Harris Manchester College, Oxford
Encyclopedia
Harris Manchester College is one of the constituent colleges
of the University of Oxford
in the United Kingdom
. Formerly known as Manchester College, it is listed in the University Statutes (V.1) as Manchester Academy and Harris College, and at University ceremonies it is called Collegium de Harris et Manchester.
Located in Mansfield Road
in central Oxford
, Harris Manchester is one of very few mixed-sex higher education
colleges in the UK whose undergraduate places are exclusively for mature students (aged 21 or over). It is the smallest of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, and as of 2010 had an estimated financial endowment
of £12 million.
in 1786. Originally run by English Presbyterians
, it was one of several dissenting academies
that provided religious nonconformists
with higher education
, as at the time the only universities in England, Oxford and Cambridge, were restricted to Anglicans. The Manchester Academy was modelled on the well-known Warrington Academy
. It taught radical theology as well as modern subjects, such as science, modern languages, language, and history. This did not mean that the classics were neglected.
The college changed its location five times before settling in Oxford.
The key person in York was Charles Wellbeloved
, a Unitarian
minister. Because he would not move to Manchester, the college moved to York to have him as head. At first he taught all subjects, but hired additional tutors after a year. He always worked hard and several times his health broke. In 1840, when age forced him to retire, the college moved back to Manchester. Wellbeloved did not allow the school to be called Unitarian because he wanted students to have an open mind and to discover the truth for themselves. In 1809 he wrote to George Wood,
Under Wellbeloved's Principalship 235 students were educated at the college: 121 divinity
students and 114 laymen. Of the former, 30 did not enter the ministry and five entered the Anglican priesthood. Among the lay students were scholars, public servants, businessmen, and notable men in the arts. The majority was Unitarian.
status in 1990. In 1996 the college became a full constituent college of Oxford University.
Today the college focuses on mature students (i.e. those above the age of 21), both for undergraduate and graduate studies. The college tries to continue its liberal and pioneering ethos, considering its mature student focus as a modern means of providing higher education to those that have, in the past, been excluded from it. In its early days, the College supported reforming causes, such as the repeal of the Test
and Corporation Acts
and the abolition of slavery. In 1901 the College was the first academic institution in Britain to accept a female candidate for the Nonconformist ministry. In the 1920s and 1930s the College provided courses for the Workers' Educational Association
.
Harris Manchester College is the base for the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies
, which sponsors the ongoing training of teachers of religious education
.
Members are generally expected to dine in the Arlosh Hall, where there is a twice-weekly formal dinner at which grace is always recited and students dress in jackets, ties, and gowns.
Aside from the College punt, The Royle Yacht, and a croquet lawn and fishing fountain, the college has no real sports facilities. However, the College is collectively a member of a central Oxford gym and health club to which members of the college have access. In recent years the college's ice hockey
team has been exceptionally successful, winning second place in the intercollegiate cuppers
tournament last year, with the Basketball team winning third place in its intercollegiate cuppers
tournament the year before. Moreover, Harris Manchester also has an affiliation with neighbouring Wadham College for those interested in becoming members of Wadham College Boat Club
and other popular sports.
The college boasts one of the largest, if not the largest, specialist non-conformist college theological libraries in Oxford - it owns approximately 70,000 items. The collection has been built up and developed over the two hundred years of the College's existence. It includes a range of artefacts including a rare killoran, an antiquarian book collection, and a large collection of manuscripts relating to the college and a specialist collection relating to the Non Conformist and Dissenting movement in England.
The college is also the home of a chapel with ornate wood carvings, an organ, and notable stained-glass windows by Sir Edward Burne-Jones
and William Morris
.
Colleges of the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 Permanent Private Halls of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university, and all teaching staff and students studying for a degree of the university must belong to one of the colleges...
of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Formerly known as Manchester College, it is listed in the University Statutes (V.1) as Manchester Academy and Harris College, and at University ceremonies it is called Collegium de Harris et Manchester.
Located in Mansfield Road
Mansfield Road, Oxford
Mansfield Road is a road in central Oxford, England. It runs north-south with two of Oxford University's colleges on it, Mansfield College and Harris Manchester College, and Queen Elizabeth House which houses the Oxford Department of International Development.To the north is South Parks Road and...
in central Oxford
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...
, Harris Manchester is one of very few mixed-sex higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
colleges in the UK whose undergraduate places are exclusively for mature students (aged 21 or over). It is the smallest of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, and as of 2010 had an estimated financial endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
of £12 million.
History
The college started as the Manchester Academy in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1786. Originally run by English Presbyterians
English Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism in England is distinct from Continental and Scottish forms of Presbyterianism. Whereas in Scotland, church government is based on a meeting of delegates, in England the individual congregation is the primary body of government...
, it was one of several dissenting academies
Dissenting academies
The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and nonconformist seminaries run by dissenters. They formed a significant part of England’s educational systems from the mid-seventeenth to nineteenth centuries....
that provided religious nonconformists
English Dissenters
English Dissenters were Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.They originally agitated for a wide reaching Protestant Reformation of the Established Church, and triumphed briefly under Oliver Cromwell....
with higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
, as at the time the only universities in England, Oxford and Cambridge, were restricted to Anglicans. The Manchester Academy was modelled on the well-known Warrington Academy
Warrington Academy
Warrington Academy, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by those who dissented from the state church in England...
. It taught radical theology as well as modern subjects, such as science, modern languages, language, and history. This did not mean that the classics were neglected.
The college changed its location five times before settling in Oxford.
- It was located in Manchester between 1786 and 1803.
- It moved to YorkYorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
until 1840. It was located at Blenheim House, 13 Monkgate, just outside Monkbar; later this was the first building of the College of Ripon and York St JohnYork St John UniversityYork St John University York St John University York St John University (formerly known variously as York St John University College (2004), York St John College (2001), Ripon and York St John: a College of the University of Leeds (c. 1996), University College of Ripon and York St John...
(now York St John University), and it was demolished in 1939.
The key person in York was Charles Wellbeloved
Charles Wellbeloved
Charles Wellbeloved was a unitarian divine and archaeologist.-Life:Charles Wellbeloved, only child of John Wellbeloved , by his wife Elizabeth , was born in Denmark Street, St Giles, London, on 6 April 1769, and baptised on 25 April at St. Giles-in-the-Fields...
, a Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
minister. Because he would not move to Manchester, the college moved to York to have him as head. At first he taught all subjects, but hired additional tutors after a year. He always worked hard and several times his health broke. In 1840, when age forced him to retire, the college moved back to Manchester. Wellbeloved did not allow the school to be called Unitarian because he wanted students to have an open mind and to discover the truth for themselves. In 1809 he wrote to George Wood,
"I do not and will not teach Unitarianism or any ism but ChristianismChristianismChristianism had various definitions over the years. It was originally defined as "the Christian religion" or "the Christian world". In recent years, Christianism has also been used as a descriptive term of Christian fundamentalists, mostly in the United States, for the ideology of the Christian...
. I will endeavour to teach the students how to study the Scripture—nice if they find Unitarianism there—well if animismAnimismAnimism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
—well if Trinitarianism—well, only let them find something for themselves."
Under Wellbeloved's Principalship 235 students were educated at the college: 121 divinity
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
students and 114 laymen. Of the former, 30 did not enter the ministry and five entered the Anglican priesthood. Among the lay students were scholars, public servants, businessmen, and notable men in the arts. The majority was Unitarian.
- The college moved back from York to Manchester in 1840. It stayed there until 1853. In 1840, the college started an association with the University of LondonUniversity of London-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, and gained the right to present students for degrees from London. - Between 1853 and 1889 the college was located in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in University Hall, Gordon Square - From London it moved to Oxford, opening its new buildings designed by the Unitarian architect Thomas WorthingtonThomas Worthington (architect)Thomas Worthington was a 19th-century English architect, particularly associated with public buildings in and around Manchester.-Early life:...
in 1893.
Modern life
Harris Manchester College was granted Permanent Private HallPermanent Private Hall
A Permanent Private Hall at the University of Oxford is an educational institution within the university. There are six Permanent Private Halls at Oxford, five of which admit undergraduates. They were founded by different Christian denominations....
status in 1990. In 1996 the college became a full constituent college of Oxford University.
Today the college focuses on mature students (i.e. those above the age of 21), both for undergraduate and graduate studies. The college tries to continue its liberal and pioneering ethos, considering its mature student focus as a modern means of providing higher education to those that have, in the past, been excluded from it. In its early days, the College supported reforming causes, such as the repeal of the Test
Sacramental Test Act 1828
The Sacramental Test Act 1828 was an Act passed by the British Parliament.-Background:The Corporation Act 1661 laid down that all mayors and officials in municipal corporations had to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion in accordance with the rites of the Church of England...
and Corporation Acts
Corporation Act 1661
The Corporation Act of 1661 is an Act of the Parliament of England . It belongs to the general category of test acts, designed for the express purpose of restricting public offices in England to members of the Church of England....
and the abolition of slavery. In 1901 the College was the first academic institution in Britain to accept a female candidate for the Nonconformist ministry. In the 1920s and 1930s the College provided courses for the Workers' Educational Association
Workers' Educational Association
The Workers’ Educational Association seeks to provide access to education and lifelong learning for adults from all backgrounds, and in particular those who have previously missed out on education. The International Federation of Workers Education Associations has consultative status to UNESCO...
.
Harris Manchester College is the base for the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies
Farmington Institute for Christian Studies
The Farmington Institute for Christian Studies is based at Harris Manchester College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Dr Ralph Waller is both Principal of the College and Director of the Farmington Institute....
, which sponsors the ongoing training of teachers of religious education
Religious education
In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion and its varied aspects —its beliefs, doctrines, rituals, customs, rites, and personal roles...
.
Student life
Despite the small student body, the college offers a wide array of courses and has a very international atmosphere. Most undergraduate tutorials are carried out in the college, though for some specialist papers undergraduates may be sent to tutors in other colleges.Members are generally expected to dine in the Arlosh Hall, where there is a twice-weekly formal dinner at which grace is always recited and students dress in jackets, ties, and gowns.
Aside from the College punt, The Royle Yacht, and a croquet lawn and fishing fountain, the college has no real sports facilities. However, the College is collectively a member of a central Oxford gym and health club to which members of the college have access. In recent years the college's ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team has been exceptionally successful, winning second place in the intercollegiate cuppers
Cuppers
Cuppers is a term for intercollegiate sporting competitions at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The term comes from the word "cup" and is an example of the Oxford "-er". Each sport holds only one cuppers competition each year, which is open to all colleges. Most cuppers competitions use...
tournament last year, with the Basketball team winning third place in its intercollegiate cuppers
Cuppers
Cuppers is a term for intercollegiate sporting competitions at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The term comes from the word "cup" and is an example of the Oxford "-er". Each sport holds only one cuppers competition each year, which is open to all colleges. Most cuppers competitions use...
tournament the year before. Moreover, Harris Manchester also has an affiliation with neighbouring Wadham College for those interested in becoming members of Wadham College Boat Club
Wadham College Boat Club
Wadham College Boat Club is the rowing club of Wadham College, Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The club's members are students and staff from Wadham College and Harris Manchester College. Founded some time before 1837, Wadham has had great success both within Oxford and externally in regattas...
and other popular sports.
The college boasts one of the largest, if not the largest, specialist non-conformist college theological libraries in Oxford - it owns approximately 70,000 items. The collection has been built up and developed over the two hundred years of the College's existence. It includes a range of artefacts including a rare killoran, an antiquarian book collection, and a large collection of manuscripts relating to the college and a specialist collection relating to the Non Conformist and Dissenting movement in England.
The college is also the home of a chapel with ornate wood carvings, an organ, and notable stained-glass windows by Sir Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
and William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
.
Academics/teachers
- Ralph WallerRalph WallerThe Reverend Dr. Ralph Waller is Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford and Director of the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies....
- Charles WellbelovedCharles WellbelovedCharles Wellbeloved was a unitarian divine and archaeologist.-Life:Charles Wellbeloved, only child of John Wellbeloved , by his wife Elizabeth , was born in Denmark Street, St Giles, London, on 6 April 1769, and baptised on 25 April at St. Giles-in-the-Fields...
- John Kenrick
- Joseph PriestleyJoseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
- John DaltonJohn DaltonJohn Dalton FRS was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into colour blindness .-Early life:John Dalton was born into a Quaker family at Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, Cumberland,...
- William GaskellWilliam GaskellThe Reverend William Gaskell was an English Unitarian minister, charity worker and pioneer in the education of the working class...
- L. P. JacksL. P. JacksLawrence Pearsall Jacks , abbreviated L. P. Jacks was an English educator, philosopher, and Unitarian minister who rose to prominence in the period from World War I to World War II.-Early life:...
- Francis William NewmanFrancis William NewmanFrancis William Newman , the younger brother of Cardinal Newman, was an English scholar and miscellaneous writer.-Life:...
- James MartineauJames MartineauJames Martineau was an English religious philosopher influential in the history of Unitarianism. For 45 years he was Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Political Economy in Manchester New College, the principal training college for British Unitarianism.-Early life:He was born in Norwich,...
- Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Notable Unitarian alumni
- James MartineauJames MartineauJames Martineau was an English religious philosopher influential in the history of Unitarianism. For 45 years he was Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Political Economy in Manchester New College, the principal training college for British Unitarianism.-Early life:He was born in Norwich,...
, later the principal of his alma mater - William GaskellWilliam GaskellThe Reverend William Gaskell was an English Unitarian minister, charity worker and pioneer in the education of the working class...
- Philip Pearsall Carpenter
- John James Tayler, later the principal also
- Joseph HunterJoseph Hunter (antiquarian)Joseph Hunter was a Unitarian Minister and antiquarian best known for his publications Hallamshire. The History and Topography of the Parish of Sheffield in the County of York and the two-volume South Yorkshire , still considered among the best works written on the history of Sheffield and South...
, antiquarian - Joseph Hutton
- William Raynor Wood
- Daniel JonesDaniel JonesDaniel Jones is the name of:* Daniel Jones , phonetician, author of The Pronunciation of English* Daniel Jones , chancellor of the University of Mississippi* Daniel Jones , Welsh composer...
- William Turner the youngerWilliam Turner (biographer)William Turner was an English Unitarian minister, known as a biographer.-Life:The son of William Turner, he was born at Newcastle on 13 January 1788. He was educated at Glasgow University, where he graduated M.A. in 1806, at Manchester College , and at Edinburgh University...
- James Yates
- Robert WallaceRobert Wallace (Unitarian)Robert Wallace was an English Unitarian minister, now best known for his Antitrinitarian Biography .-Life:He was born at Dudley, Worcestershire, on 26 February 1791. In 1808 he came under the influence of James Hews Bransby, who prepared him for entrance at Manchester College, then at York, under...
, later the principal also - Mark Philips, prominent Member of Parliament
- Edward WorthingtonEdward WorthingtonEdward Worthington was an 18th-century American pioneer and soldier who explored and later helped settle the Kentucky frontier. A veteran of the American Revolution and the Indian Wars, he also served as a paymaster under George Rogers Clark during the Illinois campaign. His grandson, William H...