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Pembroke College, Oxford
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Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2007, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £45.5 million.
he early seventeenth century, the endowment of Thomas Tesdale - a merchant from nearby Abingdon - and Richard Wightwick - a clergyman from Berkshire - enabled the conversion of the Broadgates Hall, which had been a University hostel for law students since its construction in the fifteenth century, to form the basis of a fully fledged college.
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Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2007, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £45.5 million.
History
In the early seventeenth century, the endowment of Thomas Tesdale - a merchant from nearby Abingdon - and Richard Wightwick - a clergyman from Berkshire - enabled the conversion of the Broadgates Hall, which had been a University hostel for law students since its construction in the fifteenth century, to form the basis of a fully fledged college. The letters patent to found the college were signed by King James I in 1624, with the college being named after William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, Lord Chamberlain and then-Chancellor of the University.
Following its foundation, the college proceeded to expand around Broadgates, building what is now known as "Old Quad" in the 1600s. Built in stages through the seventeenth century out of the local Cotswold limestone, space restrictions saw the south-side of the Quad built directly on top of the old City Wall. A Chapel was built in 1732, and the introduction of further accommodation and the Hall in the mid-nineteenth century created "Chapel Quad" - widely considered one of the most beautiful Quads in the University. The Chapel was designed and built by William Townsend, although the interior was dramatically redesigned by Charles Kempe - a Pembroke graduate - in 1884. Pembroke alumnus Dr. Damon Wells is a significant benefactor of the College over many years; he enabled the restoration of the Chapel in 1972, and continues to support the Chaplaincy and History Fellowship. The Chapel which is still used for regular worship bears his name.
The most recent expansion of the college came in the 1960s, after the closure of Beef Lane to the north of Chapel Quad. The private houses north of the closed road were acquired by the College in a piecemeal fashion and reversed so that access was only possible from the rear. The new area is now known as "North Quad", which was formally opened in 1962. A modern annex was built near to college on the banks of the Isis at Grandpont, provides accommodation for almost a hundred undergraduates, usually those in their final year. The building is commonly known as "The GAB", after being named after the diplomat Sir Geoffrey Arthur - a former master of the college (1975-1985).
Samuel Johnson was one of the College's more famous alumni, though he did not complete his degree (he was later awarded an honorary degree by the University); lack of funds forced him to leave Oxford after about a year and a half. Two of his desks and various other possessions are displayed around the college. James Smithson, whose bequest founded the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. (despite him never having visited the United States) was an undergraduate at Pembroke, under the name "James Lewis Macie" — he changed his name to that of his natural father after the death of his mother. Meanwhile Senator J. William Fulbright, who established the Fulbright Fellowships, was a Rhodes Scholar at Pembroke in the 1920s.
Although he had been an undergraduate at Exeter College, J.R.R. Tolkien was a Fellow of Pembroke from 1925 to 1945, and wrote The Hobbit and the first two books of The Lord of the Rings during his time there.
Among the College's more recent Masters was Roger Bannister, the first man to run the mile in under four minutes.
Pembroke was described by John Betjeman, in Summoned by Bells:
- How empty, creeper-grown and odd
- Seems lonely Pembroke's second quad
- Still, when I see it, do I wonder why
- That college so polite and shy
- Should have more character than Queen's
- Or Univ, splendid in the High.
Coat of Arms
The arms of Pembroke College were granted by the College of Heralds on 14 February 1625, the formal blazon describing it as:
“Per pale azure and gules three Lyons rampant Argent, in a Cheife party per pale Argent and Or, in the first a Rose Gules, in second a Thistle of Scotland proper”.
Both James I, as founder of the college, and the Earl of Pembroke are commemorated in the arms. The former, representing the union of the crowns as James I of England and James VI of Scotland, is symbolised by the rose (of England) and the thistle (of Scotland). The three lions rampant are taken from the Earl’s personal coat arms.
Courses
Pembroke offers a broad range of courses, covering almost all the subject areas offered by the university. In particular, the college has had a strong involvement with Management Studies, being the first traditional Oxford College to appoint a Fellow in the field. The college has maintained a close relationship with the Saïd Business School and with an intake of eight students per year, has more Economics & Management undergraduates than any other college.
The JCR and MCR
Pembroke is home to a JCR (undergraduate community) notable for its artistic wealth and sporting prowess. The JCR is one of the wealthiest in Oxford due to the purchase and sale of a Francis Bacon painting in the early twentieth century (see below), and has used those funds to support a socially progressive student support scheme and an impressive artistic acquisition programme. The MCR is housed in a suite of historic rooms and is noted for its connections with a wide range of nations. Its current patron is Lord (John) Kerr, former head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ambassador to the United States.
The college is also home to the Emery gallery and the JCR art fund, founded by the sale of a Francis Bacon painting for £400,000, which is empowered to make significant contemporary purchases for the college.
Sport
The college has a strong sporting reputation across the university. Recent years have seen the JCR achieve particular success at rugby, and cricket, football, hockey and darts. The MCR has been particularly strong at women's boxing, polo and cricket.
Pembroke College Boat Club is one of Oxford's strongest boat clubs, with the men's and women's boats currently sitting 2nd and 3rd on the river in Summer Eights respectively. In 2003, Pembroke became the first college to win the "Double Headship Trophy" for having both men's and women's Eights head the river.
Ornithology Society
With support from the student body, Pembroke Ornithology Society was founded in 2008 and aims to become one of the top Ornithology Societies in the University. It is currently looking to expand into areas such as bird conservation and data-collection.
Notable former students
- King Abdullah II of Jordan, current ruler of Jordan
- Patience Agbabi, performance poet
- Francis Beaumont, playwright
- Gaspar Bergman, film director
- William Blackstone, jurist and barrister
- Edmund Bonner, bishop, known as 'Bloody Bonner'
- Thomas Browne, seventeenth-century author
- William Camden, antiquarian and historian
- Oz Clarke, oenophile and broadcaster
- David Cracknell, former Sunday Times Political Editor
- Mary Creagh, Labour politician
- Julian Critchley, journalist and Conservative politician
- Denzil Davies, Labour politician
- Maria Eagle, Labour government minister
- J. William Fulbright, American Democratic Senator
- Charles Hawtrey (19th century actor)
- George Procter Hawtrey, actor and playwright
- Michael Heseltine, former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister and publisher
- Walter Isaacson, author and President and CEO of the Aspen Institute
- Samuel Johnson, lexicographer, biographer, writer, poet * Roz Kaveney (as Andrew J. Kaveney), writer
- Charles Kempe, Victorian stained glass designer.
- John Kerr, Baron Kerr of Kinlochard, diplomat
- Philip Lader, former American Ambassador to the UK, businessman
- Richard G. Lugar, American Republican Senator
- Viktor Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister 1998-2002
- Tarik O'Regan, composer
- John Pym, parliamentarian and critic of Charles I of England
- Radek Sikorski, Polish politician and current Minister of Foreign Affairs
- James Smithson, mineralogist, benefactor of the Smithsonian Institution.
- John Snagge, BBC newsreader and commentator
- The Rt Revd Thomas Shaun Stanage, DD, Anglican Bishop in South Africa
- Samuel John Stone, Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter (The Church's One Foundation)
- Honeysuckle Weeks, actress
- George Whitefield, leader of the Methodist movement in the eighteenth century
Academics, fellows, and teachers
(The names of current members are followed by links to their College pages)
External links
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