Holywell Manor, Oxford
Encyclopedia
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It currently houses the majority of Balliol College's
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
postgraduate population. It is located on the corner of St Cross Road
St Cross Road
St Cross Road is a road in Oxford, England. It connects South Parks Road to the north and Longwall Street to the south, where it also adjoins Holywell Street....
and Manor Road
St Cross Road
St Cross Road is a road in Oxford, England. It connects South Parks Road to the north and Longwall Street to the south, where it also adjoins Holywell Street....
, next to St Cross Church
St Cross Church, Oxford
St Cross Church is a church in central Oxford, England, to the northeast of the centre.The church is located on St Cross Road just south of Holywell Manor. Also close by is Holywell Cemetery.- Church history :...
, which has become the College Historic Collections Centre.
History
Balliol College has had a presence in the area since the purchase by Benjamin JowettBenjamin Jowett
Benjamin Jowett was renowned as an influential tutor and administrative reformer in the University of Oxford, a theologian and translator of Plato. He was Master of Balliol College, Oxford.-Early career:...
, the Master
Master (college)
A Master is the title of the head of some colleges and other educational institutions. This applies especially at some colleges and institutions at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge .- See also :* Master A Master (or in female form Mistress) is the title of the head of some...
, in the 1870s of the open area which is the Balliol sports ground 'The Master's Field'. On the edges of this, along Mansfield Road and St Cross Road, have been built Fellows houses, notably the 'The King's Mound' in 1894.
The oldest surviving part of the site is the 16th century farmhouse which now houses the 'Praefectus', i.e., the resident supervising Fellow. It was acquired by Balliol College in 1929, prior to which it had been a convent and home for unmarried mothers (though it was deserted by 1929). The purchase was planned by Kenneth Norman Bell
Kenneth Norman Bell
Kenneth Norman Bell was a fellow of Balliol College, Oxford from 1914 to his death in 1951. He was a major in the First World War and was the tutor of Christopher Hill and Graham Green. He was also responsible for the establishment of Holywell Manor as Balliol student accommodation, to accomplish...
in order to provide accommodation for undergraduates and was funded by donations to the Balliol Society which he had founded expressly for this purpose.
The extensive extensions to the original manor were designed by the architect George Kennedy an Old Boy of the College. These include the road facing façade, the entrance courtyard and the grand Queen Anne style
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
wings surrounding the distinctive two rows of Ginkgo trees planted by C. S. Orwin.
The Manor opened in 1932 and remained a hostel for Balliol's undergraduates until the 1960s, except for during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when it was lent to St Hugh's College
St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a fourteen and a half acre site on St Margaret's Road, to the North of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 as a women's college, and accepted its first male students in its centenary year in 1986...
. It then became a mixed graduate community shared with St Anne's College's female graduates. Finally in 1984, after Balliol College had begun accepting women it took its current form as a residence just for Balliol's graduates. A supplementary graduate students accommodation block, built on the opposite corner of the road to the Manor on the 'Master's Field', was opened in 1966 and is officially the 'Martin Building' and known jocularly as Holywell Minor. In 1986 another block next to this was opened as the 'Dellal Building'. Between 2000 and 2008 a group of undergraduate resident Staircases have been developed along Jowett Walk.
The building was significantly extended in 1993 with the construction of the James Fairfax
James Fairfax
James Oswald Fairfax, AC , Australian company director and arts patron, was born in Sydney, eldest son of Sir Warwick Oswald Fairfax....
Yard block off the manor's north wing. A review of college services led to the decision to close the kitchens and dining room, Manor residents were to use the new facilities at the College Hall, from 2008. This reversed a tendency towards the Manor being regarded as a separate college; Balliol is in fact the fourth largest graduate college in the University by post-graduate student members. This allowed for internal improvements and facilities, notably an additional common space known as the 'cockpit' or 'lounge', and a gym, which are available for use by all College members.
Art
Kenneth Norman BellKenneth Norman Bell
Kenneth Norman Bell was a fellow of Balliol College, Oxford from 1914 to his death in 1951. He was a major in the First World War and was the tutor of Christopher Hill and Graham Green. He was also responsible for the establishment of Holywell Manor as Balliol student accommodation, to accomplish...
was always closely involved with the British art world, and began an association between Holywell and the arts which still continues. What is now one of the Manor's computer rooms is decorated with murals depicting the tradition of the founding of the College painted by Gilbert Spencer
Gilbert Spencer
Gilbert Spencer R.A. was a British painter of landscapes, portraits figure compositions and mural decoarions. He worked in oils and watercolor...
, the brother of Stanley Spencer
Stanley Spencer
Sir Stanley Spencer was an English painter. Much of his work depicts Biblical scenes, from miracles to Crucifixion, happening not in the Holy Land but in the small Thames-side village where he was born and spent most of his life...
, and the MCR houses many more contemporary works. In addition, the garden contains a fountain by Peter Lyon
Peter Lyon
Peter Lyon is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League during the 1960s....
and a wind sculpture by George Rickey
George Rickey
George Rickey was an American kinetic sculptor.Rickey was born on June 6, 1907 in South Bend, Indiana.-Life and work:...
.
The MCR community
The graduate community now housed by Holywell Manor is known as being one of the most vibrant in Oxford, with a strong international feel. The MCR runs a bar and organises regular social events. Much like Balliol's undergraduates, the graduates of Holywell Manor are known for being particularly politically active and the MCR is well represented in other Oxford organisations.St Cross Church
The church has had a falling attendance for many years, as have many Anglican inner urban parishes. The Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
has encouraged appropriate alternative uses for these. In February 2008, the Parochial Church Council of St Cross decided unanimously to allow Balliol College to develop a specialist library in the church.
In May 2008, the Shirley Foundation
Shirley Foundation
The Shirley Foundation, based in the UK, was established in 1996 by Steve Shirley, who gave a substantial endowment to establish a charitable trust fund....
contributed £1m towards the College's Historic Collections Centre to be housed in St Cross Church
St Cross Church, Oxford
St Cross Church is a church in central Oxford, England, to the northeast of the centre.The church is located on St Cross Road just south of Holywell Manor. Also close by is Holywell Cemetery.- Church history :...
. This shall contain the College archives, its medieval manuscript collection, incunabula and other special items previously located separately and allowing expansion of the main College Library's services. One item dates from circa 1170 having been held by the College since 1276. The collection is the ancient core of the Library collection and not a specialist acquisition as held by more recent foundations, although it is as large as some of these. This is the third library at Oxford University to be converted from a church, the others being All Saints
All Saints Church, Oxford
All Saints Church is on the north side of the High Street in central Oxford, England, on the corner of Turl Street. It is now the library of Lincoln College. This former church is Grade I listed.-History:...
on the High Street
High Street, Oxford
The High Street in Oxford, England runs between Carfax, generally recognized as the centre of the city, and Magdalen Bridge to the east. Locally the street is often known as The High. It forms a gentle curve and is the subject of many prints, paintings, photographs, etc...
(Lincoln College
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...
) and St Peter-in-the-East
St Peter-in-the-East
St Peter-in-the-East is a 12th century church on Queen's Lane, north of the High Street in central Oxford, England. It forms part of St Edmund Hall, one of the Oxford University colleges. It is now deconsecrated and houses the college library for graduates and undergraduates...
, Queen's Lane
Queen's Lane
Queen's Lane is an historic street in central Oxford, England, named after Queen's College, to the south and west.At the south-eastern end of Queen's Lane is a junction onto the High Street...
(St Edmund Hall). The full cost of £3m will be found within the expected development programme period. The Centre will have comprehensive modern research facilities.
As a central Oxford church it has other Balliol College connections. John Snell
John Snell
Sir John Snell , founder of the Snell exhibitions at the University of Oxford, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of a blacksmith....
, the benefactor of the post graduate scholarships connecting the College and Glasgow University, was buried in the Church in 1679. In its cemetery are buried the Masters J.L. Strachan Davidson (died in office 1916) and A.L. Smith (died in office 1924).
Famous residents
- Crown Princess MasakoMasako, Crown Princess of Japanis the wife of Crown Prince Naruhito, the first son of the Emperor Akihito and the Empress Michiko, and a member of the Imperial House of Japan through marriage.-Early life and education:...
of Japan stayed in the Manor. Correspondence from her household to the Praefectus is displayed in the corridors of the Manor's Centre Wing.
Facilities
- The "Megaron" Bar — This is unusual amongst college bars both for being student run and for operating on an honesty basis.
- The MCR — The common room is furnished with seating, is stocked with newspapers and magazines, and has Wi-Fi access.
- The laundry room
- Computer rooms
- TV Room
- Gym
- Music practice rooms — These are currently in preparation in the basement area that previously housed the "Cockpit" dining hall.