Jesus College, Oxford

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Jesus College, Oxford
College name	Jesus College
Named after	Jesus Christ
Established	1571
Sister College	Jesus College, Cambridge
Principal	Sir John Krebs
JCR President	John-Michael Arnold
Undergraduates	344
MCR President	Claire Brunel
Graduates	134
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Boatclub

Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is the eighth wealthiest college, with closing reserves and endowments of £79,700,391 (2003). The main entrance is on the west side of Turl Street. It is flanked by Ship Street to the north and Market Street to the south.

Jesus has been called "the first Protestant College in Oxford",^[1] and was founded by Elizabeth I in 1571 for the education of clergy. A major driving force behind the establishment of the college was Hugh Price (or Aprice), a churchman from Brecon in Wales, who was made Diocesan Treasurer of St David's in the same year the college received its first charter. The college continues to be associated informally with Wales even today.

[edit] History

Jesus College was founded in 1571, occupying in part the site of the earlier White Hall, which had existed for several hundred years from the 13th century up until 1570, just before Jesus began. Jesus was founded by eight commissioners, of whom Hugh Price is often credited as the main force, and received its Royal Charter from Elizabeth I.

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^[2] issued by Elizabeth I made it clear that the education of a priest in the 16th century included more than just theology, however:

	...to the Glory of God Almighty and Omnipotent, and for the spread and maintenance of the Christian religion in its sincere form, for the eradication of errors and heresies, for the increase and perpetuation of true loyalty, for the extension of good literature of every sort, for the knowledge of languages, for the education of youth in loyalty, morality, and methodical learning, for the relief of poverty and distress, and lastly for the benefit and well-being of the Church of Christ in our realms, [...] we have decreed that a College of learning in the sciences, philosophy, humane pursuits, knowledge of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin languages, to the ultimate profession of Sacred Theology, to last for all time to come, be created, founded, built, and established....
—Elizabeth I, Dated 27 June 1571.

On the strength of a promised legacy, worth £60 a year on his death, Hugh Price 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 his benefaction yielded only a lump sum of around £600.

Coat of arms of Jesus College, Oxford.

Significant benefactions in the 17th century placed the college on a more secure financial footing. One Herbert Westfaling, 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").^[3] Sir Eubule Thelwall, principal from 1621-1630, spent much of his own money on the construction of a chapel, hall and library for the college. This library, constructed above an overly-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.

It was Leoline Jenkins, whose 1661-73 principalship followed Mansell's brief reinstatement, 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).^[4]

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. Five women's societies (Lady Margaret Hall, Somerville, St Hugh's, St Hilda's and St Anne's) had been granted full collegiate status fifteen years earlier in 1959.

There has long been a rivalry between Jesus and nearby Exeter College.

[edit] Location and Buildings

Jesus is located on Turl Street in the centre of Oxford, on a comparatively small site by the standards of many Oxford colleges, and is one of the three Turl Street colleges along with Lincoln College and Exeter College. Much of what are considered the original buildings date from the 17th century, although parts date back to the college's foundation. Most of these earlier buildings have undergone some degree of restoration, although this is not generally obvious, and parts of the rear of the college are much more modern.

Front of Jesus College, largely refaced in 1854, chapel window on right.

Front door of the Principal's Lodgings, showing the shell-hood of c.1700.

The main college buildings include the chapel (in the First Quadrangle) which was built in the early seventeeth century in Jacobean-Gothic style under Thelwall, and extended at the east end in 1636. It has a fine barrel vaulted roof, a late seventeenth-century ante-chapel screen and an early seventeenth-century pulpit. The chancel arch was widened in 1864 by George Edmund Street. The stone flooring and much of the woodwork also date from Street's alterations. The chancel features a Victorian stained-glass window and stone altarpiece, as well as a large copy of Guido Reni's St Michael subduing the Devil. This last item was given to the college by Thomas James Bulkeley, 7th Viscount Bulkeley (a student in 1769), who acquired it in Rome during his Grand Tour.

The chapel in 1814. Note the narrow chancel arch before Street's alterations, and the painting of St Michael which was in use as an altarpiece at the time.

The chapel in 2006, showing the 19th century stone altarpiece, flooring and stained glass. Note also the Garter Banner of Lord Wilson of Rievaulx on the right.

Monument to Sir Eubule Thelwall, 1630. Female figures draw back a curtain revealing a kneeling figure.

St Michael subduing the Devil, by Guido Reni (original version, Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, Rome).

The college Hall, accessed from the screens passage that links the two main quadrangles, contains a fine full-length portrait of the college's Founder, Elizabeth I, attributed to Nicholas Hilliard or his school. This was presented to the college in 1687 by James Jeffreys, brother of George Jeffreys, the "Hanging Judge". Other portraits to be found here include contemporary likenesses of Charles I and Charles II, as well as numerous other benefactors, former Principals and alumni including T. E. Lawrence and Harold Wilson.

The college library provides an extensive lending collection, primarily for undergraduates, and supplements the (often reference-only) University libraries including the Bodleian. There is also an important Celtic collection. Notable antiquarian holdings include the Red Book of Hergest (one of two manuscript sources for the Mabinogion), a copy of the laws of Hywel Dda, and one of two manuscript copies of The Owl and the Nightingale. Some of these can be viewed online as part of the University's Early Manuscripts Imaging Project [1].

In recent years the college has also built two annexes for student accommodation in the north and east of the city (named Stevens Close and Herbert Close respectively). Many students continue to live on the main central site, which remains the hub of the social and academic life of the college. The Herbert Close annexe is also known as "Barts", after nearby Bartlemas, and the college sports grounds are also located there.

[edit] Student life

Doorway of staircase XII. Chalk markings celebrate the success of the Men's 2nd VIII in the 2006 Torpids.

The college has a reputation within Oxford for being a friendly, close-knit community.^[5] Some have attributed this to the relatively small physical size of the main college site, where first-year students live in close proximity to one-another and form strong bonds of friendship and a keen sense of college spirit. The college has a reputation for apathy when it comes to Oxford Union and OUSU student politics.

Students from the college participate in a variety of extra-curricular activities, their successes not being limited to any one field in particular. Some contribute to student journalism for The Cherwell or The Oxford Student. In the Arts, the annual Turl Street Arts Festival is of particular note. This week-long student-organised event is held annually in conjunction with 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 Scholarships, the Chapel Choir is well-attended by enthusiastic college members and others. The choir is non-auditioning for college members, and is run by one or more undergraduate Organ Scholars.

[edit] Sports

In common with many Oxford colleges, Jesus is well provided with sporting facilities. These include extensive playing fields at the east Oxford Bartlemas site for (association and Rugby) football, hockey, cricket, tennis etc., and modern squash courts at a separate city-centre site on St Cross Road.

The college boat house on the Isis is home to the Jesus College Boat Club. The club is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and competed in Oxford's first Head Race (against Brasenose College Boat Club) in 1815.

[edit] The Welsh connection

Stained glass window in the college chapel, showing St David. Late 19th century.

Although it accepts students from all over the UK and indeed the world, Jesus has a particular association with Wales and is often referred to as "the Welsh college". The college is also home to the university's Professor of Celtic, and a specialist Celtic library in addition to the college's normal library. To reflect this connection, the college's undergraduate gossip sheet is entitled The Sheepshagger in allusion to a racist joke about Welsh people's 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. To this day there is a larger proportion of Welsh undergraduates than in other colleges.

[edit] St. David's Day

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 the inevitable 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 eighteenth century.

[edit] College Silverware

Like many other colleges, Jesus has an impressive collection of silver. Probably the best-known single item is a massive silver gilt punch bowl, presented by Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn in 1732.^[6] The bowl, which weighs more than 200 ounces (roughly 5.7 kg) and holds 10 gallons, was most famously 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.^[7]

[edit] College Graces

The College Grace is read by a Scholar of the college at Formal Hall (the second, more elaborate sitting of dinner) on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. It is relatively unusual for the grace after dinner to be read, as the custom is for those not dining on High Table to retire after finishing dinner, the Scholar who read the first grace having first requested permission from the Principal or the senior Fellow present.

[edit] Grace to be said before Dinner

Nos miseri et egentes homines pro cibo quem ad alimoniam corporis sanctificatum nobis es largítus, ut eo utamur grati Tibi, Deus Omnipotens, Pater caelestis, gratias reverenter agimus, simul obsecrantes ut cibum angelorum, verum panem caelestem, Verbum Dei aeternum, Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum nobis impertiaris, ut illo mens nostra pascatur et per carnem et sanguinem Eius foveamur, alamur et corróboremur.

Amen

[edit] Grace 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.

Amen

VERS. Domine, salvam fac Reginam.

RESP. Et exaudi nos in die qua invocaverimus Te.

Deus, in cuius manu sunt corda regum, qui es humilium consolator et fidelium fortitudo et protector omnium in Te sperantium, da Reginae nostrae Elizabethae populoque Christiano triumphum virtutis Tuae scienter excolere, ut per Te semper reparentur ad gloriam, per Christum, Dominum nostrum.

Amen

[edit] Notable former students

T.E. Lawrence.

Harold Wilson

• William Boyd — novelist and screenwriter
• James Burke — science historian
• Thomas Charles — Welsh Nonconformist clergyman
• Edward Davey — British politician
• Geraint Davies — British politician
• John Davies — lexicographer
• Alfred George Edwards — first Archbishop of the disestablished Church in Wales
• Richard J. Evans — historian
• John Richard Green — historian
• W.J. Gruffydd — academic, author and politician
• Ffion Hague — wife of former Conservative Party leader William Hague
• Harold Arthur Harris — classicist
• Leoline Jenkins — lawyer
• Paul Jones — singer, Manfred Mann
• T. E. Lawrence — "Lawrence of Arabia"
• Edward Lhuyd — naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary
• William Lloyd — bishop
• Magnus Magnusson — television presenter, journalist, translator and writer
• Norman Washington Manley — Jamaican statesman
• Inder Manocha — comedian and actor
• Dom Moraes — Indian writer, poet and columnist
• Pixley ka Isaka Seme — founder member of the African National Congress
• Glyn Simon — Archbishop of Wales
• Francine Stock journalist and broadcaster
• Walter H. Stockmayer — chemist; pioneer of polymer science
• Henry Vaughan — Welsh poet and doctor
• William Vaughan — Welsh writer and colonial investor
• Watkin Williams-Wynn — Welsh politician and prominent Jacobite
• Harold Wilson — former British Prime Minister

[edit] Fictional

• Logan Mountstuart — in Any Human Heart, a novel by actual old member, William Boyd

See also Former students of Jesus College, Oxford.

[edit] Academics/teachers

[edit] Present

• Professor Niall Ferguson
• Sir John Krebs (Principal)

[edit] Past

• Peter Beer
• Patricia Crone
• Daniel Silvan Evans
• John Gray
• John Habakkuk
• Sir Leoline Jenkins
• Sir Peter North
• John Rhys
• David George Ritchie

[edit] Notes & references

1. ^ J.R. Green, quoted in Literary Landmarks of Oxford/Jesus. (2006, August 17). Wikisource, The Free Library. Retrieved 08:47, August 24, 2006 from http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Literary_Landmarks_of_Oxford/Jesus&oldid=236239.
2. ^ The letters patent of Jesus College, as quoted by J. N. L. Baker in Jesus College Oxford 1571-1971, Oxonian Press, Oxford, 1971.
3. ^ Martin E. Speight, ‘Westfaling , Herbert (1531/2–1602)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29111, accessed 29 June 2006)
4. ^ http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/benefactors.php Benefactors of Jesus College. Date of access 29 June 2006.
5. ^ OUSU, 2005. The Oxford Handbook. http://www.oxfordhandbook.com/the_university/colleges/jesus/
6. ^ A treasured inheritance, Oxford Today (the University magazine) Volume 16, Number 3, Trinity 2004 http://www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/2003-04/v16n3/07.shtml
7. ^ War and Peace, http://www.oxfordinscriptions.com/war_and_peace.htm

[edit] External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Jesus College, as described in "Literary Landmarks of Oxford."

• JCR (undergraduates) website
• GCR (postgraduates) website
• Virtual Tour of Jesus College
• Prints of Jesus College