St John's College

St John's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel. The college is reputed to be the wealthiest in Oxford, with an estimated financial endowment of £304 million as of 2006, and its undergraduate finals results regularly place it at or near the top of the University's Norrington Table, in which it currently ranks 2nd.

History

On 1 May 1555, Sir Thomas White, lately Lord Mayor of London, obtained a Royal Patent of Foundation to create an eleemosynary institution for the education of students within the University of Oxford. White, a Catholic, originally intended St John's to provide a source of educated Catholic clerics to support the Counter-Reformation under Queen Mary, and indeed Edmund Campion, the Catholic martyr, was a product of St John's.

White acquired buildings on the east side of St Giles', north of Balliol and Trinity Colleges, which had belonged to the former College of St Bernard, a monastery and house of study of the Cistercian order; this had been closed at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Initially the college was rather small and not well endowed financially. During the reign of Elizabeth I the fellows lectured in rhetoric, Greek, and dialectic, but not directly in theology. However, St John's initially had a strong focus on the creation of a proficient and educated priesthood.

White was Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company, and established a number of educational foundations including Merchant Taylors' School. Although the College was closely linked to those institutions for many centuries, it became a more open society in the later 19th century. Closed scholarships for members of Merchant Taylors' School, London persisted until the late 20th century. The endowments which St John's was given at its foundation, and during the twenty or so years afterward, served it very well. In the second half of the nineteenth century it benefited, as ground landlord, from the suburban development of the city of Oxford and was unusual among Colleges for the size and extent of its property within the city.

Although primarily a producer of Anglican clergymen in the earlier periods of its history, St John's also gained a reputation for both law and medicine. Fellows and alumni have included Archbishop William Laud, Jane Austen's father and brothers, the early Fabian intellectual Sidney Ball, who was very influential in the creation of the Workers' Educational Association (WEA), Abdul Rasul, one of the first Bengalis to gain the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law at Oxford, and more recently, Tony Blair.

The patronage of the parish of St Giles was included in the endowment to the college by Thomas White. Vicars of St Giles were formerly either Fellows of the College, or ex-Fellows who were granted the living on marriage (when Oxford fellows were required to be unmarried). The College retains the right to present candidates for the benefice to the bishop.

The College today

The College is among the larger Oxford colleges and comprises approximately 300 undergraduates, 250 postgraduates, and over 100 academic staff. The direction, administration and management of the College are ultimately in the hands of its Governing Body, comprising the President and Fellows, and chaired by the former. The Visitor of the College is the Bishop of Winchester.

College societies

The St John's College Boat Club has been very successful in recent years, with the top men's and women's boats achieving high standards. It is the largest college society by far, and everybody is encouraged to try out the sport. In Summer Eights 2007, 8 SJCBC boats qualified for the racing. The Women's First Boat got "Blades", and SJCBC was one of the most successful boathouses on the river.

In 2006, St John's was the first Oxford college to start its own television station, SJCtv. The station shows two half-hour programmes a term, at college welfare nights. SJCtv's stated aim is to enhance community spirit, inform students of the college's welfare provisions and allow students a forum for creative expression.

St John's used to be the home of two dining societies, the King Charles Club ("KCC") and the Archery Club. Tony Blair has infamously been pictured at a gathering of the latter in the St John's gardens. In recent years these societies have become largely defunct although are still celebrated by former members.