his friendship with the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Hogg was raised in County Durham, but spent most of his life in London. He and Shelley became friends while studying at University College, Oxford, and remained close...

, also appeared to support him, claiming equal culpability. Later that day, a notice appeared on the Hall door, signed by Griffith and the Dean, George Rowley

George Rowley

George Rowley was Dean and Master of University College, Oxford and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University.Rowley was educated at Abingdon School in Abingdon, south of Oxford....

 (who succeeded Griffith as Master of the college), stating that Shelley and Hogg were expelled from the college.

Griffith was interested in art and architecture. He was responsible for the south side of the main quadrangle

Quadrangle (architecture)

In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other...

 at University College when it was refaced in 1802, including the dining hall and chapel. In 1811, he designed the vestry

Vestry

A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....

 for the church in Melsonby

Melsonby

Melsonby is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies a few miles west of the A1 motorway.-Murder of Diana Garbutt:...

. In 1819, he was a member of a Delegacy advising on the development of the site Hertford College

Hertford College, Oxford

Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...

 as a replacement for Magdalen Hall. There is a watercolour by him of the Vale of Conway in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

He was a prebendary

Prebendary

A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...

 at Gloucester

Gloucester

Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

 from 1816. At Gloucester Cathedral

Gloucester Cathedral

Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter .-Foundations:The foundations of the present...

, he designed the Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 choir screen, erected in 1820.

Griffith married his cousin, Mary Ironside, on his election to Master of University College. They lived together in the Master's Lodgings.