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The History of Oxford University

By Tim Lambert




According to legend Oxford university was founded in 872 when Alfred the Great happened to meet some monks there and had a scholarly debate that lasted several days. In reality it grew up in the 12th century when famous teachers began to lecture there and groups of students came to live and study in the town. The university was given a boost in 1167 when, for political reasons, the English king ordered all students in France to return home. Many of them came to Oxford.


From the start there was friction between students and the townspeople. In 1209 the students left and went to Cambridge. However the traders in Oxford soon missed the custom of the students and persuaded some of them to return in 1214. In that year the first chancellor was appointed, a man named Robert Grosseteste (1175-1253).


At first the students lodged with the townspeople or lived in halls. St Edmund Hall dates from 1238. In the 13th century the first colleges were founded. Each college owned its own buildings. The colleges also owned land (today many of them own investments). Each college was self governing. The first college, University College, was founded in 1249 by William of Durham. (The oldest part of the existing buildings dates from 1634).


Balliol College was founded in 1264 by John de Baliol. He founded it as a penance after insulting the Bishop of Durham. Merton College was founded in 1264 by Walter de Merton. Merton library was built in 1379.


Exeter College was founded in 1314 by Walter Stapledon for students from Exeter Diocese, 8 were to come from Devon and 4 from Cornwall. Oriel College was founded in 1324 by Adam de Brome. Queens College was founded in 1341 by Robert Eglesfield. He was the queen's chaplain and he named it in her honour. In 1377 John Wycliffe was expelled from Oxford University after he critisised some of the church's teachings.


After 1410 students were forbidden to lodge with townspeople and had to live in halls of colleges. Eventually most of the halls were replaced by colleges. However St Edmund Hall survived till the 20th century when it became a college. The Divinity School was built about 1426.


Lincoln College was founded in 1427 by the Bishop of Lincoln. It was intended to train men to fight heresy. The chapel was built in 1630. All Souls College was founded in 1437 by Archbishop Chichele to commemorate Henry V and all the men killed at Agincourt. Magdalen College was founded in 1448 by William of Waynflet, Bishop of Winchester. Its bell tower was built in 1509.




In the Middle Ages students learned from lectures as books were rare luxuries. The situation changed when Caxton introduced the printing press to England in 1476. Books became far more common. In the Middle Ages students learned the seven liberal arts of grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmatic, geometery, astronomy and Music. In the 16th century they began to study the humanities. In the Middle Ages ancient writers like Aristotle were regarded as the final authority. Lecturing was a matter of explaining what they meant. With the renaissance there was a new spirit of enquiry.


Brasenose College was founded in 1509. Its name comes from a bronze door knocker taken from a house in Stamford. The Hall was built in 1663. The chapel was built in 1666.


Corpus Christi College was founded in 1516. Christchurch College was founded in 1525 by Cardinal Wolsey. In 1542 the chapel of Christchurch College became Oxford Cathedral. Tom Tower (the college bell tower) was built in 1682 by Wren. Trinity college was founded in 1555. Also in 1555 St Johns College was founded. Jesus College was founded in 1571 by Queen Elizabeth.






Wadham College was founded in 1612 and Pembroke College was founded in 1624. Oriel College was rebuilt in the years 1619-42. In 1647 after the civil war Oxford University was purged of royalists among its staff. After the restoration in 1660 it was purged of puritans. The Sheldonian Theatre was built by Wren in 1669. The Old Ashmolean museum was built in 1683 (it is now the Museum of the History of Science. The Clarendon Building was erected in 1713. Worcester College was founded in 1714. Radcliffe Camera opened as a library in 1749. Magdalen Bridge was built in 1782.






From 1884 onwards women were allowed to attend lectures and take university exams for the first time (although they were not actually awarded degrees till 1920). Halls were built for female students (later they became collges). Lady Margaret Hall for women was founded in 1878 by Elizabeth Wordsworth. Somerville College for women was founded in 1879. St Hildas College was founded in 1893 by Dorothea Beale. The University Act of 1854 made it possible for those who did not belong to the Church of England to study at Oxford. In 1889 a dissenters academy moved to Oxford. It is now Harris Manchester College. Kellogg College for continuing education was founded in 1878. Campion Hall (Jesuit theological college) was founded in 1895. It was named after Edward Campion (1540-81). Ruskin Hall was founded in 1899. It became Ruskin College in 1913.




In 1902 Cecil Rhodes died. He left money to provide sholarships for students from the colonies, the USA and Germany. Rhodes House was built in 1929. The Bridge of Sighs was built in 1914. St Peters College was founded in 1929. Nuffield College was founded in 1937. St Antonys College was founded in 1948. St Annes College was founded in 1952. Greyfriars Hall (a Fransiscan friary which dates from 1910) was made a permanent private hall in 1957. So was Regents Park College. St Edmund Hall was finally made a College in 1957. Linacre College was founded in 1962. St Catharines College was founded in 1963. Wolfson College (originally Iffley College) was founded in 1965. St Cross College was also founded in 1965. The Zoology and Psychology buildings at Oxford were erected in 1970. Green College was founded in 1979. After 1974 more and more of the colleges at Oxford changed from being single sex to being dual sex colleges. To date the only exception is St Hildas. Blackfriars (a Dominican friary) was made a permanent private hall in 1994. Wycliffe Hall (which dates from 1877) followed in 1996.


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This history of Oxford, by Tim Lambert.
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