Mansfield College, Oxford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
|
|||||||||||||
| College name | Mansfield College | ||||||||||||
| Motto | Deus locutus est nobis in filio ("God hath spoken unto us by [his] son", Hebrews 1:1–2) | ||||||||||||
| Named after | George and Elizabeth Mansfield | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1838 as Spring Hill College 1886 as Mansfield College |
||||||||||||
| Sister college | Homerton College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||
| Principal | Dr Diana Walford | ||||||||||||
| JCR president | James Naish | ||||||||||||
| Undergraduates | 212 | ||||||||||||
| MCR president | Jedidiah Francis | ||||||||||||
| Graduates | 73 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
  Location of Mansfield College within central OxfordCoordinates: |
|||||||||||||
| Homepage | |||||||||||||
Mansfield College is one of the 39 constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Out of the 30 colleges that accept both undergraduates and graduates, Mansfield College is the smallest both in terms of student numbers and the size of its premises - the only exception to this rule being Harris Manchester College which is restricted to mature students only and has its membership numbers kept lower at the insistence of the University authorities. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £12 million. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Location
The spacious grounds of Mansfield College are near to the University parks and River Cherwell.
[edit] Academic Performance
Mansfield ranked 28th out of 30 in the 2007 Norrington Table (Third last). [2]
[edit] Fellows
Dr Albert Schweitzer, theologian and famous Bach expert was a special lecturer at Mansfield and often performed on the chapel organ. Among the notable academic staff is the Reverend Dr John Muddiman, G. B. Caird Fellow in New Testament Theology, and Michael Freeden, director of the Centre for Political Ideologies and founding editor of the Journal of Political Ideologies. Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the British Astrophysicist most famous for first discovering radio pulsars, is currently a visiting professor. As of the 21st of June 2007, the College has been able to number amongst its honorary fellows Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the USA. Will Hutton, prominent journalist, economist and head of the Work Foundation, is also an honorary fellow of Mansfield.
[edit] History
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. (June 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
The college was originally founded in 1838 as Spring Hill College in Birmingham. This was a college for Nonconformist students. In the late nineteenth century, although students from all religious denominations were legally entitled to attend universities, they were forbidden by statute from taking degrees unless they conformed to the Church of England. In 1871, the University Test Act abolished all religious tests for non-theological degrees at Oxford, Cambridge and Durham Universities. For the first time, therefore, the educational and social opportunities offered by Britain's premier institutions were open to all Nonconformists. The Prime Minister who enacted these reforms, William Gladstone, encouraged the creation of a Nonconformist college at Oxford. Spring Hill College moved to Oxford in 1886 and was renamed Mansfield College after its biggest donors, George and Elizabeth Mansfield. It was the first Nonconformist college to open in Oxford. The magnificent Victorian buildings, designed by Basil Champneys, were completed in 1889. The college was initially all male. The first female student was admitted in 1913.
In 1955 the college was granted the status of a Permanent Private Hall within the University of Oxford. In 1995 a Royal Charter was awarded giving the institution full college status. Since the college was first formally integrated into the University structure in 1955, the nonconformist aspects of the institution have gradually disappeared. Until 2007, the United Reformed Church (URC) sponsored a course at Mansfield for training ordinands. These students became fully matriculated members of the University and received degrees. But the course was recently discontinued when the URC decided that its ordinands could be better trained elsewhere.
However the radical history of the college is still apparent in a few of its features. A portrait of Oliver Cromwell hangs in the Senior Common Room and portraits of the 1662 dissenters hang in the library and the corridors of the main college building, together with portraits of Viscount Saye and Sele, John Hampden and Hugh Peters
One place where the radical history of the institution is still very much apparent is in the college chapel. It is a non-consecrated space and it contains a unique selection of stained glass windows and statues depicting leading figures from the nonconformist movements, including Cromwell, Sir Henry Vane and William Penn among many others. In 1940, whilst he was a lecturer at University College, future British Prime Minister Harold Wilson married Mary Baldwin in this chapel, although he was not a member of the college. Chapel services are still conducted in a nonconformist tradition and the college chaplain is always from a nonconformist denomination. However in recent years attendance at chapel services has severely declined and the make-up of the student body does not reflect the nonconformist tradition of the college.
The college has many strong links with American schools due to its nonconformist roots. It has a long established tradition of accepting roughly 30 "Junior Year Abroad" students from the USA every year. These students come to study in Oxford for one academic year and have full access to its libraries and designated tutors, although they do not become matriculated members of the University.
The college has a relatively small student population (just over 300, typically, with graduates and visiting students included). Mansfield College Boat Club is popular amongst the students, achieving results at the level of some of the biggest colleges.
[edit] Notable former students
Alumni of Mansfield College include:
- Pamela Sue Anderson, philosopher
- Chris Bryant
- Paul Crossley (pianist)
- James Dingemans QC, constitutional lawyer and prosecutor during the Hutton Inquiry.
- C. H. Dodd (theologian, chairman of New English Bible translators)
- Charles Silvester Horne MP Non conformist author, hymn writer and preacher.
- Guy Hands
- Donald MacDonald, President of Oxford University Boat Club in the mutiny year of 1987, the events of which were immortalised in the book True Blue: Oxford Boat Race Mutiny and the film True Blue.
- Michael Pollan
- Stephen Pollard, British author and journalist.
- R Tudur Jones, former Principal of Bala-Bangor Theological Seminary, former President of the Welsh Union of Independents, former President of the Association of England and Wales' Free Churches and former President of the International Congregetionalist Federation.
- Erik Routley
- The Reverend Dr H. Wheeler Robinson, Principal of Regent's Park College, Oxford and pre-eminent Old Testament scholar of his time
- Adam von Trott, member of the German resistance in World War II[3]
[edit] College grace
Ante cibum Omnipotens Deus, clementissime Pater, omnis boni fons, in donis tuis gaudentes nomen tuum magnificamus, per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum.
"Almighty God, Father of mercies and fount of every good, in the enjoyment of thy gifts we bless thy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
The college's pre-supper grace was translated into Latin from the Welsh version originally prepared for the University College of North Wales[4].
[edit] Controversy
On 3 June 2008, the bursar and principal made representations to the JCR to the effect that accommodation and food prices would be increased. On 6 June 2008, at 1230, students protested against these proposed increases via a demonstration in the college quadrangle.
[edit] Domestic Staff
The retired porter Hugh Flint was the drummer for John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and appeared on their first two albums, the second of which featured Eric Clapton. He later formed the band McGuinness Flint.
[edit] Mansfield College Photo Gallery
 View of the Chapel from the Quad, just outside the main building. |
 View of the Principal's Lodgings from the American Institute. |
 Mansfield College Main Building and JCR with Library on the left. |
 Protest against rent and food price increase |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Oxford College Endowment Incomes, 1973-2006 (updated July 2007)
- ^ 07 Norrington Table
- ^ Adam von Trott Memorial Lecture at the Ambassador's Residence, 4 May 2007
- ^ Reginald Adams, The College Graces of Oxford and Cambridge, ISBN 1-870882-06-7
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Website of the Junior Common Room
- Website for the Middle Common Room
- Virtual Tour of Mansfield College
|
|||||||||
