A permanent private hall (PPH) in the University of Oxford is an educational institution within the university. There are five permanent private halls at Oxford, four of which admit undergraduates. They were founded by different

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, wors ...

s. The principal difference between a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

and a PPH is that whereas the former are governed by the fellows of the college, the governance of a PPH resides, at least in part, with the corresponding Christian denomination. Students at PPHs are members of the University of Oxford and have full access to the university's facilities and activities.

Overview

Regent's Park College Regent's Park College (known colloquially within the university as Regent's) is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford, situated in central Oxford, just off St Giles'. Founded in 1810, the college moved to its present site in ...

is the largest PPH, and admits men and women of any age. Blackfriars, St Stephen's House, and Wycliffe Hall were all male-only institutions historically, but all three are now co-educational, training ordinands for their respective denominations, and also admitting students for a range of other courses of study. Campion Hall admits

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s and priests of other orders and congregations who are graduate students. It occasionally accepts non-ordained students and ministers of other churches.

History

Private halls

The

Oxford University Act 1854 The Oxford University Act 185417 & 18 Vict c 81, sometimes called the Oxford University Reform Act 1854 or the University Reform Act 1854,Sabine Chaouche. Student Consumer Culture in Nineteenth-Century Oxford. Palgrave Macmillan. 2020p 231 Assoc ...

and the university statute ''De aulis privatis'' (On private Halls) of 1855, allowed any Master of Arts aged at least 28 years to open a private hall after obtaining a licence to do so. The longest lived of the thirteen private halls was

Charsley's Hall Charsley's Hall was a private hall of the University of Oxford. After 1891 it was renamed as Marcon's Hall. The hall was established in 1862 by William Henry Charsley, formerly of Christ Church, under the university statute ''De Aulis Pri ...

(1862–1891). Notable masters of private halls included

William Edward Addis William Edward Addis, also known as Edward Addis and William Addis, (9 May 1844 – 20 February 1917) was a Scottish-born Australian colonial clergyman. He was born in Edinburgh, Mid-Lothian, Scotland, and was Snell Exhibitioner to Balliol Colleg ...

and George Butler. The

Universities Tests Act 1871 The Universities Tests Act 1871 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It abolished religious "Tests" and allowed Roman Catholics, non-conformists and non-Christians to take up professorships, fellowships, studentships and othe ...

opened all university degrees and positions to men who were not members of the Church of England (subject to safeguards for religious instruction and worship), which made it possible for Roman Catholics and Nonconformists to open private halls. These non-Anglican private halls included Clarke's Hall (now

Campion Hall Campion Hall is one of the five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford in England. It is run by the Society of Jesus and named after Edmund Campion, a martyr and fellow of St John's College, Oxford. The hall is located on Brewer St ...

), opened by the

Jesuit Order , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

in 1896, and Hunter Blair's Hall (later

St Benet's Hall St Benet's Hall (known colloquially as Benet's) was a permanent private hall (PPH) of the University of Oxford, originally a Roman Catholic religious house of studies. It closed down in 2022. The principal building was located at the northern ...

) opened by the

Benedictine Order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

in 1899.

Permanent private halls

In 1918 the university passed a statute to allow private halls which were not run for profit to become permanent private halls and the two halls took new names. In some cases, a PPH can be granted full collegiate status; recent examples include Mansfield College (became a full college in 1995) and

Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarian students and moved to Oxford in 1893. It became a full college of t ...

(became a full college in 1996).

Greyfriars Greyfriars, Grayfriars or Gray Friars is a term for Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, in particular, the Conventual Franciscans. The term often refers to buildings or districts formerly associated with the order. Former Friaries * Greyfriars, Bed ...

(1224; refounded 1910), closed in 2008. St Benet's Hall started admitting women as graduates in 2014 and as undergraduates in 2016. St Benet's closed in 2022.

List of permanent private halls

Former permanent private halls

References

External links

Regulations for the Establishment and Maintenance of Permanent Private Halls

Review of the Permanent Private Halls associated with the University of Oxford
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2019 Terminology of the University of Oxford