Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, according to the will of her late husband Nicholas Wadham, a member of an ancient Devon and Somerset family.
The central buildings, a notable example of Jacobean architecture, were designed by the architect William Arnold and erected between 1610 and 1613. They include a large and ornate Hall. Adjacent to the central buildings are the Wadham Gardens. Wadham is one of the largest colleges of the University of Oxford, with about 480 undergraduates and 240 graduate students. The college publishes an annual magazine for alumni, the Wadham College Gazette. As of 2022, it had an estimated financial endowment of £113 million, and in the 2021–2022 academic year ranked seventh in the Norrington Table, a measure which ranks Oxford colleges by academic performance.
Amongst Wadham's most famous alumni is Sir Christopher Wren. Wren was one of a group of experimental scientists at Oxford in the 1650s, the Oxford Philosophical Club, which included Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke. This group held regular meetings at Wadham College under the guidance of the warden, John Wilkins, and the group formed the nucleus which went on to found the Royal Society.
History
17th century
The college was founded by Dorothy Wadham in 1610, according to the wishes set out in the will of her husband Nicholas Wadham. Over four years, she gained royal and ecclesiastical support for the new college, negotiated the purchase of a site, appointed the West Country architect William Arnold, drew up the college statutes, and appointed the first warden, fellows, scholars, and cook. Although she never visited Oxford, she kept tight control of her new college and its finances until her death in 1618.The wardenship of John Wilkins is a significant period in the history of the college. Wilkins was a member of a group which had met for some years in London to discuss problems in the natural sciences. Many of the group moved to Oxford and held regular meetings in the Warden's lodgings at Wadham. Among them were Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke, John Locke, William Petty, John Wallis, and Thomas Willis. Wadham provided the largest contingent, some twelve of the fifty names mentioned. These included Christopher Brookes, John Mayow, Lawrence Rooke, Thomas Sprat, Seth Ward, and Sir Christopher Wren.
Sir Christopher Wren was an undergraduate at Wadham before he became a fellow of All Souls and then succeeded Rooke as astronomy professor at Gresham College, London. He eventually returned to occupy rooms at Wadham while he was the Savilian Professor of Astronomy from 1661. Wren had notable achievements in pure and applied mathematics, astronomy, physics and biology to his credit before he turned to architecture, in his thirties. In mathematical ability alone, Wren was ranked by competent authorities second only to Newton among the men of his time.
The Warden's lodgings were stuffed with ingenious instruments, and powerful telescopes were mounted on the college tower. The Oxford group kept up close relations with their colleagues in London, and in 1660, at Gresham, the decision was taken to create the body which, in 1662, was to be formally incorporated as the Royal Society. Wilkins was the first president of the provisional body, and became the first secretary of the Royal Society itself. These were the beginnings of organised scientific research in Britain.
The Bowra era
was Warden of the college from 1938 until 1970, and was influential in determining the character of the college as open and meritocratic. He was known for his hospitality but also for his waspish wit, and anecdotes about his time as Warden remain in circulation amongst Wadham alumni. A statue of Bowra is in the college gardens, and the college's 1992 Bowra Building bears his name.Modern day
The college now consists of some 70 Fellows, about 230 graduate students, and about 450 undergraduates. The current Warden is Robert Hannigan. Hannigan succeeded Lord Macdonald of River Glaven QC as Warden upon Macdonald's retirement in 2021.Promotion of equality, diversity and rights
In 1974, after more than three-and-a-half centuries as a men-only institution, Wadham was among the first group of five all-male colleges at Oxford to admit women as full members, the others being Brasenose, Jesus College, Hertford and St Catherine's.Wadham College has a reputation as a supporter of gay rights partly because it plays host to "Queerfest", a celebration of the LGBTQ cause. In 2011, Wadham became the first Oxbridge college to fly the Rainbow Flag in support of equality, as part of its annual Queer Week. The rainbow flag also flies over Wadham each year during February, to mark LGBT history month.
A Wadham student tradition is that student social events are always concluded with the playing of the Specials' "Free Nelson Mandela". The motion to play the song to conclude every student event until Nelson Mandela was freed from prison was passed by the Wadham Student Union in 1987, when Wadham alumnus Simon Milner, now Policy Director at Facebook, was SU President. Following Mandela's liberation, the Student Union voted to continue the tradition as a mark of affection. President Mandela visited Wadham College and dined there on 11 July 1997. In 2017, this tradition was challenged by a South African student, who is a member of the ANC and active in equality campaigning in South Africa, as no longer appropriate given the complex legacy of Mandela in post-Apartheid South Africa. He also highlighted that there is much more to South Africa than just the history of Apartheid, and that constant reference to it rather than South Africa's current issues is outdated and no longer the progressive act it was intended to be. A vote to remove the constitutional requirement to play the song was narrowly defeated in a Wadham SU meeting.
In 2013 the warden, Lord Macdonald of River Glaven QC, created the Wadham Human Rights Forum, a new public forum for the discussion of human rights issues that welcomes top level speakers to Wadham College. Lord Macdonald was also frequently in the media speaking on legal issues and, particularly, on issues relating to rights and security.
Buildings
Front quad
Wadham is sometimes put forward as the last major English public building to be created according to the mediaeval tradition of the Master Mason. Wadham's front quadrangle, which served as almost the entire college until the mid-20th century, is also an early example of the "Jacobean Gothic" style that was adopted for many of the university's buildings.The main building was erected in a single building operation in 1610–1613. The architect, William Arnold, was also responsible for Montacute House and Dunster Castle in Somerset, and was involved in the building of Cranborne Manor, Dorset for Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, James I's Lord Treasurer. The style of the building is a fairly traditional Oxford Gothic, modified by classical decorative detail, most notably the 'frontispiece' framing statues of James I and the Founders immediately facing visitors as they enter the college. Classical, too, is the over-powering emphasis on symmetry. The central quadrangle was originally gravelled throughout; the present lawn was laid down in 1809. The college was refaced in the 1960s, and much of the front quad has undergone further restoration work.
In 2019 a new 135 bed student accommodation was completed for the campus.