St Mary Hall was a medieval
academic hall of the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a 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 world's second-oldest university in contin ...
. It was associated with
Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it was incorporated into Oriel College in 1902.
History

In 1320, when he was appointed rector of the
Church of St Mary the Virgin,
Adam de Brome was given the rectory house, St. Mary Hall, on the
High Street.
[Crossley, Alan (editor), "Churches", ''A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 4: The City of Oxford'' (1979) pp. 369–412, ]Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
VCH seriesbr>British History Online
St. Mary Hall was acquired by Oriel College in 1326: Bedel Hall, which adjoins St. Mary's to the south, was given by
Bishop Carpenter of Worcester in 1455. These two halls, along with St. Martin's Hall, served as annexes for Oriel College.
In the early 16th century, the college's St. Antony's and Dudley exhibitioners were lodged in St Mary Hall and Bedel Hall, and around this time the two halls were united. St. Mary Hall subsequently developed into an independent entity, and in 1545, on the order the
Visitor,
Bishop Longland of Lincoln, the door between St Mary Hall and Oriel was blocked. The Hall subsequently employed its own
lecturers, and the intake of St Mary's was periodically more than that of Oriel.

In 1552, there were 18 members of St. Mary Hall, excluding the Principal. The
Principals of St Mary Hall continued to be
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
s of Oriel until 1656. By 1875, the size of St.Mary Hall's undergraduate body had risen to 60, a large number for one of the University's colleges at that time.
[Salter H. E. and Lobel, M. D. (editors), "St Mary Hall", ''A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3: The University of Oxford'' (1954) pp. 129–131, Oxford University Press VCH series, ]
The Hall was effectively the property of its Principal, who was also Vicar of St Mary's Church. The last Principal,
Drummond Percy Chase, who had been appointed in 1857, created an agreement with Oriel as a consequence of which the Hall became the property of Oriel on his death, which subsequently occurred in 1902, when according to the agreement, the Hall was incorporated into Oriel College. Some agreements created when St. Mary Hall were a separate organisation continue to exist: for example, the
benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
of the Vicar of St Mary's Church includes dining rights at Oriel.
The present St. Mary's Quad, or 'third quadrangle', of Oriel occupies three ranges of the former buildings of the St. Mary Hall. The Principal's house was demolished for the construction of the
Rhodes Building, which was designed by
Basil Champneys, and which was completed in 1911.
Principals
*
Adam de Brome
*1532–1537
John Rixman
*1546–1550
Morgan Phillips
Morgan Walter Phillips (18 June 1902 – 15 January 1963) was a colliery worker and trade union activist who became the General Secretary of the British Labour Party, involved in two of the party's election victories.
Life
Born in Aberdare, G ...
*1556–1561:
William Allen William Allen may refer to:
Politicians
United States
*William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio
* William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio
* Willia ...
, later a Cardinal
*1656–1660
Thomas Cole
*1664–1689: Joseph Crowther (died 1689), also Chaplain to the
Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs. ...
*1689–1712: William Wyatt (died Nov. 1712)
*1712–1719:
John Hudson
*1719–1764:
William King William King may refer to:
Arts
*Willie King (1943–2009), American blues guitarist and singer
*William King (author) (born 1959), British science fiction author and game designer, also known as Bill King
*William King (artist) (1925–2015), Ame ...
[
*1764–1801: Thomas Nowell][
*1801–1815: Phineas Pett][''The Oxford University and City Guide, on a New Plan'' (new edition, 1839), p. 159]
*1815–1833: John Dean (born 1769, died 1833)
*1833–1848: Renn Dickson Hampden
*1848–1857: Philip Bliss (born 1787, died 1857)
*1857–1902: Drummond Percy Chase (born 1820, died 1902)
Notable former students
* John Ball (Puritan), BA 1608
* William Henry Charsley, Master of Charsley's Hall, Oxford
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 Priva ...
*Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot
Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot ( London, 8 July 1727 – 17 February 1804, Port Eliot, Cornwall) was an English official and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1748 to 1784, when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Elio ...
, matriculated 1742
* Brajendranath Dey, of the Indian Civil Service
The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947.
Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...
, matriculated 1875
* Thomas Elyot (alleged)
* Thomas Harriot, 16th-century astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer, and translator
* Theodore Hook, matriculated but did not come into residence; author
* Robert Hues, B.A. 1578
* John Hunter, matriculated 1755
* Sir Christopher Hatton, lord chancellor of England
*James Leith Moody
James Leith Moody (1816–1896) was a British clergyman who served as Chaplain to the Royal Navy in China, and to the British Army in the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Malta, and Crimea. He was the brother of Major-General Richard Clement ...
, priest (BA, 1840; MA, 1863)
* Henry Newton, diplomat
*Geoffrey Osbaldeston
Geoffrey Osbaldeston (1558-c.1635) was an English-born politician and judge who had a long but rather undistinguished career in Ireland.
He was the third son of Edward Osbaldeston of Osbaldeston Hall, a member of an old and prominent Lancashir ...
, High Court judge in Ireland, matriculated 1575
* Robert Parsons, leading Jesuit priest
*George Sandys
George Sandys ( "sands"; 2 March 1578[''Sandys, George''](_blank)
in: ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' online ...
* John Marston (poet)
References
External links
History of St Mary Hall
fro
Oriel College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Hall, Oxford
1326 establishments in England
1902 disestablishments in England
Former colleges and halls of the University of Oxford
Oriel College, Oxford