Lincoln College, Oxford
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Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is a constituent college of the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the then
Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...
, who obtained a charter for the college from King Henry VI. The college is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford and has three quadrangles. The first quadrangle dates from the 15th century, with the second Chapel quadrangle added in the early 17th century and The Grove added in the 19th century. The college library is located in the converted 18th-century All Saints' Church which became part of the college in 1971. Its sister college is Downing College, Cambridge. Mensa, the oldest high-IQ society in the world, was founded at the college in 1946. The Rector of the college is former president of the Royal Geographical Society Nigel Clifford. Notable alumni include writers Theodor Seuss Geisel ( Dr. Seuss) and David John Moore Cornwell ( John le Carré), former British
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
and Labour politician Shabana Mahmood. Past fellows include the founder of
Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...
, the physician John Radcliffe and antibiotics scientists Howard Florey, Edward Abraham, and Norman Heatley.


History


Founding

Richard Fleming, the then
Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...
, founded the college in order to combat the Lollard teachings of John Wyclif. He intended it to be "a little college of true students of theology who would defend the mysteries of Scripture against those ignorant laymen who profaned with swinish snouts its most holy pearls".. To this end, he obtained a charter for the college from King Henry VI, which combined the parishes of All Saints, St Michael at the North Gate, and St Mildred's within the college under a rector. The college now uses All Saints Church as its library and has strong ties with St Michael's Church at the North Gate, having used it as a stand-in for the college chapel when necessary. Despite insufficient endowment and trouble from the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
(for their charter was from the deposed Lancastrian), the college has survived and flourished thanks to the efforts of its fellows and the munificence of a second bishop of Lincoln, Thomas Rotherham. Richard Fleming died in 1431, and the first rector, William Chamberleyn, in 1434, leaving the college with few buildings and little money. The second rector, John Beke, secured the college's safety by attracting donors. By 1436, the college had seven fellows. John Forest, Dean of Wells and a close friend of Beke's, donated such an amount that the college promised to recognise him as a co-founder; it did not keep this promise. His gifts saw the construction of a chapel, a library, hall and kitchen. After a pointed sermon from the incumbent rector, Thomas Rotherham was compelled to give his support and effectively re-founded it in 1478, with a new charter from King Edward IV.


18th century

In the 18th century, Lincoln became the cradle of
Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
when
John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...
, a fellow there from 1726, held religious meetings with his brother
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
and the rest of Wesley's 'Holy Club', whom the rest of the university took to calling 'Bible-moths'. His appearances at College became less frequent after he departed for
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
as a
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
chaplain in 1735. Indeed, he took to signing his publications as "John Wesley, Sometime Fellow of Lincoln College". A portrait of him hangs in the Hall, and a bust overlooks the front quad. The room where he is believed to have worked is also named after him, and was renovated by American Methodists at the beginning of the 20th century.


Rivalry

As is common with Oxford colleges, the college has a long-standing rivalry with neighbour Brasenose College (which was founded by a later bishop of Lincoln, William Smyth). The two colleges share a tradition revived annually on Ascension Day. The story goes that, centuries ago, as a mob chased students at the university through the town, the Lincoln porter allowed in the Lincoln students but refused entry to the Brasenose member, leaving him to the mercy of the mob. An alternative is that a Lincoln man bested a Brasenose man in a duel. Either episode resulted in the Brasenose student's death, and ever since, on Ascension Day, Lincoln College has invited in members of Brasenose College every year through the one door connecting the two colleges, for free beer as penance. Since the nineteenth century, the beer has been flavoured with ivy so as to discourage excessive consumption.


Modern day

Academically, Lincoln was one of the top ten in the Norrington Table each year from 2006 to 2015 (excluding 2010 and 2011). Lincoln ranked third in the Norrington Table in 2021 and second in 2022. The college is associated with the Goblin Club, an exclusive all-male dining society founded in 1902. In May 2019, the JCR voted to extend a ban on the society on the grounds that it was perceived to be both elitist and racist. In 1958, the college was the first in Oxford or Cambridge to provide a Middle Common Room exclusively for the use of graduate students. Like many of Oxford's colleges, Lincoln admitted its first mixed-sex cohort in 1979, after more than half a millennium as a men-only institution. The MCR is now located in the Berrow Foundation Building, which was inaugurated in 2014. In 2007, the college took the rare step of unveiling a commissioned portrait of two members of staff who were not fellows or benefactors of the college, in commemoration of their work. Chef Jim Murden and butler Kevin Egleston have worked in the college's kitchen and buttery for 33 and 28 years respectively, as of 2010. Artist Daphne Todd was commissioned for the painting, who has had such previous sitters as the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...
. As part of the college's commitment to environmental
sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
, a dedicated Green Impact team was set up in 2021, which has since won an Oxford University gold award.
Biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
initiatives across the college's various properties have led to creation of a wild-flower garden outside the entrance to the college library.


Architecture

According to
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...
, Lincoln College preserves "more of the character of a 15th century college than any other in Oxford". This is mainly because both the façade to Turl Street and the front quad are still of only two storeys (although the
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
s and battlements are of the 19th century). The college also owns most of the buildings across Turl Street from the college proper, in whole or in part, which chiefly contain student accommodation. The creeper that covers the college's front quad walls is Virginia creeper (''Parthenocissus quinquefolia'') – dark green in the summer through to scarlet in autumn, but bare in winter. There are three quads: the Front Quad (15th century), the Chapel Quad (1608–1631) and The Grove (19th century), as well as a number of irregular spaces. Unlike many other colleges, all of the architecture of the college proper is stone and there is no modern accommodation annexe. To quote the Lincoln College Freshers' Handbook, "Unlike most colleges, we have no grotty sixties annexe to spoil all the pretty bits". The college bar, Deep Hall (or ''Deepers''), is immediately below the great hall and used to be the college beer cellar. It is one of the oldest parts of the college, and the pillars inside it are perhaps the oldest feature of the college. The wine cellar is accessed through Deep Hall, and extends completely beneath the Grove. The Rector's lodgings in Turl Street are neo-Georgian and were built in 1929–1930; they are reached from within college through a gate in Chapel Quad, but have a main door on Turl Street. The college is known as being the setting for many literary works. C. P. Snow was inspired for his novel ''
The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major golf championships, men's major championships in Professional golf tours, professional golf. Schedul ...
'' by the story of Mark Pattison, a fellow at Lincoln, whose enthusiastic hopes for Lincoln were frustrated by older, more conservative fellows of the college; Snow's story transposes the story to a Cambridge College. It was the setting for three episodes of '' Inspector Morse''. Later, '' Lewis'' has used Turl Street in front of the college for filming. Lincoln College is the setting for much of the plot in ''Heresy'' by S.J. Parris (pseudonym for the literary critic Stephanie Merritt), a historical crime novel. Lincoln College has one of the oldest working medieval kitchens in the UK.


Chapel

The college
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
was built in late perpendicular style between 1629 and 1631; its windows are enamelled rather than stained, which is a process of painting the windows then firing them, a complicated procedure. They are the work of Abraham van Linge, who was an expert in this technique. The east window of the chapel depicts twelve biblical scenes: the top six depict scenes from Jesus' life (including the Last Supper), whilst the six below depict corresponding scenes from the
Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
(including
Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
at Creation and the whale spitting out
Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...
). The north windows show the Twelve Prophets, and the south windows the
Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
. The screen separating the ante-chapel (containing the organ) from the chapel proper is made of cedar, and reportedly filled the chapel with the strong scent of cedar for around the first one hundred years of its existence. Much of the chapel was restored in a project beginning in 1999, having been deemed to be in unacceptable disrepair in the early 1990s, when a funding campaign began. The black slate and white marble tiles were repaired, cleaned and replaced where necessary, whilst most of the age damage was to be found in the woodwork, which was suffering greatly from poor ventilation and having been laid directly on to earth, resulting in worm and wet rot. Cracks in the enamel of the windows were also repaired where most obvious and disfiguring. The renovations were made with the intention of preserving the chapel's 17th-century character as much as possible. The chapel has remained much unchanged since the wooden figurines (of
Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...
, Saint Paul,
Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
and
Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...
) were placed on the front pews and the carved ceiling was installed in the 1680s.


Library

Perhaps the college's most striking feature, its library, is located in the converted 18th-century All Saints Church handed over to the college in 1971. All Saints church tower is a feature of Oxford's skyline, one of the city's " dreaming spires". After the church spire collapsed in 1700, amateur architect and Dean of Christ Church Henry Aldrich designed a new church. It is believed, however, that on some of the later features of the church, particularly on the tower and spire, the work of Nicholas Hawksmoor, the
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, is to be found. The tower has a full peal of eight bells, which are regularly rung. Its library holds some 60,000 books. Graduates and undergraduates are able to work in the building until 2.00 a.m. most nights; the Bodleian and faculty libraries have earlier closing times. It is kept up-to-date by regular purchases, and welcomes suggestions for books pertinent to studies. The upper reading room, or Cohen Room, has an elaborate plastered ceiling and the Senior Library (downstairs) holds some of the college's older books, including pamphlets from the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, Wesleyana, and plays dating from the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as well as a small collection of manuscripts. The science library is also to be found downstairs. Access to the library is generally restricted to current students and staff at the college, although alumni may use the library if acceptable justification is provided.


Academic links

Lincoln College has visiting undergraduate student arrangements with Middlebury College, Simon's Rock College of Bard,
Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...
, and
National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...
. The college also has ties to Middlebury College's ''Bread Loaf School of English'', which runs a summer graduate course using Lincoln's facilities during the University of Oxford's long summer vacation. A clock donated by Middlebury stands in the Porters' Lodge.


Traditions


Grace

The college grace is read aloud at every formal hall, usually by a student. To encourage readers, students who read the grace twice in a term receive a bottle of wine. The college grace is in Latin.


Coat of arms

The college arms incorporate (1) the arms of Bishop Richard Fleming, the founder; (2) the arms of the See of Lincoln; (3) the arms of Bishop Thomas Rotherham, the second founder. The
blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
(description in formal heraldic terms) is: ''Tierced per pale, Barry of six argent and azure, in chief three lozenges gules, on the second bar of an argent a mullet pierced sable; Argent, thereon an escutcheon of Gules two lions passant guardant or, on a chief azure the Blessed Virgin Mary ducally crowned seated on a throne issuant from the chief, on her dexter arm the infant Jesus and holding in her sinister hand a sceptre, all gold: the escutcheon ensigned with a mitre azure garnished and stringed or; Vert, three stags statant two and one or.''


Student life


Accommodation

The college guarantees all undergraduates three years of college-owned accommodation. Similarly, virtually all graduate students are provided housing for the duration of their studies. The college's housing stock is extensive and centrally located. About 50 students live on the three quads described above, with over 100 more living in rooms above the shops on the other side of Turl Street. These include the Mitre rooms, formerly guest rooms of the Mitre Inn, which has been owned by the college since the 15th century. The accommodation was incorporated into the college in 1969, but the restaurants were left to the inn. Lincoln House, directly across from the college, was constructed in 1939 as an annexe. There were at one point vague plans for a bridge over Turl Street connecting the annexe to the college proper; these never materialised. Further accommodation is provided at Bear Lane (across High Street). Donors Emily and John Carr gave to the college numbers 113 and 114 on the High Street, with land extending back to Bear Lane, which the college still owns and which constitutes the Bear Lane accommodation. On Museum Road near Keble College is a further accommodation complex. Here, 12 terraced houses are officially called Lincoln Hall, but most commonly referred to as 'Mus Road'. The EPA Science Centre, named after Edward Abraham, was constructed behind them in the early 21st century and contains apartment-style accommodation, teaching facilities and the college's archives. A number of outlying houses make up the remainder of the housing stock.


Junior Common Room

Due to Lincoln's small numbers and tight-knit community, its Junior Common Room (JCR) plays a greater role in student life than do the JCRs of most other colleges. JCR elections, held in Trinity and Michaelmas Terms, attract one of the highest turnouts of any Oxford college. The JCR, like all JCRs in Oxford, is both a communal room for undergraduates (with a television, kitchen, daily newspapers, a DVD library and sofas) as well as the name of the body that represents said undergraduates to the senior members of college and on a university-wide basis. All undergraduate members of the college are automatically members of the JCR, unless they specifically express a desire not to be a part of it. Honorary membership to others is sometimes extended, but have limited rights compared to other members. The JCR is run by an Executive of ten officers, headed by the President, which is ultimately responsible for the JCR, whilst the JCR Committee comprises forty-two members and fulfils a wide range of duties, all aimed at the general improvement of the lives of and facilities available to the undergraduate body of the college. Members of the JCR Committee are elected by popular vote. Shabana Mahmood, the MP for Birmingham Ladywood, served as JCR president in 2000–2001. JCR meetings are held three times a term, in 2nd week, 5th week and 8th week of each. The JCR was founded in 1854 as the Lincoln College Debating Society but was renamed in 1919 (although it continued to be referred to by its former name for some time after). From 1886, the society provided members of the Common Room with tobacco and cigarettes from its funds, as well as tea and coffee; however, "The President shall have the power to stop smoking while the Torpid '' rowing eight entering a regatta in Hilary Term">Hilary_Term.html" ;"title=" rowing eight entering a regatta in Hilary Term"> rowing eight entering a regatta in Hilary Term' and the Eight ''[an eight entering a regatta in Trinity Term]'' are in training." Tobacco and cigarettes are no longer available from the JCR, but tea and coffee are to be found in the JCR kitchen.


Middle Common Room

The Lincoln MCR is the oldest (founded in 1960) of the Oxford MCRs. With around 350 graduate students in residence each year, the MCR organises a full and varied programme of meetings, social events and sporting activities during term time and vacations. The MCR is located in the Berrow Foundation Building, completed in 2016 by design studio Stanton Williams.


People associated with Lincoln

File:Sir Edmund Anderson from NPG.jpg, Sir Edmund Anderson, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas File:Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron Crew from NPG.jpg,
Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...
, Bishop of Durham, Rector of Lincoln College File:Peter Durack(1948).jpg, Peter Durack, former Attorney-General of Australia File:Howard Walter Florey 1945.jpg, Lord Florey, Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist and physiologist File:John le Carre.jpg, John le Carré, author File:DavidLewis1944.jpg, David Lewis, former leader of the New Democratic Party File:Rachel Maddow in Seattle cropped.png, Rachel Maddow, television host File:Emily Mortimer 2011 Shankbone.JPG, Emily Mortimer, actress and screenwriter File:John Radcliffe.jpg, John Radcliffe, physician File:Ted Geisel NYWTS 2 crop.jpg, Dr. Seuss, author and illustrator File:Official Portrait of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (cropped).jpg,
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
, former
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
File:Edward Thomas.jpg, Edward Thomas, poet killed in action during the First World War File:Egon Wellesz (1885–1974) 1927 © Georg Fayer (1892–1950).jpg, Egon Wellesz, composer, teacher, and musicologist File:John Wesley. Mezzotint by J. Faber, junior, 1743, after J. Wellcome L0008198.jpg,
John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...
, cleric and theologian
Notable former students of the college have progressed to careers in academia, business, politics and sports. Alumni include; Philip May (husband of former Prime Minister Theresa May), Steph Cook (Olympic gold medalist), William Davenant (poet), John Hobson (economist and influential theorist of imperialism), John le Carré (author), Rachel Maddow (political commentator and author), Dr. Seuss (author and illustrator),
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
(British
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
), Adebayo Ogunlesi (lawyer and investment banker) and Edward Thomas (poet). Between 1998 and 2002, five future Parliamentarians studied at Lincoln at overlapping times: MPs
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
, Lee Rowley, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Shabana Mahmood and life peer Charles Banner. Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, heir apparent to King Philippe, started to read history and politics in 2021. Past fellows include John Radcliffe (physician after whom the Radcliffe Camera, Radcliffe Infirmary, Radcliffe Observatory and
John Radcliffe Hospital John Radcliffe Hospital (informally known as the JR or the John Radcliffe) is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It forms part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is named after John Radcliffe (physician) ...
are named), Howard Florey (awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...
in 1945 for his role in large scale production of
penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...
), Edward Abraham and Norman Heatley (biochemists also instrumental in the development of penicillin) Nevil Sidgwick (chemist) and
John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...
(theologian). Lincoln was the first college in Oxford (or Cambridge) to admit a Jewish Fellow, the Australian-born
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
Samuel Alexander (appointed 1882). In 1955, Paul Shuffrey, the civil servant and editor, and a former Lincoln student, endowed a fellowship in memory of his father, the leading architect and architectural designer, Leonard Shuffrey.


Rectors

Novelist and Lincoln graduate John le Carré, himself a one-time spy, revealed that fictional spymaster George Smiley was partly modelled on former Lincoln rector Vivian H. H. Green. At least one other recent Lincoln Rector, Sir Maurice Shock, enjoyed a prior career in British intelligence, although there is little evidence to substantiate the college's reputation as a recruiting ground for spies.Paul Langford,
Green, Vivian Hubert Howard (1915–2005)
, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edition, Oxford University Press, January 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009
From 1954 to 1972, the Rector of the college was Walter Fraser Oakeshott, most famous for discovering the Winchester Manuscript of Sir Thomas Malory's
Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; Anglo-Norman French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...
in 1934 while an Assistant Master at
Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
. Lincoln College's largest performance space is named after him. The academic Mark Pattison was elected as Rector of the college in 1861 and is thought to have been the inspiration for the character of Dr. Casaubon in George Eliot's novel Middlemarch. The current Rector is Nigel Clifford who assumed the position in 2024.


Gallery

File:Lincoln College - Wesley Room 1.jpg, Wesley Room File:Lincoln College - Chapel View from Berrow Foundation Building.jpg, View of chapel and Rector's Garden File:Lincoln College - Front Quad in Evening.jpg, Front gate in evening File:Lincoln College Quad, Oxford, UK - Diliff.jpg, Panoramic image of the Front quad File:Lincoln College - Chapel Interior from Altar.jpg, College chapel File:Lincoln College - Dining Hall View from High Table.jpg, View of dining hall from High Table File:Lincoln College - Fellows' Room 1.jpg, Lower Senior Common Room File:Turl Street at Dawn.jpg, Exterior from Turl Street File:Lincoln College - The Grove.jpg, The Grove File:Lincoln College - Oakeshott Room.jpg, Oakeshott Room File:Lincoln College - Senior Common Room.jpg, Senior Common Room File:Lincoln College Beckington Room.jpg, Beckington Room


Notes and references


Notes


References


External links


Lincoln College Website

Junior Common Room Website

Middle Common Room Website
{{Authority control 1427 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 15th century Colleges of the University of Oxford Grade I listed buildings in Oxford Grade I listed educational buildings Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford