Jesus College, Oxford
Encyclopedia
Jesus College is one of the colleges
of the University of Oxford
in England. It is in the centre of the city
, on a site between Turl Street
, Ship Street
, Cornmarket Street
and Market Street
. The college was founded by Elizabeth I
on 27 June 1571 for the education of clergy, though students now study a broad range of secular subjects. A major driving force behind the establishment of the college was Hugh Price
(or Ap Rhys), a churchman from Brecon
in Wales
, and the college continues to be associated informally with Wales to this day. The oldest buildings, in the first quadrangle
, date from the 16th and early 17th centuries; a second quadrangle was added between about 1640 and about 1713, and a third quadrangle was built in about 1906. Further accommodation was built on the main site to mark the 400th anniversary of the college, in 1971, and student flats have been constructed at sites in north and east Oxford.
The life of the college was disrupted by the English Civil War
. Leoline Jenkins
, who became principal after the war in 1661, put the college on a more stable financial footing. Little happened at the college during the 18th century, and the 19th century saw a decline in numbers and academic standards. Reforms of Oxford University after two Royal Commission
s in the latter half of the 19th century led to removal of many of the restrictions placed on the college's fellowships and scholarship
s, such that the college ceased to be predominantly full of Welsh students and academics. 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 Washington Manley (Chief Minister of Jamaica
), T. E. Lawrence
("Lawrence of Arabia"), Angus Buchanan
(winner of the Victoria Cross
), and Viscount Sankey
(Lord Chancellor
). The university's professorship of Celtic
is attached to the college, a post held by scholars such as Sir John Rhys
, Ellis Evans
and Thomas Charles-Edwards
. Past or present fellows of the college include the historians Sir Goronwy Edwards
and Niall Ferguson
, the philosopher Galen Strawson
and the political philosopher John Gray.
Jesus College was founded on 27 June 1571, when Elizabeth I
issued a royal charter
. It was the first Protestant
college to be founded at the university, and it is the only Oxford college to date from Elizabeth's reign. It was the first new Oxford college since 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary
, when Trinity College
and St John's College
were founded as Roman Catholic
colleges. The foundation charter named a Principal (David Lewis
), eight Fellows, eight Scholars
, and eight Commissioners to draw up the statutes for the college. The commissioners included Hugh Price
, who had petitioned the queen to found a college at Oxford "that he might bestow his estate of the maintenance of certain scholars of Wales to be trained up in good letters." The college was originally intended primarily for the education of clergymen. The particular intention was to satisfy a need for dedicated, learned clergy to promote the Elizabethan Religious Settlement
in the parishes of England, Ireland and Wales. The college has since broadened the range of subjects offered, beginning with the inclusion of medicine and law, and now offers almost the full range of subjects taught at the university. The letters patent
issued by Elizabeth I made it clear that the education of a priest in the 16th century included more than just theology, however:
Price continued to be closely involved with the college after its foundation. On the strength of a promised legacy, worth £60 a year on his death (approximately £ in present day terms), he requested and received the authority to appoint the new college's Principal, Fellows and Scholars. He financed early building work in the college's front quadrangle
, but on his death in 1574 it transpired that the college received only a lump sum
of around £600 (approximately £ in present day terms). Problems with his bequest meant that it was not received in full for about 25 years. As the college had no other donors at this time, "for many years the college had buildings but no revenue".
Significant benefactions in the 17th century placed the college on a more secure financial footing. Herbert Westfaling
, the Bishop of Hereford
, left enough property to support two fellowships and scholarships (with the significant proviso that "my kindred shallbe always preferred before anie others"). Sir Eubule Thelwall
(principal 1621–30) spent much of his own money on the construction of a chapel, hall and library for the college. The library, constructed above an over-weak colonnade
, was pulled down under the principalship of Francis Mansell
(1630–49), who also built two staircases of residential accommodation to attract the sons of Welsh gentry families to the College.
The English Civil War
"all but destroyed the corporate life of the college." Mansell was removed from his position as principal and Michael Roberts
was installed. After the Restoration, Mansell was briefly reinstated as principal, before resigning in favour of Leoline Jenkins
. It was Jenkins (principal 1661–73) who secured the long-term viability of the college. On his death, in 1685, he bequeathed a large complex of estates, acquired largely by lawyer friends from the over-mortgaged landowners of the Restoration period. These estates allowed the college's sixteen fellowships and scholarships to be filled for the first time – officially, sixteen of each had been supported since 1622, but the college's income was too small to keep all occupied simultaneously. In 1713, the bequest of Welsh clergyman and former student Edmund Meyricke established a number of scholarships for students from north Wales.
, wrote that the college records for this time "tell of little but routine entries and departures of fellows and scholars". The Napoleonic wars
saw a reduction in the numbers of students and entries in the records for the purchase of musket
s and other items for college members serving in the university corps. After the war, numbers rose, to an average of twenty new students per year between 1821 and 1830. However, debts owed to the college had increased, perhaps due to the economic effects of the war – by 1832, the college was owed £986 10s 5d (approximately £ in present day terms). During the first half of the 19th century, the academic strength of the college diminished: scholarships were sometimes not awarded because of a lack of suitable candidates, and numbers fell: there were only seven new entrants in 1842. Ernest Hardy
wrote in his history of the college in 1899 that it had been becoming "increasingly evident for years... that the exclusive connection with Wales was ruining the college as a place of education."
A Royal Commission
was appointed in 1852 to investigate the university. The college wished to retain its links with Wales, and initial reforms were limited despite the wishes of the commissioners: those scholarships that were limited to particular parts of Wales were opened to the whole of Wales, and half of the fellowships awarded were to remain open only to Welshmen if and so long as the Principal and Fellows shall deem it expedient for the interests of education in connection with the Principality of Wales. All the scholarships at the college, except for two, and all the exhibitions
were still restricted to students from Wales. The numbers of students at the college still fell, despite prizes being awarded for success in university examinations. Hugo Harper
, principal from 1877 to 1895, noted the continuing academic decline. Speaking in 1879, he noted that fewer students from the college were reaching high standards in examinations, and that more Welsh students were choosing to study at other Oxford colleges in preference to Jesus. A further Royal Commission was appointed. This led to further changes at the college: in 1882, the fellowships reserved to Welshmen were made open to all, and only half (instead of all) of the 24 scholarships were to be reserved for Welsh candidates. Thereafter, numbers gradually rose and the non-Welsh element at the college increased, so that by 1914 only about half of the students were Welsh.
resided from August 1916 to December 1918. After the war, numbers rose and fellowships were added in new subjects: history (1919 and 1933); theology (1927); physics (1934); a second fellowship in chemistry (1924); and modern languages (lectureship 1921, fellowship 1944). The improved teaching led to greater success in university examinations and prizes.
In the inter-war years (1918–39) Jesus was seen by some as a small college and something of a backwater; it attracted relatively few pupils from the public schools
traditionally seen as the most prestigious. The college did, however, attract many academically able entrants from the grammar schools (particularly those in northern England
and Scotland). Among these grammar-school boys was Harold Wilson
, who would later become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
. During the Second World War, many of the fellows served in the armed forces or carried out war work in Oxford. The college remained full of students, though, as it provided lodgings for students from other colleges whose buildings had been requisitioned, and also housed officers on military courses.
The college had its own science laboratories from 1907 to 1947, which were overseen (for all but the last three years) by the physical chemist
David Chapman
, a fellow of the college from 1907 to 1944. At the time of their closure, they were the last college-based science laboratories at the university. They were named the Sir Leoline Jenkins
laboratories, after a former principal of the college. The laboratories led to scientific research and tuition (particularly in chemistry) becoming an important part of the college's academic life. The brochure produced for the opening ceremony noted that the number of science students at the college had increased rapidly in recent years, and that provision of college laboratories would assist the tuition of undergraduates, as well as attracting to Jesus College graduates of the University of Wales
who wished to continue their research at Oxford. A link between one of the college science lecturers and Imperial Chemical Industries
(ICI) led to 17 students joining ICI between the two World Wars, some, such as John Rose
, reaching senior levels in the company. The laboratories became unnecessary when the university began to provide centralised facilities for students; they were closed in 1947.
The quatercentenary of the college, in 1971, saw the opening of the Old Members' Buildings in the third quadrangle. Further student accommodation has been built at the sports ground and at a site in north Oxford. In 1974, Jesus was among the first group of five men's colleges to admit women as members, the others being Brasenose
, Wadham
, Hertford
and St Catherine's
; between one-third and one-half of the undergraduates are women. A long-standing rivalry with nearby Exeter College
reached a peak in 1979, with seven police vehicles and three fire engines involved in dealing with trouble in Turl Street. Sir John Habakkuk
(principal 1967–84) and Sir Peter North
(principal 1984–2005) both served terms as Vice-Chancellor of the university, from 1973 to 1977 and from 1993 to 1997 respectively.
, Ship Street
, Cornmarket Street
and Market Street
. The main entrance is on Turl Street. The buildings are arranged in three quadrangle
s, the first quadrangle containing the oldest college buildings and the third quadrangle the newest. The foundation charter gave to the college a site between Market Street and Ship Street (which is still occupied by the college) as well as the buildings of a defunct university academic hall on the site, called White Hall. The buildings that now surround the first quadrangle were erected in stages between 1571 and the 1620s; the principal's lodgings were the last to be built. Progress was slow because the new college lacked the "generous endowments" that earlier colleges enjoyed. Before new buildings were completed, the students lived in the old buildings of White Hall.
The chapel was dedicated on 28 May 1621, and extended in 1636. The architectural historian Giles Worsley
has described the chapel's east window (added in 1636) as an instance of Gothic Revival architecture, rather than Gothic Survival, since a choice was made to use an outdated style – classical architecture
had become accepted as "the only style in which it was respectable to build". Jonathan Edwards
(principal from 1686 to 1712) is reported to have spent £1,000 (approximately £ in present day terms) during his lifetime on the interior of the chapel, including the addition of a screen separating the main part of the chapel from the ante-chapel
(at the west end) in 1693. In 1853, stained glass
by George Hedgeland
was added to the east window. In 1863, the architect George Edmund Street
was appointed to renovate the chapel. The arch of the chancel
was widened, the original Jacobean woodwork was removed (save for the screen donated by Edwards and the pulpit), new seats were installed, new paving was placed in the main part of the chapel and a stone reredos
was added behind the altar. Views of the changes have differed. On 21 October 1864, Building News reported that the restoration was nearing completion and was of "a very spirited character". It said that the new "handsome" arch showed the east window "to great advantage", with "other improvements" including a "handsome reredos". Ernest Hardy
, principal from 1921 to 1925, said that the work was "ill-considered", described the reredos as "somewhat tawdry" and said that the Jacobean woodwork had been sold off too cheaply. In contrast, the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
called the reredos "heavily gorgeous".
The principal of the college resides in the lodgings, a Grade I listed building, on the north side of the first quadrangle between the chapel (to the east) and the hall (to the west). They were the last part of the first quadrangle to be built. Sir Eubule Thelwall, principal from 1621 to 1630, built the lodgings at his own expense, to include (in the words of the antiquarian Anthony Wood
) "a very fair dining-room adorned with wainscot curiously engraven". The shell-hood
over the doorway (which Pevsner called "beautiful") was added at some point between 1670 and 1740; Pevsner dates it to about 1700.
The hall has been said to be "among the most impressive of all the Oxford college halls", with its "fine panelling, austere ceiling, and its notable paintings". Like the chapel, it was largely built by Griffith Powell between 1613 and 1620, and was finally completed soon after his death in 1620. Pevsner noted the "elaborately decorated columns" of the screen (installed in 1634) and the dragons along the frieze, and said that it was one of the earliest examples in Oxford of panelling using four "L" shapes around a centre. In 1741 and 1742, the oak-beamed roof was covered with plaster to make rooms in the roof space. Pevsner described the 1741 cartouche
on the north wall, which contains the college crest, as "large [and] rich". The hall contains a portrait of Elizabeth I, as well as portraits of former principals and benefactors. There are also portraits by court artists of two other monarchs who were college benefactors: Charles I
(by Anthony van Dyck
) and Charles II
(by Sir Peter Lely
).
. Work began again in 1676, and the library (now the Fellows' Library) was completed by 1679. Under Jonathan Edwards (principal from 1688 to 1712), further rooms were built to complete the quadrangle; the project was completed just after his death in 1712. Pevsner described the second quadrangle as "a uniform composition", noting the "regular fenestration by windows with round-arched lights, their hood-moulds forming a continuous frieze". The Dutch gables have ogee
sides and semi-circular pediments. The writer Simon Jenkins
said that the quadrangle has "the familiar Oxford Tudor windows and decorative Dutch gables, crowding the skyline like Welsh dragons' teeth and lightened by exuberant flower boxes".
The Fellows' Library contains bookcases decorated with strapwork
dating from about 1628, which were used in an earlier library in the college. Hardy's opinion was that, "if only it had an open timber roof instead of the plain ceiling, it would be one of the most picturesque College Libraries". Another author said (in 1914, after the provision of a library for undergraduates elsewhere in the quadrangle) that it was "one of the most charming of Oxford libraries, and one of the least frequented". It holds 11,000 antiquarian printed books and houses many of the college's rare texts, including a Greek bible dating from 1545 and signed by Philipp Melanchthon
and others, much of the library of the scholar and philosopher Lord Herbert of Cherbury
and 17th-century volumes by Robert Boyle
and Sir Isaac Newton.
Library, after a major donor – there had been an undergraduate library in the second quadrangle since 1865, known as the Meyricke Library from 1882 onwards.
The Old Members' Building, which contains a music room, 24 study-bedrooms and some lecture rooms, was built between 1969 and 1971. It was built after a fundraising appeal to Old Members to mark the college's quatercentenary, and was opened by the Prince of Wales
in 1971. The Fellows' Garden is between the Old Members' Building and the rear of the rooms on the west side of the second quadrangle. In 2002, a two-year project to rebuild the property above the college-owned shops on Ship Street was completed. As part of the work, the bottom floor was converted from rooms occupied by students and fellows into a new Junior Common Room (JCR), to replace the common room in the second quadrangle, which was by then too small to cope with the increased numbers of students.
) in 1903 for use as a sports ground. Residential accommodation was first built at the sports ground in 1967 (Thelwall House, rebuilt in 1998), with additions between 1988 and 1990 (Hugh Price House and Leoline Jenkins House). A further development, known as Hazel Court (after Alfred Hazel
, principal 1925–1944), was built in 2000, bringing the total number of students who can be housed at the sports ground to 135.
Donations from Edwin Stevens
, an Old Member of the college, enabled the construction in 1974 of student flats at a site in north Oxford on the Woodstock Road, named "Stevens Close" in his honour. The college also owns a number of houses on Ship Street, which are used for student accommodation. It has purchased a further site in Ship Street at a cost of £1.8M, which will be converted at a projected cost of £5.5M to provide 31 student rooms with en-suite facilities, a 100-seat lecture theatre and other teaching rooms. The Ship Street Centre was officially opened by the Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Lord Patten of Barnes, on 25 September 2010.
The college is run by the Principal and Fellow
s. The Principal must be "a person distinguished for literary or scientific attainments, or for services in the work of education in the University or elsewhere". The Principal has "pre-eminence and authority over all members of the College and all persons connected therewith" and exercises "a general superintendence in all matters relating to education and discipline". The current Principal, Lord Krebs, was appointed in 2005. Fourteen Principals have been former students of the college: Griffith Powell
(elected in 1613) was the first and Alfred Hazel
(elected in 1925) was the most recent. The longest-serving principal was Henry Foulkes
, from 1817 to 1857.
When the college was founded in 1571, the first charter installed David Lewis
as Principal and named eight others as the first Fellows of the college. The statutes of 1622 allowed for 16 Fellows. There is now no limit on the number of Fellowships that the Governing Body can create. The college statutes provide for various categories of Fellows. Professorial Fellows are those Professor
s and Readers
of the University who are allocated to the college by the University. One of these professorships is the Jesus Professor of Celtic
, which is the only chair in Celtic Studies
at an English university. Celtic scholars such as Sir John Rhys
and Ellis Evans
have held the position since its creation in 1877. The current Professor of Celtic is Thomas Charles-Edwards
. The zoologists Charles Godfray
and Paul Harvey
are both Professorial Fellows. Official Fellows are those who hold tutorial or administrative appointments in the college. Past Official Fellows include the composer and musicologist John Caldwell
, the historians Sir Goronwy Edwards
and Niall Ferguson
, the philosopher Galen Strawson
and the political philosopher John Gray. There are also Senior and Junior Research Fellows. Principals and Fellows who retire can be elected as Emeritus
Fellows.
A further category is that of Welsh Supernumerary Fellows, who are, in rotation, the Vice-Chancellors of Cardiff University
, Swansea University
, Lampeter University, Aberystwyth University, Bangor University
and the University of Wales College of Medicine
. There is one Welsh Supernumerary Fellow at a time, holding the position for not longer than three years. The first of these was John Viriamu Jones
in 1897.
The college formerly had a category of missionary
Fellows, known as Leoline Fellows after their founder, Leoline Jenkins
(a former principal). In his will in 1685, he stated that "It is but too obvious that the persons in Holy Orders employed in his Majesty's fleet at sea and foreign plantations are too few." To address this, he established two Fellowships at Jesus College, whose holders should serve as clergy "in any of his Majesty's fleets or in his Majesty's plantations" under the direction of the Lord High Admiral
and the Bishop of London
respectively. The last of these, Frederick de Winton
, was appointed in 1876 and held his Fellowship until his death in 1932. This category was abolished in 1877 by the Oxford and Cambridge Universities Commission, without prejudice to the rights of existing holders such as de Winton. Another category of Fellowship that was abolished in the 19th century was that of the King Charles I Fellows, founded by King Charles in 1636 and tenable by natives of the Channel Islands
in an attempt by him to "reclaim the Channel Islands from the extreme Calvinism which characterised them." The first such Fellow was Daniel Brevint
.
The Governing Body has the ability to elect "distinguished persons" to Honorary Fellowships. Under the current statutes of the college, Honorary Fellows cannot vote at meetings of the Governing Body and do not receive financial reward. They can be called upon, however, to help decide whether to dismiss or discipline members of academic staff (including the Principal).
All but one of the Honorary Fellows – the journalist and broadcaster Francine Stock
– have been men. Three former Principals of the College (John Christie
, Sir John Habakkuk
and Sir Peter North
) have been elected Honorary Fellows on retirement. Some Honorary Fellows were formerly Fellows of the college, others were Old Members of the college, and some were in both categories. Others had no previous academic connection with the college before their election. Some of these were distinguished Welshmen – for example, the Welsh businessman Sir Alfred Jones
was elected in 1902 and the Welsh judge Sir Samuel Evans
, President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court
, was elected in 1918. The Welsh politician David Lloyd George
was elected to an Honorary Fellowship in 1910 when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer
. He wrote to Sir John Rhys, the Principal at the time, to thank the college for the honour, saying:
The first three Honorary Fellows, all former students of the college, were elected in October 1877: John Rhys, the first Jesus Professor of Celtic (later an Official Fellow (1881–1895) and Principal (1895–1915)); the historian John Richard Green
; and the poet Lewis Morris. The college noted in 1998 that the number of Honorary Fellows of the college was markedly below the average of other Oxford colleges and it adopted a more methodical approach to increase numbers. Seven Honorary Fellows were elected that year, followed by another five in 1999. The college's Honorary Fellows have included two Old Members who later became Prime Minister of their respective countries: Norman Washington Manley, who studied at Jesus College as a Rhodes Scholar and who was Chief Minister of Jamaica
from 1955 to 1962, and Harold Wilson, who was twice British Prime Minister
(1964–1970 and 1974–1976). As of March 2010, the longest-serving Honorary Fellow is Anatole Abragam
, who was elected in 1976.
Notable former students of the college have included politicians, scientists, writers, entertainers and academics. T. E. Lawrence
("Lawrence of Arabia"), known for his part in the Arab Revolt
of 1916–1918 and for his writings including Seven Pillars of Wisdom
, studied history at the college. His thesis on Crusader castles (the fieldwork for which marked the beginning of his fascination with the Middle East
) is held in the Fellows' Library. Other former students include Pixley ka Isaka Seme
(a founder and president of the African National Congress
), Sir William Williams (Speaker
of the House of Commons 1680–1685), and Lord Sankey
(Lord Chancellor
1929–1935). Members of Parliament from the three main political parties in the United Kingdom have attended the college, as have politicians from Australia (Neal Blewett
), New Zealand (Harold Rushworth
), Sri Lanka (Lalith Athulathmudali
) and the United States (Heather Wilson
).
The founders' hopes that their college would produce prominent Welsh clergy were fulfilled in no small measure when a former student, Alfred George Edwards
, was elected the first Archbishop of Wales
when the Church in Wales
was disestablished in 1920. Two later Archbishops of Wales, Glyn Simon
(Archbishop from 1968 to 1971) and Gwilym Owen Williams
(Archbishop 1971–1982) were also educated at the college. Celticists
associated with the college include Sir John Rhys, Sir John Morris-Jones
, and Sir Thomas (T. H.) Parry-Williams
, whilst the list of historians includes the college's first graduate, David Powel
, who published the first printed history of Wales in 1584, and the Victorian historian J. R. Green
. Angus Buchanan
won the Victoria Cross
during the First World War. Record-breaking quadriplegic solo sailor Hilary Lister
was also a student here, whilst from the field of arts and entertainment there are names such as Magnus Magnusson
, presenter of Mastermind
, the National Poet of Wales Gwyn Thomas
, and television weather presenters Kirsty McCabe
and Siân Lloyd
. Nigel Hitchin
, the Savilian Professor of Geometry
at Oxford since 1997, studied at the college, as did Edward Hinds
(a physicist who won the Rumford Medal
in 2008), Chris Rapley
(director of the Science Museum
), and the zoologists Edward Bagnall Poulton
and James Brontë Gatenby
.
or The Oxford Student
. The Turl Street Arts Festival
(a week-long student-organised event) is held annually in conjunction with the two other colleges on Turl Street, Exeter
and Lincoln
colleges. The festival, which takes place in Fifth Week of Hilary term
, includes exhibitions, plays and concerts. Although the college does not award choral scholar
ships, the chapel choir is well-attended by college members and others. The choir is non-auditioning for college members, and is run by one or more undergraduate organ scholar
s.
In common with many Oxford colleges, Jesus provides sporting facilities for students, including playing fields at a site in east Oxford off the Cowley Road known as Bartlemas (for its proximity to St Bartholomew's Chapel). Football, rugby, netball, field hockey, cricket, and tennis can be played there. Squash courts are at a separate city-centre site on St Cross Road
. The college also provides students with membership of the university's gym and swimming pool on Iffley Road
.
Jesus College Boat Club (commonly abbreviated to JCBC) is the rowing
club for members of the college. The club was formed in 1835, but rowing at the college predates the foundation of the club: a boat from the college was involved in the earliest recorded races between college crews at Oxford in 1815, when it competed against a crew from Brasenose College
. These may have been the only two colleges who had boats racing at that time, and the Brasenose boat was usually victorious. Neither the men's nor the women's 1st VIIIs
have been "Head of the River
" during Eights Week
, the main college races, but the women's 1st VIII was Head of the River in the spring races, Torpids
, between 1980 and 1983. Jesus boats have also had other successful seasons: the 1896 Jesus College boat had a reputation of being one of the faster boats in the university, and the women's 1st VIII of 1993 won their "blades"
in the first divisions of both Torpids and Eights Week, an achievement that led to the crew being described in the Jesus College Record as vying "not just for the College team of the decade, but perhaps for the team of the last three decades", in any sport.
A number of college members have rowed for the university against Cambridge University in the Boat Race and the Women's Boat Race
. Barney Williams
, a Canadian rower who studied at the college, won a silver medal in rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics
, and participated in the Boat Race in 2005 and 2006. Other students who rowed while at the college have achieved success in other fields, including John Sankey, who became Lord Chancellor
, Alwyn Williams
, who became Bishop of Durham, and Maurice Jones
, who became Principal of St David's College, Lampeter. Another college rower, James Page
, was appointed Secretary of the Amateur Rowing Association
and coached both the Oxford
and Cambridge
University boat clubs.
The college boathouse
, which is shared with the boat club of Keble College
, is in Christ Church Meadow, on the Isis (as the River Thames
is called in Oxford). It dates from 1964 and replaced a moored barge
used by spectators and crew-members. The last college barge had been purchased from one of the Livery Companies of the City of London
in 1911. It is now a floating restaurant further down the Thames at Richmond, and for some years was painted in the college colours of green and white.
Education in Wales
had been stimulated by the foundation of grammar schools during the reigns of Henry VIII
and Edward VI
: King Henry VIII Grammar School
in Abergavenny
and Christ College, Brecon
were established in the 1540s, and Friars School, Bangor
dates from 1557. However, despite the numbers of Welsh students coming to Oxford University as a result, there was no special provision for Welshmen before 1571. Despite the links with Wales that Hugh Price and many of the founding Fellows had, neither the 1571 charter nor any of the later charters limited entry to the college to Welshmen. Nevertheless, the college students were predominately Welsh from the outset, and the college became "the pinnacle of the academic ambition of the young men of Wales". Many of the fellows in the past were Welsh, since when new fellowships were created by benefactions (often by people of Welsh descent) there was frequently a stipulation that the recipients would be related to the donor or come from a specified part of Wales. These specific limitations were removed as part of reforms of Oxford University during the 19th century. Between 1571 and 1915, only one Principal (Francis Howell
, 1657–1660) was not from Wales or of Welsh descent.
Jesus still has a particular association with Wales and is often referred to as "the Welsh college". The college is home to the university's Professor of Celtic
, and a specialist Celtic
library in addition to the college's normal library. Meyrick scholarships, from the bequest of Edmund Meyrick
in 1713, are awarded for academic merit where the student is a native of Wales (or the child of a native of Wales), able to speak Welsh
or was educated for the last three years of secondary school in Wales.
The college's undergraduate gossip sheet is entitled The Sheepshagger in allusion to an offensive joke about Welsh people's supposed penchant for sheep
. Furthermore, the Welshness of the College is self-perpetuating, as Welsh students will often apply to Jesus because it is seen as the Welsh college. Old members recall the college having a majority of Welsh members until well into the 20th century; today, however, around 15% of undergraduates come from Wales. For comparison, residents of Wales comprise just under 5% of the United Kingdom population (2.9 million out of a total of 58.8 million at the time of the 2001 Census
).
In modern times, the Welsh roots of the college come to the fore most prominently on Saint David's Day
. The feast is marked by a choral Evensong in the chapel, decorated for the occasion with daffodils. The service, including music, is conducted entirely in Welsh (despite only a small minority of the choir usually being native speakers
of the language). It is generally well attended by members of the Welsh community in Oxford. The college's annual St. David's Day Dinner traditionally culminates with the serving of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn's Pudding. The name recalls the Welsh politician and prominent Jacobite
who attended the college early in the 18th century.
punch bowl
, presented by Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn in 1732. The bowl, which weighs more than 200 ounces (5.7 kg) and holds 10 gallons (45.5 l), was used at a dinner held in the Radcliffe Camera
in 1814, to celebrate what was supposed to be the final defeat of Napoleon
. Those present at the dinner included the Tsar
, the King of Prussia
, Blücher
, Metternich
, the Prince Regent
, the Duke of York
and the Duke of Wellington
. There is a college tradition that the bowl will be presented to anyone who can meet two challenges. The first is to put arms around the bowl at its widest point; the second is to drain the bowl of strong punch. The bowl measures 5 in 2 in (1.57 m) at its widest point, and so the first challenge has only been accomplished rarely; the second challenge has not been met.
The college's coat of arms
, in heraldic
terminology, is Vert, three stags trippant argent attired or. The arms are not those of Hugh Price. His arms, according to their depiction in the margins of his will, were gules
(red) a chevron ermine between three fleurs-des-lis
. The arms were not granted or authorised by the College of Arms
, but the length of time for which they have been used has given them a prescriptive authority.
The earliest depiction of the arms was thought to be about 1590, in a document held by the College of Arms, which refers to the stags appearing on a blue (in heraldic terms, azure
) background but subsequent examination of this document by Peter Donoghue, Bluemantle Pursuivant shows that the arms were added c.1680 . The first known appearance of the arms is therefore on John Speed’s Map of Oxfordshire in 1605 with a blue field. The green field made its appearance by 1619 in an armorial quarry painted by one of the Van Linge brothers. The green background became generally (but not universally) used by the 1730s, still appearing as horizontal hatchings indicating azure were in use on bookplates for the college library as late as 1761.
There are similarities with the arms of Lincoln College, Oxford
, where one of the elements consists of three golden stags statant (standing still); this was derived from the coat of arms of Lincoln's so-called "second founder", Thomas Rotherham
. It was once claimed that Jesus had stolen the stags from Lincoln, but the counter-argument (from an antiquarian with close Lincoln connections) was that the origins of each were distinct. One suggestion (by Paul Langford
, the Rector of Lincoln College) is that Jesus College continued the arms adopted by a theological college founded by Rotherham in his home town – Jesus College, Rotherham
– which had been suppressed in the time of Edward VI
.
The arms of Maud Green, Lady Parr
, mother of Catherine Parr
(the last of the six wives
of Henry VIII
and stepmother to Elizabeth I), were of three stags on an azure background, and this became one of the elements of the arms of Catherine Parr on her marriage. Her sister, Anne Parr, married William, 1st Earl of Pembroke, whose grandson (the 3rd Earl
, also called William) became the first Visitor
of the college in 1622. Maud Green's arms are depicted in plasterwork from about 1592 at Powis Castle
, owned by a kinsman of the earls. One writer has suggested that the college may have adopted the arms in order to be associated with one of the leading Welsh families of the day.
This latter theory is not heraldically tenable as the quarters in an achievement after the first and pronominal quarter brought into the family by marriage to heraldic heiresses cannot meaningfully exist on their own to represent the person who now quarters them. It is more probable then that the arms of the College really are those of Archbishop Rotherham and were assumed to be those of the College by John Speed who saw them on one of its buildings in 1605 when preparing his map. Lawrence Hall in Ship Street was given to Rotherham in 1476 and leased to Jesus in 1572. It may well have displayed the Archbishop’s arms in its structure as did the building on the south side of the front quad of Lincoln which he completed. These arms for Jesus College could not be confused with those of Lincoln as that College, since 1574, already had a complex tripartite coat granted to it by Richard Lee, Portcullis Pursuivant, in which the colour of the stags in the centre section had been changed to Or (gold) and their attitude to statant.
Translation:
Translation:
Colleges of the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 Permanent Private Halls of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university, and all teaching staff and students studying for a degree of the university must belong to one of the colleges...
of the University of 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...
in England. It is in the centre of the city
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, on a site between Turl Street
Turl Street
Turl Street is an historic street in central Oxford, England.- Location :The street is located in the city centre, linking Broad Street at the north and High Street at the south. It is colloquially known as The Turl and runs past three of Oxford's historic colleges: Exeter, Jesus and Lincoln...
, Ship Street
Ship Street, Oxford
Ship Street is a historic street that runs east–west in central Oxford, England.- Location :The street lies north of Jesus College and west of Exeter College, two of Oxford University's historic colleges. To the south, at the western end is the Junior Common Room and to the eastern end is the...
, Cornmarket Street
Cornmarket Street
Cornmarket Street is a major shopping street and pedestrian precinct in Oxford, England that runs north-south between Carfax Tower and Magdalen Street.Retailers in Cornmarket include:* Austin Reed...
and Market Street
Market Street, Oxford
Market Street runs east-west in central Oxford, England.The street lies north of the Covered Market, a historic roofed market with permanent stalls that is still very much active today, and north of Lincoln College's Lincoln House accommodation complex. To the west is the major pedestrianised...
. The college was founded by Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
on 27 June 1571 for the education of clergy, though students now study a broad range of secular subjects. A major driving force behind the establishment of the college was Hugh Price
Hugh Price (lawyer)
Hugh Price was a Welsh lawyer and clergyman who was instrumental in the founding of Jesus College, Oxford.Price was born in Brecon, in mid-Wales, the son of a butcher named Rhys ap Rhys. He began his education either in Brecon or at Osney Abbey near Oxford...
(or Ap Rhys), a churchman from Brecon
Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and the college continues to be associated informally with Wales to this day. The oldest buildings, in the first 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...
, date from the 16th and early 17th centuries; a second quadrangle was added between about 1640 and about 1713, and a third quadrangle was built in about 1906. Further accommodation was built on the main site to mark the 400th anniversary of the college, in 1971, and student flats have been constructed at sites in north and east Oxford.
The life of the college was disrupted by the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Leoline Jenkins
Leoline Jenkins
Sir Leoline Jenkins was a Welsh academic, jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer serving in the Admiralty courts, and diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties .-Biography:...
, who became principal after the war in 1661, put the college on a more stable financial footing. Little happened at the college during the 18th century, and the 19th century saw a decline in numbers and academic standards. Reforms of Oxford University after two Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
s in the latter half of the 19th century led to removal of many of the restrictions placed on the college's fellowships and scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s, such that the college ceased to be predominantly full of Welsh students and academics. 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
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
(who was twice British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
), Norman Washington Manley (Chief Minister of Jamaica
Prime Minister of Jamaica
The Prime Minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Andrew Holness was elected as the new leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party and succeeded Bruce Golding to become Jamaica's ninth Prime Minister on 23 October 2011...
), T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
("Lawrence of Arabia"), Angus Buchanan
Angus Buchanan
Angus Buchanan, VC, MC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Early life:...
(winner of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
), and Viscount Sankey
John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey
John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey GBE, KStJ, PC, KC was a prominent British lawyer, judge and Labour politician, famous for many of his judgments in the House of Lords...
(Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
). The university's professorship of Celtic
Jesus Professor of Celtic
The Jesus Professorship of Celtic is a professorship in Celtic studies at the University of Oxford within the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages. The holder is also a Professorial Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. The chair was established in 1876, and the first professor was Sir John Rhys...
is attached to the college, a post held by scholars such as Sir John Rhys
John Rhys
Sir John Rhys was a Welsh scholar, fellow of the British Academy, celticist and the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University.-Early years and education:...
, Ellis Evans
Ellis Evans
Ellis Evans is a Welsh scholar and academic. He was born in the Towy Valley in Carmarthenshire and went to Llandeilo Grammar School....
and Thomas Charles-Edwards
Thomas Charles-Edwards
Thomas Mowbray Charles-Edwards FRHistS FLSW FBA is an academic at Oxford University. He holds the post of Jesus Professor of Celtic and is a Professorial Fellow at Jesus College....
. Past or present fellows of the college include the historians Sir Goronwy Edwards
Goronwy Edwards
Sir Goronwy Edwards F.B.A. was a Welsh historian. After 29 years as a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, he spent 12 years as Director of the Institute of Historical Research and Professor of History at the University of London....
and Niall Ferguson
Niall Ferguson
Niall Campbell Douglas Ferguson is a British historian. His specialty is financial and economic history, particularly hyperinflation and the bond markets, as well as the history of colonialism.....
, the philosopher Galen Strawson
Galen Strawson
Galen John Strawson is a British philosopher and literary critic who works primarily on philosophy of mind, metaphysics , John Locke, David Hume and Kant. He was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford , from where he won a scholarship to Winchester College...
and the political philosopher John Gray.
Foundation
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
issued a royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
. It was the first Protestant
Protestantism in the United Kingdom
Protestantism is the most popular religion practiced in the United Kingdom today. It has also played a huge role in the shaping of political and religious life in these nations...
college to be founded at the university, and it is the only Oxford college to date from Elizabeth's reign. It was the first new Oxford college since 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, when Trinity College
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
and St John's College
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
were founded as Roman Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Great Britain
Roman Catholicism in the United Kingdom refers to the practice of Roman Catholicism in Great Britain and Ireland since the creation of the United Kingdom....
colleges. The foundation charter named a Principal (David Lewis
David Lewis (lawyer)
David Lewis was a lawyer, Judge and the first Principal of Jesus College, Oxford.- Early life :Lewis was born in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales. He was educated at King Henry VIII Grammar School in the town...
), eight Fellows, eight Scholars
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
, and eight Commissioners to draw up the statutes for the college. The commissioners included Hugh Price
Hugh Price (lawyer)
Hugh Price was a Welsh lawyer and clergyman who was instrumental in the founding of Jesus College, Oxford.Price was born in Brecon, in mid-Wales, the son of a butcher named Rhys ap Rhys. He began his education either in Brecon or at Osney Abbey near Oxford...
, who had petitioned the queen to found a college at Oxford "that he might bestow his estate of the maintenance of certain scholars of Wales to be trained up in good letters." The college was originally intended primarily for the education of clergymen. The particular intention was to satisfy a need for dedicated, learned clergy to promote the Elizabethan Religious Settlement
Elizabethan Religious Settlement
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was Elizabeth I’s response to the religious divisions created over the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. This response, described as "The Revolution of 1559", was set out in two Acts of the Parliament of England...
in the parishes of England, Ireland and Wales. The college has since broadened the range of subjects offered, beginning with the inclusion of medicine and law, and now offers almost the full range of subjects taught at the university. The letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
issued by Elizabeth I made it clear that the education of a priest in the 16th century included more than just theology, however:
Price continued to be closely involved with the college after its foundation. On the strength of a promised legacy, worth £60 a year on his death (approximately £ in present day terms), he requested and received the authority to appoint the new college's Principal, Fellows and Scholars. He financed early building work in the college's front 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...
, but on his death in 1574 it transpired that the college received only a lump sum
Lump sum
A lump sum is a single payment of money, as opposed to a series of payments made over time .The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development distinguishes between "price analysis" and "cost analysis" by whether the decision maker compares lump sum amounts, or subjects contract prices...
of around £600 (approximately £ in present day terms). Problems with his bequest meant that it was not received in full for about 25 years. As the college had no other donors at this time, "for many years the college had buildings but no revenue".
17th century
Herbert Westfaling
Herbert Westfaling , 1531/2–1602, was Anglican Bishop of Hereford and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford....
, the Bishop of Hereford
Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
, left enough property to support two fellowships and scholarships (with the significant proviso that "my kindred shallbe always preferred before anie others"). Sir Eubule Thelwall
Eubule Thelwall
Sir Eubule Thelwall a Welsh lawyer, academic and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1624 and 1629. He was principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1621 to 1630.-Life:...
(principal 1621–30) spent much of his own money on the construction of a chapel, hall and library for the college. The library, constructed above an over-weak colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
, was pulled down under the principalship of Francis Mansell
Francis Mansell
Francis Mansell was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford on three occasions: from 1620 to 1621; from 1630 to 1648, when he was ejected during the English Civil War; and from 1660 to 1661. He had previously studied at the college.-References:...
(1630–49), who also built two staircases of residential accommodation to attract the sons of Welsh gentry families to the College.
The English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
"all but destroyed the corporate life of the college." Mansell was removed from his position as principal and Michael Roberts
Michael Roberts (college principal)
Michael Roberts was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1648 to 1657.-Life:Roberts came from the parish of Llanffinan in Anglesey, Wales, but his date of birth is uncertain. He graduated with a BA from Trinity College, Dublin in 1620 and was incorporated at Oxford and Cambridge in 1624...
was installed. After the Restoration, Mansell was briefly reinstated as principal, before resigning in favour of Leoline Jenkins
Leoline Jenkins
Sir Leoline Jenkins was a Welsh academic, jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer serving in the Admiralty courts, and diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties .-Biography:...
. It was Jenkins (principal 1661–73) who secured the long-term viability of the college. On his death, in 1685, he bequeathed a large complex of estates, acquired largely by lawyer friends from the over-mortgaged landowners of the Restoration period. These estates allowed the college's sixteen fellowships and scholarships to be filled for the first time – officially, sixteen of each had been supported since 1622, but the college's income was too small to keep all occupied simultaneously. In 1713, the bequest of Welsh clergyman and former student Edmund Meyricke established a number of scholarships for students from north Wales.
18th and 19th centuries
The 18th century, in contrast to the disruption of the 17th century, was a comparatively quiet time for the college. A historian of the college, J. N. L. BakerJ. N. L. Baker
John Norman Leonard Baker was a geographer associated with Jesus College, Oxford for nearly sixty years....
, wrote that the college records for this time "tell of little but routine entries and departures of fellows and scholars". The Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
saw a reduction in the numbers of students and entries in the records for the purchase of musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
s and other items for college members serving in the university corps. After the war, numbers rose, to an average of twenty new students per year between 1821 and 1830. However, debts owed to the college had increased, perhaps due to the economic effects of the war – by 1832, the college was owed £986 10s 5d (approximately £ in present day terms). During the first half of the 19th century, the academic strength of the college diminished: scholarships were sometimes not awarded because of a lack of suitable candidates, and numbers fell: there were only seven new entrants in 1842. Ernest Hardy
Ernest George Hardy
Ernest George Hardy was a classicist and Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1921 to 1925.Hardy was born in Hampstead, England and was educated at Highgate School. He then went to Exeter College, Oxford from 1871 to 1875, where he was a scholar and achieved a double-first in Literae Humaniores...
wrote in his history of the college in 1899 that it had been becoming "increasingly evident for years... that the exclusive connection with Wales was ruining the college as a place of education."
A Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
was appointed in 1852 to investigate the university. The college wished to retain its links with Wales, and initial reforms were limited despite the wishes of the commissioners: those scholarships that were limited to particular parts of Wales were opened to the whole of Wales, and half of the fellowships awarded were to remain open only to Welshmen if and so long as the Principal and Fellows shall deem it expedient for the interests of education in connection with the Principality of Wales. All the scholarships at the college, except for two, and all the exhibitions
Exhibition (scholarship)
-United Kingdom and Ireland:At the universities of Dublin, Oxford and Cambridge, and at Westminster School, Eton College and Winchester College, and various other UK educational establishments, an exhibition is a financial award or grant to an individual student, normally on grounds of merit. The...
were still restricted to students from Wales. The numbers of students at the college still fell, despite prizes being awarded for success in university examinations. Hugo Harper
Hugo Harper
Hugo Daniel Harper was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1877 to 1895.Harper was educated at Christ's Hospital and won a scholarship to Jesus College in 1840. He obtained a second in classical moderations, followed by a First in Mathematics in 1844. He was a Fellow of Jesus College between...
, principal from 1877 to 1895, noted the continuing academic decline. Speaking in 1879, he noted that fewer students from the college were reaching high standards in examinations, and that more Welsh students were choosing to study at other Oxford colleges in preference to Jesus. A further Royal Commission was appointed. This led to further changes at the college: in 1882, the fellowships reserved to Welshmen were made open to all, and only half (instead of all) of the 24 scholarships were to be reserved for Welsh candidates. Thereafter, numbers gradually rose and the non-Welsh element at the college increased, so that by 1914 only about half of the students were Welsh.
20th century
During the First World War, "the college in the ordinary sense almost ceased to exist". From 129 students in the summer of 1914, numbers dropped to 36 in the spring of 1916. Some refugee students from Belgium and Serbia lodged in empty rooms in the college during 1916, and officers of the Royal Flying CorpsRoyal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
resided from August 1916 to December 1918. After the war, numbers rose and fellowships were added in new subjects: history (1919 and 1933); theology (1927); physics (1934); a second fellowship in chemistry (1924); and modern languages (lectureship 1921, fellowship 1944). The improved teaching led to greater success in university examinations and prizes.
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
traditionally seen as the most prestigious. The college did, however, attract many academically able entrants from the grammar schools (particularly those in northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
and Scotland). Among these grammar-school boys was Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, who would later become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. During the Second World War, many of the fellows served in the armed forces or carried out war work in Oxford. The college remained full of students, though, as it provided lodgings for students from other colleges whose buildings had been requisitioned, and also housed officers on military courses.
The college had its own science laboratories from 1907 to 1947, which were overseen (for all but the last three years) by the physical chemist
Physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...
David Chapman
David Chapman (scientist)
David Leonard Chapman FRS was an English physical chemist, whose name is associated with the Chapman-Jouget treatment and the Gouy-Chapman layer...
, a fellow of the college from 1907 to 1944. At the time of their closure, they were the last college-based science laboratories at the university. They were named the Sir Leoline Jenkins
Leoline Jenkins
Sir Leoline Jenkins was a Welsh academic, jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer serving in the Admiralty courts, and diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties .-Biography:...
laboratories, after a former principal of the college. The laboratories led to scientific research and tuition (particularly in chemistry) becoming an important part of the college's academic life. The brochure produced for the opening ceremony noted that the number of science students at the college had increased rapidly in recent years, and that provision of college laboratories would assist the tuition of undergraduates, as well as attracting to Jesus College graduates of the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
who wished to continue their research at Oxford. A link between one of the college science lecturers and Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
(ICI) led to 17 students joining ICI between the two World Wars, some, such as John Rose
John Rose (chemist)
John Donald Rose FRS was a British industrial chemist, who worked for Imperial Chemical Industries from 1935 to 1972. His posts at ICI included director of research and chairman of the paints division...
, reaching senior levels in the company. The laboratories became unnecessary when the university began to provide centralised facilities for students; they were closed in 1947.
The quatercentenary of the college, in 1971, saw the opening of the Old Members' Buildings in the third quadrangle. Further student accommodation has been built at the sports ground and at a site in north Oxford. In 1974, Jesus was among the first group of five men's colleges to admit women as members, the others being Brasenose
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
, Wadham
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
, Hertford
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...
and St Catherine's
St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College, often called Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera...
; between one-third and one-half of the undergraduates are women. A long-standing rivalry with nearby Exeter College
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
reached a peak in 1979, with seven police vehicles and three fire engines involved in dealing with trouble in Turl Street. Sir John Habakkuk
John Habakkuk
Sir John Habakkuk was a British economic historian.-Biography:Habakkuk was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, the son of Evan and Anne Habakkuk. He was named "Hrothgar" after Hroðgar in Beowulf, which his father was reading at the time of his birth...
(principal 1967–84) and Sir Peter North
Peter North (academic)
Sir Peter Machin North, CBE QC FBA was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1984–2005 and Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, England from 1993–1997...
(principal 1984–2005) both served terms as Vice-Chancellor of the university, from 1973 to 1977 and from 1993 to 1997 respectively.
Location and buildings
The main buildings are located in the centre of Oxford, between Turl StreetTurl Street
Turl Street is an historic street in central Oxford, England.- Location :The street is located in the city centre, linking Broad Street at the north and High Street at the south. It is colloquially known as The Turl and runs past three of Oxford's historic colleges: Exeter, Jesus and Lincoln...
, Ship Street
Ship Street, Oxford
Ship Street is a historic street that runs east–west in central Oxford, England.- Location :The street lies north of Jesus College and west of Exeter College, two of Oxford University's historic colleges. To the south, at the western end is the Junior Common Room and to the eastern end is the...
, Cornmarket Street
Cornmarket Street
Cornmarket Street is a major shopping street and pedestrian precinct in Oxford, England that runs north-south between Carfax Tower and Magdalen Street.Retailers in Cornmarket include:* Austin Reed...
and Market Street
Market Street, Oxford
Market Street runs east-west in central Oxford, England.The street lies north of the Covered Market, a historic roofed market with permanent stalls that is still very much active today, and north of Lincoln College's Lincoln House accommodation complex. To the west is the major pedestrianised...
. The main entrance is on Turl Street. The buildings are arranged in three 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...
s, the first quadrangle containing the oldest college buildings and the third quadrangle the newest. The foundation charter gave to the college a site between Market Street and Ship Street (which is still occupied by the college) as well as the buildings of a defunct university academic hall on the site, called White Hall. The buildings that now surround the first quadrangle were erected in stages between 1571 and the 1620s; the principal's lodgings were the last to be built. Progress was slow because the new college lacked the "generous endowments" that earlier colleges enjoyed. Before new buildings were completed, the students lived in the old buildings of White Hall.
First quadrangle
Giles Worsley
Dr Giles Arthington Worsley MA, PhD, FSA was an English architectural historian, author, editor, journalist and critic, specialising in British country houses...
has described the chapel's east window (added in 1636) as an instance of Gothic Revival architecture, rather than Gothic Survival, since a choice was made to use an outdated style – classical architecture
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
had become accepted as "the only style in which it was respectable to build". Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards (academic)
Jonathan Edwards was a theologian and Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1686 to 1712.Born in Wrexham, Wales, Edwards studied at Christ Church, Oxford from 1655 to 1659. He became a Fellow of Jesus College in 1662, Vice-Principal in 1668 and Principal on 2 November 1686...
(principal from 1686 to 1712) is reported to have spent £1,000 (approximately £ in present day terms) during his lifetime on the interior of the chapel, including the addition of a screen separating the main part of the chapel from the ante-chapel
Ante-chapel
Ante-chapel is the term given to that portion of a chapel which lies on the western side of the choir screen.In some of the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge the ante-chapel is carried north and south across the west end of the chapel, constituting a western transept or narthex...
(at the west end) in 1693. In 1853, stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
by George Hedgeland
George Hedgeland
George Caleb Hedgeland was a British designer of stained glass windows in the 19th century. He was the son of the architect John Pike Hedgeland and worked from a studio in London in the 1850s. His work, which was displayed at the Great Exhibition in 1851, was characterised by the use of bold designs...
was added to the east window. In 1863, the architect George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
was appointed to renovate the chapel. The arch of the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
was widened, the original Jacobean woodwork was removed (save for the screen donated by Edwards and the pulpit), new seats were installed, new paving was placed in the main part of the chapel and a stone reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
was added behind the altar. Views of the changes have differed. On 21 October 1864, Building News reported that the restoration was nearing completion and was of "a very spirited character". It said that the new "handsome" arch showed the east window "to great advantage", with "other improvements" including a "handsome reredos". Ernest Hardy
Ernest George Hardy
Ernest George Hardy was a classicist and Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1921 to 1925.Hardy was born in Hampstead, England and was educated at Highgate School. He then went to Exeter College, Oxford from 1871 to 1875, where he was a scholar and achieved a double-first in Literae Humaniores...
, principal from 1921 to 1925, said that the work was "ill-considered", described the reredos as "somewhat tawdry" and said that the Jacobean woodwork had been sold off too cheaply. In contrast, the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
called the reredos "heavily gorgeous".
The principal of the college resides in the lodgings, a Grade I listed building, on the north side of the first quadrangle between the chapel (to the east) and the hall (to the west). They were the last part of the first quadrangle to be built. Sir Eubule Thelwall, principal from 1621 to 1630, built the lodgings at his own expense, to include (in the words of the antiquarian Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood or Anthony à Wood was an English antiquary.-Early life:Anthony Wood was the fourth son of Thomas Wood , BCL of Oxford, where Anthony was born...
) "a very fair dining-room adorned with wainscot curiously engraven". The shell-hood
Hood mould
In architecture, a hood mould, also called a label mould or dripstone, is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater...
over the doorway (which Pevsner called "beautiful") was added at some point between 1670 and 1740; Pevsner dates it to about 1700.
The hall has been said to be "among the most impressive of all the Oxford college halls", with its "fine panelling, austere ceiling, and its notable paintings". Like the chapel, it was largely built by Griffith Powell between 1613 and 1620, and was finally completed soon after his death in 1620. Pevsner noted the "elaborately decorated columns" of the screen (installed in 1634) and the dragons along the frieze, and said that it was one of the earliest examples in Oxford of panelling using four "L" shapes around a centre. In 1741 and 1742, the oak-beamed roof was covered with plaster to make rooms in the roof space. Pevsner described the 1741 cartouche
Cartouche (design)
A cartouche is an oval or oblong design with a slightly convex surface, typically edged with ornamental scrollwork. It is used to hold a painted or low relief design....
on the north wall, which contains the college crest, as "large [and] rich". The hall contains a portrait of Elizabeth I, as well as portraits of former principals and benefactors. There are also portraits by court artists of two other monarchs who were college benefactors: Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
(by Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
) and Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
(by Sir Peter Lely
Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely was a painter of Dutch origin, whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.-Life:...
).
Second quadrangle
In 1640, Francis Mansell (appointed principal in 1630) began construction of a second quadrangle with buildings along the north and south sides; further work was interrupted by the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Work began again in 1676, and the library (now the Fellows' Library) was completed by 1679. Under Jonathan Edwards (principal from 1688 to 1712), further rooms were built to complete the quadrangle; the project was completed just after his death in 1712. Pevsner described the second quadrangle as "a uniform composition", noting the "regular fenestration by windows with round-arched lights, their hood-moulds forming a continuous frieze". The Dutch gables have ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
sides and semi-circular pediments. The writer Simon Jenkins
Simon Jenkins
Sir Simon David Jenkins is a British newspaper columnist and author, and since November 2008 has been chairman of the National Trust. He currently writes columns for both The Guardian and London's Evening Standard, and was previously a commentator for The Times, which he edited from 1990 to 1992...
said that the quadrangle has "the familiar Oxford Tudor windows and decorative Dutch gables, crowding the skyline like Welsh dragons' teeth and lightened by exuberant flower boxes".
The Fellows' Library contains bookcases decorated with strapwork
Strapwork
In the history of art and design, the term strapwork refers to a stylised representation in ornament of strips or bands of curling leather, parchment or metal cut into elaborate shapes, with piercings and often interwoven...
dating from about 1628, which were used in an earlier library in the college. Hardy's opinion was that, "if only it had an open timber roof instead of the plain ceiling, it would be one of the most picturesque College Libraries". Another author said (in 1914, after the provision of a library for undergraduates elsewhere in the quadrangle) that it was "one of the most charming of Oxford libraries, and one of the least frequented". It holds 11,000 antiquarian printed books and houses many of the college's rare texts, including a Greek bible dating from 1545 and signed by Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...
and others, much of the library of the scholar and philosopher Lord Herbert of Cherbury
Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury
Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Chirbury was an Anglo-Welsh soldier, diplomat, historian, poet and religious philosopher of the Kingdom of England.-Early life:...
and 17th-century volumes by Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
and Sir Isaac Newton.
Third quadrangle
The long but narrow third quadrangle adjoins Ship Street, on the north of the site and to the west of the garden of the principal's lodgings, where the college has owned some land since its foundation. In the 18th century, this was home to the college stables. A fire in 1904 led to the demolition of the stables and the gateway to Ship Street. Replacement buildings adjoining Ship Street, effectively creating a third quadrangle for the college, were constructed between 1906 and 1908. It contained the college's science laboratories (now closed) and a new gate-tower, as well as further living accommodation and a library for students, known as the MeyrickeEdmund Meyrick
Edmund Meyrick was a Welsh cleric and benefactor of Jesus College, Oxford, where scholarships are still awarded in his name.-Life:...
Library, after a major donor – there had been an undergraduate library in the second quadrangle since 1865, known as the Meyricke Library from 1882 onwards.
The Old Members' Building, which contains a music room, 24 study-bedrooms and some lecture rooms, was built between 1969 and 1971. It was built after a fundraising appeal to Old Members to mark the college's quatercentenary, and was opened by the Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
in 1971. The Fellows' Garden is between the Old Members' Building and the rear of the rooms on the west side of the second quadrangle. In 2002, a two-year project to rebuild the property above the college-owned shops on Ship Street was completed. As part of the work, the bottom floor was converted from rooms occupied by students and fellows into a new Junior Common Room (JCR), to replace the common room in the second quadrangle, which was by then too small to cope with the increased numbers of students.
Other buildings
The college purchased 10 acre (0.0404686 km²; 0.0156250138152179 sq mi) of land in east Oxford (near the Cowley RoadCowley Road, Oxford
Cowley Road is an arterial road in the city of Oxford, England, following a southeasterly route from the city centre at The Plain roundabout near Magdalen Bridge, through the inner city area of East Oxford, and into the industrial suburb of Cowley...
) in 1903 for use as a sports ground. Residential accommodation was first built at the sports ground in 1967 (Thelwall House, rebuilt in 1998), with additions between 1988 and 1990 (Hugh Price House and Leoline Jenkins House). A further development, known as Hazel Court (after Alfred Hazel
Alfred Hazel
Alfred Ernest William Hazel CBE KC was a British Liberal Party Member of Parliament and legal academic at the University of Oxford....
, principal 1925–1944), was built in 2000, bringing the total number of students who can be housed at the sports ground to 135.
Donations from Edwin Stevens
Edwin Stevens
Edwin Stevens CBE was a Welsh inventor who designed the world's first wearable electronic hearing aid. He was also a philanthropist, becoming a major benefactor to the Royal Society of Medicine, and to Jesus College, Oxford, at which he had studied between 1927 and 1929.-Life:Stevens was born at...
, an Old Member of the college, enabled the construction in 1974 of student flats at a site in north Oxford on the Woodstock Road, named "Stevens Close" in his honour. The college also owns a number of houses on Ship Street, which are used for student accommodation. It has purchased a further site in Ship Street at a cost of £1.8M, which will be converted at a projected cost of £5.5M to provide 31 student rooms with en-suite facilities, a 100-seat lecture theatre and other teaching rooms. The Ship Street Centre was officially opened by the Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Lord Patten of Barnes, on 25 September 2010.
Principals and Fellows
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
s. The Principal must be "a person distinguished for literary or scientific attainments, or for services in the work of education in the University or elsewhere". The Principal has "pre-eminence and authority over all members of the College and all persons connected therewith" and exercises "a general superintendence in all matters relating to education and discipline". The current Principal, Lord Krebs, was appointed in 2005. Fourteen Principals have been former students of the college: Griffith Powell
Griffith Powell
Griffith Powell was a philosopher and Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1613 to 1620.-Life:Powell was the third of four sons of John ap Hywel of Llansawel, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Powell matriculated at Jesus College in 1581, obtaining his BA in 1584, MA in 1589, and BCL in 1593. He was...
(elected in 1613) was the first and Alfred Hazel
Alfred Hazel
Alfred Ernest William Hazel CBE KC was a British Liberal Party Member of Parliament and legal academic at the University of Oxford....
(elected in 1925) was the most recent. The longest-serving principal was Henry Foulkes
Henry Foulkes
Henry Foulkes of North Wales was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1817 to his death. He holds the record for the long-serving Principal of the college....
, from 1817 to 1857.
When the college was founded in 1571, the first charter installed David Lewis
David Lewis (lawyer)
David Lewis was a lawyer, Judge and the first Principal of Jesus College, Oxford.- Early life :Lewis was born in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales. He was educated at King Henry VIII Grammar School in the town...
as Principal and named eight others as the first Fellows of the college. The statutes of 1622 allowed for 16 Fellows. There is now no limit on the number of Fellowships that the Governing Body can create. The college statutes provide for various categories of Fellows. Professorial Fellows are those Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
s and Readers
Reader (academic rank)
The title of Reader in the United Kingdom and some universities in the Commonwealth nations like Australia and New Zealand denotes an appointment for a senior academic with a distinguished international reputation in research or scholarship...
of the University who are allocated to the college by the University. One of these professorships is the Jesus Professor of Celtic
Jesus Professor of Celtic
The Jesus Professorship of Celtic is a professorship in Celtic studies at the University of Oxford within the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages. The holder is also a Professorial Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. The chair was established in 1876, and the first professor was Sir John Rhys...
, which is the only chair in Celtic Studies
Celtic Studies
Celtic studies is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to a Celtic people. This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history archaeology and history, the focus lying on the study of the various Celtic languages, living and extinct...
at an English university. Celtic scholars such as Sir John Rhys
John Rhys
Sir John Rhys was a Welsh scholar, fellow of the British Academy, celticist and the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University.-Early years and education:...
and Ellis Evans
Ellis Evans
Ellis Evans is a Welsh scholar and academic. He was born in the Towy Valley in Carmarthenshire and went to Llandeilo Grammar School....
have held the position since its creation in 1877. The current Professor of Celtic is Thomas Charles-Edwards
Thomas Charles-Edwards
Thomas Mowbray Charles-Edwards FRHistS FLSW FBA is an academic at Oxford University. He holds the post of Jesus Professor of Celtic and is a Professorial Fellow at Jesus College....
. The zoologists Charles Godfray
Charles Godfray
Hugh Charles Jonathan Godfray CBE FRS is a British zoologist. He is Hope Professor of Zoology at Jesus College, Oxford.-Life:...
and Paul Harvey
Paul H. Harvey
Paul H. Harvey CBE FRS is a British evolutionary biologist. He is Professor of Zoology and was head of the zoology department at Oxford University from 1998 - 2011, holding these posts in conjunction with a professorial fellowship at Jesus College, Oxford. He was elected to the Fellowship of the...
are both Professorial Fellows. Official Fellows are those who hold tutorial or administrative appointments in the college. Past Official Fellows include the composer and musicologist John Caldwell
John Caldwell (musicologist)
John Anthony Caldwell is an English musicologist and composer.-Life:Caldwell was born in Bebington, Cheshire and studied the organ at the Matthay School of Music in Liverpool, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists in 1957. He studied at Keble College, Oxford, obtaining his B.A. in...
, the historians Sir Goronwy Edwards
Goronwy Edwards
Sir Goronwy Edwards F.B.A. was a Welsh historian. After 29 years as a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, he spent 12 years as Director of the Institute of Historical Research and Professor of History at the University of London....
and Niall Ferguson
Niall Ferguson
Niall Campbell Douglas Ferguson is a British historian. His specialty is financial and economic history, particularly hyperinflation and the bond markets, as well as the history of colonialism.....
, the philosopher Galen Strawson
Galen Strawson
Galen John Strawson is a British philosopher and literary critic who works primarily on philosophy of mind, metaphysics , John Locke, David Hume and Kant. He was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford , from where he won a scholarship to Winchester College...
and the political philosopher John Gray. There are also Senior and Junior Research Fellows. Principals and Fellows who retire can be elected as Emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
Fellows.
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
, Swansea University
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
, Lampeter University, Aberystwyth University, Bangor University
Bangor University
Bangor University is a university based in the city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales-United Kingdom.It was officially known for most of its history as the University College of North Wales...
and the University of Wales College of Medicine
University of Wales College of Medicine
The University of Wales College of Medicine was a medical school based in the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, that formed a part of the University of Wales...
. There is one Welsh Supernumerary Fellow at a time, holding the position for not longer than three years. The first of these was John Viriamu Jones
John Viriamu Jones
John Viriamu Jones, FRS , was a British scientist, who worked on measuring the ohm, and an educationalist who was instrumental in establishing the University of Sheffield and Cardiff University.-Early life and studies:...
in 1897.
The college formerly had a category of missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
Fellows, known as Leoline Fellows after their founder, Leoline Jenkins
Leoline Jenkins
Sir Leoline Jenkins was a Welsh academic, jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer serving in the Admiralty courts, and diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties .-Biography:...
(a former principal). In his will in 1685, he stated that "It is but too obvious that the persons in Holy Orders employed in his Majesty's fleet at sea and foreign plantations are too few." To address this, he established two Fellowships at Jesus College, whose holders should serve as clergy "in any of his Majesty's fleets or in his Majesty's plantations" under the direction of the Lord High Admiral
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
and the Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
respectively. The last of these, Frederick de Winton
Frederick de Winton
Frederick Henry de Winton was an Anglican clergyman, who was the last Missionary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford.-Biography:...
, was appointed in 1876 and held his Fellowship until his death in 1932. This category was abolished in 1877 by the Oxford and Cambridge Universities Commission, without prejudice to the rights of existing holders such as de Winton. Another category of Fellowship that was abolished in the 19th century was that of the King Charles I Fellows, founded by King Charles in 1636 and tenable by natives of the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
in an attempt by him to "reclaim the Channel Islands from the extreme Calvinism which characterised them." The first such Fellow was Daniel Brevint
Daniel Brevint
Daniel Brevint or Brevin was Dean of Lincoln from 1682 to 1695.-Life:Brevint was from the parish of Saint John, Jersey, Channel Islands and was the son and grandson of clergymen. He studied, like his father before him, at the Protestant University of Saumur, and graduated with a MA in 1634...
.
Honorary Fellows
All but one of the Honorary Fellows – the journalist and broadcaster Francine Stock
Francine Stock
Francine Stock is a British radio and TV presenter and novelist, of part-French origin.-Early life:Born in Devon, and with early years in Edinburgh and Australia, Stock later attended St Catherine's School, Guildford, where she was head girl, and is a graduate of Jesus College, Oxford, with a...
– have been men. Three former Principals of the College (John Christie
John Traill Christie
John Traill Christie was headmaster of Repton School and Westminster School , before becoming Principal of Jesus College, Oxford...
, Sir John Habakkuk
John Habakkuk
Sir John Habakkuk was a British economic historian.-Biography:Habakkuk was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, the son of Evan and Anne Habakkuk. He was named "Hrothgar" after Hroðgar in Beowulf, which his father was reading at the time of his birth...
and Sir Peter North
Peter North (academic)
Sir Peter Machin North, CBE QC FBA was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1984–2005 and Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, England from 1993–1997...
) have been elected Honorary Fellows on retirement. Some Honorary Fellows were formerly Fellows of the college, others were Old Members of the college, and some were in both categories. Others had no previous academic connection with the college before their election. Some of these were distinguished Welshmen – for example, the Welsh businessman Sir Alfred Jones
Alfred Lewis Jones
Sir Alfred Lewis Jones , British ship-owner, was born in Carmarthenshire, Wales.At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to the managers of the African Steamship Company at Liverpool, making several voyages to the west coast of Africa. By the time he was twenty-six he had risen to be manager of the...
was elected in 1902 and the Welsh judge Sir Samuel Evans
Samuel Thomas Evans
Sir Samuel Thomas Evans GCB PC QC , was a Welsh barrister, judge and Liberal politician.-Background and education:...
, President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
, was elected in 1918. The Welsh politician David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
was elected to an Honorary Fellowship in 1910 when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
. He wrote to Sir John Rhys, the Principal at the time, to thank the college for the honour, saying:
The first three Honorary Fellows, all former students of the college, were elected in October 1877: John Rhys, the first Jesus Professor of Celtic (later an Official Fellow (1881–1895) and Principal (1895–1915)); the historian John Richard Green
John Richard Green
John Richard Green was an English historian.-Early life:Born the son of a tradesman in Oxford, where he was educated, first at Magdalen College School, and then at Jesus College where he is commemorated by the J. R...
; and the poet Lewis Morris. The college noted in 1998 that the number of Honorary Fellows of the college was markedly below the average of other Oxford colleges and it adopted a more methodical approach to increase numbers. Seven Honorary Fellows were elected that year, followed by another five in 1999. The college's Honorary Fellows have included two Old Members who later became Prime Minister of their respective countries: Norman Washington Manley, who studied at Jesus College as a Rhodes Scholar and who was Chief Minister of Jamaica
Prime Minister of Jamaica
The Prime Minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Andrew Holness was elected as the new leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party and succeeded Bruce Golding to become Jamaica's ninth Prime Minister on 23 October 2011...
from 1955 to 1962, and Harold Wilson, who was twice British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
(1964–1970 and 1974–1976). As of March 2010, the longest-serving Honorary Fellow is Anatole Abragam
Anatole Abragam
Anatole Abragam was a French physicist who wrote The Principles of Nuclear Magnetism and has made significant contributions to the field of nuclear magnetic resonance. Originally from Russia, Abragam and his family emigrated to France in 1925.After being educated at the University of Paris, , he...
, who was elected in 1976.
Alumni
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
("Lawrence of Arabia"), known for his part in the Arab Revolt
Arab Revolt
The Arab Revolt was initiated by the Sherif Hussein bin Ali with the aim of securing independence from the ruling Ottoman Turks and creating a single unified Arab state spanning from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen.- Background :...
of 1916–1918 and for his writings including Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the autobiographical account of the experiences of British soldier T. E. Lawrence , while serving as a liaison officer with rebel forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks of 1916 to 1918....
, studied history at the college. His thesis on Crusader castles (the fieldwork for which marked the beginning of his fascination with the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
) is held in the Fellows' Library. Other former students include Pixley ka Isaka Seme
Pixley ka Isaka Seme
Pixley ka Isaka Seme was a founder and President of the African National Congress.He was born in the Colony of Natal at the Inanda mission station of the American Zulu Mission of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions...
(a founder and president of the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
), Sir William Williams (Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the House of Commons 1680–1685), and Lord Sankey
John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey
John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey GBE, KStJ, PC, KC was a prominent British lawyer, judge and Labour politician, famous for many of his judgments in the House of Lords...
(Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
1929–1935). Members of Parliament from the three main political parties in the United Kingdom have attended the college, as have politicians from Australia (Neal Blewett
Neal Blewett
Neal Blewett, AC , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Bonython, South Australia from 1977 to 1994.-Education and academic career:...
), New Zealand (Harold Rushworth
Harold Rushworth
Harold Montague Rushworth was a New Zealand politician of the Country Party.-Early life:Rushworth was born in Croydon, England and was educated at Rugby School and Jesus College, Oxford, graduating with a degree in law. He became a civil engineer and surveyor and worked for the London County...
), Sri Lanka (Lalith Athulathmudali
Lalith Athulathmudali
Lalith William Samarasekera Athulathmudali , PC was a Sri Lankan politician of the United National Party and former Cabinet Minister of Trade, National Security, Agriculture, Education and deputy minister of defence.-Early life and teaching career:Born to a family of Lawyers, his...
) and the United States (Heather Wilson
Heather Wilson
Heather A. Wilson , is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing from 1998 to 2009...
).
The founders' hopes that their college would produce prominent Welsh clergy were fulfilled in no small measure when a former student, Alfred George Edwards
Alfred George Edwards
Alfred George Edwards was elected the first Archbishop of the disestablished Church in Wales.The son of a priest of the Church of England, Edwards was born in Llanymawddwy in Gwynedd. He studied at Jesus College, Oxford before being appointed Warden of Llandovery College in 1875...
, was elected the first Archbishop of Wales
Archbishop of Wales
The post of Archbishop of Wales was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England , and disestablished...
when the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
was disestablished in 1920. Two later Archbishops of Wales, Glyn Simon
Glyn Simon
William Glyn Hughes Simon was the Anglican Archbishop of Wales from 1968 to 1971.Simon was born in Swansea, where his father was curate at St Gabriel's church. He was baptised by David Lewis Prosser, later to become the third Archbishop of Wales....
(Archbishop from 1968 to 1971) and Gwilym Owen Williams
Gwilym Owen Williams
Gwilym Owen Williams was Bishop of Bangor from 1957 to 1982 and Anglican Archbishop of Wales from 1971 to 1982....
(Archbishop 1971–1982) were also educated at the college. Celticists
Celtic Studies
Celtic studies is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to a Celtic people. This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history archaeology and history, the focus lying on the study of the various Celtic languages, living and extinct...
associated with the college include Sir John Rhys, Sir John Morris-Jones
John Morris-Jones
Sir John Morris-Jones was a Welsh grammarian, academic and poet.He was born at Llandrygarn, Anglesey and educated at Friars School, Bangor. Whilst at Jesus College, Oxford, Morris-Jones co-founded the Cymdeithas Dafydd ap Gwilym...
, and Sir Thomas (T. H.) Parry-Williams
T. H. Parry-Williams
Sir Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams was a Welsh poet, author and academic.Parry-Williams was born at Rhyd Ddu, Caernarfonshire. He was educated at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Jesus College, Oxford , the University of Freiburg and the Sorbonne...
, whilst the list of historians includes the college's first graduate, David Powel
David Powel
David Powel was a Welsh Church of England clergyman and historian who published the first printed history of Wales in 1584.-Life:...
, who published the first printed history of Wales in 1584, and the Victorian historian J. R. Green
John Richard Green
John Richard Green was an English historian.-Early life:Born the son of a tradesman in Oxford, where he was educated, first at Magdalen College School, and then at Jesus College where he is commemorated by the J. R...
. Angus Buchanan
Angus Buchanan
Angus Buchanan, VC, MC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Early life:...
won the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
during the First World War. Record-breaking quadriplegic solo sailor Hilary Lister
Hilary Lister
Hilary Lister is a record-breaking quadriplegic sailor from Kent, England. She suffers from the progressive condition reflex sympathetic dystrophy and controls her ship by using sip-and-puff technology for steering and sails....
was also a student here, whilst from the field of arts and entertainment there are names such as Magnus Magnusson
Magnus Magnusson
Magnus Magnusson KBE was a television presenter, journalist, translator and writer. He was born in Iceland but lived in Scotland for almost all of his life, although he never took British citizenship...
, presenter of Mastermind
Mastermind (TV series)
Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the...
, the National Poet of Wales Gwyn Thomas
Gwyn Thomas (poet)
Professor Gwyn Thomas , is a Welsh poet, academic and a former National Poet for Wales.Raised in Tanygrisiau and Blaenau Ffestiniog, Thomas was educated at Ysgol Sir Ffestiniog, University of Wales, Bangor and Jesus College, Oxford; Prof Thomas is presently Emeritus Professor of Welsh at the...
, and television weather presenters Kirsty McCabe
Kirsty McCabe
Kirsty McCabe is a Scottish weather forecaster working for Daybreak.-Early life:While at high school McCabe was an early member of the Palace Youth Theatre which was a joint venture between Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council and Borderline Theatre Company...
and Siân Lloyd
Siân Lloyd
Siân Lloyd is a Welsh television presenter, best known as a ITV Weather presenter.-Biography:Lloyd was born in Maesteg, Bridgend, Wales, the daughter of two teachers. She attended Ystalyfera Bilingual School and performed at the Eisteddfod where she won the Crown...
. Nigel Hitchin
Nigel Hitchin
Nigel Hitchin is a British mathematician working in the fields of differential geometry, algebraic geometry, and mathematical physics.-Academic career:...
, the Savilian Professor of Geometry
Savilian Professor of Geometry
The position of Savilian Professor of Geometry was established at the University of Oxford in 1619. It was founded by Sir Henry Savile, a mathematician and classical scholar who was Warden of Merton College, Oxford and Provost of Eton College, reacting to what has been described as "the wretched...
at Oxford since 1997, studied at the college, as did Edward Hinds
Edward Hinds
Edward Hinds FIOP FAPS FRS is a British physicist noted for his work with cold matter. He was educated at Dame Allan's Boy's School in Newcastle before being offered a place at Jesus College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1968. He obtained both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate before...
(a physicist who won the Rumford Medal
Rumford Medal
The Rumford Medal is awarded by the Royal Society every alternating year for "an outstandingly important recent discovery in the field of thermal or optical properties of matter made by a scientist working in Europe". First awarded in 1800, it was created after a 1796 donation of $5000 by the...
in 2008), Chris Rapley
Chris Rapley
Prof. Christopher Graham Rapley CBE is a British scientist. He was Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme IGBP from 1994 to 1998, and Director of the British Antarctic Survey from 1998 to 2007. He was appointed Director of the Science Museum in 2007...
(director of the Science Museum
Science Museum (London)
The Science Museum is one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is a major London tourist attraction....
), and the zoologists Edward Bagnall Poulton
Edward Bagnall Poulton
Sir Edward Bagnall Poulton, FRS was a British evolutionary biologist who was a lifelong advocate of natural selection...
and James Brontë Gatenby
James Brontë Gatenby
James Brontë Gatenby MA, PhD, DPhil, DSc lived from 10 October 1892 to 20 July 1960.He was a zoologist who is notable for his work on the structure of cells and the Golgi bodies.-Background:...
.
Student life
The college says that it is "often called the friendliest college in Oxford". There are about 325 undergraduates and 150 postgraduates. About half of the undergraduates studied at state schools before coming to Oxford, and about 10% are from overseas. Students from the college participate in a variety of extracurricular activities. Some contribute to student journalism for CherwellCherwell (newspaper)
Cherwell is an independent newspaper, largely published for students of Oxford University. First published in 1920, it has had an online edition since 1996. Named after the local river, Cherwell is published by OSPL , who also publish the sister publication ISIS along with the Etcetera Supplement...
or The Oxford Student
The Oxford Student
The Oxford Student is a newspaper produced by and for students of the University of Oxford; it is sometimes abbreviated to The OxStu. The paper was established in 1992 by the Oxford University Student Union...
. The Turl Street Arts Festival
Turl Street Arts Festival
The Turl Street Arts Festival is an annual week-long festival held in February, involving students from the three Turl Street Colleges in Oxford, England: Jesus College, Exeter College and Lincoln College....
(a week-long student-organised event) is held annually in conjunction with the two other colleges on Turl Street, Exeter
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
and Lincoln
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...
colleges. The festival, which takes place in Fifth Week of Hilary term
Hilary term
Hilary Term is the second academic term of Oxford University's academic year. It runs from January to March and is so named because the feast day of St Hilary of Poitiers, 14 January, falls during this term...
, includes exhibitions, plays and concerts. Although the college does not award choral scholar
Choral scholar
A choral scholar is a student either at a university or private school who receives a scholarship in exchange for singing in the school or university's choir...
ships, the chapel choir is well-attended by college members and others. The choir is non-auditioning for college members, and is run by one or more undergraduate organ scholar
Organ scholar
An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at an institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and administrative experience....
s.
Sports
In common with many Oxford colleges, Jesus provides sporting facilities for students, including playing fields at a site in east Oxford off the Cowley Road known as Bartlemas (for its proximity to St Bartholomew's Chapel). Football, rugby, netball, field hockey, cricket, and tennis can be played there. Squash courts are at a separate city-centre site on St Cross Road
St Cross Road
St Cross Road is a road in Oxford, England. It connects South Parks Road to the north and Longwall Street to the south, where it also adjoins Holywell Street....
. The college also provides students with membership of the university's gym and swimming pool on Iffley Road
Iffley Road
Iffley Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England. It leads from The Plain, near Magdalen Bridge, south-east towards the village of Iffley. While it becomes Henley Avenue at Iffley Turn, and then Rose Hill, many people will refer to the whole stretch from the ring road to The Plain as Iffley...
.
Jesus College Boat Club (commonly abbreviated to JCBC) is the rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
club for members of the college. The club was formed in 1835, but rowing at the college predates the foundation of the club: a boat from the college was involved in the earliest recorded races between college crews at Oxford in 1815, when it competed against a crew from Brasenose College
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
. These may have been the only two colleges who had boats racing at that time, and the Brasenose boat was usually victorious. Neither the men's nor the women's 1st VIIIs
Eight (rowing)
An Eight is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or cox....
have been "Head of the River
Head of the River
A Head of the River race is a rowing race, held as a procession race against the clock, with the winning crew receiving the title of "Head of the River"...
" during Eights Week
Eights Week
Eights Week, also known as Summer Eights, is a four-day regatta of bumps races which constitutes the University of Oxford's main intercollegiate rowing event of the year. The regatta takes place in May of each year, from the Wednesday to the Saturday of the fifth week of Trinity term...
, the main college races, but the women's 1st VIII was Head of the River in the spring races, Torpids
Torpids
Torpids is one of two series of bumping races held yearly at Oxford University, the other being Eights. Over 130 men's and women's crews race for their colleges in six men's divisions and five women's; almost 1200 participants in total...
, between 1980 and 1983. Jesus boats have also had other successful seasons: the 1896 Jesus College boat had a reputation of being one of the faster boats in the university, and the women's 1st VIII of 1993 won their "blades"
Bumps race
A bumps race is a form of rowing race in which a number of boats chase each other in single file, each boat attempting to catch and "bump" the boat in front without being caught by the boat behind....
in the first divisions of both Torpids and Eights Week, an achievement that led to the crew being described in the Jesus College Record as vying "not just for the College team of the decade, but perhaps for the team of the last three decades", in any sport.
A number of college members have rowed for the university against Cambridge University in the Boat Race and the Women's Boat Race
Henley Boat Races
The Henley Boat Races are a number of rowing races between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. Taking place on the River Thames at Henley, they are for crews that do not compete in the main University Boat Race on the 6,779m Championship Course in London:* Women's Boat Race *...
. Barney Williams
Barney Williams
Barney Guillermo Williams is a Canadian rower. He was educated at Upper Canada College, the University of Victoria and then at Jesus College, University of Oxford where he was President of the Oxford University Boat Club.He won a gold medal at the 2003 world championships in Milan, Italy and a...
, a Canadian rower who studied at the college, won a silver medal in rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre and featured 550 competitors taking part in 14 events....
, and participated in the Boat Race in 2005 and 2006. Other students who rowed while at the college have achieved success in other fields, including John Sankey, who became Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
, Alwyn Williams
Alwyn Williams
Alwyn Terrell Petre Williams was Bishop of Durham and then Bishop of Winchester ....
, who became Bishop of Durham, and Maurice Jones
Maurice Jones
Maurice Jones was a priest and university educator.Born on 21 June 1863 at Trawsfynydd, Meirionnydd, he was educated at local school then, with scholarships, proceeded to Friars School, Bangor and Christ College, Brecon, and then Jesus College, Oxford, where he gained a first class degree in...
, who became Principal of St David's College, Lampeter. Another college rower, James Page
James Page (rower)
James Houghton Page OBE TD was a British rower who was secretary of the Amateur Rowing Association from 1952 to 1972.-Life:...
, was appointed Secretary of the Amateur Rowing Association
Amateur Rowing Association
British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association , is the governing body in England for the sport of rowing. It is also responsible for the development and organisation of international rowing teams representing Great Britain...
and coached both the Oxford
Oxford University Boat Club
The Oxford University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century....
and Cambridge
Cambridge University Boat Club
The Cambridge University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at Cambridge, although training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely. The club was founded in 1828...
University boat clubs.
The college boathouse
Boathouse
A boathouse is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats...
, which is shared with the boat club of Keble College
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall...
, is in Christ Church Meadow, on the Isis (as the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
is called in Oxford). It dates from 1964 and replaced a moored barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
used by spectators and crew-members. The last college barge had been purchased from one of the Livery Companies of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
in 1911. It is now a floating restaurant further down the Thames at Richmond, and for some years was painted in the college colours of green and white.
Welsh connection
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
had been stimulated by the foundation of grammar schools during the reigns of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
and Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
: King Henry VIII Grammar School
King Henry VIII Grammar School
King Henry VIII Grammar School, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire was one of a series of schools founded during the Reformation in England and Wales in 1542 from property seized from monasteries and religious congregations...
in Abergavenny
Abergavenny
Abergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
and Christ College, Brecon
Christ College, Brecon
Christ College, Brecon is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It caters for pupils from eleven to eighteen.Christ College was founded by Royal Charter in 1541 by King Henry VIII...
were established in the 1540s, and Friars School, Bangor
Friars School, Bangor
Ysgol Friars is a comprehensive school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools in Wales.-1557 Establishment:The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn, Doctor of Laws, who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London....
dates from 1557. However, despite the numbers of Welsh students coming to Oxford University as a result, there was no special provision for Welshmen before 1571. Despite the links with Wales that Hugh Price and many of the founding Fellows had, neither the 1571 charter nor any of the later charters limited entry to the college to Welshmen. Nevertheless, the college students were predominately Welsh from the outset, and the college became "the pinnacle of the academic ambition of the young men of Wales". Many of the fellows in the past were Welsh, since when new fellowships were created by benefactions (often by people of Welsh descent) there was frequently a stipulation that the recipients would be related to the donor or come from a specified part of Wales. These specific limitations were removed as part of reforms of Oxford University during the 19th century. Between 1571 and 1915, only one Principal (Francis Howell
Francis Howell
-Life:Howell was born in Gwinear in Cornwall. He was White's Professor of Moral Philosophy between 1654 and 1657. He was a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford and was appointed to the position of Principal of Jesus College by Oliver Cromwell, in preference to Seth Ward, who was the choice of the...
, 1657–1660) was not from Wales or of Welsh descent.
Jesus still has a particular association with Wales and is often referred to as "the Welsh college". The college is home to the university's Professor of Celtic
Jesus Professor of Celtic
The Jesus Professorship of Celtic is a professorship in Celtic studies at the University of Oxford within the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages. The holder is also a Professorial Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. The chair was established in 1876, and the first professor was Sir John Rhys...
, and a specialist Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
library in addition to the college's normal library. Meyrick scholarships, from the bequest of Edmund Meyrick
Edmund Meyrick
Edmund Meyrick was a Welsh cleric and benefactor of Jesus College, Oxford, where scholarships are still awarded in his name.-Life:...
in 1713, are awarded for academic merit where the student is a native of Wales (or the child of a native of Wales), able to speak Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
or was educated for the last three years of secondary school in Wales.
The college's undergraduate gossip sheet is entitled The Sheepshagger in allusion to an offensive joke about Welsh people's supposed penchant for sheep
Zoophilia
Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον and φιλία is the practice of sex between humans and non-human animals , or a preference or fixation on such practice...
. Furthermore, the Welshness of the College is self-perpetuating, as Welsh students will often apply to Jesus because it is seen as the Welsh college. Old members recall the college having a majority of Welsh members until well into the 20th century; today, however, around 15% of undergraduates come from Wales. For comparison, residents of Wales comprise just under 5% of the United Kingdom population (2.9 million out of a total of 58.8 million at the time of the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
).
In modern times, the Welsh roots of the college come to the fore most prominently on Saint David's Day
Saint David's Day
Saint David's Day is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March each year. The date of 1 March was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David. Tradition holds that he died on that day in 589...
. The feast is marked by a choral Evensong in the chapel, decorated for the occasion with daffodils. The service, including music, is conducted entirely in Welsh (despite only a small minority of the choir usually being native speakers
First language
A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...
of the language). It is generally well attended by members of the Welsh community in Oxford. The college's annual St. David's Day Dinner traditionally culminates with the serving of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn's Pudding. The name recalls the Welsh politician and prominent Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
who attended the college early in the 18th century.
Silverware
The college's collection of silverware includes a silver-giltSilver-gilt
Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually silver-gilt; for example most sporting trophies, medals , and many crown jewels...
punch bowl
Punch bowl
A punch bowl is a bowl, often large and wide, in which the drink punch is served.-Origins:The word punch is a loanword from Hindi. The original drink was named paantsch, which is Hindi for "five", and the drink was made from five different ingredients: spirit, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices...
, presented by Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn in 1732. The bowl, which weighs more than 200 ounces (5.7 kg) and holds 10 gallons (45.5 l), was used at a dinner held in the Radcliffe Camera
Radcliffe Camera
The Radcliffe Camera is a building in Oxford, England, designed by James Gibbs in the English Palladian style and built in 1737–1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library.-History:...
in 1814, to celebrate what was supposed to be the final defeat of Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
. Those present at the dinner included the Tsar
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
, the King of Prussia
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
, Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt , Graf , later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 with the Duke of Wellington.He is...
, Metternich
Klemens Wenzel von Metternich
Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich was a German-born Austrian politician and statesman and was one of the most important diplomats of his era...
, the Prince Regent
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, the Duke of York
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
and the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
. There is a college tradition that the bowl will be presented to anyone who can meet two challenges. The first is to put arms around the bowl at its widest point; the second is to drain the bowl of strong punch. The bowl measures 5 in 2 in (1.57 m) at its widest point, and so the first challenge has only been accomplished rarely; the second challenge has not been met.
Coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
, in heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
terminology, is Vert, three stags trippant argent attired or. The arms are not those of Hugh Price. His arms, according to their depiction in the margins of his will, were gules
Gules
In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....
(red) a chevron ermine between three fleurs-des-lis
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
. The arms were not granted or authorised by the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, but the length of time for which they have been used has given them a prescriptive authority.
The earliest depiction of the arms was thought to be about 1590, in a document held by the College of Arms, which refers to the stags appearing on a blue (in heraldic terms, azure
Azure
In heraldry, azure is the tincture with the colour blue, and belongs to the class of tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of horizontal lines or else marked with either az. or b. as an abbreviation....
) background but subsequent examination of this document by Peter Donoghue, Bluemantle Pursuivant shows that the arms were added c.1680 . The first known appearance of the arms is therefore on John Speed’s Map of Oxfordshire in 1605 with a blue field. The green field made its appearance by 1619 in an armorial quarry painted by one of the Van Linge brothers. The green background became generally (but not universally) used by the 1730s, still appearing as horizontal hatchings indicating azure were in use on bookplates for the college library as late as 1761.
There are similarities with the arms of Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...
, where one of the elements consists of three golden stags statant (standing still); this was derived from the coat of arms of Lincoln's so-called "second founder", Thomas Rotherham
Thomas Rotherham
Thomas Rotherham , also known as Thomas de Rotherham, was an English cleric and statesman. He served as bishop of several dioceses, most notably as Archbishop of York and, on two occasions as Lord Chancellor...
. It was once claimed that Jesus had stolen the stags from Lincoln, but the counter-argument (from an antiquarian with close Lincoln connections) was that the origins of each were distinct. One suggestion (by Paul Langford
Paul Langford
Professor Paul Langford is a British historian, currently Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford.Educated at Monmouth School and Hertford College, Oxford, he was elected to a Junior Research Fellowship in modern history at Lincoln College in 1969, becoming a tutorial fellow in 1970...
, the Rector of Lincoln College) is that Jesus College continued the arms adopted by a theological college founded by Rotherham in his home town – Jesus College, Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
– which had been suppressed in the time of Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
.
The arms of Maud Green, Lady Parr
Maud Green, Lady Parr
Maud Green was best known as the mother of Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII of England. She was a close friend and lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon...
, mother of Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
(the last of the six wives
Wives of Henry VIII
The wives of Henry VIII were the six queens consort married to Henry VIII of England between 1509 and 1547. The six women to hold the title 'queens consort' of King Henry VIII were, in order:* Catherine of Aragon ,* Anne Boleyn ,...
of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
and stepmother to Elizabeth I), were of three stags on an azure background, and this became one of the elements of the arms of Catherine Parr on her marriage. Her sister, Anne Parr, married William, 1st Earl of Pembroke, whose grandson (the 3rd Earl
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, KG, PC was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and his third wife Mary Sidney. Chancellor of the University of Oxford, he founded Pembroke College, Oxford with King James. He was warden of the Forest of Dean, and constable of St Briavels from 1608...
, also called William) became the first Visitor
Visitor
A Visitor, in United Kingdom law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution , who can intervene in the internal affairs of that institution...
of the college in 1622. Maud Green's arms are depicted in plasterwork from about 1592 at Powis Castle
Powis Castle
Powis Castle is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country mansion located near the town of Welshpool, in Powys, Mid Wales.The residence of the Earl of Powis, the castle is known for its extensive, attractive formal gardens, terraces, parkland, deerpark and landscaped estate...
, owned by a kinsman of the earls. One writer has suggested that the college may have adopted the arms in order to be associated with one of the leading Welsh families of the day.
This latter theory is not heraldically tenable as the quarters in an achievement after the first and pronominal quarter brought into the family by marriage to heraldic heiresses cannot meaningfully exist on their own to represent the person who now quarters them. It is more probable then that the arms of the College really are those of Archbishop Rotherham and were assumed to be those of the College by John Speed who saw them on one of its buildings in 1605 when preparing his map. Lawrence Hall in Ship Street was given to Rotherham in 1476 and leased to Jesus in 1572. It may well have displayed the Archbishop’s arms in its structure as did the building on the south side of the front quad of Lincoln which he completed. These arms for Jesus College could not be confused with those of Lincoln as that College, since 1574, already had a complex tripartite coat granted to it by Richard Lee, Portcullis Pursuivant, in which the colour of the stags in the centre section had been changed to Or (gold) and their attitude to statant.
Graces
Grace is said by a scholar of the college at Formal Hall (the second, more elaborate sitting of dinner).Before dinner
Translation:
We wretched and needy men reverently give thee thanks, almighty God, heavenly Father, for the food which thou hast sanctified and bestowed for the sustenance of the body, so that we may use it thankfully; at the same time we beseech thee that thou wouldst impart to us the food of angels, the true bread of heaven, the eternal word of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, so that our mind may feed on him and that through his flesh and blood we may be nourished, sustained and strengthened.
After dinner
Quandoquidem nos, Domine, donis tuis, omnipotens et misericors Deus, exsatiasti, effice ut posthac quid per nos fieri aut secus velis diligenter observemus, atque illud animo sincero effectum praestemus, per Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum.
VersicleVersicleA versicle is the first half of one of a set of preces, said or sung by an officiant or cantor and answered with a said or sung response by the congregation or choir...
— Domine, salvam fac Reginam.
ResponseResponse (liturgy)A response is the second half of one of a set of preces, the said or sung answer by the congregation or choir to a versicle said or sung by an officiant or cantor...
— Et exaudi nos in die qua invocaverimus te.
Translation:
Since, O Lord, almighty and most merciful God, thou hast satisfied us with thy gifts, ensure from henceforth that we may diligently regard what thou wishest to be done or left undone by us and cause this to be effected with sincere heart, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Versicle: — O Lord, keep the Queen safe.
Response: — And hear us in the day in which we call on thee.
God in whose hands are the hearts of Kings, who art the consoler of the humble and the protector of all who hope in thee, grant to our Queen Elizabeth and to the Christian people to celebrate wisely the triumph of thy goodness so that they may be always renewed to glory through thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord.