St Edmund Hall, Oxford

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Colleges and halls of the University of Oxford

St Edmund Hall
SEHQuad.jpg
                     
College name The Principal, Fellows and Scholars of St Edmund Hall in the University of Oxford
Latin name Aula Sancti Edmundi
Named after St Edmund of Abingdon
Established c. 1278[1]
Sister college Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Principal Prof. Keith Gull
Undergraduates 421[2] (2011/2012)
Graduates 220
Location The High / Queen's Lane
St Edmund Hall, Oxford is located in Oxford city centre

Location of St Edmund Hall within central OxfordCoordinates: 51°45′11″N 1°15′00″W / 51.753°N 1.25°W / 51.753; -1.25
Homepage
JCR
MCR
St-Edmund-Hall College Oxford Coat Of Arms.svg
Blazon Or, a cross patonce gules cantoned by four Cornish choughs proper.

St Edmund Hall is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Better known within the University by its nickname, "Teddy Hall", the college has a claim to be "the oldest academical society for the education of undergraduates in any university".[3]

As of 2011 St Edmund Hall had an estimated financial endowment of £43m.[4]

Contents

History [edit]

The church of St Peter-in-the-East — now the college library

Like the University of Oxford itself, the precise date of establishment of St Edmund Hall is not certain; it is usually estimated at 1236, before any other college was formally established. It is named after St Edmund of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, the first known Oxford Master of Arts and the first Oxford-educated Archbishop of Canterbury, who lived and taught on the college site. The name St Edmund Hall (Aula Sancti Edmundi) first appears in a 1317 rental agreement.[5]

St Edmund Hall began life as one of Oxford's ancient Aularian houses, the mediaeval halls that laid the foundation of the University, preceding the creation of the first colleges. As the only surviving mediaeval hall, its members are known as "Aularians". St Edmund Hall acquired the status of a college in 1957, though retaining the historical moniker of "Hall".

The college has a history of independent thought, which brought it into frequent conflict with both Church and State. During the late 14th and early 15th centuries it was a bastion of John Wycliffe's supporters, for which college principal William Taylor was ultimately burnt at the stake, and principal Peter Payne fled the country. In the late 17th century, St Edmund Hall incurred the wrath of the Crown for fostering nonjurors, men who remained loyal to the Scottish House of Stuart and who refused to take the oath to the German House of Hanover, whom they regarded as having usurped the British throne.[6]

Colours [edit]

There is an element of confusion regarding the Hall's official college colours which seems to have arisen due to a discrepancy between "official college wear", often thought to be claret and cream, and "sporting wear". Maroon and gold are believed to be the colours of official college colours [7] and most of the college's sporting wear is in maroon and gold, leading many to believe that these are the college colours. Confusion may also be caused because the college's coat of arms has a yellow/gold field.

Coat of arms [edit]

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Coat of Arms sculpture above the entrance to the Porters' Lodge.

The college coat of arms depicts a red cross patonce against a yellow/gold field surrounded by four Cornish Choughs and is blazoned "Or, a cross patonce gules cantoned by four Cornish choughs proper". The choughs are often mistakenly depicted with white wings.

In the image shown, the college coat of arms is found above the following Latin dedication "sanctus edmundus huius aulae lux", or "St Edmund, light of this Hall".

It is a very common practice within the university to use chronograms for dedications when transcribed into Latin, they are written in such a way that an important date, usually that of a foundation or the dedication itself, is embedded in the text. This is usually achieved by choosing certain letters in the text which correspond to Roman numerals which when added, often disregarding the usual subtractive notation, amount to the required date. These numerals are then indicated by being rendered in a larger size than that of the surrounding letters.

In the above dedication, the text is rendered as

sanCtVs edMVndVs hVIVs aVLae LVX

and, in this case, adding the numerals naively gives:

C + V + M + V + V + V + I + V + V + L + L + V + X = 1246

which is a popular, if conservative, estimate for the establishment of the Hall, but is in fact the date of the canonisation of St Edmund of Abingdon.

Buildings [edit]

St Edmund of Abingdon

St Edmund Hall is based on a small central site on the north side of the High Street.

The front quadrangle is bordered by the porters' lodge, the Old Dining Hall (1659), the college bar and buttery (containing a mid-15th-century fireplace), the chapel with the old library above (late 17th century), and accommodation for students and fellows. In the centre of the quadrangle is a medieval well. Passages from the quadrangle give access to modern accommodation blocks and dining hall to the east, and the college library (the deconsecrated church of St Peter-in-the-East, 12th century; the crypt remains consecrated) and gardens (St Peter's churchyard) to the north. The garden contains a seated bronze figure depicting St Edmund as an impoverished student.

The college also owns annexes at Norham Gardens, on Dawson Street, and on Iffley Road. The College recently completed an Aularian-supported programme of restoration to the facade of the front quad and Queen's Lane frontage.

Student life [edit]

As of 2012, the college had about 400 undergraduate and 200 graduate students.[8] The Hall particpates in journalism, drama, mathematics and student politics. In 2007 the college took part in University Challenge, and achieved the third highest score in the first round.

The annual College Ball, organised primarily by the JCR, has a long-standing reputation for both the quality of the event itself but also the prominence of its headline acts: in 2010, this was the drum and bass artist Pendulum.[9]

Sport [edit]

The student body has had success in sport, especially rugby, with many cuppers successes. In 2008 the college reached the finals of both the football and rugby cuppers competitions, and beat Keble, the Hall's traditional sporting rival, in the rugby final. SEH again reached the final in both sports in 2009, and won rugby cuppers yet again in 2012, this time against Oriel, who had beaten Keble in the semi-finals.

Rowing has also traditionally been a strong sport at the Hall, with the men attaining Headship in the Summer Eights of 1959, 1960, 1961, 1964 and 1965, and the women achieving the same feat in 2006, a title retained through 2007, 2008 and 2009. [10]

Other recent successes include first place in the 2008 Oxford Slalom Championships on the annual Varsity Trip.

College graces [edit]

The usual grace given before Formal Hall is:

Benedictus, Benedicat per Jesum Christum Dominum Nostrum
(Blessed is He [and] may he bless [this food] through Jesus Christ Our Lord)

To which the assembly responds Amen. More extended (or sung) forms of the grace are sometimes given but this is rare.

People associated with the college [edit]

Notable alumni [edit]

See also Former students of St Edmund Hall.

Other notable figures [edit]

Principals [edit]

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A full list of the College's Fellows is available on the official college website.

Gallery [edit]

  • Rear of the buildings on the east side of the Front Quad as seen from the Wolfson Dining Hall

  • Front gate

  • College library

  • St Edmund Hall in Queens Lane

References [edit]

  1. ^ University of Oxford (2008) St Edmund Hall - Admissions
  2. ^ "Undergraduate numbers by college 2011-12". University of Oxford. 
  3. ^ Cowdrey (1988); p. 388, referencing A.B. Emden who in his 1927 (p. 236) work states: "...and St Edmund Hall now survives as the last lineal descendent of the oldest form of academical society designed for the residence of scholars studying in the Oxford Schools."
  4. ^ St Edmund Hall (2011) St. Edmund Hall Annual Report and Financial Statements, Year ended 31 July 2011
  5. ^ Emden (1927), p. 60
  6. ^ In both 1690 and 1692
  7. ^ On the college's official website, the 'College memorabilia' section quotes these colours
  8. ^ About the College | St Edmund Hall
  9. ^ College website
  10. ^ S.E.H. Men's Eights
  11. ^ Visitor, Principal and Fellows | St Edmund Hall

Further reading [edit]

  • Cowdrey, H.E.J. (1988) St Edmund Hall, Queen's Lane, In: Hibbert, C. (Ed.) The encyclopædia of Oxford, London : Macmillan, ISBN 0-333-39917-X, p. 388-391. Reproduced online by St Edmund Hall [accessed 1 June 2007]
  • Emden, A.B. (1927) An Oxford Hall in Medieval Times: being the Early History of St Edmund Hall, Oxford : Clarendon Press, Reprinted 1968
  • Kelly, J.N.D. (1989) St Edmund Hall: Almost Seven Hundred Years, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-951559-X
  • Salter, H.E. and Lobel, M.D. (eds) [1954] (1994) "St. Edmund Hall", In: Victoria County History: A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3: The University of Oxford, The Victoria history of the counties of England, Folkestone : Dawson for the University of London Institute of Historical Research, ISBN 0-7129-1064-6, p. 319-335.

External links [edit]

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