Selwyn College, Cambridge is a

constituent college A collegiate university is a university where functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the Col ...

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (1809–1878), the first Bishop of New Zealand (1841–1868), and subsequently Bishop of Lichfield (1868–1878). Its main buildings consist of three courts built of stone and brick (Old Court, Ann's Court, and Cripps Court). There are several secondary buildings, including adjacent townhouses and lodges serving as student hostels on Grange Road, West Road and

Sidgwick Avenue Sidgwick Avenue is a road located in western Cambridge, England.Sidgwick AvenueTompkins Table of Cambridge colleges in order of undergraduates' performances in examinations. The college was ranked 16th out of 30 in an assessment of college wealth conducted by the student newspaper '' Varsity'' in November 2006.Varsity issue 647, page 6
(PDF). Retrieved 22 December 2013.

History

George Augustus Selwyn

The college was founded following the death of Bishop George Augustus Selwyn, who had played an important role in the establishment of New Zealand as its first bishop. Selwyn was a scholar of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, and a member of the Cambridge crew which competed in the inaugural Boat Race in

1829 Events January–March * January 19 – August Klingemann's adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' premieres in Braunschweig. * February 27 – Battle of Tarqui: Troops of Gran Colombia and Peru battle to a draw. * Marc ...

. He came out second in the Classical Tripos in 1831, graduating Bachelor of Arts (BA) 1831, Master of Arts (MA Cantab) 1834, and Doctor of Divinity (DD) per lit. reg. 1842, and was a fellow of St John's College from 1833 to 1840. After graduating, Selwyn first taught at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. In 1833, he was ordained deacon, and, in 1834, a priest. Selwyn displayed leadership talent and, in 1841, after an episcopal council held at Lambeth had recommended the appointment of a bishop for New Zealand, Charles James Blomfield, Bishop of London, offered the post to Selwyn. He returned to England in 1867, and accepted the post of Bishop of Lichfield, which he held until his death on 11 April 1878, aged 69.

Foundation of the College

After Selwyn's death in 1878, a number of scholars from Cambridge launched plans to establish a college to honour his life. The Selwyn Memorial Committee was founded with Charles Abraham (Bishop of Wellington) as secretary, and it proposed that a Cambridge college should be established as a memorial. The college's first Master, Arthur Lyttelton, was formally elected on 10 March 1879, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

Archibald Tait was invited to become

Visitor A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can interve ...

on 28 June 1878 and building of Old Court, as it is now known, began in 1880. Arthur lyttelton

The foundation stone of the college was laid by Edward Herbert, 3rd Earl of Powis in a ceremony on 1 June 1881, following a lunch in

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

. A Charter of Incorporation was granted by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

on 13 September 1882, and the west range of Old Court was ready for use by the college's official opening (with the Master's installation) on 10 October 1882, in time for

Michaelmas term Michaelmas ( ) term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St M ...

. Selwyn's first 28 undergraduates joined the original master and 12 other Fellows at the then Public Hostel of the university in 1882. The first master of the college was Arthur Lyttelton, who sought to establish the college on a firm academic and financial foundation. Lyttelton had been senior tutor at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

. He came from a well-established family with strong connections in both Church and State, his mother being the sister-in-law of the prime minister,

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

, who became a major benefactor of the college. Lyttelton was himself a life-long supporter of the Liberal party and was familiar with many politicians in Westminster, his wife Kathleen, a women's activist, being the daughter of the Liberal MP George Clive. Lyttelton persuaded Gladstone to make a personal gift to the college of the louder of the two chapel bells. Gladstone reportedly believed that Cambridge students needed to be well woken if they were to get up at a productive time in the morning. Today, the chapel bell is known as 'Gladstone's Bell' by students. The college was founded by donations and subscriptions, with a distinctly religious character. The royal charter for the college, reproducing the terms of the charter of Keble College, was sealed on 13 September 1882. The charter declared that the college was "founded and constituted with the especial object and intent of providing persons desirous of academic education and willing to live economically with a College wherein sober living and high culture of the mind may be combined with Christian training based upon the principles of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

". Initially, only baptised Christians were accepted as students or scholars. The original foundation charter specified that the college should "make provision for those who intend to serve as missionaries overseas and ... educate the sons of clergymen". Selwyn was not yet a full college of the university, but a "Public Hostel", with its undergraduates regarded as non-collegiate and marked with the designation "H. Selw." on Senate House lists. University education was expensive at the time of Selwyn's foundation, and given that Selwyn College was intended to be a place for young students who could not otherwise afford an Oxbridge education, the college charges were initially kept low. Undergraduates initially paid £27 per term for food, lodgings, lectures and tuition, with a small surcharge for students of medicine, scientists and engineers. This was raised to £28 in 1916, and £33 in 1918, as the number of scholars studying at Oxford and Cambridge drastically decreased due to the First World War.

Later development

In 1926 the "Public Hostel" status was abolished, replaced with that of "Approved Foundation", granting more security to the college. The distinction of the college as "H. Selw." on Senate House lists had also ceased from June 1924. On 14 March 1958, Selwyn was granted full collegiate status. Selwyn, in common with most other Oxford and Cambridge colleges, originally admitted only men, but was one of the first colleges to become mixed when women were admitted from 1976. In that year, women lived only on E and H Staircases, but in subsequent years could live anywhere in College. In 1999, Selwyn appointed the first female Director of Music in an Oxbridge College, Sarah MacDonald, and in 2009, Selwyn became the first Cambridge college to appoint a female head porter, Helen Stephens. In the 2020s the college became known for its widening-participation and academic successes, admitting one of the highest proportions of maintained school (UK state schools) undergraduates of the Cambridge colleges (81% in 2023) while being ranked 1st for 'good honours' examination results in 2024.

Buildings and grounds

The college founders purchased from Corpus Christi College of land between Grange Road, West Road and

Sidgwick Avenue Sidgwick Avenue is a road located in western Cambridge, England.Sidgwick Avenue Sidgwick Site The Sidgwick Site is one of the largest sites within the University of Cambridge, England. Overview and history The Sidgwick Site is located on the western side of Cambridge city centre, near the Backs. The site is north of Sidgwick Avenue an ...

where several of the university's arts and humanities faculties are. An alternative site on

Lensfield Road Lensfield Road is a road (part of the A603 road, A603) in southeast central Cambridge, England. It runs between the junction of Trumpington Street and Trumpington Road to the west and the junction of Regent Street, Cambridge, Regent Street and ...

, where Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church now stands, was considered but rejected as too small.

Old Court

Old Court, construction of which began in 1880 and is built in Ketton stone and local red brick in the Victorian Late Perpendicular Gothic Revival style, was largely designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and comprises seven staircases (A–G), together with a tower and gateway, Master's Lodge, Chapel, Hall, Kitchens, Music Practice Room and Archives. The chapel was built in 1895 before the dining hall (in 1909), and chapel attendance was compulsory for students from the college's foundation until 1935. There were originally plans to build a permanent library between F Staircase and the chapel to complete Old Court, on land that now forms part of the College Gardens, but this was not done. The Selwyn College Library located adjacent to Old Court was opened in 1929, funded by subscriptions in honour of college members who had died in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1894 and 1896, respectively, the Old Library in the tower, received two extensive benefactions of history, politics and theological texts, from Canon William Cooke and Edward Wheatley-Balme. These large literary bequests gave Selwyn College an excellent working library. The Jacobean style Dining Hall was constructed under the tenure of the fourth Master, Richard Appleton, who had previously been a senior fellow of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. His appointment as Master continued the close relationship between Selwyn and Trinity which had been supportive of the younger college. Appleton served for two years from 1907 before he died of influenza. Despite his brief mastership, Appleton had managed to secure funding for the Dining Hall. Appleton's initials and

rebus A rebus ( ) is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+ ...

(three apples and a tun) appear on the north wall of the Hall entrance, and his posthumously painted portrait hangs in the college. Construction on the dining hall began in 1909, but Appleton did not live to see the project completed. The dining hall was always intended to be panelled, however, this vision could not be realised until the woodwork for the west side of the hall was presented in 1913 by the Magdalene fellow, A. C. Benson in memory of his father Archbishop Benson. This panelling came from the English Church in Rotterdam which was designed by the office of Sir Christopher Wren between 1699 and 1708.

Cripps Court

Cripps Court, named after the Cripps Foundation that donated most of the funds to build it (and which also funded developments at St John's College, Queens' College and

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

) was built and formally opened on 17 May 1969 on land on the opposite side of Grange Road which was originally owned by Jesus College. Selwyn's Cripps Court features a tricolon design with ensuite rooms for students. Cripps Court comprises a further seven staircases (H–N) and is home to all of Selwyn's first-year undergraduates, a few second-year undergraduates and postgraduates including their common room, the Middle Combination Room (MCR).

Ann's Court

Ann's Court, built on the land to the north of Old Court and south of West Road, is the most recent court. Its exterior reflects the atmosphere of the rest of the college with Ketton limestone and brick-work fixtures. Ann's Court was designed by the traditionalist architect Demetri Porphyrios who has completed similar new projects at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, which also utilised hand-carved Ketton stone in its exteriors, and at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

( Whitman College) in the United States. The golden-yellow Ketton stone used in Ann's Court (and the rest of Selwyn College) has been used in the construction of Oxford and Cambridge colleges for several hundred years, and can be seen in the exterior of the Wren Library at Trinity College. The interior of Ann's Court is contemporary and equipped with wooden staircases. As a proponent of

New Classical Architecture New Classical architecture, also known as New Classicism or Contemporary Classical architecture, is a Contemporary architecture, contemporary movement that builds upon the principles of Classical architecture. It is sometimes considered the mode ...

, Porphyrios designed new buildings which fit the existing limestone and brick materials of Selwyn College. The Porphyrios Associates design involved a three-winged building which created the space for a large new court to be formed in the middle of the college, named Centre Court. Ann's Court features hand-carved details and a series of limestone cloisters and chimneys arranged in the traditional Cambridge University fashion. Ann's Court was named after Ann Dobson, who with her husband Christopher Dobson (who matriculated at Selwyn in 1957) formed the Ann Dobson Foundation, which is one of the principal donors towards the construction costs of Phases I and II. Phase I was completed in July 2005 and consists of 43 ensuite rooms and 15 administrative offices, forming two staircases (O and P) at a cost of £7.5 million. The second phase, including 40 en-suite bedrooms forming staircases Q and R and a new Junior Combination Room (JCR) at a cost of £2.5 million, was completed in Summer 2009. The college bar was refurbished in 2002, and redecorated in 2011.

Future plans

The college has planning permission to develop further three phases of building, planned to be built as funding permits, which will extend the college's distinctive limestone and red-brick façade along Grange Road to the corner of West Road. The plans consist of a new library and archives (Phase 3) behind Staircase E of Old Court, and two further accommodation blocks (Phase 4) to form a new court (tentatively named Library Court) between Old Court and Ann's Court, and an auditorium, debate chamber, and conference facilities (Phase 5) to complete the west side of Ann's Court. Plans are currently underway to build a new library and auditorium located near Ann's Court and the College Gardens. The college plan calls for all future expansions to adhere to the same architectural style of limestone and brick demonstrated in the Ann's Court development. The Master Plan, also designed by Porphyrios Architects, calls for a new wing of student housing alongside Grange Road, located between Old Court and Ann's Court. This new wing of accommodation would enclose the western edge of Centre Court and would allow the college to increase graduate student numbers. In 2018, the college assured concerned alumni and students that the original library would be preserved and converted into lecture and auditorium rooms (although the small 1970s annex will probably be removed). The building of a new library is a priority for Selwyn College and would complete the perimeter of a fourth collegiate court.

Coat of arms and motto

The Selwyn College

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

incorporates the arms of the Selwyn family impaled with an adaptation of the arms of the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

. The arms were granted in the 1960s and are emblazoned as follows; :''Per pale Gules and Argent a Cross potent quadrate Argent and Or between four crosses paty those to the dexter Argent those to the sinister Or For the See of Lichfield impaling Argent on a Bend cotised Sable three Annulets Or for Selwyn all within a Bordure Sable And for Crest On a Wreath Or & Purpure In front of a Book erect bound Gules edged clasped and garnished Or a representation of the Pastoral Staff of Bishop Selwyn.'' The dexter half of the arms adapted from those of the See of Lichfield, are unusual, with ''or'' (gold) countercharged on ''argent'' (silver), violating the rule of tincture, which prohibits a metal to be charged with another metal. This is thought to refer to the arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which also violates this rule. Selwyn's pastoral staff or

crozier A crozier or crosier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

is based on a hardwood Māori staff which is held in the College Chapel. The college was also granted an official badge, ''A Mitre Or within an Annulet Purpure''. Before an official grant by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

, Selwyn College used

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

believed to be those borne by George Augustus Selwyn as Bishop of Lichfield; they are displayed above the main gateway, built in 1881, and on the Common Seal, first used in 1882. The college

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

is a

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

quotation from

1 Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in Anc ...

, chapter 16, verse 13, in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, ''ΑΝΔΡΙΖΕΣΘΕ'' (''andrízesthe''), translated in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

as "Quit ye like men" (alternatively, in the Douay–Rheims version, "Do manfully" or, in the

New American Bible The New American Bible (NAB) is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Bible first published in 1970. The 1986 Revised NAB is the basis of the revised Lectionary. In the Catholic Church it is the only translation approved ...

, "Be courageous"). A longer extract of the verse, "''ΣΤΗΚΕΤΕ ΕΝ ΤΗ ΠΙΣΤΕΙ ΑΝΔΡΙΖΕΣΘΕ''", is carved over the main College gate (the full Greek verse of 1 Corinthians 16:13 being "''Γρηγορεῖτε, στήκετε ἐν τῇ πίστει, ἀνδρίζεσθε, κραταιοῦσθε·''"; ''Grēgoreîte, stḗkete en têi pístei, andrízesthe, krataioûsthe'').

Traditions

Formal Hall

Selwyn holds Formal Hall on every Tuesday and Thursday evening during Term at 7:30 pm with a capacity of 120, tickets for which can be bought by students for themselves and up to two guests. An additional Formal Hall was held on Sunday evenings at least until the early 1990s. There is also a special, extra Halfway Hall Formal for second-year students to mark the middle of their time as undergraduate students at the college, and a Christmas Formal for all students at the end of every Michaelmas Term. Selwyn holds several JCR Dinners and MCR Dinners specifically for undergraduate and graduate students each term. Formal Halls are for students, Fellows and the Master of the college; however, members of other Oxbridge colleges may attend, as well as a limited number of guests from outside the university. Formal hall meals are three- or four-course meals which are fully catered and served by college staff. During formal hall, the fellows and the master of the college sit at the High Table near the front of the hall, while students sit on benches or chairs at the long tables.

Latin Grace

The college

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

is recited in Latin by a Fellow or Scholar (a student who achieved a First Class mark overall in the previous year) at the beginning of Formal Hall, and is as follows:

''Benedic, Domine, nobis et donis Tuis, quae de Tua largitate sumus sumpturi; et concede ut iis muneribus Tuis ad laudem Tuam utamur, gratisque animis fruamur, per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.''

Translation:

Bless us, O Lord, and all thy gifts, which of thy goodness we are about to enjoy; grant that we may use these generosities to thy glory, and enjoy them with thankful hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

When the High Table rises, the following concluding Grace is said ''Benedicamus Domino'' (Let us bless the Lord), with the response being ''Laus Deo'' (Praise be to God). This response was changed in the 1990s, from the previous response ''Deo gratias'' (Thanks be to God).

Loyal toast

Selwyn has a tradition in which senior fellows and members of the college commonly remain seated for the college's loyal toast during formal hall. This tradition is not observed out of disrespect or irreverence for the sovereign, but rather, out of courtesy and remembrance of the former Master of the college, John Selwyn, who could not easily stand for the loyal toast owing to the limited use of his legs in later life. John Selwyn (son of George Augustus Selwyn) served as the second Master of Selwyn College (1893–1898).

Lecture series

Selwyn College hosts an annual lecture named in honour of Ramsay Murray, an alumnus of the college during the 1930s. The Ramsay Murray Lecture Series was established in 1994 following a significant bequest from the Murray estate. Lecturers have included many high-profile politicians, academics, and journalists including Onora O’Neill,

Niall Ferguson Sir Niall Campbell Ferguson, ( ; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...

, Ian Kershaw,

Roy Porter Roy Sydney Porter (31 December 1946 – 3 March 2002) was a British historian known for his work on the history of medicine. He retired in 2001 as the director of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine at University College London ...

, Ian Clark, Lawrence Freedman, David Cannadine, Keith Thomas, Jonathan Riley-Smith and

Quentin Skinner Quentin Robert Duthie Skinner (born 26 November 1940) is a British intellectual historian. He is regarded as one of the founders of the Cambridge School of the history of political thought. He has won numerous prizes for his work, including ...

, former Regius Professor of Modern History. The 2018 Ramsay Murray lecture features the journalist Frank Gardner. The lectures are free and open to the public.

Student life

Selwyn has a reputation as one of the most traditional but friendliest Oxbridge colleges. Students of Selwyn College are required to wear their gowns to all formal halls, ceremonies and college functions. The Selwyn gown is made of a thick black cloth with dark navy blue inline lapels.

Common rooms

Selwyn College Junior Combination Room (JCR) is the students' union for undergraduates students. Elected in Michaelmas term, it organises social and welfare events, negotiates with the college on the students' behalf, and represents Selwyn on Cambridge University Students' Union (CUSU) Council. JCR is affiliated to CUSU and by extension to the National Union of Students. The Middle Combination Room (MCR) comprises the graduate students of Selwyn College, and is similarly represented by the MCR Committee (MCRc). The MCR is located in Cripps Court. The presidents and treasurers of the JCRc and MCRc have sat on College Council, the main decision-making body of the college, since it was reformed in 1989.

Student societies

The college is host to a number of student organisations, including the Hermes Club, Selwyn College Music Society and Selwyn Jazz, and on the stage by amateur dramatics society The Mighty Players. Selwyn has the longest continually running students' magazine— of any Cambridge College; ''Kiwi'' has been published from 1982 to present. The chapel choir is a mixed choir that sings three weekly services during full term, has toured widely and has made over 15 commercial CD recordings under their professional director, Sarah MacDonald. The Choir has also included members of the neighbouring women's college, Newnham College, since before the integration of women to Selwyn.

Hermes Club

The Hermes Club, founded in 1920, exists to encourage, fund and improve sport at Selwyn College by offering financial grants to individual sportsmen/women and college teams, through the lobbying of college, and by generally raising the profile of sport in Selwyn. Members of Selwyn are eligible for invitation to the club if they have been awarded a Full

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

or Half Blue by the university, if they have captained a Selwyn College team in a 'First Class sport', or if they have competed on behalf of Selwyn in two 'First Class' Cuppers competitions. Alumni of the club fund two major sports grant schemes – the Hermes Fund and the Vickerstaff Sports Bursary Scheme.

Boat Club

Selwyn College Boat Club (SCBC) is the rowing club for members of the college. The boat club was founded in 1882, during the Michaelmas term. During this early period, the Selwyn Boat Club trained several rowers who would go on to become Olympic Rowers and University Blues in the annual boat race against Oxford. The SCBC also achieved intercollegiate success during its early days, winning a second in the Lent Bumps of 1934 and third in the May Bumps 1931. Notable alumni of the boat club include Hugh Laurie, Tom Hollander and Richard Budgett.

Unofficial societies

Like many Oxbridge colleges, Selwyn is reported to be home to secret societies and dining clubs including The Controversialists, The Cromwells, and The Templars. Some of these societies appear to function as ''de facto'' discussion and debate clubs while others appear to be drinking societies and for raucous parties. In the past there was a reported incident that brought a society into disrepute: in 2014, it was reported that members of Selwyn Templars were involved in a scandal where sexist and misogynistic messages were sent to members of the society. SelwynCollegeSociety0187

The Controversialists

The Controversialists are the oldest secret society at the college and one of the oldest at the university, being founded by a group of students in Lent Term, 1893. The society's name is believed to pay homage to both their leftist political leanings and their discussion and debate of poetry and literature. The purpose of the Society, according to rules printed in 1909, was "the reading and discussion of English poetry and drama". The Society membership was made up of both undergraduate and graduate students at Selwyn College. Female students were able to join the society since women were admitted to the college. The total number of Controversialist members is not allowed to exceed twelve. Meetings are traditionally to be held on Sundays in the Michaelmas and Lent terms, as well as in May if a quorum of five members can be arranged. The badge and symbol of the Controversialists is a purple lyre. The Controversialists commonly organise smoking concerts where poetry and verse is recited by members before the political discussions.

The Templars

The Selwyn College Templars are reputed to be the second oldest secret society and the largest at the college. The society was initially only open to wealthy, upper-class Anglican students. The membership of the Templars Society were often involved with campus politics and were often members of the Cambridge University Conservative Association. Membership was to be decided by nomination from two current members and election at the society's Michaelmas meeting. New members of the Templars are reportedly 'knighted' with a ceremonial sword in a bizarre initiation ceremony that takes place on the Autumn equinox each year. In 2014, a Cambridge student newspaper reported that the Selwyn Templars Society were involved in a scandal where sexist and misogynistic messages were sent to members of the society. The college condemned the content of the reported messages.

Winter and May balls

Selwyn College May Ball 1948 Survivors Shot

Selwyn is unique among Oxbridge colleges in that it holds an annual Winter

Ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...

known as the Selwyn Snowball, which traditionally takes place on the night of the last Friday of Michaelmas term. The May Ball tradition at Selwyn began on 14 June 1948, as hundreds of students dressed in

black tie Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal ...

to attend the all-night celebration. May Balls continued to be held at the college throughout the second half of the 20th century with a highlight being the performance of

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

in 1967. In recent years, May Balls have been replaced by the Snowball with notable exceptions: 2008, to celebrate the college's 125th anniversary; 2015 and 2017.

Gallery

File:Selwyn1.jpg, Selwyn College entrance File:Selwyn College, Cambridge - geograph.org.uk - 1435190.jpg, Selwyn College Hall File:Selwyn College Chapel 1, Cambridge, UK - Diliff.jpg, Selwyn College Chapel interior File:Selwyn College Cambridge Chapel Exterior.jpg, Selwyn College Chapel exterior File:Selwyncourt.jpg, Old Court File:Selwyn3.jpg, Selwyn College Cloisters

Notable alumni

File:Ralph Nicholas Chubb (1892 – 1960) in 1912.jpg, Ralph Chubb (poet) File:Official portrait of Lord Deben crop 2.jpg, Lord Deben (politician) File:David K.P. Li, Chairman, Bank of East Asia - what is China's impact on global growth, at the Horasis Global China Business Meeting 2009 - Flickr - Horasis.jpg, Sir David Li (banker) File:Robert Harris - Buch Wien 2024.JPG, Robert Harris (author and historian) File:General Sir Peter Wall in No 1 uniform.jpg, General Sir Peter Wall ( Chief of the General Staff) File:Simon Hughes MP Liverpool cropped.jpg, Sir Simon Hughes of the Liberal Democrats File:Barry Morgan.jpg, Barry Morgan (Archbishop of Wales) File:John Sentamu.jpg, John Sentamu (Archbishop of York) File:Richard Harries 20040428.jpg, Richard Harries (Baron of Pentregarth and

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 ...

) File:Peter Beckingham.jpg, Peter Beckingham (Diplomat and Governor of the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and no ...

) File:Tim Stevens in Durham.jpg, Tim Stevens (Convenor of the House of Lords and Bishop of Leicester) File:Official portrait of Graham Stuart crop 2.jpg, Graham Stuart (Conservative politician) File:Hugh Laurie at Montreux Jazz Festival.jpg, Hugh Laurie (actor) File:Laceyatthelibrary.png, Robert Lacey (Film/television historical advisor) File:KateForbesMSP-May2016.jpg, Kate Forbes ( SNP

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

) File:Passio 2010 (5340704340) (Lucy Winkett cropped).jpg, Lucy Winkett (

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest) File:Sophie Wilson (cropped).jpg,

Sophie Wilson Sophie Mary Wilson (born Roger Wilson; June 1957) is an English computer scientist, a co-designer of the instruction set for the ARM architecture. Wilson first designed a microcomputer during a break from studies at Selwyn College, Cambridge. ...

(Computing pioneer) File:Zia Mody at WEF.png, Zia Mody (Indian corporate lawyer) File: Official portrait of Wes Streeting MP crop 2.jpg, Wes Streeting (Secretary of State for Health and Social Care)

References

External links

*
Selwyn College JCR CommitteeSelwyn College MCR
{{authority control 1882 establishments in England Colleges of the University of Cambridge Universities and colleges established in 1882