Editing St Benet's Hall, Oxford (section)

===Closure===
In September 2021, it was announced that the John and Daria Barry Foundation, a philanthropic trust run by the venture capitalist John F. Barry III, was making a £40 million rescue offer to enable the hall to become completely independent of Ampleforth Abbey. This was on condition that the buildings would be purchased from the Ampleforth Abbey Trust for £15 million (less than their market value), that the St Benet's Trust was to be made completely separate from the abbey and that the chair was to be the prominent conservative philosopher and academic [[Robert P. George]] of Princeton University.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religious freedom does not justify discrimination against LGBTQ community: Readers |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/readers/2020/01/08/religious-freedom-does-not-justify-lgbtq-discrimination-readers/2828895001/ |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref> Barry himself was on record as describing the venture as a [[Hail Mary pass]], indicating limited expectations of success.<ref name="The Tablet pp.9-11"/>

However, in December of that year, the university stated that without the abbey's continued financial support, "it cannot be confident that the hall can support a new undergraduate cohort for the full duration of their studies". The major issues were that the hall's endowments were inadequate, the two buildings were owned by Ampleforth Abbey and operational deficits were being covered by subsidies from the abbey.<ref name="The Tablet pp.9-11"/>

So, the university announced that it would temporarily cease to accept undergraduate matriculations from the hall, owing to these serious financial issues.<ref name="OxStu21">{{cite news |last1=Atkinson Gibson |first1=Poppy |last2=Foster |first2=Alex |date=17 December 2021 |title=St Benet’s Hall to temporarily halt undergrad admissions amid dire financial straits |url=https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2021/12/17/st-benets-hall-to-cease-undergrad-admissions-amid-dire-financial-straits/ |work=[[The Oxford Student]] |location= |access-date=20 December 2021}}</ref> May 2022 was the deadline for deciding this point as regards the academic year 2022–3.<ref name="The Tablet pp.9-11"/>

In that month it was made public that the University Council had decided not to renew the hall's PPH licence, which implied that the hall would close at the end of the 2022 academic year.<ref name="OS20220516">{{cite web |date=16 May 2022 |title=Breaking News: St Benet's Hall announces that university will not renew its official licence and addresses possibility of ceasing operations altogether |url=https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2022/05/16/breaking-news-st-benets-hall-announces-that-university-will-not-renew-its-official-licence/ |access-date=17 May 2022|website=The Oxford Student |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="Times20220521">{{cite news|last=Woolcock|first=Nicola|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/oxford-monks-given-marching-orders-7fm73gxwf|title=Oxford monks given marching orders|newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=|access-date=21 May 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The university had decided that the new arrangements proposed by the Barry Foundation would not be financially viable and questioned the implications of the new board, and so they were rejected.<ref name="OS20220516" /><ref name="Times20220521" />

In June 2022 it was finally announced that the buildings would be vacated by October 2022, and that the university was seeking alternative colleges to which existing students would transfer.<ref>{{cite news |last=Biletsky |first=Anya |date=15 June 2022 |title=St Benet's Hall buildings to be vacated as students lament loss of "lovely community" |url=https://cherwell.org/2022/06/15/st-benets-hall-buildings-to-be-vacated-as-students-lament-loss-of-lovely-community/ |work=[[Cherwell (newspaper)|Cherwell]] |location= |access-date=24 July 2022}}</ref> The buildings were subsequently purchased by [[St Hilda's College, Oxford|St Hilda's College]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Woolcock |first1=Nicola |title=Oxford college St Benet's Hall closes despite businessman's £40m lifeline |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/oxford-college-st-benets-hall-closes-despite-businessman-lifeline-srs779520 |access-date=1 October 2022 |work=[[The Times]] |date=30 September 2022}}</ref> The hall was formally closed on 30 September 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Voting on Legislative Proposal: Statute V: Colleges, Societies, and Permanent Private Halls |url=https://gazette.web.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/gazette/documents/media/10_november_2022_-_no_5365_redacted.pdf#page=4 |access-date=10 November 2022 |work=Gazette |issue=5365 |publisher=University of Oxford |date=10 November 2022}}</ref> The last member of staff vacated the St Giles house on 7 October. The wine cellar of 1,100 bottles was donated to [[Blackfriars, Oxford|Blackfriars]]. Students relocated individually to other colleges and halls of the university to continue their studies. The [[St Benet's Hall Boat Club]] continues to operate.<ref name="The Tablet pp.9-11"/>