Search results
Balliol lays claim to being the oldest Oxford college, though this is disputed by both University College and Merton. Balliol's claim is that a house of scholars was established by the founder in Oxford in around 1263, in contrast to Merton, which was the first college to be granted an official statute in 1274, and University College, which ...
Balliol has existed as a community of scholars on its present Broad Street site without interruption since about 1263. By this token it claims to be the oldest college in Oxford, and in the English-speaking world.
The oldest colleges are University College, Balliol, and Merton, established between 1249 and 1264, although there is some dispute over the exact order and precisely when each began teaching. The fourth oldest college is Exeter, founded in 1314, and the fifth is Oriel, founded in 1326.
- Origins
- Founders
- Medieval Balliol
- The Reformation
- The Civil War
- 18th Century
- Early 19th Century: Reform
- Late 19th Century: Benjamin Jowett
- Early 20th Century
- Holywell Manor
The early history of the ancient University of Oxford is shrouded in uncertainty. It came into existence about eight hundred years ago, but in its early days it lacked organisation and facilities. Students had to fend for themselves in small groups based on inns and lodging houses. It was from these small groups that the modern University, consisti...
John Balliol, one of King Henry III of England’s most loyal Lords during the Barons’ War of 1258–1265, was married to a Scottish Princess, Dervorguilla of Galloway. Their son, also named John Balliol, was King of Scots 1292–1296. He was a wealthy man with extensive estates in England and France; his family had its roots in and took its name from Ba...
There were at first sixteen students, each receiving an allowance of eightpence a week. The College remained small for the first two hundred and fifty years of its history, but in that time had several notable alumni, including John Wyclif the translator of the Bible, who was Master for several years around 1360. William Gray, the bibliophile Bisho...
During the turmoil of the sixteenth century, the College was staunch in its allegiance to Rome. It tried to resist when Henry VIII made his demand for acknowledgement of his supremacy over the Pope in 1534, the Master and five Fellows signing and sealing their submission only after adding that they intended ‘nothing to prejudice the divine law, the...
Balliol grew prosperous in the period 1585–1635, during which Laurence Kemis (one of Sir Walter Raleigh’s captains), John Evelyn the diarist, and Nathanael Konopios, who is supposed to have introduced coffee-drinking to England, were members. The Civil War, however, caused an abrupt drop in student numbers, and a consequent reduction in revenue. To...
The torpor for which eighteenth-century Oxford is notorious began to set in soon after Theophilus Leigh was elected Master in 1726. His principal qualification for the position, which he held for nearly sixty years, was that he was the Visitor’s nephew. His election was a bizarre and scandalously conducted affair, including such delights as an atte...
Under Leigh, the College slid seriously into debt once more, to the tune of more than £2000 by 1780. But financial salvation came in the form of increased income from ancient estates in Northumberland, which turned out to be nicely sited on top of coal-seams; and the College’s scholarly soul was saved by the election of John Parsons as Master in 17...
Under Jowett, Master 1870–1893but effective leader from much earlier, academic brilliance was encouraged, but so was originality, and there was a heavy emphasis on character, leadership, duty and public service. The strict approach of the previous generation was relaxed, and more informal intimate relations between teachers and taught — at vacation...
A.L. Smith and A.D. Lindsay were successive Masters 1916–1924 and 1924–1949. Both were supporters of working-class adult education, and Balliol became a regular venue for summer schools in vacations. Previous traditions were continued in the College itself, academic achievement reaching a high point in 1928, when over 40per cent of the College’s ca...
The most far-reaching development between the two World Wars was the acquisition and extension of Holywell Manor for use as a residential annexe. The necessary funds for the original extension, and also for the Martin and Dellal Buildings, which were added to the Holywell complex in the sixties and eighties respectively, were all raised by very suc...
Founded in 1263, Balliol is one of Oxford’s oldest colleges; the oldest academic institution in the English-speaking world still on its original site; and almost certainly the oldest co-founded by a woman anywhere.
Balliol College is the oldest college at Oxford University, founded in 1263. It has a long and distinguished history, having been home to some of the most influential academics, politicians, and writers of the past centuries.
People also ask
Is Balliol the oldest Oxford College?
What is Balliol College?
What is Oxford Balliol College?
What is the oldest college in Oxford?
Why is Balliol College important?
Is Balliol College a good school?
Balliol College is one of the oldest colleges in Oxford. It’s centrally located, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. Many well-known Prime Ministers have studied at Balliol, which is also the house of Adam Smith, Aldous Huxley, and Richard Dawkins.
