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Worcester College, Oxford
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Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College (/ˈwʊstər/ ⓘ WUUST-ər) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was adopted by the college. Its predecessor, Gloucester College, had been an institution of learning on the same site since the late 13th century until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. Founded as a men's college, Worcester has been coeducational since 1979. The provost is David Isaac who took office on 1 July 2021.
As of 2022, Worcester College had a financial endowment of £59.6 million.
Notable alumni of the college include the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, television producer and screenwriter Russell T Davies, US Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan, Fields medallist Simon Donaldson, novelist Richard Adams (author of Watership Down), professional basketball player and US Senator Bill Bradley, and the Sultan of Perak, Nazrin Shah.
The buildings are diverse, especially in the main quadrangle: looking down into the main quadrangle from the entrance through the main building, to the right is an imposing 18th-century building in the neo-classical style; and to the left a row of medieval buildings known as "the cottages", which are among the oldest residential buildings in Oxford. These cottages are the most substantial surviving part of Gloucester College, Worcester's predecessor on the same site: this was a college for Benedictine monks, founded in 1283 and dissolved with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in about 1539.[citation needed]
After a lapse of 20 years, the buildings of the old Gloucester College were used in the foundation of an academic hall, Gloucester Hall, in around 1560. The penultimate principal, Benjamin Woodroffe, attempted to establish there a 'Greek College' for Greek Orthodox students to come to Oxford, part of a scheme to make ecumenical links with the Church of England. This was a going concern from 1699 to 1705, although only 15 Greeks are recorded as members.[citation needed]
In 1714, thanks to a fortunate benefaction from a Worcestershire baronet, Sir Thomas Cookes, Gloucester Hall was transformed into Worcester College. Even then, there were only sufficient funds to rebuild the Chapel, Hall and Library and the north side of the Front Quad, known as the Terrace. The designs were by George Clarke, who had consulted Nicholas Hawksmoor.[citation needed]
In 1736, Clarke generously left to the college his great collection of books and manuscripts. These included the papers of his father William Clarke (which are of crucial importance for the history of England during the period of the Commonwealth and Protectorate) and a large proportion of the surviving drawings of Inigo Jones.[citation needed]
Owing to lack of funds, Worcester's 18th-century building programme proceeded by fits and starts. The west end of the Terrace and the Provost's Lodgings were added in 1773–1776 (architect: Henry Keene). The medieval cottages were to have been replaced by a further classical range, but survived because money for this purpose was never available; the Hall and Chapel, by James Wyatt, were not completed until the 1770s.
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Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College (/ˈwʊstər/ ⓘ WUUST-ər) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was adopted by the college. Its predecessor, Gloucester College, had been an institution of learning on the same site since the late 13th century until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. Founded as a men's college, Worcester has been coeducational since 1979. The provost is David Isaac who took office on 1 July 2021.
As of 2022, Worcester College had a financial endowment of £59.6 million.
Notable alumni of the college include the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, television producer and screenwriter Russell T Davies, US Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan, Fields medallist Simon Donaldson, novelist Richard Adams (author of Watership Down), professional basketball player and US Senator Bill Bradley, and the Sultan of Perak, Nazrin Shah.
The buildings are diverse, especially in the main quadrangle: looking down into the main quadrangle from the entrance through the main building, to the right is an imposing 18th-century building in the neo-classical style; and to the left a row of medieval buildings known as "the cottages", which are among the oldest residential buildings in Oxford. These cottages are the most substantial surviving part of Gloucester College, Worcester's predecessor on the same site: this was a college for Benedictine monks, founded in 1283 and dissolved with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in about 1539.[citation needed]
After a lapse of 20 years, the buildings of the old Gloucester College were used in the foundation of an academic hall, Gloucester Hall, in around 1560. The penultimate principal, Benjamin Woodroffe, attempted to establish there a 'Greek College' for Greek Orthodox students to come to Oxford, part of a scheme to make ecumenical links with the Church of England. This was a going concern from 1699 to 1705, although only 15 Greeks are recorded as members.[citation needed]
In 1714, thanks to a fortunate benefaction from a Worcestershire baronet, Sir Thomas Cookes, Gloucester Hall was transformed into Worcester College. Even then, there were only sufficient funds to rebuild the Chapel, Hall and Library and the north side of the Front Quad, known as the Terrace. The designs were by George Clarke, who had consulted Nicholas Hawksmoor.[citation needed]
In 1736, Clarke generously left to the college his great collection of books and manuscripts. These included the papers of his father William Clarke (which are of crucial importance for the history of England during the period of the Commonwealth and Protectorate) and a large proportion of the surviving drawings of Inigo Jones.[citation needed]
Owing to lack of funds, Worcester's 18th-century building programme proceeded by fits and starts. The west end of the Terrace and the Provost's Lodgings were added in 1773–1776 (architect: Henry Keene). The medieval cottages were to have been replaced by a further classical range, but survived because money for this purpose was never available; the Hall and Chapel, by James Wyatt, were not completed until the 1770s.
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