Worcester College, Oxford
Categories: Colleges of the University of Oxford | Former students of Worcester College, Oxford
| Worcester College | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1714 |
| Sister College | St Catharine's College |
| Provost | Richard Smethurst |
| Graduates | 167 |
| Undergraduates | 408 |
</div> Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Its predecessor was an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century, even though the current college was founded only in the eighteenth century.
History
The buildings are diverse – especially in the main quad, to the right an imposing eighteenth century building in the neo-classical style; and to the left a row of mediaeval cottages which are among the oldest residential buildings in Oxford. These cottages are the most substantial surviving part of Gloucester College, Worcester's predecessor on the same site: this was a college for Benedictine monks, founded in 1283 and dissolved with the Dissolution of Monasteries in about 1539.
After a lapse of twenty years, the buildings of the old Gloucester College were used in the foundation of Gloucester Hall, in around 1560. In 1714, thanks to a fortunate benefaction from a Worcestershire baronet, Sir Thomas Cookes, Gloucester Hall was transformed into Worcester College. The college was founded in 1714 on the site of a former medieval university building, Gloucester College, an ancient Benedictine house founded in 1283, which was suppressed under the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. After falling into near ruin and suffering from steady decline, the College was refounded in 1714 by a Worcestershire baronet, Sir Thomas Cookes. Even then, there were only sufficient funds to rebuild the Chapel, Hall and Library and the north side of the Front Quad, known as the 'Terrace'.
In 1736, Sir George Clarke generously left to the College his great collection of books and manuscripts. These include the papers of his father William Clarke (which are of crucial importance for the history of England during the period of the Commonwealth and Protectorate) and a large proportion of the surviving drawings of Inigo Jones.
Owing to lack of funds, Worcester's eighteenth century building programme proceeded by fits and starts. The mediaeval cottages were to have been replaced by a further classical range, but survived because money for this purpose was never available; the Hall and Chapel, by James Wyatt, were not completed until the 1770s. The Chapel was extensively redecorated and refurbished by William Burges in 1864.
On the South side of the Quad, the 'Cottages' remain from the medieval period, as does the 'Pump Quad', leaving a charming mixture of architecture. The gardens are the most extensive and among the most beautiful of any Oxford college, and contain not only the college's playing fields, making it the only college to have them on site, but also a lake. The Chapel, redesigned in the Victorian period by William Burges, is highly unusual and decorative; being predominantly pink (the College colours are pink and black), the pews are decorated with carved animals, including kangaroos and whales, and the walls are riotously colourful, and include frescoes of dodos and peacocks.
One of Worcester's distinctions is that it brings together on a single site the work of three major architects: Hawksmoor's in the Library, Wyatt's in the Hall, and Burges's in the Chapel. In more recent years several new residential blocks for undergraduates and graduates have been added, thanks in part to a series of generous benefactions. The latest of these include the Sainsbury Building, Linbury Building and Canal Building (for undergraduates), and the Franks Building (for postgraduates).
Although Worcester is near the centre of Oxford today, it was on the edge of the city in the eighteenth century. This has been an asset in the long run, since it has allowed the College to retain very extensive gardens (26 acres). One important advantage of these gardens is that Worcester, unlike any other college, can provide playing fields for all the usual games within its own grounds.
Oxford students know Worcester best for its Ball. Every three years a thousand ball-goers enjoy the Worcester College Commemoration Ball in Worcester's fairytale grounds. Held in June, it lasts from 6pm until 6 am and the dress code is white tie. Recent Worcester Balls have made sizeable donations to local charities.
Notable former students
- Richard Adams
- Alastair Burnet
- John de Feckenham (Gloucester College)
- John Cecil Masterman
- Tom Lines
- Rupert Murdoch
- Thomas de Quincey
- John Sainsbury
- Glyn Maxwell
- Toby Litt
- Rachel Portman
- Laura Solon
External links
- Worcester College – official page
- Map sources for Worcester College, Oxford
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