Wadham College, Oxford
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| Wadham College, Oxford | |
 | |
| College name | Wadham College |
| Named after | Nicholas Wadham |
| Established | 1610 |
| Sister College | Christ's College |
| Warden | Sir Neil Chalmers |
| JCR President | Ben Jasper |
| Undergraduates | 460 |
| MCR President | David Patrikarakos |
| Graduates | 180 |
| Homepage | |
| Boatclub | |
Wadham College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I.
Nicholas Wadham died in 1609 leaving his fortune towards the endowment of an Oxford college. The design and implementation of this vague intention fell to his wife Dorothy, a diligent septuagenarian. In a period of only four years, she gained royal and ecclesiastical support for the new college, negotiated the purchase of a site, drew up the college statutes, and appointed the first warden, fellows, scholars, and cook. Although she never visited Oxford, she kept tight control of her new college and its finances until her death in 1618.
Although it is one of the youngest of the historic colleges, Wadham has some of the oldest and best preserved buildings, a result of the rash of rebuilding that occurred throughout Oxford during the 17th century. Wadham's front quad, which served as almost the entire college until the mid-20th century, is the first example of the "Jacobean Gothic" style that was adopted for many of the University's buildings. A dramatic expansion since 1952 has made use of a range of 17th and 18th century houses, a converted warehouse originally built to store bibles, and several modern buildings designed by Gillespie, Kidd & Coia and McCormac Jamieson Prichard. It also includes the Holywell Music Room, the oldest purpose-built music room in Europe. Wadham also has a second claim to fame: it is thought that the college's chapel was the first religious building in England to regain its stained glass and statuary following the reformation.
Under the original statutes, women were forbidden from entering the college, with the exception of a laundress who was to be of 'such age, condition, and reputation as to be above suspicion.' These rules were relaxed over the years, and in 1974 they were altered to allow for the admission of women as full members of college at all levels. In fact, Wadham was the first historically all-male college to have a female student.
Perhaps related to this fact, the Wadham student body has for the last four decades been a hotbed of student activism. Most notably, the students' union was highly involved in campaigning against apartheid. In 1975 the Junior Common Room (JCR) chose to re-brand itself as a "Students Union", becoming the first Oxford College to do so; subsequently the adjacent quadrangle was renamed from the "JCR Quad" to the "Ho Chi Minh Quad", reflecting student sympathies following the recent end of the Vietnam War.
In 1984 the students' union passed a motion to end every college "bop" (disco) with The Special AKA's single Free Nelson Mandela. The tradition continues despite his release. Wadham also has a similar reputation as a strong supporter of gay rights, and plays host to "Queer Bop", an annual night of slightly debauched behaviour popular with students of all colleges.
Notable alumni
- Monica Ali, novelist
- Charles Badham, classics scholar
- Samuel Augustus Barnett, social reformer
- Robert Blake, Cromwell's admiral
- Richard Bentley, scholar and critic
- Richard Bethell (Lord Westbury), former Lord Chancellor
- Thomas Beecham, conductor
- Melvyn Bragg, television broadcaster
- Alan Bullock, historian of Nazi Germany
- Cecil Day-Lewis, former Poet Laureate
- Andy Cato, of Groove Armada
- John Cooke, prosecutor of Charles I
- Tom Findlay, of Groove Armada
- James Flint, writer
- Michael Foot, politician
- William Fox, premier of New Zealand
- Tim Franks, journalist
- C. B. Fry, sportsman
- Penaia Ganilau, former Governor General and President of Fiji.
- Neil Gerrard, politician
- Henry de Beltgens Gibbins, economic historian
- Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon
- Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, architect
- Hari Kunzru, novelist
- Francis Kilvert, clergyman and diarist
- John Leslie, philosopher
- Tim McInnerny, actor
- Kamisese Mara, former Prime Minister and President of Fiji.
- Patrick Marber, comedian and playwright
- Jodhi May, actress
- Robert Moses, city planner
- Arthur Onslow, former Speaker of the House of Commons
- Iain Pears, novelist
- Rosamund Pike, actress
- Michael Rosen, poet and broadcaster
- John Simon. former Lord Chancellor
- F. E. Smith (Lord Birkenhead), former Lord Chancellor
- Thomas Sprat, divine and cofounder of the Royal Society
- Rowan Williams, current Archbishop of Canterbury
- John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, libertine poet
- Philip M Woodward, mathematician and radar engineer
- Christopher Wren, architect and cofounder of the Royal Society
- See also Former students of Wadham College.
Famous Wardens and Fellows
- Alfred Ayer, logical positivist
- T.J. Binyon, Russian literature scholar and crime writer
- Maurice Bowra, scholar and wit
- Terry Eagleton, literary theorist
- John Flemming, economist
- Stuart Hampshire, philosopher and literary critic
- Humphrey Hody, clergyman and divine
- Thomas Graham Jackson, architect
- Frederick Lindemann (Lord Cherwell), Churchill's scientific adviser during the Second World War
- Claus Moser, economist
- Bernard O'Donoghue, poet
- Roger Penrose, mathematician
- Marcus du Sautoy, mathematician, writer, television presenter
- Robert Thistlethwayte, the warden who fled to France in 1737 after a homosexual scandal
- John Wilkins, scholar and cofounder of the Royal Society
- Robert J.C. Young, post-colonial theorist
- Peter Derow translator and historian
Categories
Colleges of the University of Oxford | 1610 establishments | Grade I listed buildings