6 MARCH 1964, Page 15

SIR,—When I came to Oxford lust October, I noticed that

my room in this college had a lock on the door; indeed I took it for granted. I was consequently hor- rified to hear from two friends in other colleges that their rooms had no locks at all.

My certain information extends only to Pembroke and Magdalen colleges; Dom Moraes, while wrong about this college, implies that `no locks' is the general rule, and I fancy he is right. Certainly it is an extraordinary state of affairs; if I hadn't a lock on my door, I would be tempted to install one myself, give a key to my scout to do the cleaning when I'm out, and defy the college authorities. I consider it tremendously useful, and not undesirable, to be able both to lock myself in (whether alone or not), and to lock the door when I go out, which makes theft less likely, and insurance cheaper.