
Holywell Manor is a historic building in central
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, in the parish of
Holywell.
It currently houses some of
Balliol College's postgraduate student population. It is on the corner of
Manor Road and
St Cross Road, next to
St Cross Church, which has become the Balliol College Historic Collections Centre.
History

The manor was held by the rectors of the
Church of St Peter-in-the-East in the 11th and 12th centuries.
It passed to
Merton College
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...
in 1294 and was rebuilt by the College in 1516. It was leased to
Edward Napper by the College in 1531. When occupied by Napper's family, the house became a refuge for
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
priests. The building was enlarged during 1555–72 and Napper's family remained in residence until the 17th Century. The building was partially demolished in 1761 and divided into three parts in 1828.
Balliol College has had a presence in the area since the purchase by
Benjamin Jowett
Benjamin Jowett (, modern variant ; 15 April 1817 – 1 October 1893) was an English writer and classical scholar. Additionally, he was an administrative reformer in the University of Oxford, theologian, Anglican cleric, and translator of Plato ...
, the
Master
Master, master's or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
In education:
*Master (college), head of a college
*Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline
*Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...
, 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 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 of the
Community of St John Baptist,
Clewer
Clewer (also known as Clewer Village) is an ecclesiastical parish and an area of Windsor, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. Clewer makes up three wards of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, namely Clewer North, Cle ...
and a home for unmarried mothers (though it was deserted by 1929). The purchase was planned by
Kenneth Norman Bell 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 alumnus of the College. These include the road facing façade, the entrance courtyard and the grand
Queen Anne style 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 or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when it was lent to
St Hugh's College
St Hugh's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a ...
.
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' after
Leslie Martin
Sir John Leslie Martin (17 August 1908, in Manchester – 28 July 2000) was an English architect, and a leading advocate of the International Style. Martin's most famous building is the Royal Festival Hall. His work was especially influenced ...
, and known jocularly as 'Holywell Minor'. In 1986 another block next to this was opened as the 'Dellal Building', named after Balliol Foundation fellow
Jack Dellal. Between 2000 and 2008 a group of undergraduate resident Staircases have been developed along Jowett Walk. In 2019 the Dellal and Martin buildings were demolished to make way for new Balliol accommodation buildings that extend along Jowett Walk and St Cross Road, opposite Holywell Manor.
The building was significantly extended in 1993 with the construction of the
James 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 ninth 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 Bell 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 (4 August 1892 – 14 January 1979) was a British painter of landscapes, portraits, figure compositions and mural decorations. He worked in oils and watercolour. He was the younger brother of the painter Stanley Spencer.
...
, the brother of
Stanley Spencer
Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE Royal Academy of Arts, RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if ...
. In addition, the garden contains a fountain by
Peter Lyon, ''Icarus'' by
Raymond Petit and a wind sculpture by
George Rickey.
Notable residents
*
Pauline Gregg
*
Empress Masako
is Empress of Japan as the wife of Emperor Naruhito.
Born in Tokyo, Masako was educated at Belmont High School in Massachusetts before attending Harvard College, earning a B.A., ''magna cum laude'', in economics. She also studied law at t ...
of Japan stayed in Holywell Manor.
*
Russell Meiggs
*
George Napper
*
Denis Noble
Facilities
Holywell Manor has the following 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''
* ''TV Room''
* ''Gym''
* ''Music practice rooms'' — previously the "Cockpit" dining hall.
See also
*
St Cross Church, Oxford
St Cross Church is a former parish church, now a historic collections centre, in Oxford, England, to the northeast of the centre of the city. The church is on St Cross Road at the junction with Manor Road, Oxford, Manor Road, just south of Holyw ...
References
External links
The Holywell Manor Handbook Balliol College
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Balliol College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford
History of the University of Oxford