Editing Brasenose College, Oxford (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Brasenose College, Oxford}}

===Foundation===
[[File:The Brazen Nose knocker.jpg|thumb|left|The original door knocker, now hanging in the college's dining hall. (A copy is on a door in [[Stamford School]].)]]

The history of Brasenose College, Oxford stretches back to 1509, when the college was founded on the site of Brasenose Hall, a medieval [[Academic halls of the University of Oxford|academic hall]] whose name is first mentioned in 1279.<ref name="bncwebhistory">{{cite web | title=A concise history of Brasenose | url=https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/history/212-college-history/397-a-brief-history-of-brasenose | access-date=26 May 2021 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113161201/https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/history/212-college-history/397-a-brief-history-of-brasenose | archive-date=13 January 2021}}</ref> Its name is believed to derive from the name of a brass or bronze knocker that adorned the hall's door.<ref>{{cite web | title= The Oddest Name in Oxford | url=https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/history/212-college-history/396-the-oddest-name-in-oxford-7318115 | publisher=Brasenose College | access-date=6 October 2024}}</ref>

The college was associated with Lancashire and Cheshire, the county origins of its two founders – the [[Bishop of Lincoln]], [[William Smyth]] and [[Richard Sutton (lawyer)|Sir Richard Sutton]] – a link which was maintained strongly until the latter half of the twentieth century.<ref name="bncwebhistory"/><ref>Buchan (1898). pp.&nbsp;1–6.</ref><ref>Crook (2008). p.&nbsp;422.</ref> The first principals navigated Brasenose, with its Catholic sympathisers, through the [[Reformation]] and continuing religious reforms.<ref>Crook (2008) pp.&nbsp;27–29.</ref>

Most of Brasenose favoured the [[Cavalier|Royalist]] side during the [[English Civil War]], although it produced notable generals and clergy on both sides.<ref>Crook (2008). p. 50.</ref>

The library and chapel were completed in the mid-17th century, despite Brasenose suffering continuing financial problems.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;45–9.</ref><ref>Buchan (1898). p.&nbsp;81.</ref>
[[File:Brasenose College from Loggan's Oxonia Illustrata.jpg|left|thumb|An illustration of Brasenose in 1674]]

===Nineteenth century===
After 1785 the college prospered under Principal [[William Cleaver]].<ref>Buchan (1898). p.&nbsp;31.</ref> The college began to be populated by gentlemen, its income doubling between 1790 and 1810,<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;162–163.</ref> and achieved considerable academic success.<ref>Buchan (1898). p.&nbsp;32.</ref> But the reconstruction of Brasenose was not completed until the end of the 19th century with the addition of New Quad between 1886 and 1911.<ref name="victoriahistory">{{cite book |editor1-last=Salter |editor1-first=H. E. |editor2-last=Lobel |editor2-first=Mary D. |year=1954 |series=A History of the County of Oxford |title=The University of Oxford |chapter=Brasenose College |volume=3 |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63882 |pages=207–219}}</ref> Brasenose's financial position remained secure, although under the tenure of Principal Edward Hartopp Cradock Brasenose's academic record waned greatly, with much of its success focused on sport, where it excelled most notably in cricket and rowing.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;248–249,&nbsp;260–261.</ref>

The mid-century Royal Commissions were navigated; although they were initially opposed, some recommendations were welcomed, including the election of fellows on merit rather than by their place of birth.<ref name="victoriahistory"/> The election of [[Charles Heberden]] as principal in 1889 led to a gradual improvement in Brasenose's academic fortunes, although its sporting performance suffered.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;307–309.</ref> As the first [[laity|lay]] principal, Heberden presided over an increasingly secular college, which opened up the library to undergraduates, instituted an entrance exam for the first time and accepted [[Rhodes scholar]]s.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;311–316.</ref>

===Early twentieth century===
Brasenose lost 115 men in the [[First World War]] (including a quarter of the 1913 year), with its undergraduate numbers greatly reduced.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;321–322.</ref>

[[Lord Curzon]]'s post-War reforms were successfully instituted. The inter-war period was defined by [[William Stallybrass]], who as fellow and eventual principal (until 1948) dominated college life.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;324–326.</ref> Brasenose once again produced top sportsmen – cricketers, rowers, and others.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;348–349.</ref> This came at the cost of falling academic standards and poorly performing finances, which would see Stallybrass' authority challenged. He died in a railway accident before he could be forced out, however.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;359–383.</ref>

After the war, sporting achievements waned (although there were notable exceptions) but academic success did not improve significantly, in what was now one of Oxford's largest colleges.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;396–402.</ref>

===Since 1970===
The 1970s saw considerable social change in Brasenose, with more post-graduate members and fewer domestic staff.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;403–405, 418–420.</ref> In 1974 Brasenose became one of the first men's colleges to admit women as full members, bringing an end to 470 years of the college as a men-only institution. The other previously all-male colleges to begin admitting women in 1974 were [[Jesus College, Oxford|Jesus College]], [[Hertford College, Oxford|Hertford]], [[St Catherine's College, Oxford|St Catherine's]], and [[Wadham College, Oxford|Wadham]].<ref name="Women_at_Oxford">{{cite web |url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/about/oxford-people/women-at-oxford |title=Women at Oxford |publisher=[[University of Oxford]] |access-date=12 June 2016}}</ref> The College's first female Governing Body Fellow, lawyer Mary Stokes, was elected in May 1981 and took up her Fellowship in October 1982.

There was also considerable construction work to ensure that undergraduates could be housed for the entirety of their degree on the main site and on the Frewin site;<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;403–405.</ref> this objective was finally achieved in 1997 with the opening of the St Cross annexe and Frewin extension.<ref name="crook430">Crook (2008). p.&nbsp;430.</ref> Brasenose's finances were secured, and it thus entered the twenty-first century in a good position as regards financial, extracurricular and academic success.<ref>Crook (2008). pp.&nbsp;400–402,&nbsp;430–432.</ref>

As of 2022 the college admits undergraduates for most major courses in 17 subject groups across science, humanities, social science and arts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Undergraduate Courses |url=https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate-admissions/undergraduate-courses |website=Brasenose |access-date=27 April 2022}}</ref>