St Anne's College, Oxford

St Anne's College
Blazon: Gules, on a chevron between in chief two lions heads erased argent, and in base a sword of the second pummelled and hilt or and enfiled with a wreath of laurel, three ravens, all proper.
University	University of Oxford
Location	Woodstock Road and Banbury Road
Coordinates	51°45′44″N 1°15′43″W / 51.762123°N 1.261974°W / 51.762123; -1.261974Coordinates: 51°45′44″N 1°15′43″W / 51.762123°N 1.261974°W / 51.762123; -1.261974
Latin name	Collegium Sanctae Annae
Motto	Consulto et audacter (Purposefully and boldly)
Established	1879
Named for	Saint Anne
Previous names	The Society of Oxford Home-Students (1879–1942) The St Anne's Society (1942–1952)
Sister college	Murray Edwards College, Cambridge
Principal	Helen King
Undergraduates	444[1]
Postgraduates	250[1]
Website	www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk
Boat club	St Anne's Boat Club
Map
Location in Oxford city centre

St Anne's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Formerly a women's college, it has been coeducational since 1979.^[2] Founded in 1879 as The Society of Oxford Home-Students, it received its college status in 1952, and today it is one of the larger colleges in Oxford, with around 450 undergraduate and 200 graduate students in a roughly equal mix of men and women. Its alumni include Ruth Deech, Danny Alexander, Helen Fielding, Simon Rattle, and Martha Kearney.

The college was established and expanded by the gradual acquisition of Victorian houses between the Woodstock and Banbury roads, with its location now in North Oxford and adjacent to the neighbourhoods of Jericho, Park Town, and Oxford University Parks.

In April 2017, Helen King took up her appointment as Principal succeeding Tim Gardam. Helen King is a former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner and was elected to the position of Principal upon her retirement from the police.^[3][4] The 2016 annual review valued the college's endowment at £39 million.

History

What is now St Anne's College began life as part of the Association for the Education of Women, the first institution in Oxford to allow for the education of women (see: Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford), then later the Society of Oxford Home-Students.^[5] In 1942, it became the St Anne's Society, and received a university charter to be founded as a women-only college in 1952. While it remains a common myth that it is built on land donated by St John's College, the site was acquired slowly by the purchase of existing houses and residences for the use of students.^[6]

The Ship

The annual magazine for alumni of the college is known as The Ship.^[7] When it was still known as the Society for Home Students, the college had its first common room in Ship Street, located in central Oxford.^[5]

Location and buildings

The Ruth Deech Building, which houses the Porter's Lodge.

Grounds

Its grounds are bounded by Woodstock Road and Banbury Road to the west and east respectively, and Bevington Road to the north. They extend as far south as 48 Woodstock Road on the west, and 27 Banbury Road on the east side. The College formerly owned a number of houses throughout Oxford used for undergraduate accommodation, some formerly boarding houses of the Society of Oxford Home-Students; these have been largely sold off to fund the building of the Ruth Deech Building, completed in 2005. These grounds house all of the college's administrative and academic buildings, undergraduate accommodation, as well as the hall, which is among the largest in Oxford.

Undergraduate accommodation

St Anne's can accommodate undergraduates for three years of study. Undergraduates at St Anne's are housed in 14 Victorian houses owned by the college and six purpose-built accommodation blocks. The Victorian houses include 1 – 10 Bevington Road, 58/60 Woodstock Road, and 39/41 Banbury Road. These houses also contain the college bar, teaching rooms, college gym, and a laundrette.

Hartland House

The Hartland House

The Hartland House, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was the first purpose-built college building, finished in 1937 with an additional wing built in 1973. It now houses the Library, the junior and senior common rooms, and administrative offices.

Ruth Deech Building

The Ruth Deech Building was completed in 2005.^[8] It houses extensive conference facilities (the Tsuzuki lecture theatre, seminar rooms, and dining facilities) on the lower ground floor, in addition to the new College Lodge on the upper ground floor, and 113 en-suite student rooms.

New library and academic centre

The new library and academic centre, completed in 2016, is on the site of the former Founders' Gatehouse, which was built in 1966 and was the college lodge until 2005. It also covers the area previously occupied by the 54 Woodstock road cottage.^[9][10]

Rayne and Wolfson Buildings

Wolfson Building

The Rayne and Wolfson Buildings were built in 1964 and are Grade II Listed Buildings; they are virtually identical in design, and house administrative offices on the ground floor as well as student rooms.

Claire Palley Building

The Claire Palley Building, completed in 1992 and named after former Principal Claire Palley, was the first accommodation block to have en-suite rooms. It also houses the Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre.

Trenaman House

Trenaman House, built in 1995, holds student rooms as well as communal college facilities on the ground floor and, since 2008, the St Anne's Coffee Shop (STACS). It was named after Nancy Trenaman, the sixth Principal of the college (1966–1984).

Dining Hall

The Dining Hall, built in 1959, is amongst the largest in Oxford with a capacity of 300. Three meals are served daily in hall apart from on weekends when only brunch is served. It is also used for college collections (internal college exams) and, on occasion, college 'bops' (costume parties).

Other facilities

The Eleanor Plumer House (known until 2008 as simply 35 Banbury Road) houses the Middle Common Room, and attached facilities including a study area/computer room and kitchen, in addition to accommodation for graduate students. Five additional Victorian houses (27, 29, & 37 Banbury, and 48 & 50 Woodstock) hold teaching rooms, seminar rooms, music practice rooms, and college offices.

Robert Saunders House

The Robert Saunders House, built in 1996, provides 80 rooms for post-graduate students in Summertown, an area in the north of Oxford. It was named after a former bursar of the college, who did much to strengthen its finances.

Traditions

The college has relatively few traditions and is rare amongst Oxford colleges in not having a chapel (along with St Catherine's College and Kellogg College). Formal hall is held fortnightly. Gowns are not usually worn, except for official university occasions such as matriculation and certain college feasts. The college mascot is a beaver.

College grace

The college grace was composed by former classics tutor and founding fellow, Margaret Hubbard. It involves the Principal reciting the Latin words Quas decet, (deo) gratias agamus. Amen. The inclusion of deo (to God) depends on whether the grace is religious or secular in nature.

Sport and societies

The college has teams for all major sports, and competes in inter-collegiate "cuppers" tournaments. Fixtures are either played in the neighbouring University Parks, or in the college playing fields on Woodstock Road. St Anne's College Boat Club (SABC) organises the college's involvement in inter-college rowing events, and the college boathouse, situated on the River Isis in Christ Church Meadow is shared with St Hugh's and Wadham colleges. The college has a joint rugby team with St John's College, which won Cuppers in 2014.^[11][12]

There is a lot of music-making in the college, with opportunities for singers and instrumental players to be involved in ensembles. In keeping with its secular outlook, there is no sacred choral singing in St Anne's, but there is an informal a cappella group that rehearses weekly, known as Stacappella. The group performs versions of popular and folk songs arranged by music students, and is currently directed by Joseph Fell. The college's Director of Music is Dr John Traill, who runs a regular professional recital series and a string orchestra in the college.

The college's geology society, STAGS (St Anne's Geology Society), is a hub of social gatherings for the college's Earth Sciences students. The college's classics society organises a joint symposium with Brasenose College every term, as well as a biennial trip to Lamledra, Cornwall.

Notable alumni

In alphabetical order:

Danny Alexander, former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, alumnus.

Mr Hudson, rapper and R&B artist, alumnus.

Tina Brown, editor of The Daily Beast and ex-editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, alumna.

Sir Simon Rattle, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, alumnus.

• Sir Danny Alexander – Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey (2005–2015), formerly Chief Secretary to the Treasury
• Mary Archer, Lady Archer – scientist specialising in solar power conversion
• Karen Armstrong, FRSL – author on comparative religion
• Jackie Ashley – broadcaster, journalist, and contributor to The Guardian and New Statesman
• Wendy Beckett – BBC art historian
• Dame Gillian Beer – literary critic and former President of Clare Hall, Cambridge (1994–2001)
• Nicola Blackwood – Conservative MP for Oxford West and Abingdon (2010–17)
• Mark Bostridge – writer and critic, biographer of Vera Brittain and Florence Nightingale
• Tina Brown, CBE – writer, and magazine editor, currently of The Daily Beast and formerly Vanity Fair (1984–1992) and The New Yorker (1992–98)
• Frances Cairncross, CBE – journalist, economist, and Rector of Exeter College, Oxford (2004–2014)
• Rosemary Cramp – archaeologist specialising in Anglo-Saxon literature and culture
• Edwina Currie – Conservative MP (1983–97)
• Liam D'Arcy-Brown, Sinologist and travel writer
• Ruth Deech, Baroness Deech, DBE – lawyer, bioethicist, and former Principal of St Anne's (1991–2004)
• Paul Donovan – economist and author
• Dame Mary Douglas, DBE, FBA – anthropologist
• Anne Dreydel, OBE – co-founder of the Oxford English Centre, now St Clare's International School
• Rose Dugdale – former debutante, notable IRA member and art thief
• Moira Dunbar – Arctic ice researcher
• Andrew Edmonds – contestant on the reality TV show Big Brother 11
• U. A. Fanthorpe, CBE, FRSL – poet
• Penelope Farmer – children's writer
• Helen Fielding – novelist known for the Bridget Jones series
• Hadley Freeman – writer and columnist for The Guardian and Vogue
• Urszula Gacek – former Polish politician, since 2011 Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to The Council of Europe
• Sanjay Ghose – noted Indian activist.
• Jean Golding – epidemiologist
• Miriam Gross – literary editor and co-founder of Standpoint magazine
• Mary Harron – Canadian director and screenwriter, best known for American Psycho
• Zoë Heller – journalist and novelist, known for Notes on a Scandal
• Brad Hooker – philosopher specialising in ethics, Professor of Philosophy at Reading University
• Ben Hudson – stage name Mr Hudson, British R&B/pop artist.
• Devaki Jain – Indian economist, writer, and feminist activist
• Diana Wynne Jones – fantasy novelist, known for the Chrestomanci series and Howl's Moving Castle
• Martha Kearney – broadcaster and journalist, currently of BBC Radio 4's The World at One
• Sandra Landy – world champion bridge player and computer scientist
• Penelope Lively, CBE, FRSL – novelist and Booker Prize winner for Moon Tiger
• Guy Lynn – investigative reporter for the BBC
• Kevin Macdonald – director, The Last King of Scotland and State of Play
• Max More – philosopher and futurist, founder of the Extropy Institute
• Rebecca Morelle – journalist, currently global science correspondent for BBC News
• Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh – South African author, musician and activist
• Lindsay Northover, Baroness Northover – Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords (since 2000), former Government Whip
• Una O'Brien, Permanent Secretary Department of Health
• Adam Parsons – television and radio presenter
• Ged Quinn – artist
• Janina Ramirez – art historian, lecturer and TV presenter.
• Justice Ruma Pal – judge of the Supreme Court of India (2000–2006)
• Norah Lillian Penston – principal of Bedford College, University of London, 1951–64
• Melanie Phillips – journalist and author, winner of the Orwell Prize
• Libby Purves, OBE – radio presenter and journalist, drama critic for The Times (2010–)
• Sir Simon Rattle, CBE, FRSA – prominent conductor, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic (2002–2016), London Symphony Orchestra (2017–)^[13]
• John Robins – stand-up comedian and radio presenter
• Jancis Robinson, OBE, MW – wine critic and author
• James Rutledge – musician and producer
• Dame Cicely Saunders, OM, DBE – Anglican nurse, physician, writer, and pioneer of the hospice movement
• Frances Stonor Saunders – journalist, historian, television, film-maker, and former associate editor of the New Statesman
• Samantha Shannon – author of The Bone Season dystopian fiction series
• Susan Sontag – prominent American author, literary theorist, and political activist
• Susan J. Smith – Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge and Honorary Professor of Social and Economic Geography at the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
• Russell Taylor, MBE – writer, journalist and composer
• Jane Thynne – novelist, journalist and broadcaster
• Polly Toynbee – journalist, writer, and columnist for The Guardian (since 1998)
• Jenny Uglow, OBE – critic and noted biographer, current editorial director of Chatto & Windus
• Jill Paton Walsh, CBE, FRSL – novelist and children's writer
• Victoria Whitworth – Anglo-Scots novelist, archaeologist and art historian
• Ivy Williams – first woman to be called to the English bar
• Mara Yamauchi – noted long-distance track and marathon runner

Notable academics

• Peter Ady – Fellow (1947–2004), eminent development economist, adviser to the Burmese Government and Ministry of Overseas Development.
• Roger Crisp – current Professor of Moral Philosophy, Uehiro Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy, Chairman of Management Committee of Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics
• Peter Donnelly, FRS – current Fellow (1996–), Australian mathematician and statistician, and current director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University
• Bent Flyvbjerg – current Fellow, noted economic geographer, urban planner, and current director of the BT Centre for Major Programme Management at the Saïd Business School
• Margaret Hubbard – Australian classical scholar specializing in philology; one of St Anne's 15 founding fellows
• Jonathan Katz – stipendiary lecturer, and current University Public Orator
• Patrick McGuinness – current Professor of French and Comparative Literature, Fellow and Tutor in French, author, and poet
• Georg Gottlob, FRS – current Fellow (since 2006), noted Austrian computer scientist specialising in database theory, logic, and artificial intelligence
• A. C. Grayling, FRSA, FRSL – current Supernumerary Fellow, philosopher, author, human rights and civil liberties advocate
• Tony Judt, FBA – Fellow (1980–87), author, historian, and public intellectual, later the director of the Erich Maria Remarque Institute at NYU and contributor to the New York Review of Books
• John Lloyd – current Supernumerary Fellow, journalist, contributor to the Financial Times, and co-founder of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University
• Nick Middleton – current Supernumerary Fellow, physical geographer specialising in desertification, and consultant to the IUCN, UNEP, EU, and WWF.^[14]
• Iris Murdoch, DBE – Fellow (1948–99), philosopher, and novelist, known for Under the Net and The Sea, The Sea
• Graham Nelson – current Supernumerary Fellow]] (since 2007), mathematician, poet, and noted interactive fiction game designer
• Roger Reed – current Supernumerary Fellow, professor of engineering and material science.^[15]
• Stephen Alexander Smith – Fellow (1991–98), legal scholar and writer
• Gabriele Taylor – current senior research fellow, philosopher in ethics

Gallery

• 
  37 Banbury Road, containing offices of Fellows of the College
• 
  St Anne's boathouse (centre) on The Isis, shared with St Catherine's College and Wadham College
• 
  The Rayne Building viewed from the quadrangle
• 
  The Gatehouse, which was demolished in the 2014–15 academic year
• 
  The rear of Trenaman House viewed from the Bevington Road garden
• 
  Trenaman House (Upper) containing St Anne's Coffee Shop (STACS) and some undergraduate accommodation
• 
  Wolfson Building
• 
  The main entrance to Hartland House, with the college's coat of arms and motto
• 
  Hartland House in its parkland setting

List of Principals

• 1984–1991: Claire Palley
• 1991–2004: Ruth Deech
• 2004–2016: Tim Gardam
• 2016–2017: Robert Chard (acting)
• 2017–present: Helen King

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Anne's College, Oxford.

• College official website
• St Anne's MCR (Middle Common Room) Website
• St Anne's JCR (Junior Common Room) Website
• St Anne's JCR Alternative Prospectus
• Virtual Tour of St Anne's College