St John's College (Oxford)
| St John's College (Collegium Divi Joannis Baptistae) |
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| founding | 1555 |
| Sponsorship | University of Oxford |
| place | Oxford |
| President | Margaret J. Snowling |
| Students | 404 postgraduates : 250 |
| Website | www.sjc.ox.ac.uk |
St John's College is one of the colleges of Oxford University . St John's has a reputation for being one of Oxford University's most selective and prestigious colleges. According to statistics from 2012, St John's College - endowed with over 340 million pounds (as of 2012) - is the wealthiest in the University of Oxford.
history
St John's was first founded in 1437 as St Bernard's College by Henry Chichele , Archbishop of Canterbury from 1414 to 1443 , for students of the Cistercian Order and was re-established in 1555 by Sir Thomas White under its current name. The college was originally intended to be reserved for Catholics to support the Counter Reformation in England. Thomas White was the owner of the Merchant Taylor Company, and the capital St John's received when it was founded has now multiplied through careful investment.
In the 17th century, St John's began admitting non-Catholic students as well, which is a testament to St John's openness in a relatively conservative, pre-Victorian era. During the 19th century, St John's - as a landlord of a considerable area - benefited from the economic and urban development that Oxford went through and took this opportunity to acquire more land, making St John's at times the largest college in Oxford , despite it being still admitted comparatively few students.
Location and building
Most of the college's buildings are arranged around eight quads (Front, Canterbury, North, Dolphin, Sir Thomas White, Kendrew, Garden, Rural Economy Quad), with the exception of the Holmes Building and Middleton Hall form. The late Gothic front quad with its gate tower, the chapel, consecrated in 1520, and the hall still originate from the pre-Reformation period of the college in the 15th century. The architectural highlight of the college is the Canterbury Quad, built 1631–36 by William Laud , Archbishop of Canterbury , who was president of the college from 1611 to 1621. The courtyard is provided with a classic arcade on the east and west, the central axis is each facade-like with double columns and the statues of Charles I and his wife Henriette Marie de Bourbon .
A special feature is the tradition of having a small number of second or last year students in the college's houses on Museum Road and Blackhall Road. These houses adjoin the area of the Queen Elizabeth building, which was converted into a Kendrew Quad in summer 2010. With the completion of the Kendrew Quad, St John's will span almost the entire east side of St Giles. The Senior Common Room was expanded and renovated in 2004 and 2005; for this, a prize was awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2006 .
St. John's also owns two very famous Oxford pubs , Lamb and Flag and Eagle and Child, which were known to have the Inklings including JRR Tolkien , the author of The Lord of the Rings , come here regularly met.
Gardens
The rock garden of the college was laid out by HJ Bidder and the later plant collector Reginald Farrer during his student days.
Views
Late Gothic entrance to the college
Front quad with hall and chapel
The entrance of the Canterbury Quad
Canterbury Quad
Alumni
- Kingsley Amis
- Tony Blair
- Edmund Campion
- George Cave, 1st Viscount Cave
- Reginald De Koven
- Alan Duncan
- Richard Gwynfor Evans
- James Eyre
- Prince Regent Akishino of Nippon
- Geoffrey Gallop
- Robert Graves
- Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington
- AE Housman
- Sir Simon Jenkins
- William Juxon
- Philip Larkin
- John Grogan
- William Laud
- Henry Longueville Mansel
- Myres Smith McDougal
- Rhodri Morgan
- Gilbert Murray
- Lester B. Pearson
- Dean Rusk
- James Shirley
- JK Stanford
- Abhisit Vejjajiva
- Stephen Wolfram
- John Wain
See also
Web links
- St. John's College (English)
- St. John's College Boat Club (English)
- St. John's College Junior Common Room (English)
- St. John's College Middle Common Room (English)
- St. John's College TV (English)
- Virtual 3-D tour of St. John's (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Basil Morgan, 'Farrer, Reginald John (1880-1920)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 2012 accessed 19 Dec 2016 .
| Colleges |
All Souls • Balliol • Brasenose • Christ Church • Corpus Christi • Exeter • Green Templeton • Harris Manchester • Hertford • Jesus • Keble • Kellogg • Lady Margaret Hall • Linacre • Lincoln • Magdalen • Mansfield • Merton • New College • Nuffield • Oriel • Pembroke • Queen’s • Reuben • St Anne’s • St Antony’s • St Catherine’s • St Cross • St Edmund Hall • St Hilda’s • St Hugh’s • St John's • St Peter’s • Somerville • Trinity • University • Wadham • Wolfson • Worcester |
|
| Permanent private halls |
Blackfriars • Campion Hall • Regent's Park • St Benet's Hall • St Stephen's • Wycliffe Hall |
Coordinates: 51 ° 45 ′ 22 " N , 1 ° 15 ′ 31" W.