Wessex Hall
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Wessex Hall is one of the 13 Halls of the University of Reading in Berkshire, England. In a non-collegiate modern British university, the various Halls form the most important sub-divisions of the institution. Whilst lacking the formal academic autonomy of, for example, the Oxbridge colleges, they have nonetheless developed into the main focus for student identity and life. Indeed ex-students prefer to join their Hall association rather than a university-wide body. Wessex Hall's alumni association has some 20,000 members.
Students generally "live in" in accommodation provided at the Hall during their first year and then rent a house privately in Reading or the surrounding area for the remaining two or three years.
Wessex Hall was founded in 1913, as a women-only Hall at University College Reading, then part of the University of Oxford with funds provided by the Sutton family who owned Suttons Seeds and an equal share provided by an individual who wished to remain unnamed. In 1926, the University of Reading was established as an independent institution. Wessex is now the third oldest surviving hall after Wantage (1908) and St. Patricks (1912).
The Hall was initially made up of a series of houses and other buildings set amongst beautiful lawns and gardens in Redlands Road, facing St. Andrew's Hall, now the Museum of English Rural Life. Wessex formed part of a group of halls on the University's London Road Campus, which included St. Andrew's, St. David's and Mansfield and to date is the only hall to have been moved off its original site. The original site is now where the new Battle Block stands at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
In 1965 the Hall moved to its present location beside the lake at Whiteknights.
In October 1977 Wessex ceased to be a women-only Hall and became mixed.
2005 marked the 90th Anniversary of Wessex Hall Junior Common Room (JCR). The name reflects its Oxford origins of the Colleges having their own JCR's. This is the student body responsible for the social and cultural life of the hall and all students are members of the JCR. Wessex JCR one of the oldest surviving JCR's in the UK. The current President is Ricky Richards and he is supported by tweleve Vice Presidents. The JCR is one of the few at The University of Reading with a complete line of Presidents every year starting in 1915, and is engraved onto two Oak panels, that can be viewed at the hall.
2005 also marked the end of another significant era in its history as, during the summer holidays of 2005, extensive renovation work was undertaken in the hall's dining room, kitchen and dormitories to convert it from a catered hall into one of four self-catered halls, to meet the increased demands of self-catered accommodation by students.
The badge of the college, adopted in 1920, is the White Horse of Wessex, after the prehistoric figure cut into the nearby chalk hills near Abingdon, the former county town of Berkshire. A free translation of the Anglo-Saxon motto on the badge reads:
- "Others have prevailed. So may I"
To honour the 90th Anniversary of the JCR, a scarf has been created to reflect the origins of the JCR within Oxford University and the University of Reading. The scarf contains the green of Wessex, the purple of Reading and the white to reflect both Reading and Wessex.
The current Warden of the Hall is Dr S C Andrews.
[edit] References
- Brown, C. (2006). Four Score & More. Reading: The University of Reading Press
- Childs, W. M. (1933). Making a University : An Account of the University Movement at Reading. Reading: Dent
- Wessex Hall JCR (2006). History of Wessex Hall [online] Available from http://www.wessexjcr.co.uk/ [Accessed 29th March 2006]
