Mansfield College

Mansfield College
motto	Deus locutus est nobis in filio (“God spoke to us through his Son”; Heb 1: 1–2)
founding	1838 as Spring Hill College 1886 as Mansfield College
Sponsorship	University of Oxford
place	Oxford
country	United Kingdom
Rector	Helen Mountfield
Students	442 (2019) Undergraduates : 241 Postgraduates : 201
Foundation assets	£ 14.5 million (2018)
University sports	Rowing club
Website	Homepage

Mansfield College main building and library.

Mansfield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The college was founded by nonconformists in Birmingham in 1838 . It was relocated to Oxford in 1886 and was renamed Mansfield College after George Mansfield and his sister Elizabeth. In 1995 it received a Royal Charter and became an independent college. The college grounds are on Mansfield Road, near central Oxford.

Helen Mountfield, a lawyer and lawyer, has been the college's principal since 2018.

history

The college was founded in 1838 as Spring Hill College in Birmingham for nonconformist students. Although students of all religious denominations were legally eligible to attend universities in the nineteenth century, they were forbidden to graduate unless they were part of the Church of England .

College Chapel Stained Glass Windows, Left to Right: Henry Vane , Oliver Cromwell and John Hampden

In 1871 the Universities Tests Act abolished all religious exams for non-theological degrees at Oxford, Cambridge and Durham Universities . For the first time, leading British institutions were open to nonconformists. The Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone , who adopted these reforms encouraged the establishment of a non-conformist colleges in Oxford.

Spring Hill College moved to Oxford in 1886 and was renamed Mansfield College after George Mansfield and his sister Elizabeth. Designed by Basil Champneys on property acquired from Merton College , the Victorian buildings officially opened in October 1889.

Mansfield was the first non-conformist college to open in Oxford. Initially, the college accepted only men, and the first woman (Constance Coltman) was admitted to an external degree in 1913.

During World War II , over forty Government Code and Cypher School employees moved into the college to work on British codes and ciphers. Like many colleges in Oxford, Mansfield did not accept the first female students until 1979 who could now obtain an Oxford degree.

In 1955 Mansfield was granted Permanent Private Hall status. In 1995 it was given a Royal Charter , making it a full college at Oxford University.

location

Mansfield College is located on Mansfield Road, close to central Oxford and south of the Science Area. The site is close to University Parks and the Cherwell River . The college shares a boundary wall with Wadham College .

building

The main building was designed by the architect Basil Champneys and built between 1887 and 1889. It houses the main college library, the law library, and the theology library. The common rooms of the college are also located here. The main building of the college encloses three sides of the large square with a circular lawn. The college also has several buildings that are primarily used as student accommodation and are located opposite the main building. What is unusual in comparison to other colleges is that Mansfield College is not accessible via a concierge. College staff claim this is representative of Mansfield's open and non-conformist ethos.

The newest addition to the college, the Hands Building, was designed by Rick Mather and uses renewable energy sources. It comprises 74 student rooms with bathrooms, seminar rooms and an auditorium with space for 160 people, which is used for lectures and performances.

Student life

The Mansfield College Boat Club and a number of other college organizations are popular with students and achieve results that are competitive with larger colleges. Many of the sports teams are combined in partnership with Merton College .

Like many of the inaugural colleges of Oxford University, Mansfield holds a ball every three years . In the Oxford tradition, Mansfield College hosts formal dinners on a regular basis. These take place every Wednesday and Friday in the college chapel.

Mansfield is known for its emphasis on equality and accessibility. Over 90% of the students at Mansfield have a state school background.

Web links

Commons : Mansfield College Oxford  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Student Statistics - College Breakdown. University of Oxford , 2019, accessed July 9, 2020 (UK English). 
2. ↑ Annual Report and Financial Statements. Mansfield College, July 31, 2018, accessed July 9, 2020 (UK English). 
3. ^ Mansfield College Historical Background . Archived from the original on May 14, 2011.
4. ↑ Mansfield College, Oxford: Its Origin and Opening, October 14-16, 1889 1890, pp. 3-4, OCLC 794856901 .
5. ↑ Universities Tests Act 1871 p.3 .
6. ^ Mansfield College , pp. 25-26, 38-41.
7. ^ Mansfield College , pp. 45-49.
8. ↑ Our Story . Bletchley Park.
9. ^ Communicated by Nicola Patrick, College Librarian.
10. ^ Mansfield College , pp. 45-49.
11. ↑ Archived copy . Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
12. ↑ Archived copy . Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
13. ^ Mansfield College: About the college . University of Oxford. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
14. ^ Joe Nimmo: The Oxford University college fighting elitism. BBC News, November 16, 2017, accessed July 9, 2020 (UK English).