Editing Jesus College, Oxford (section)

=== 18th and 19th centuries ===

The 18th century, in contrast to the disruption of the 17th century, was a comparatively quiet time for the college. A historian of the college, [[J. N. L. Baker]], wrote that the college records for this time "tell of little but routine entries and departures of fellows and scholars".<ref name=VCH267 /> The [[Napoleonic Wars]] saw a reduction in the numbers of students and entries in the records for the purchase of [[musket]]s and other items for college members serving in the university corps. After the war, numbers rose, to an average of twenty new students per year between 1821 and 1830. However, debts owed to the college had increased, perhaps due to the economic effects of the war&nbsp;– by 1832, the college was owed £986 10s 5d (approximately £{{inflation |UK|986.5|1832|r=-2}} in present-day terms).<ref name=VCH267 /><ref name=VCH268>Baker (1954), p. 268</ref>{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} During the first half of the 19th century, the academic strength of the college diminished: scholarships were sometimes not awarded because of a lack of suitable candidates, and numbers fell: there were only seven new entrants in 1842.<ref name=VCH268 /> [[Ernest George Hardy|Ernest Hardy]] wrote in his history of the college in 1899 that it had been becoming "increasingly evident for years... that the exclusive connection with Wales was ruining the college as a place of education."<ref>Hardy, p. 190</ref>

[[File:Jesus College engraving quadrangle 1837.JPG|thumb|alt=Stone buildings on two sides of a square, all topped with crenellations; from left, a three-storey building with a shell-hood above the door; a chapel with a bell turret and four gothic pointed windows, with the entrance porch under the furthest left window; this meets another three-storey building at the corner of the square, which has a large open archway in which two figures stand|An 1837 engraving of the first quadrangle]]

A [[Royal Commission]] was appointed in 1852 to investigate the university. The college wished to retain its links with Wales, and initial reforms were limited despite the wishes of the commissioners: those scholarships that were limited to particular parts of Wales were opened to the whole of Wales, and half of the fellowships awarded were to remain open only to Welshmen {{"'}}if and so long as the Principal and Fellows shall deem it expedient for the interests of education in connection with the Principality of Wales{{'"}}.<ref name=VCH268 /> All the scholarships at the college, except for two, and all the [[exhibition (scholarship)|exhibitions]] were still restricted to students from Wales.<ref>Hardy, p. 197</ref> The numbers of students at the college still fell, despite prizes being awarded for success in university examinations. [[Daniel Harper (headmaster)|Daniel Harper]], principal from 1877 to 1895, noted the continuing academic decline.  Speaking in 1879, he noted that fewer students from the college were reaching high standards in examinations, and that more Welsh students were choosing to study at other Oxford colleges in preference to Jesus. A further Royal Commission was appointed. This led to further changes at the college: in 1882, the fellowships reserved to Welshmen were made open to all, and only half (instead of all) of the 24 scholarships were to be reserved for Welsh candidates.<ref name= VCH269>Baker (1954), p. 269</ref><ref>Hardy, p. 208</ref> Thereafter, numbers gradually rose and the non-Welsh element at the college increased, so that by 1914 only about half of the students were Welsh.<ref name=VCH269 />