Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college

Selected college 1

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/1

All Souls College was founded by Henry Chichele (the Archbishop of Canterbury) and King Henry VI in 1438. There are no undergraduates at the college, although there have been at some stages of its history, but the Codrington Library is open to some students from the wider university. All of the college's members are Fellows, including many distinguished scholars. Several of the university's professorships are attached to the college, such as the Chichele Professorships and the Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature. Many academics from overseas spend time at the college as Visiting Fellows. All Souls is centrally located on the High Street, near the Bodleian Library and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. The chapel contains a complete set of misericords from the 15th century. The architect Nicholas Hawksmoor remodelled much of All Souls in the 18th century. The customs of the college include a feast every one hundred years (last held in 2001) at which the Fellows parade around All Souls, carrying flaming torches and singing the "Mallard Song", to commemorate an incident when a mallard is said to have flown out of the foundations as it was being built. (Full article...)

Selected college 2

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/2

Balliol College is one of the oldest colleges at Oxford, founded in 1263 (according to tradition) by the Scottish nobleman John I de Balliol and supported by his widow Dervorguilla of Galloway. It is one of the largest colleges, with about 800 undergraduates and graduate students in total, and is located on Broad Street in the centre of the city. Balliol rose to prominence within the university during the 19th century under the leadership of Benjamin Jowett, Master from 1870 to 1893, although his predecessors at the beginning of the century had begun the process by insisting that Fellowships and scholarships were to be awarded only on academic merit. Much of the college was rebuilt in the 19th century, including the present chapel (the third on the site) and only a few parts of the buildings predate 1700. Alumni of the college include three British Prime Ministers (H. H. Asquith, Harold Macmillan and Edward Heath), the scientist Richard Dawkins and the economist Adam Smith. Links with Scotland are maintained in various ways, including the Snell Exhibition founded in the 17th century which allows students from the University of Glasgow to carry out research at Oxford as a member of Balliol. (Full article...)

Selected college 3

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/3

Brasenose College was established in 1509 and is located in the centre of the city on Radcliffe Square, near the Bodleian Library, the University Church of St Mary the Virgin and the Radcliffe Camera. It was founded by a lawyer, Sir Richard Sutton, and the Bishop of Lincoln, William Smyth, on the site of Brasenose Hall, one of the university's academic halls. The name is thought to derive from a "brazen" (i.e. bronze) door knocker in the shape of a nose. One such door knocker hangs above the high table in the college hall, and a replica is on display at Stamford School in Lincolnshire, where it is thought that the original was taken during the 1330s; the college repurchased it in 1890. There are three quadrangles in the main college site: the original Old Quad, a smaller second quad known as the Deer Park, and a larger New Quad designed by Thomas Graham Jackson and completed in 1911. Further buildings were added in the 1960s. Brasenose College Boat Club is one of the oldest boat clubs in the world, and participated in the first recorded inter-college race at Oxford, beating Jesus College Boat Club. There are approximately 550 undergraduate and postgraduate students, and notable former students include David Cameron (elected Prime Minister in 2010), the comedian Michael Palin, the supposed inventor of rugby football William Webb Ellis and the former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie. (Full article...)

Selected college 4

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/4

Christ Church (sometimes known as "The House" from its Latin name, Ædes Christicode: lat promoted to code: la , or "House of Christ") is one of the largest Oxford colleges, and is also the site of the cathedral church of the Diocese of Oxford, namely Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The college can trace its history from 1525, when Cardinal Thomas Wolsey suppressed the Abbey of St Frideswide in Oxford and founded Cardinal College; he fell from favour before it was completed. King Henry VIII refounded it as King Henry VIII's College in 1532, and then (after the break from the Roman Catholic Church) as Christ Church in 1546, making it the cathedral of the new Oxford diocese as well. The buildings also include Tom Tower designed by Sir Christopher Wren, where "Great Tom" rings 101 times every night. Christ Church has produced thirteen British prime ministers, the two most recent being Anthony Eden (1955–57) and Sir Alec Douglas-Home (1963–64). The college is the setting for parts of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, as well as Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland – Carroll was a Fellow of the college and taught mathematics. Christ Church has been used in the filming of the movies of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel Northern Lights. (Full article...)

Selected college 5

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/5

Corpus Christi College, founded in 1517, is one of the smallest Oxford colleges in terms of student numbers. It is located on Merton Street, between Oriel College and Merton College, in the centre of the city. It was founded by Richard Foxe, the Bishop of Winchester, who intended the college as lodgings for monks from St Swythun's Priory in Winchester; however, the college moved away from this initial plan and became dedicated to the study of the classics, a subject in which it still has a strong reputation. The pelican sundial in the main quadrangle was added in 1581. John Rainolds, Corpus's seventh President, was involved in the inception and translation of the King James Bible, published in 1611. Former students include John Keble (a leader of the Oxford Movement, later to be commemorated by the foundation of Keble College), the philosopher Isaiah Berlin and the British Labour Party brothers and politicians Ed and David Miliband. The college won the 2009 series of the BBC television quiz programme University Challenge, under the leadership of Gail Trimble, but were later disqualified for fielding an ineligible player. (Full article...)

Selected college 6

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/6

Exeter College is the fourth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1314 as "Stapeldon Hall" by Walter de Stapeldon, Bishop of Exeter, as a school to educate clergy. It is located on Turl Street in the centre of the city, opposite Jesus College. The college expanded in the 16th century after donations from Sir William Petre, a former Exeter graduate. The oldest remaining part of the buildings, Palmer's Tower, dates from 1432, and the hall was built in 1618. Further additions were made in the 17th and early 18th centuries, before Sir George Gilbert Scott's additions in the mid-19th century, including the chapel (inspired by the Sainte Chapelle in Paris), the library and the Broad Street range. It is the real-life basis for the fictional Jordan College in Philip Pullman's novel trilogy His Dark Materials, and the final episode of the television detective series Inspector Morse saw Morse suffering a heart attack inside Exeter College. Former students include the writers J. R. R. Tolkien, Alan Bennett and Martin Amis, the artist Edward Burne-Jones, and the first Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan. The college has a close relationship with Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Since 1985, 26 undergraduate students from Williams spend their junior year at Exeter each year as full members of the college. (Full article...)

Selected college 7

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/7

Green Templeton College is the newest college of the university, having been formed in 2008 from the merger of Green College and Templeton College (the first merger of two colleges in the modern history of Oxford). It is located on Woodstock Road to the north of the city centre, on the former site of Green College, and its buildings include the 18th-century Radcliffe Observatory. The college is for postgraduate studies only, with about 500 students; the Principal is the historian Colin Bundy. Green College, established in 1979 and named after the benefactor Cecil H. Green, had a focus on medicine, education, the environment and social sciences. Templeton College, founded in 1965 as the Oxford Centre for Management Studies and renamed in 1983 as a result of a donation from Sir John Templeton, concentrated on management and business studies. The college's coat of arms combines elements from its two predecessors – the Rod of Aesculapius (medicine) for Green and the Nautilus shell (evolution and renewal) for Templeton. The crest on the coat of arms displays a representation of the transit of Venus across the sun, since the 1769 transit led to the construction of the Observatory. (Full article...)

Selected college 8

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/8

Harris Manchester College, on Mansfield Road just to the east of the city centre, was established in 1786 in Manchester, and was initially called the Manchester Academy. It provided education to religious non-conformists who at that time were not allowed to study at the universities of Oxford or Cambridge. Between 1803 and 1840, the academy was based in York to accommodate its principal, Charles Wellbeloved, who would not move to Manchester. After a period in London (1853 to 1889), it moved to Oxford, with buildings designed by the architect Thomas Worthington opening in 1893. The chapel has ornate wood carvings and notable stained-glass windows by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. It became a Permanent Private Hall of the university in 1990, and gained full college status in 1996. The college's name reflects its history in Manchester and a donation from Lord Harris of Peckham. It has about 110 undergraduate students and 40 postgraduates, all of whom are mature students (over 21), and is one of the smallest colleges at Oxford; the Principal is the theologian Ralph Waller, who is also Director of the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies which is based at the college. (Full article...)

Selected college 9

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/9

Hertford College can trace its history back to 1282 as "Hart Hall", one of the university's academic halls which was linked to Exeter College for many years, but it does not have a continuous history. During the 18th century, the institution suffered a severe decline leading to its dissolution, and the site and buildings were taken over by Magdalen Hall (founded 1448), another academic hall associated with Magdalen College. Hertford was established as an independent foundation in 1874 by Act of Parliament, with the help of a benefaction from the banker Thomas Charles Baring. Some of the buildings date from the 17th century, but others (including the "Bridge of Sighs" across New College Lane) were built by the architect Thomas Graham Jackson in the late 19th century. The college is in Catte Street, opposite the Bodleian Library. It has about 600 students (undergraduates and postgraduates), and the Principal is the historian John Landers. It was one of the first of the men's colleges to admit women. Fellows of the college include the historian Roy Foster and the philosopher Peter Millican, and alumni of the college or its predecessor institutions include the Prime Minister Henry Pelham, the newsreader Fiona Bruce, the archeologist Bernard Ashmole and the American judge Byron White. (Full article...)

Selected college 10

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/10

Jesus College was founded by Elizabeth I on 27 June 1571 at the request of Hugh Price, a leading Welsh clergyman. The college's oldest buildings date from the 16th and early 17th centuries, with additions or changes at intervals thereafter. The life of the college and its finances were disrupted by the English Civil War, but Leoline Jenkins, who became principal after the war in 1661, managed to put the college on a more stable financial footing. The 19th century saw a decline in numbers and academic standards, before reforms of the university led to removal of many of the restrictions placed on the college's fellowships and scholarships, such that the college ceased to be predominantly full of Welsh students and academics. The college is still informally associated with Wales, however. Students' academic achievements rose in the early 20th century as fellows were appointed to teach in new subjects. Women were first admitted in 1974 and now form a large part of the undergraduate population. There are about 475 students; the Principal of the college is Lord Krebs. Former students include Harold Wilson (who was twice British Prime Minister), Norman Manley (Chief Minister of Jamaica), T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), Angus Buchanan (winner of the Victoria Cross) and Viscount Sankey (Lord Chancellor). (Full article...)

Selected college 11

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/11

Keble College was established in 1870 as a memorial to the Church of England clergyman John Keble, a leading member of the Oxford Movement that sought to emphasise the Catholic nature of the Church of England. The college is to the north of the city centre on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum of Natural History and the University Parks. The original buildings, designed by the architect William Butterfield, used bricks in an assortment of colours and patterns – a contrast with the traditional stone-clad colleges, and views on the merits of the design have varied. The college's alumni magazine is called The Brick. Women were first admitted in 1979, and there are now about 680 undergraduate and postgraduate students, making it one of the larger colleges. Keble owns the original of William Holman Hunt's painting The Light of the World, which is hung in the side chapel. Former students include the musician Thomas Armstrong, the journalist Andreas Whittam Smith and the cricketer Imran Khan, as well as many bishops, reflecting the long tradition of theological studies at Keble. (Full article...)

Selected college 12

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/12

Kellogg College is one of the newest colleges at Oxford. It was established on 1 March 1990 as Rewley House, and changed its name on 1 October 1994 to reflect donations made by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation (set up by the American food industrialist Will Keith Kellogg). It accepts only graduate students, mainly on a part-time basis (there are about 150 full-time students compared to 400 part-time students), and operates to support Oxford's lifelong learning provision, as well as continuing education and professional development. It traces its heritage back to efforts made by the university to provide education to those outside the university from the 1870s onwards. The college acquired a site for a new home, in the Norham Manor of north Oxford, in 2004. The President of the college is the economist Jonathan Michie, who is also Director of the university's Department for Continuing Education. (Full article...)

Selected college 13

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/13

Lady Margaret Hall (generally known as "LMH") was established in 1878 and was the first college for women at the university. It began to admit men as students in 1979, and was the first of the women's colleges (along with St Anne's) to become a mixed-sex institution. The college, set in spacious grounds in Norham Gardens to the north of the city centre, is named after Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII and a renowned patron of learning. Its first principal was Elizabeth Wordsworth, the great-niece of the poet William Wordsworth. Giles Gilbert Scott, famous for designing Liverpool Cathedral and the K2 red telephone box, designed the college's Byzantine-style chapel. There are approximately 600 undergraduate and postgraduate students; former students include the former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, the writer Antonia Fraser, the former director general of MI5 Eliza Manningham-Buller, and the actor Samuel West. LMH's motto is "Souvent me Souviens", an Old French phrase meaning "I remember often". (Full article...)

Selected college 14

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/14

Linacre College is a college for graduate students on St Cross Road, near the University Parks to the north-east of the city centre, and close to the university's science area. It was founded in 1962, originally as a non-residential and non-collegiate body called "Linacre House" to provide a base for graduates in Oxford. It moved to its present site in 1977, became financially independent of the university in 1980 and acquired full college status in 1986. The college is named after Thomas Linacre (1460–1524), a distinguished humanist, medical scientist and classicist. There are about 300 students in a range of subjects; many are from overseas, with over fifty different countries represented. Linacre was the first Oxford college to admit men and women on an equal basis. The principal is the botanist Nick Brown, appointed in 2009. There are about 50 Fellows, with former Fellows including the Nobel Prize winner Paul Nurse and the biologist Chris Dobson. Former students include the journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, the literary critic Terry Eagleton and the Christian writer and academic Alister McGrath. (Full article...)

Selected college 15

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/15

Lincoln College was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln, as a "little college of true students of theology". After some early financial problems, another Bishop of Lincoln, Thomas Rotherham, effectively refounded the college in 1478. It is situated in the centre of the city on Turl Street and adjoins Brasenose College (with which it has a long-standing rivalry) at the rear. The college buildings include the 18th-century All Saints Church which has been converted into a library. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner said that Lincoln preserves "more of the character of a 15th century college than any other in Oxford". Unlike many other colleges, there are no modern buildings on the main site. There are about 580 students (undergraduates and postgraduates). The Rector of the college is the English literature academic Henry Woudhuysen, appointed in 2012. The Methodist leader John Wesley was a Fellow of Lincoln in the 18th century. Former students of the college include the novelist John le Carré, the actress Emily Mortimer, the cartoonist "Dr Seuss" and the Australian politician Peter Durack. (Full article...)

Selected college 16

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/16

Magdalen College was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester. It stands to the east of the city centre next to the River Cherwell, which is crossed by Magdalen Bridge. Its extensive grounds include a deer park and meadows alongside the river. By tradition, the college choir (which consists of 12 students from the college and 16 boys from Magdalen College School) sings madrigals from the top of Magdalen Tower at 6am on May Morning. The tower, built between 1492 and 1509, is a landmark at the east of the city. The President is the chemist David Clary. There are about 400 undergraduates and 185 postgraduates. Former students include the politicians William Hague and George Osborne (appointed Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer respectively in 2010), the poets Oscar Wilde and John Betjeman, the judges Lord Denning and Lord Browne-Wilkinson and the editor of Private Eye, Ian Hislop. The Fellows of Magdalen include the holders of the four Waynflete Professorships; the novelist and Christian writer C. S. Lewis was a fellow for nearly 30 years. (Full article...)

Selected college 17

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/17

Mansfield College, to the north-east of the city centre near the University Parks, is one of the smaller colleges, with about 210 undergraduates and 80 postgraduates. It was originally founded in 1838 as "Spring Hill College" in Birmingham, as a college for non-conformist students; at that time, only members of the Church of England could obtain degrees at the universities. The Universities Tests Act 1871 abolished religious tests for non-theological degrees at Oxford. Spring Hill moved to Oxford in 1886 and was renamed in honour of two donors, George and Elizabeth Mansfield. Women were first admitted in 1913. It became a Permanent Private Hall in 1955 and acquired full college status in 1995; its non-conformist aspects have gradually diminished but still remain in the chapel, where services are conducted in that tradition. The principal is the lawyer Helena Kennedy, a former chair of the Human Genetics Commission. Former students include the theologians G. B. Caird and C. H. Dodd, the journalist Stephen Pollard and the German resistance member Adam von Trott zu Solz, executed for his part in the plot to kill Hitler. (Full article...)

Selected college 18

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/18

Merton College was established in 1264 by Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I. Building work began on a site to the south-east of the city centre (on what is now called Merton Street) thereafter, with the hall, college chapel (on the site of the old church of St John the Baptist) and front quadrangle completed by the end of the 13th century. The front quad is probably the earliest collegiate quadrangle; Mob Quad was built in the 14th century, with the old library occupies the upper floor of the south and west ranges. Merton purchased St Alban Hall, an independent academic hall, in 1548 and ran it as a separate institution until annexing it in 1881. There are about 300 undergraduates and 300 postgraduates. People associated with Merton include the theologian John Wycliffe, the statesman Lord Randolph Churchill, the poet T. S. Eliot and the author J. R. R. Tolkien. The college's Warden is the mathematician Sir Martin J. Taylor. It is one of the three colleges at Oxford that claims to be the oldest, on the basis that it had "statutes" (i.e. a constitution to govern the college) before Balliol and University. (Full article...)

Selected college 19

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/19

New College was established in 1379 by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, and stands on Holywell Street and New College Lane to the east of the city centre. It was founded in conjunction with a school, Winchester College, with the intention that students from Winchester would progress to New College, and both institutions have buildings by master mason William Wynford. At the time of its foundation, it was the largest Oxford college, and now has about 420 undergraduates and 180 postgraduates. The buildings include a large chapel, in which the college choir of boys (educated at the nearby New College School) and men sing regular services. The large grounds include part of the old Oxford city wall, and the college is still inspected once every three years by the Lord Mayor to ensure that the college is maintaining the wall as William of Wykeham promised. New College Boat Club represented Great Britain in the 1912 Summer Olympics and won the silver medal for rowing. Former students include the politician Tony Benn, archbishop Henry Chichele (founder of All Souls College), the judge Lord Goff of Chieveley, and the actor Hugh Grant. Past or present fellows include Richard Dawkins, Marcus du Sautoy, Isaiah Berlin and H. L. A. Hart. (Full article...)

Selected college 20

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/20

Nuffield College, to the west of the city centre, was founded in 1937 by the car manufacturer and philanthropist Lord Nuffield. He gave the site to the university and £900,000 (approximately £246M in modern terms) to build and endow the college. His intention had been to establish a college for engineering and business methods, but he was persuaded to let the money be used for a social sciences college instead – a decision that he sometimes later regretted, although he was sufficiently pleased with the college to leave it the bulk of his estate in his will. Construction began in 1949 and was finished in 1960, to a design by Austen Harrison. The main tower, about 150 feet (46 m) tall, holds the library and is a noted Oxford landmark. Nuffield is an all-graduate college (and was Oxford's first college for postgraduates only), primarily for research in economics, politics and sociology; there are about 75 students and 60 Fellows (many holding university posts), headed by the economist Andrew Dilnot as Warden. Former students include Kofi Abrefa Busia (former Prime Minister of Ghana), the British politician Patricia Hewitt, and the economist Robert Skidelsky. (Full article...)

Selected college 21

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/21

Oriel College, in the centre of Oxford on Oriel Square, is the fifth-oldest college at Oxford. It is the oldest royal foundation in Oxford, a title formerly claimed by University College, whose claim of being founded by King Alfred is no longer promoted. The original medieval foundation set up by Adam de Brome (the rector of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin), under the patronage of Edward II, was called the House of the Blessed Mary at Oxford. The first design allowed for a Provost and ten Fellows, called 'scholars', and the College remained a small body of graduate Fellows until the 16th century, when it started to admit undergraduates. Oriel's main site incorporate four medieval academic halls, including St Mary Hall). During the English Civil War, Oriel played host to high-ranking members of the King's Oxford Parliament. The College has nearly 40 Fellows, about 300 undergraduates and some 160 graduates, the student body having roughly equal numbers of men and women (although Oriel was the last of the men's colleges to accept women students). Its distinguished alumni include two Nobel laureates (the biochemist Alexander Todd and the economist James Meade); prominent Fellows have included John Keble and John Henry Newman, founders of the Oxford Movement. (Full article...)

Selected college 22

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/22

Pembroke College was founded in 1624 and named after William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, who was Chancellor of the University at the time. Pembroke's coat of arms contains the English rose and Scottish thistle to represent King James I, in whose reign the college was founded, and three lions rampant from the arms of the Earl of Pembroke. The college was established on the site of a university hostel for law students dating from the 15th century, called Broadgates Hall, with money provided by Thomas Tesdale (a merchant from Abingdon) and Richard Wightwick (a Berkshire clergyman). It is located just to the south of the city centre, opposite Christ Church. It has gradually expanded in size, with further buildings added in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. There are about 400 undergraduates and about 120 postgraduates. Alumni include the lexicographer Samuel Johnson (although he did not complete his degree because of lack of funds) and James Smithson (whose bequest founded the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.). J. R. R. Tolkien was a Fellow of Pembroke for twenty years, writing The Hobbit and the first two books of The Lord of the Rings during this time. Roger Bannister, the first man to run the mile in under four minutes, is a former Master of the college. (Full article...)

Selected college 23

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/23

The Queen's College was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield, chaplain to Queen Philippa of Hainault (the wife of King Edward III), and is named after her. The main college buildings are in the centre of Oxford, on the High Street, and the front of the college was designed by the 18th-century architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. The college has traditionally had strong links with the north of England: the founder's family had land in the area of Eaglesfield, Cumbria, and until the 20th century a number of scholarships were reserved for men from 20 schools in Yorkshire, Westmorland and Cumberland. The Neda Agha-Soltan Graduate Scholarship, named after an Iranian student who died in the 2009 Iranian election protests, was established at Queen's in 2009. There are about 350 undergraduate and 130 postgraduates. The Provost of the college is the chemistry professor Paul Madden. Former students at the college include the astronomer Edmund Halley, the comedian Rowan Atkinson, the internet pioneer Tim Berners-Lee, the neurologist Oliver Sacks and the theologian John Wycliffe. The Dean Ireland's Professorship of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture is one of the university posts linked to the college. (Full article...)

Selected college 24

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/24

St Antony's College is a college for graduate students and researchers only, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and modern international history. The college was established in 1950 by gift of Antonin Besse, a merchant of French descent; students were first admitted in 1953 (women in 1962) and it became a full member of the university in 1963. It is named after St Antony of Egypt. The college buildings, a former Anglican convent built in the 1960s, are to the north of the city, with Woodstock Road to the west, Bevington Road to the south and Winchester Road to the east. Libraries on the site include the Middle East Centre Library, the Latin American Centre Library, the Bodleian Japanese Library and the Russian and Eurasian Studies Centre Library. The Warden is the Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan; former Wardens have included the social theorist Ralf Dahrendorf and the diplomat Marrack Goulding. There are about 400 students; alumni include the historians C.A. Bayly and Richard J. Evans, the journalists Anne Applebaum and Thomas Friedman, the American Senator Gary Hart and the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall. (Full article...)

Selected college 25

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/25

St Anne's College began life as "The Society of Oxford Home-Students" in 1879, which was renamed "The St Anne's Society" in 1942, finally taking its present name in 1952 when it received a charter. It was originally an institution for women only, but men have been admitted since 1979. It is one of the larger colleges in Oxford, with around 440 undergraduate and 190 postgraduate students, in a roughly equal mix of men and women. The college is to the north of the city centre between Woodstock Road and Banbury Road, on land donated by St John's. Hartland House, built in 1937 and designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was the first purpose-built college building; other buildings include the Wolfson Building from the 1960s and the Ruth Deech building (2005), named after a former principal of the college. The current principal is the journalist and television executive Tim Gardam. Alumni include the novelists Penelope Lively and Helen Fielding, the politicians Edwina Currie and Danny Alexander, magazine editor Tina Brown, and Cicely Saunders, pioneer of the hospice movement. The novelist Iris Murdoch was a fellow of the college. (Full article...)

Selected college 26

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/26

St Catherine's College (commonly known as "St Catz" or "Catz") was established in 1963 and is one of the largest of the Oxford colleges, with about 450 undergraduates and 160 postgraduates. It grew out of the Delegacy of Non-Collegiate Students, founded in 1868 to offer university education at Oxford without the costs of college membership. Its students met as "St Catherine's Club" for social events, named after the hall in Catte Street where they met; it became St Catherine's Society in 1931, and later achieved full college status. It was one of the first men's colleges to become co-educational, in 1974. The college is on an 8-acre (32,000 m²) site acquired from Merton College on the banks of the River Cherwell, to the east of the city centre. The buildings, which were given Grade I listed status in 1993, were designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen; he also designed the cutlery, furniture and lampshades. The Master is the engineer Roger Ainsworth; the first Master was the historian Alan Bullock. Alumni include the Nobel Prize winners John Vane and John E. Walker, the politician Peter Mandelson, the rower Matthew Pinsent and the author Jeanette Winterson. (Full article...)

Selected college 27

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/27

St Cross College was established by the university in 1965 to cater for the growing numbers of graduate students and academics who lacked a college affiliation; Wolfson College was set up in the 1960s for this reason as well. St Cross has approximately 400 graduate students at any one time, studying for degrees in all subjects. There is a strong emphasis on international diversity, with 67 % of the students from outside the UK. This is reflected in the college motto Ad quattuor cardines mundi ("to the four corners of the earth"). The Fellowship (led by the Master Sir Mark Jones, formerly Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum) is similarly diverse and represents a broad range of academic disciplines in the sciences and the arts. The college was originally established at a site on St Cross Road, near St Cross Church; it moved to a site owned by Pusey House in the centre of Oxford, on St Giles' Street, in 1981. The buildings, by the Gothic revival architect Temple Moore, date from between 1911 and 1926, with a new wing added in 1993. Alumni include the philosopher Alan Carter, the Olympic gold medallist Tim Foster, the historian R. Joseph Hoffmann, and the writer Hermione Lee. (Full article...)

Selected college 28

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/28

St Edmund Hall, often referred to as "Teddy Hall", was established at some point in the 13th century, probably in about 1278. The college is named after St Edmund of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, the first known Oxford Master of Arts and the first Oxford-educated Archbishop of Canterbury, who lived and taught on the college site. The name St Edmund Hall (Aula Sancti Edmundi) first appears in a 1317 rental agreement. It was the last surviving medieval academic hall at Oxford, only obtaining college status in 1957, and retaining the term "Hall" for reasons of history. It is based on a small central site on the north side of the High Street: the old dining hall dates from 1659, the chapel and old library from the late 17th century, and the library is the 12th-century former church of St Peter-in-the-East. The college has about 375 undergraduates and 175 postgraduates. The Principal is the microbiologist Keith Gull. Alumni of the college include the comedians Terry Jones and Stewart Lee, the former England rugby international Stuart Barnes, the journalist and broadcaster Robin Day, and Ken Macdonald and Keir Starmer, former Directors of Public Prosecutions. (Full article...)

Selected college 29

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/29

St Hilda's College was established in 1893 for women, and was the last single-sex college at Oxford: men were admitted for the first time in 2008. It was founded by Dorothea Beale, who was also a headmistress at Cheltenham Ladies' College. Located in Cowley Place alongside the River Cherwell, it is the most easterly of the university's colleges. It is named after the Anglo-Saxon saint Hilda of Whitby. The buildings include the Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building, named after the cellist who was an honorary fellow of St Hilda's. Opening in 1995, it was the first purpose-built concert hall to be built in Oxford since the Holywell Music Room in 1742. There are about 420 undergraduates and 150 postgraduates at St Hilda's: former students include the literary critic Helen Gardner, the writers Susanna Clarke and Barbara Pym, the historian Bettany Hughes and the politician Gillian Shephard. The Principal is Sir Gordon Duff, appointed in 2014. The college featured in the 2002 documentary series College Girls, which followed students from 1998 to 2001. (Full article...)

Selected college 30

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/30

St Hugh's College was established in 1886 as a college for women by Elizabeth Wordsworth, great-niece of the poet William Wordsworth. She used money inherited from her father, who had been Bishop of Lincoln, and named the college after St Hugh, a 13th-century Bishop of Lincoln. Men were first admitted in 1986. It is based in north Oxford, between Banbury Road on the east and Woodstock Road on the west, and has large grounds. There are about 370 undergraduates and 225 postgraduates; the college is able to house all undergraduates and many of the postgraduates in buildings on the main college site for the duration of their studies. Two large lawns are used by students all year round, and the gardens are also the venue for croquet and tennis. St Hugh's is the only Oxford college with its own basketball courts. Alumni include the politicians Barbara Castle and Theresa May, the Burmese activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, the suffragette Emily Davison and the child-prodigy mathematician Ruth Lawrence. The Principal, appointed in 2007, is the Scottish lawyer Elish Angiolini. (Full article...)

Selected college 31

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/31

St John's College was established in 1555 by Sir Thomas White, who was later Lord Mayor of London. He was Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company and also established other educational foundations including Merchant Taylors' School. St John's was established as a Roman Catholic foundation in the time of Queen Mary, on the site of St Bernard's College, a monastery and house of study of the Cistercian order that had been closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The site, on the east side of St Giles', is to the north of Balliol College and Trinity College. The buildings include Canterbury Quad, the first example of Italian Renaissance architecture in Oxford, and 20th-century additions such as the neo-Italianate Garden Quad, built in 1993. It is one of the larger Oxford colleges, with about 370 undergraduates and 280 postgraduates. Former students include Edmund Campion (Roman Catholic martyr), William Laud (Archbishop of Canterbury), Tony Blair (former British prime minister) and the author Kingsley Amis. The President of St John's is the psychologist Margaret Snowling. (Full article...)

Selected college 32

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/32

St Peter's College became a college in 1961, having existed as "St Peter's Hall" since 1929. It is on New Inn Hall Street, on the site of two of the university's oldest academic halls, New Inn Hall and Rose Hall, founded in the 13th century. St Peter's was founded by Francis Chavasse, Bishop of Liverpool, who was concerned at the rising cost of education in British universities. His aim was to enable students who might be deterred by the costs of other colleges to obtain an Oxford education. Its buildings include an 18th-century rectory, which houses the college's entrance and library, and the Church of St Peter-le-Bailey, built in 1874, which is used as the college chapel. There are about 350 undergraduates and 130 graduates. Alumni include the former President of Ghana Edward Akufo-Addo, the Revd W. Awdry (creator of Thomas the Tank Engine), the chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and the author Mike Carey. Mark Damazer, a former Controller of BBC Radio 4, has been the Master of St Peter's since 2010. (Full article...)

Selected college 33

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/33

Somerville College (on Woodstock Road to the north of the city centre) was established as "Somerville Hall" in 1879 and took its present name in 1894. One of the first colleges for women at Oxford, it is named after Mary Somerville, a Scottish mathematician and astronomer who died in 1872. It was founded as a college "in which no distinction will be made between students on the ground of their belonging to different religious denominations", in contrast to Lady Margaret Hall which was an Anglican institution. In 1992, Somerville's statutes were amended to make it a mixed sex college; the first male fellows were appointed in 1993, with the first male students admitted in 1994. About half of the approximately 400 undergraduates and 90 postgraduates are men. Alumni include the politicians Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi and Shirley Williams, the novelists Vera Brittain, A. S. Byatt and Iris Murdoch, and the scientists Dorothy Hodgkin and Kay Davies. (Full article...)

Selected college 34

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/34

Trinity College, in the centre of Oxford on Broad Street alongside Balliol College, was established in 1555 by Sir Thomas Pope. It stands on the site of Durham College, founded in 1286 for monks from Durham Cathedral; the east range of Durham Quad, containing the Old Library, dates from 1421 and is the only major surviving building from Durham College. Pope, who had no surviving children, founded the college in the hope that he would be remembered in the prayers of its students; his remains are still encased beside the chapel altar. Trinity has four major quadrangles, a large lawn and gardens, but despite its size it is relatively small in student numbers, with about 300 undergraduates and 125 postgraduates. Alumni include the theologian John Henry Newman, the politician Pitt the Elder, the poet Laurence Binyon, Lord Goddard (Lord Chief Justice 1946–58), and the humorist Miles Kington. (Full article...)

Selected college 35

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/35

University College, founded by William of Durham in 1249, is one of the oldest of the Oxford colleges. Claims that it was founded by King Alfred the Great in 872 are no longer taken seriously by historians. It is one of the largest colleges in terms of student numbers, with about 420 undergraduates and 150 postgraduates. Univ, as it is generally known, has its main entrance on High Street, between Merton Street and Magpie Lane. The medieval buildings were replaced by the main quadrangle in the 17th century, after delays caused by the English Civil War. The Radcliffe Quadrangle was added in 1719. Women have been admitted as students since 1979. The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley studied at the college but was expelled for writing The Necessity of Atheism; he is now commemorated by the Shelley Memorial. Two British prime ministers, Clement Attlee (student) and Harold Wilson (fellow) were members of the college, as were the American president Bill Clinton and the Australian prime minister Bob Hawke. Other alumni include the scientist Stephen Hawking, the writer C. S. Lewis and the poet Andrew Motion. (Full article...)

Selected college 36

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/36

Wadham College, in the centre of the city on Parks Road, was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, using money that her husband Nicholas had bequeathed for the establishment of an Oxford college. The main quadrangle was designed by William Arnold and constructed between 1610 and 1613, and includes a statue of King James I (in whose reign the college was founded). The hall, one of the largest in Oxford, has a hammer-beam roof and Jacobean woodwork. The grounds include large gardens, the Holywell Music Room, dating from 1748, and more modern buildings used for accommodation and teaching. The original rules that no women were to enter the premises apart from a laundress who was "above suspicion" were gradually relaxed, and women were admitted as students in 1974. The college traditionally has a left-wing ethos. Alumni include the conductor Thomas Beecham, the poet Cecil Day-Lewis, the politician Michael Foot and Rowan Williams, formerly Archbishop of Canterbury. (Full article...)

Selected college 37

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/37

Wolfson College, in north Oxford on the banks of the River Cherwell, is a college for postgraduate students (about 600) and fellows. It was established in 1965 as Iffley College with grants from 12 other colleges, but it did not have any premises initially. The college was renamed in honour of Sir Isaac Wolfson, in recognition of his financial contribution to the construction of the college under its first President, Sir Isaiah Berlin. The main building, designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, was completed in 1974 and were given Grade II listed building status in 2011. There are three quadrangles: the central quadrangle (known as the Berlin Quad), the Tree Quad built around established trees, and the River Quad into which the Cherwell has been diverted to form a punt harbour. Unlike many other Oxford colleges, there is no separate High Table or Common Room for the fellows, and the students and fellows eat and associate together. Alumni include the astronomer Richard Ellis, the novelist Iain Pears and the mathematician Nigel Hitchin. (Full article...)

Selected college 38

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/38

Worcester College, to the west of the city centre, dates back to 1283 as Gloucester College, a college for Benedictine monks which was closed in about 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Some of the buildings, known as "the cottages", are from the time of Gloucester College and are among the oldest residential buildings in Oxford. After a gap of about 20 years, Gloucester Hall was established, which became Worcester College in 1714 following a benefaction from Sir Thomas Cookes of Worcestershire. The chapel (which Oscar Wilde called a "perfect" piece of "simple decorative and beautiful art"), hall, and library were rebuilt in the 18th century; some of the designs were by George Clarke, who left his collection of books and manuscripts to the college. Further buildings have been constructed on the main college site, which has extensive grounds, and elsewhere in Oxford. Worcester College has about 400 undergraduates and 170 graduate students. Professor Jonathan Bate was appointed as the college's Provost in 2011. Alumni include the author Richard Adams, the composer Rachel Portman, the actress Emma Watson and the businessman Rupert Murdoch. (Full article...)

Selected college 39

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/39

St Mary Hall was one of the longest-surviving academic halls of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College from 1326 onwards, but functioned independently from 1545 to 1902. The building was originally the rectory of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, and was acquired by Oriel along with the Rectorship in 1326 when Oriel was founded. St Mary's was used, along with the adjoining Bedel Hall, as an annexe for nearby Oriel. Over time, the two halls became one and developed an independent identity, until in 1545 the door between St Mary's and Oriel was blocked on the order of Oriel's Visitor, Bishop Longland of Lincoln. The Principals of St Mary's continued to be Fellows of Oriel for another century and Oriel gave financial support to the hall. The number of students at St Mary's grew and even overtook Oriel in some years, and it was one of the largest of the surviving halls. In 1902, St Mary's was incorporated into Oriel, and the site is now the college's Third Quadrangle. Former students include the mathematician Robert Hues and Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor. (Full article...)

Selected college 40

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/40

Blackfriars Hall, established in 1994, is one of the Permanent Private Halls (PPHs) of the University of Oxford. Unlike the colleges, which are run by their Fellows, PPHs are run by an outside institution – in the case of Blackfriars Hall, the English Province of the Dominican friars. The hall is on the same site as the Priory of the Holy Spirit (the friars' religious house) and Blackfriars Studium, the Province's centre of theological studies. Dominicans arrived in Oxford in 1221 at the instruction of Saint Dominic himself, little more than a week after the friar's death. Like all the monastic houses in Oxford, Blackfriars came into conflict with the university authorities, and all of them were suppressed during the Reformation. Blackfriars was refounded in 1921 on St Giles', within 600 metres of the original site. One of the smaller academic communities in Oxford, it admits men and women (over the age of 21) of any faith for undergraduate degrees in theology, philosophy, and PPE and for postgraduate degrees. Former students include Anthony Fisher OP, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney; Malcolm McMahon OP, Archbishop of Liverpool; and the American journalist Delia Gallagher. (Full article...)

Selected college 41

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/41

Campion Hall is one of the Permanent Private Halls (PPHs) of the University of Oxford. Unlike the colleges, which are run by their Fellows, PPHs are run by an outside institution – in the case of Campion Hall, the Society of Jesus. One of the smallest constituent institutions of the university, it named after the martyr St. Edmund Campion, who was a Fellow of St John's. Established in 1896 as "Clarke's Hall" as a hall for Jesuit undergraduates, it went through various changes of name as the Master in charge changed, until it achieved permanent status in 1918 and took its current name. Its building on Brewer Street, completed in 1936, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens – his only Oxford building. The exterior has been compared to 17th-century Cotswold architecture, and the chapel light fittings have red tassels like those on a cardinal's hat. Jesuit clergy, and priests of other Roman Catholic orders, are admitted to study; laymen are sometimes admitted. Alumni include the poet and writer Peter Levi, the priest and English literature scholar Peter Milward, and the priest and historian Peter L'Estrange (who later became Master of Campion Hall). (Full article...)

Selected college 42

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/42

Regent's Park College (colloquially "Regent's") is one of the Permanent Private Halls (PPHs) of the University of Oxford. Unlike the colleges, which are run by their Fellows, PPHs are run by an outside institution – in the case of Regent's, the Baptist Church. It started as the Stepney Academy in East London in 1810, created to teach Baptists at a time when only members of the Church of England could enter Oxford and Cambridge. It moved to Regent's Park in London in 1855, and took its current name, developing links with the University of London. H. Wheeler Robinson (Principal 1920–42) decided to move the college to Oxford, which he thought was a more congenial setting. A site was purchased in 1927 and fundraising for a new building began. The foundation stones were laid in 1938, and Regent's became a PPH in 1957. Women have been admitted since the 1920s. It has about 100 undergraduates and 90 postgraduates, including those training for Baptist ministry in the UK and abroad. Alumni include the Victorian general Sir Henry Havelock (active during the Indian Rebellion), the legal scholar Malcolm Evans, the theologian Jane Shaw and the Baptist missionary Donald Foster Hudson. (Full article...)

Selected college 43

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/43

St Benet's Hall is one of the Permanent Private Halls (PPHs) of the University of Oxford. Unlike the colleges, which are run by their Fellows, PPHs are run by an outside institution – in the case of St Benet's, Ampleforth Abbey. Established in 1897, it was the first Benedictine foundation in Oxford since the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the mid-16th century. Historically its principal function was to allow Benedictine monks to study at Oxford, but nowadays most members are lay undergraduates and there is no requirement that students should be Catholics. It became a PPH in 1918, when it was named after Benedict of Nursia, the founder of the Benedictine order. It is the last Oxford institution to admit only men for undergraduate degrees: women are admitted for postgraduate study, and will be admitted as undergraduates when new housing facilities are obtained. Until 2012, the Master of St Benet's had always been a Benedictine monk; the current Master is Werner Jeanrond, a lay Catholic theologian. Alumni include Cardinal Basil Hume, the philosopher Sir Anthony Kenny, the politician Damian Collins and the England rugby international Simon Halliday. (Full article...)

Selected college 44

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/44

St Stephen's House is a theological college and one of the Permanent Private Halls (PPHs) of the University of Oxford. Unlike the colleges, which are run by their Fellows, PPHs are run by an outside institution – in the case of St Stephen's, the Church of England. It was founded in 1876 by Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln and one of the leading figures in the Tractarian movement, and became a PPH in 2003. It was originally located in the centre of Oxford on the site where the New Bodleian Library now stands, but moved soon afterwards to North Oxford. In 1980, it acquired a site in Iffley Road, East Oxford, that had been vacated by the Society of St. John the Evangelist. The current buildings contain the church of St John the Evangelist, designed by G F Bodley; accommodation is provided on site for married and single students. Part of the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England, it trains candidates for ordination and accepts other students for qualifications in Theology or Education. Alumni include David Hope (Archbishop of York), Glyn Simon (Archbishop of Wales), Jeffrey John (Dean of St Alban's) and Trevor Mwamba (Bishop of Botswana). (Full article...)

Selected college 45

Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/45

Wycliffe Hall is one of the Permanent Private Halls (PPHs) of the University of Oxford. Unlike the colleges, which are run by their Fellows, PPHs are run by an outside institution – in the case of Wycliffe Hall, the Church of England. Founded in 1877, it became a PPH in 1996. It provides theological training for candidates for ordained and lay ministry; it also admits other students to study theology. It is named after John Wycliffe, a 14th-century theologian, and its buildings are in North Oxford, on Banbury Road. It is rooted in the evangelical tradition of the Church of England, although it admits students from all Christian denominations. Its Victorian trust deed upholds the Thirty-Nine Articles, part of the English Reformation heritage of the Church of England, Since the 19th century the college has had close links with the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union and the Oxford Pastorate, two evangelical organisations working with Oxford students. Alumni include Donald Coggan (Archbishop of Canterbury), Tom Wright (Bishop of Durham), Nicky Gumbel (developer of the Alpha Course), and Wilbert Awdry (priest and creator of the Thomas the Tank stories). (Full article...)