Editing Jesus College, Oxford

{{Short description|College of the University of Oxford}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox residential college
| name = Jesus College
| university = [[University of Oxford]]
| photo = JesusCollegeFirstQuadSpire.png|caption=Jesus College, Oxford first quad
| scarf = {{scarf|{{cells|2|darkgreen}} {{cell|white}} {{cells|3|darkgreen}} {{cells|2|white}} {{cells|3|darkgreen}} {{cell|white}} {{cells|2|darkgreen}}}}
| full_name = Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation
| latin_name = Collegium Ihesus
| named_after = [[Jesus of Nazareth]]
| established = {{start date and age|1571|6|27|df=y|br=y}}
| sister_college = [[Jesus College, Cambridge]]
| principal = [[Nigel Shadbolt|Sir Nigel Shadbolt]]<ref name="New Principal, Jesus College">{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/news/2015/august/new-principal|title=New Principal|publisher= Jesus College|date=2015-08-03|access-date=6 August 2015|archive-date=4 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904114931/https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/news/2015/august/new-principal|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| undergraduates = 346<ref>{{cite web|title=Student statistics|publisher=University of Oxford|url=https://public.tableau.com/views/UniversityofOxford-StudentStatistics/CollegeBreakdown?%3Aembed=y&%3Adisplay_count=yes&%3AshowTabs=y&%3AshowVizHome=no#3|date=2017|access-date=31 August 2018}}</ref> (2017–18)
| graduates = 198
| endowment =  £283&nbsp;million <small>(2022)</small><ref name="jesus1718">{{cite web|url=https://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts2324/Jesus.pdf|title=Annual Report and Financial Statements| access-date= 17 May 2025}}</ref>
| location = [[Turl Street]] 
| coordinates = {{coord|51.7534|-1.2569|display=inline,title}}
| location_map = Oxford (central)
| shield = [[File:Coat of Arms of Jesus College Oxford.svg|125px]]
| blazon = Vert, three stags trippant argent attired or.
| homepage = {{URL|https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/}}
| boat_club = [http://home.jesus.ox.ac.uk/soc/jcbc/ Boat Club website]
| visitor = [[Image:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|15px|baseline]] [[Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery|Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery]] ''[[ex officio]]''{{r|jesus-ox-statutes}}
}}
'''Jesus College''' (in full: '''Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation''') is one of the [[Colleges of the University of Oxford|constituent colleges]] of the [[University of Oxford]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesus College |url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/colleges/college-listing/jesus-college |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=ox.ac.uk}}</ref> in England. It is in the centre of the [[Oxford|city]], on a site between [[Turl Street]], [[Ship Street, Oxford|Ship Street]], [[Cornmarket Street]] and [[Market Street, Oxford|Market Street]]. The college was founded by Queen [[Elizabeth I of England]] on 27 June 1571. A major driving force behind the establishment of the college was [[Hugh Price (lawyer)|Hugh Price]] (or Ap Rhys), a churchman from [[Brecon]] in [[Wales]]. The oldest buildings, in the first [[quadrangle (architecture)|quadrangle]], date from the 16th and early 17th centuries; a second quadrangle was added between about 1640 and about 1713, and a third quadrangle was built in about 1906. Further accommodation was built on the main site to mark the 400th anniversary of the college, in 1971, and student flats have been constructed at sites in north and east Oxford. A fourth quadrangle was completed in 2021.

There are about 475 students at any one time; the Principal of the college is [[Nigel Shadbolt|Sir Nigel Shadbolt]]. Former students include [[Harold Wilson]] (who was twice [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]]), [[Kevin Rudd]] ([[Prime Minister of Australia]]), [[Norman Washington Manley]] ([[Prime Minister of Jamaica]]), [[T. E. Lawrence]] ("Lawrence of Arabia"), [[Angus Buchanan (VC)|Angus Buchanan]] (winner of the [[Victoria Cross]]), [[John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey|Viscount Sankey]] ([[Lord Chancellor]]), [[Edwin Yoder]] ([[Pulitzer Prize]] winning journalist), [[Roger Parry]] (media and technology entrepreneur) and over 30 [[Members of Parliament]]. Past or present fellows of the college include the historians [[Goronwy Edwards|Sir Goronwy Edwards]], [[Yuval Noah Harari]] and [[Niall Ferguson]], the philosopher [[Galen Strawson]], and the political philosopher [[John N. Gray|John Gray]]. Past students and fellows in the sciences include [[John Houghton (physicist)]] and Nobel Laureate [[Peter J. Ratcliffe]].

== History ==

=== Foundation ===
{{Further|List of founding Fellows, Scholars and Commissioners of Jesus College, Oxford}}

[[File:Elizabeth I Jesus College.jpg|upright|thumb|alt=A woman in an elaborately-decorated long dress, patterned with jewels. A large ruff around her neck; over her head, two angels support a laurel wreath|The college's founder, [[Queen Elizabeth I]], shown in a portrait in the college hall]]

Jesus College was founded on 27 June 1571, when [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] issued a [[royal charter]].<ref name=Baker1 /> It was the first [[Protestantism in the United Kingdom|Protestant]] college to be founded at the university, and it is the only Oxford college to date from Elizabeth's reign.<ref>Gibson, p. 21</ref><ref name=beginning>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/beginning.php |title=Jesus College&nbsp;– The Beginning |date=8 April 2001 |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |access-date=10 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303222404/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/beginning.php |archive-date=3 March 2007 }}</ref> It was the first new Oxford college since 1555, in the reign of [[Mary I of England|Queen Mary]], when [[Trinity College, Oxford|Trinity College]] and [[St John's College, Oxford|St John's College]] were founded as [[Roman Catholicism in Great Britain|Roman Catholic]] colleges.<ref>Gibson, p. 20</ref> The foundation charter named a principal ([[David Lewis (lawyer)|David Lewis]]), eight [[Oxbridge Fellow|fellows]], eight [[scholarship|scholars]], and eight commissioners to draw up the statutes for the college.<ref name=Hardy13>Hardy, p. 13</ref> The commissioners included [[Hugh Price (lawyer)|Hugh Price]], who had petitioned the queen to found a college at Oxford "that he might bestow his estate of the maintenance of certain scholars of Wales to be trained up in good letters."<ref>Hardy, p. 6, quoting [[Anthony Wood (antiquary)|Anthony Wood]]</ref> The charter also transferred to the college the land and buildings of White Hall, an academic hall on part of the current site.<ref>Hardy, pp. 8–9</ref> The college was originally intended primarily for the education of clergy. The particular intention was to satisfy a need for dedicated, learned clergy to promote the [[Elizabethan Religious Settlement]] in the parishes of England, Ireland and Wales. The college has since broadened the range of subjects offered, beginning with the inclusion of medicine and law, and now offers almost the full range of subjects taught at the university. The [[letters patent]] issued by Elizabeth I made it clear that the education of a priest in the 16th century included more than just theology, however:<ref name=Baker1>Baker (1971), p. 1</ref>

{{blockquote |...to the Glory of God Almighty and Omnipotent, and for the spread and maintenance of the Christian religion in its sincere form, for the eradication of errors and heresies, for the increase and perpetuation of true loyalty, for the extension of good literature of every sort, for the knowledge of languages, for the education of youth in loyalty, morality, and methodical learning, for the relief of poverty and distress, and lastly for the benefit and well-being of the Church of Christ in our realms, [...] we have decreed that a College of learning in the sciences, philosophy, humane pursuits, knowledge of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin languages, to the ultimate profession of Sacred Theology, to last for all time to come, be created, founded, built, and established....|Elizabeth I| 27 June 1571.}}

[[File:Ralph Agas map of Oxford 1578 Jesus marked.jpg|thumb|alt=A bird's-eye view of a city, showing a city wall, churches, colleges, other buildings and gardens|Part of [[Ralph Agas]]'s map of Oxford (1578) (south at the top), with the early college plan (highlighted) near the city wall]]

Price continued to be closely involved with the college after its foundation. On the strength of a promised legacy, worth £60 a year on his death (approximately £{{inflation|UK|60|1574|r=-2|fmt=c}} in present-day terms),{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} he requested and received the authority to appoint the new college's principal, fellows and scholars. He financed early building work in the college's front [[Quadrangle (architecture)|quadrangle]], but on his death in 1574 it transpired that the college received only a [[lump sum]] of around £600 (approximately £{{inflation |UK|600|1574|r=-3|fmt=c}} in present-day terms).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}<ref name=Founders /> Problems with his bequest meant that it was not received in full for about 25 years. As the college had no other donors at this time, "for many years the college had buildings but no revenue".<ref name=VCH264>Baker (1954), p. 264</ref>

=== 17th century ===

[[File:Engraving Jesus College 1675.jpg|thumb|left|College engraving, 1675]]

The main benefactor, other than the King, was [[Eubule Thelwall (politician)|Eubule Thelwall]], from [[Ruthin]], North Wales, who became Principal in 1621; he succeeded in securing a [[List of founding Fellows, Scholars and Commissioners of Jesus College, Oxford|new charter and statutes]] for the college from [[James I of England|James I]], having spent £5,000 of his own money on the hall and chapel, which earned him the title of its second founder.<ref>[https://biography.wales/article/s-THEL-PLA-1380 National Library of Wales: On-line Biography]; accessed 6 June 2014</ref> Thelwall died on 8 October 1630, aged 68 and was buried in Jesus College Chapel where a monument was erected to his memory by his brother Sir Bevis Thelwall (Page of the King's Bedchamber and Clerk of the Great Wardrobe).<ref>{{Cite DNB|wstitle= Thelwall, Eubule |volume= 56 |last= Lloyd |first= John Edward |author-link= John Edward Lloyd |page= 110 |year=1885 |short=1}}</ref>

Other benefactions in the 17th century include [[Herbert Westfaling]], the [[Bishop of Hereford]], who left enough property to support two fellowships and scholarships (with the significant proviso that "my kindred shallbe always preferred before anie others").<ref>{{cite ODNB| url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29111| title = Westfaling, Herbert (1531/2–1602)| access-date =29 June 2006| last = Speight| first = Martin | year = 2004 | doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/29111}}</ref> Sir [[Eubule Thelwall (politician)|Eubule Thelwall]] (principal 1621–1630) spent much of his own money on the construction of a chapel, hall and library for the college. The library, constructed above an over-weak [[colonnade]], was pulled down under the principalship of [[Francis Mansell]] (1630–1649), who also built two staircases of residential accommodation to attract the sons of Welsh gentry families to the college.<ref name=Benefactors />

The [[English Civil War]] "all but destroyed the corporate life of the college."<ref name = VCH265>Baker (1954), p. 265.</ref> Mansell was removed from his position as principal and [[Michael Roberts (college principal)|Michael Roberts]] was installed.  After [[Stuart Restoration|the Restoration]], Mansell was briefly reinstated as principal, before resigning in favour of [[Leoline Jenkins]].<ref name = VCH265 /><ref name = VCH266>Baker (1954), p. 266</ref> It was Jenkins (principal 1661–1673) who secured the long-term viability of the college.  On his death, in 1685, he bequeathed a large complex of estates, acquired largely by lawyer friends from the over-mortgaged landowners of the Restoration period. These estates allowed the college's sixteen fellowships and scholarships to be filled for the first time&nbsp;– officially, sixteen of each had been supported since 1622, but the college's income was too small to keep all occupied simultaneously.<ref name=Benefactors>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/benefactors.php |title=Benefactors |access-date=29 June 2006 |author=Jesus College, Oxford |date=14 May 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060329100937/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/benefactors.php |archive-date=29 March 2006 }}</ref> In 1713, the bequest of Welsh clergyman and former student [[Edmund Meyrick]]e established a number of scholarships for students from north Wales, although these are now available to all Welsh students.<ref name=VCH267>Baker (1954), p. 267</ref>

=== 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 />

=== 20th century ===
During the [[First World War]], "the college in the ordinary sense almost ceased to exist".<ref name= VCH269 /> From 129 students in the summer of 1914, numbers dropped to 36 in the spring of 1916.  Some refugee students from Belgium and Serbia lodged in empty rooms in the college during 1916, and officers of the [[Royal Flying Corps]] resided from August 1916 to December 1918. After the war, numbers rose and fellowships were added in new subjects: history (1919 and 1933); theology (1927); physics (1934); a second fellowship in chemistry (1924); and modern languages (lectureship 1921, fellowship 1944). The improved teaching led to greater success in university examinations and prizes.<ref name=VCH270>Baker (1954), p. 270</ref>

[[File:Harold_Wilson.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=A man in his late 40s, with short greying hair in a slight wave, wearing a dark jacket and tie with a white shirt|[[Harold Wilson]], who was twice [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]], studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) at Jesus College, graduating with first class honours.]]
In the inter-war years (1918–1939) Jesus was seen by some as a small college and something of a backwater; it attracted relatively few pupils from the [[Independent school (UK)|public schools]] traditionally seen as the most prestigious.<ref>{{cite book | last = Pimlott | first = Ben | title = Harold Wilson | year = 1992 | publisher = Harper Collins | location = London | isbn = 0-00-215189-8}}</ref> The college did, however, attract many academically able entrants from the [[Grammar schools in the United Kingdom|grammar schools]] (particularly those in [[northern England]] and Scotland). Among these grammar-school boys was [[Harold Wilson]], who would later become [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/cent20.php |title=The 20th Century |access-date=4 April 2006 |author=Jesus College, Oxford |date=18 July 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060101212330/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/cent20.php |archive-date=1 January 2006 }}</ref> During the Second World War, many of the fellows served in the armed forces or carried out war work in Oxford. The college remained full of students, though, as it provided lodgings for students from other colleges whose buildings had been requisitioned, and also housed officers on military courses.<ref name=VCH271>Baker (1954), p. 271</ref>

The college had its own science laboratories from 1907 to 1947, which were overseen (for all but the last three years) by the [[physical chemistry|physical chemist]] [[David Chapman (scientist)|David Chapman]], a fellow of the college from 1907 to 1944. At the time of their closure, they were the last college-based science laboratories at the university.<ref name=Chapman>{{cite ODNB | url= http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32364 | title= Chapman, David Leonard (1869–1958) | last= Bowen | first= E. J. | author-link= E. J. Bowen |author2 = rev. [[Keith J. Laidler|Laidler, Keith J]] | year= 2004 | doi= 10.1093/ref:odnb/32364 |access-date=2 April 2009}}</ref> They were named the [[Leoline Jenkins|Sir Leoline Jenkins]] laboratories, after a former principal of the college. The laboratories led to scientific research and tuition (particularly in chemistry) becoming an important part of the college's academic life.<ref name=labs>{{cite journal |journal=Jesus College Record |year=1996 |orig-year=1995 |title= Sir Leoline Jenkins Laboratories 1907–47 |pages=46–57 |last=Long |first=Derek}}</ref> The brochure produced for the opening ceremony noted that the number of science students at the college had increased rapidly in recent years, and that provision of college laboratories would assist the tuition of undergraduates, as well as attracting to Jesus College graduates of the [[University of Wales]] who wished to continue their research at Oxford. A link between one of the college science lecturers and [[Imperial Chemical Industries]] (ICI) led to 17 students joining ICI between the two World Wars, some, such as [[John Rose (chemist)|John Rose]], reaching senior levels in the company. The laboratories became unnecessary when the university began to provide centralised facilities for students; they were closed in 1947.<ref name=labs />

The quatercentenary of the college, in 1971, saw the opening of the Old Members' Buildings in the third quadrangle.<ref name=Hibbert /> Further student accommodation has been built at the sports ground and at a site in north Oxford.<ref name=Accomm /> In 1974, Jesus was among the first group of five men's colleges to admit women as members, the others being [[Brasenose College, Oxford|Brasenose]], [[Wadham College, Oxford|Wadham]], [[Hertford College, Oxford|Hertford]] and [[St Catherine's College, Oxford|St Catherine's]];<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> between one-third and one-half of the undergraduates are women.<ref name=Modern /> A long-standing [[Colleges of the University of Oxford#College rivalries|rivalry]] with nearby [[Exeter College, Oxford|Exeter College]] reached a peak in 1979, with seven police vehicles and three fire engines involved in dealing with trouble in Turl Street.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Record|year=2018 |publisher=Jesus College |url=https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2019-02/The%20Record%202018.pdf 
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214115725/https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2019-02/The%20Record%202018.pdf |archive-date=14 February 2019}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> [[John Habakkuk|Sir John Habakkuk]] (principal 1967–1984) and [[Peter North (academic)|Sir Peter North]] (principal 1984–2005) both served terms as Vice-Chancellor of the university, from 1973 to 1977 and from 1993 to 1997 respectively.<ref name=Modern>{{cite web |url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/modernday.php |title=The Modern Day |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |date=27 September 2005 |access-date=9 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424071835/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/modernday.php |archive-date=24 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===21st century===
The hereditary [[visitor]] of the college remains the [[Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery|Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery]] ''[[ex officio]]''.{{r|jesus-ox-statutes}} The current visitor is [[William Herbert, 18th Earl of Pembroke | William Herbert, 18th Earl of Pembroke, 15th Earl of Montgomery]]. Jesus, [[Magdalene College, Cambridge]] and [[Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge]] are the only three [[Oxbridge]] colleges that continue to prescribe by [[statute]] visitations held by [[hereditary peers]].

== Location and buildings ==

{{Main|Buildings of Jesus College, Oxford}}
The main buildings are located in the centre of Oxford, between [[Turl Street]], [[Ship Street, Oxford|Ship Street]], [[Cornmarket Street]] and [[Market Street, Oxford|Market Street]]. The main entrance is on Turl Street. The buildings are arranged in three [[quadrangle (architecture)|quadrangles]], the first quadrangle containing the oldest college buildings and the third quadrangle the newest. The foundation charter gave to the college a site between Market Street and Ship Street (which is still occupied by the college) as well as the buildings of a defunct university [[academic halls of the University of Oxford|academic hall]] on the site, called White Hall.<ref name=Hardy9>Hardy, p. 9</ref> The buildings that now surround the first quadrangle were erected in stages between 1571 and the 1620s; the principal's lodgings were the last to be built. Progress was slow because the new college lacked the "generous endowments" that earlier colleges enjoyed.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tyack|first=Geoffrey|title=Oxford: an architectural guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FsOx8eHkOC8C|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-19-817423-3|access-date=26 June 2009|page=82}}</ref> Before new buildings were completed, the students lived in the old buildings of White Hall.<ref name=Hardy17>Hardy, p. 17</ref>

=== First quadrangle ===

[[File:Chapel engraving 2.jpg|thumb|left|The interior of the chapel (depicted in 1814, before alterations in the mid-19th century)]]

The chapel was dedicated on 28 May 1621, and extended in 1636.<ref name=VCH272>Baker (1954), p. 272</ref> The architectural historian [[Giles Worsley]] has described the chapel's east window (added in 1636) as an instance of [[Gothic Revival]] architecture, rather than Gothic Survival, since a choice was made to use an outdated style&nbsp;– [[classical architecture]] had become accepted as "the only style in which it was respectable to build".<ref name=Worsley>{{cite journal|title=The Origins of the Gothic Revival: A Reappraisal: The Alexander Prize Essay|last=Worsley|first=Giles|author-link=Giles Worsley|journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society|series= Sixth Series|volume=3|year=1993|pages=108–109|publisher=[[Royal Historical Society]]|doi=10.2307/3679138|jstor=3679138|s2cid=164031458 }}</ref> [[Jonathan Edwards (academic)|Jonathan Edwards]] (principal from 1686 to 1712) is reported to have spent £1,000 (approximately £{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|1000|1712|r=-2}}|0}} in present-day terms){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} during his lifetime on the interior of the chapel, including the addition of a screen separating the main part of the chapel from the [[ante-chapel]] (at the west end) in 1693.<ref name=Hardy172 /> In 1853, [[stained glass]] by [[George Hedgeland]] was added to the east window.<ref name=VCH276>Baker (1954), p. 276</ref> In 1863, the architect [[George Edmund Street]] was appointed to renovate the chapel. The arch of the [[chancel]] was widened, the original Jacobean woodwork was removed (save for the screen donated by Edwards and the pulpit), new seats were installed, new paving was placed in the main part of the chapel and a stone [[reredos]] was added behind the altar.<ref name=VCH276>Baker (1954), p. 276</ref><ref name=Hardy223>Hardy, p. 233</ref> Views of the changes have differed. On 21 October 1864, ''Building News'' reported that the restoration was nearing completion and was of "a very spirited character". It said that the new "handsome" arch showed the east window "to great advantage", with "other improvements" including a "handsome reredos".<ref name=VCH276 /> [[Ernest George Hardy|Ernest Hardy]], principal from 1921 to 1925, said that the work was "ill-considered",<ref name=Hardy172 /> described the reredos as "somewhat tawdry" and said that the Jacobean woodwork had been sold off too cheaply.<ref name=Hardyx>Hardy, p. x</ref> In contrast, the architectural historian [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] called the reredos "heavily gorgeous".<ref name=Pevsner143>Pevsner, p. 143</ref>

[[File:JesusCollegePrincipalsLodge.png|thumb|right|View of the Principal's Lodging in the first quad]]

The principal of the college resides in the lodgings, a Grade I listed building,<ref name=IOElodgings>{{NHLE|num=1046727|desc=Jesus College Principal's Lodgings|year=2007|access-date=15 June 2009}}</ref> on the north side of the first quadrangle between the chapel (to the east) and the hall (to the west). They were the last part of the first quadrangle to be built.<ref name=Hardy39>Hardy, p. 39</ref> Sir Eubule Thelwall, principal from 1621 to 1630, built the lodgings at his own expense, to include (in the words of the antiquarian [[Anthony Wood (antiquary)|Anthony Wood]]) "a very fair dining-room adorned with wainscot curiously engraven".<ref>Quoted by Hardy, p. 60</ref> The [[hood mould|shell-hood]] over the doorway (which Pevsner called "beautiful")<ref name=Pevsner143 /> was added at some point between 1670 and 1740; Pevsner dates it to about 1700.<ref name=Hardyx /><ref name=Pevsner143 />

[[File:JesusCollegeWoodPanelDetail.png|thumb|left|Wood paneling detail dating to the early 1600s in the Jesus College Oxford dining hall. The hall, like the chapel, was largely built by Griffith Powell between 1613 and 1620, and was finally completed soon after his death in 1620.<ref name=Hardy39/> A wooden paneled screen (depicted) was installed in 1634.]]

The hall has been said to be "among the most impressive of all the Oxford college halls", with its "fine panelling, austere ceiling, and its notable paintings".<ref>{{cite book|title=Oxford and Cambridge in pictures|last=Burnett|first=Richard George |year=1950|publisher=Phoenix House|page=82|isbn=978-1-125-55554-5}}</ref> Like the chapel, it was largely built by Griffith Powell between 1613 and 1620, and was finally completed soon after his death in 1620.<ref name=Hardy39 /> Pevsner noted the "elaborately decorated columns" of the screen (installed in 1634) and the dragons along the frieze, and said that it was one of the earliest examples in Oxford of panelling using four "L" shapes around a centre.<ref name=VCH272 /><ref name=Pevsner39>Pevsner, p. 39</ref> In 1741 and 1742, the oak-beamed roof was covered with plaster to make rooms in the roof space.<ref name=VCH275>Baker (1954), p. 275</ref><ref name=Hardy173>Hardy, p. 173</ref> Pevsner described the 1741 [[Cartouche (design)|cartouche]] on the north wall, which contains the college crest, as "large [and] rich".<ref name=Pevsner144 /> The hall contains a portrait of Elizabeth I, as well as portraits of former principals and benefactors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/tour/hall.php |title=Hall |date=29 December 2000 |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |access-date=22 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080715163323/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/tour/hall.php |archive-date=15 July 2008 }}</ref> There are also portraits by court artists of two other monarchs who were college benefactors: [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] (by [[Anthony van Dyck]]) and [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] (by [[Peter Lely|Sir Peter Lely]]).<ref name=VCH278>Baker (1954), p. 278</ref>

=== Second quadrangle ===
[[File:JesusCollegeOxfordQuad3.jpg|right|thumb|North facing view of the second Quadrangle with the [[Dutch gables]] around the top of the buildings and flora visible]]

In 1640, Francis Mansell (appointed principal in 1630) began construction of a second quadrangle with buildings along the north and south sides; further work was interrupted by the [[English Civil War]].<ref>Baker (1971), pp. 1–2</ref><ref name=Hardy91>Hardy, p. 91</ref> Work began again in 1676, and the library (now the Fellows' Library) was completed by 1679.<ref name=Hardy172>Hardy, p. 172</ref><ref name=VCH274>Baker (1954), p. 274</ref> Under Jonathan Edwards (principal from 1688 to 1712), further rooms were built to complete the quadrangle; the project was completed just after his death in 1712.<ref name=Hardy172 /> Pevsner described the second quadrangle as "a uniform composition", noting the "regular fenestration by windows with round-arched lights, their hood-moulds forming a continuous frieze".<ref name=Pevsner144>Pevsner, p. 144</ref> The [[Dutch gables]] have [[ogee]] sides and semi-circular [[pediments]].<ref name=Pevsner144 /> The writer [[Simon Jenkins]] said that the quadrangle has "the familiar Oxford Tudor windows and decorative Dutch gables, crowding the skyline like Welsh dragons' teeth and lightened by exuberant flower boxes".<ref>{{cite book|title=England's Thousand Best Houses|last=Jenkins|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Jenkins|page=680|isbn=978-0-14-103929-9 |year=2009|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]}}</ref>

The Fellows' Library contains bookcases decorated with [[strapwork]] dating from about 1628, which were used in an earlier library in the college.<ref name=Pevsner144 /> Hardy's opinion was that, "if only it had an open timber roof instead of the plain ceiling, it would be one of the most picturesque College Libraries".<ref name=Hardyx /><ref>Hardy, p. xi</ref> Another author said (in 1914, after the provision of a library for undergraduates elsewhere in the quadrangle) that it was "one of the most charming of Oxford libraries, and one of the least frequented".<ref name=Gibson>{{cite book|title=Some Oxford libraries|year=1914|oclc=3791497|last=Gibson|first=Strickland|page=[https://archive.org/details/someoxfordlibrar00gibsrich/page/89 89]|url=https://archive.org/details/someoxfordlibrar00gibsrich|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|access-date=28 June 2009|isbn=1-55014-330-1}}</ref> It holds 11,000 antiquarian printed books and houses many of the college's rare texts, including a Greek bible dating from 1545 and signed by [[Philipp Melanchthon]] and others, much of the library of the scholar and philosopher [[Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury|Lord Herbert of Cherbury]] and 17th-century volumes by [[Robert Boyle]] and [[Sir Isaac Newton]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Jesus College Record |year=1994 |orig-year=1993 |title=College News and Notes|pages=6–7}}</ref><ref name=Appeal>{{cite journal|title=Fellows' Library Appeal launched |journal=Jesus College Newsletter |url=http://alumni.jesus.ox.ac.uk/MT07Newsletter.pdf |access-date=25 June 2009 |year=2007 |issue=8 |pages=1–2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5kF2T4BD5?url=http://alumni.jesus.ox.ac.uk/MT07Newsletter.pdf |archive-date= 3 October 2009 }}</ref>

=== Third quadrangle ===
[[File:Jesus College Third Quad.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A narrow courtyard, longer than it is wide; a tree at the far end and hanging baskets of flowers on each side; tall stone buildings on each side, the ones at the far end topped with crenellations; a large archway on the left; above roof-level, a tall metal spire|The third quadrangle from the steps of the Old Members' Building looking east; the Ship Street entrance is through the archway on the left; the spire in the distance is the chapel of [[Exeter College, Oxford|Exeter College]].]]
The long but narrow third quadrangle adjoins Ship Street, on the north of the site and to the west of the garden of the principal's lodgings, where the college has owned some land since its foundation. In the 18th century, this was home to the college stables. A fire in 1904 led to the demolition of the stables and the gateway to Ship Street.<ref name=Third>{{cite web |url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/thirdquad.php |title=The Third Quad |date=29 December 2000 |access-date=23 June 2009 |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424071851/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/thirdquad.php |archive-date=24 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Replacement buildings adjoining Ship Street, effectively creating a third quadrangle for the college, were constructed between 1906 and 1908.<ref name=VCH277>Baker (1954), p. 277</ref> It contained the college's science laboratories (now closed) and a new gate-tower, as well as further living accommodation and a library for students, known as the [[Edmund Meyrick|Meyricke]] Library, after a major donor&nbsp;– there had been an undergraduate library in the second quadrangle since 1865, known as the Meyricke Library from 1882 onwards.<ref name=Third /><ref name=VCH277 />

The Old Members' Building, which contains a music room, 24 study-bedrooms and some lecture rooms, was built between 1969 and 1971.<ref name=Pevsner144 /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/tour/oldmembersbuilding.php |title=Old Members' Building |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |date=29 December 2000 |access-date=22 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412131034/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/tour/oldmembersbuilding.php |archive-date=12 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It was built after a fundraising appeal to [[Old Member]]s to mark the college's quatercentenary, and was opened by the [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]] in 1971.<ref name=Hibbert>{{cite encyclopedia | editor = Hibbert, Christopher | encyclopedia =[[The Encyclopaedia of Oxford]] | title = Jesus College | year = 1992 | publisher = [[Pan Macmillan]] | location = London | isbn = 0-333-48614-5 | page = 201 | editor-link = Christopher Hibbert}}</ref> The Fellows' Garden is between the Old Members' Building and the rear of the rooms on the west side of the second quadrangle. In 2002, a two-year project to rebuild the property above the college-owned shops on Ship Street was completed. As part of the work, the bottom floor was converted from rooms occupied by students and fellows into a new [[Junior Common Room]] (JCR), to replace the common room in the second quadrangle, which was by then too small to cope with the increased numbers of students.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Jesus College Record|year=2002|last=Clarke|first=Peter|title=College News and Notes|pages=3–5}}</ref>

=== Fourth quadrangle ===
In 2019, work began on redevelopment of a commercial property, Northgate House, owned by the college on the corner of [[Cornmarket Street|Cornmarket]] and Market Streets, to provide new student accommodation above retail facilities with a new quad and other teaching facilities behind, projected for completion to mark the college's 450th anniversary in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jesus College demolition scheme in Cornmarket reaches new phase|first=Andrew|last=Ffrench|url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/17546517.jesus-college-demolition-scheme-in-cornmarket-reaches-new-phase/|work=[[Oxford Mail]]|date=2019-04-03|access-date=2019-09-24}}</ref> The new building is named the Cheng Yu-tung building after the late billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist [[Cheng Yu-tung]] whose family provided the principal donation for the project.
[[File:JesusCollege4thQuadBalconyView.png|thumb|View of the fourth quadrangle: the Cheng Yu Tung building at Jesus College Oxford, completed in 2021.]]

=== Other buildings ===
The college purchased {{convert|10|acre|km2 sqmi}} of land in east Oxford (near the [[Cowley Road, Oxford|Cowley Road]]) in 1903 for use as a sports ground.<ref name=Accomm /> Residential accommodation was first built at the sports ground in 1967 (Thelwall House, rebuilt in 1998), with additions between 1988 and 1990 (Hugh Price House and Leoline Jenkins House). A further development, known as Hazel Court (after [[Alfred Hazel]], principal 1925–1944), was built in 2000, bringing the total number of students who can be housed at the sports ground to 135.<ref name=Accomm /><ref name=North>{{cite journal|journal=Jesus College Record|last=North|first=Peter|author-link=Peter North (academic)|year=2001|page=5|title=College News and Notes}}</ref>

Donations from [[Arthur Edwin Stevens|Edwin Stevens]], an Old Member of the college, enabled the construction in 1974 of student flats at a site in north Oxford on the [[Woodstock Road (Oxford)|Woodstock Road]], named "Stevens Close" in his honour.<ref name=Accomm>{{cite web|title=Accommodation|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/accommodation.php|date=3 September 2001|access-date=22 June 2009|publisher=Jesus College, Oxford|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424071745/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/accommodation.php|archive-date=24 April 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The college also owns a number of houses on Ship Street, which are used for student accommodation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/tour/shipstreet.php|title=Ship Street|publisher=Jesus College, Oxford|date=29 December 2000|access-date=22 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424071942/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/tour/shipstreet.php|archive-date=24 April 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> It purchased a further site in Ship Street at a cost of £1.8M, which was converted at a projected cost of £5.5M to provide 31&nbsp;student rooms with en-suite facilities, a 100-seat lecture theatre and other teaching rooms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alumni.jesus.ox.ac.uk/shipstreet/index.php|title=The Ship Street Centre: Home|publisher=Jesus College, Oxford|year=2009|access-date=23 June 2009}} {{dead link|date=April 2012|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://alumni.jesus.ox.ac.uk/shipstreet/support.php|title=The Ship Street Centre: Supporting the project|publisher=Jesus College, Oxford|year=2009|access-date=23 June 2009}} {{dead link|date=April 2012|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> The Ship Street Centre was officially opened by the [[Chancellor of the University of Oxford]], [[Lord Patten of Barnes]], on 25 September 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/news/2010/september/opening-of-ship-street-centre|title=Opening of Ship Street Centre|publisher=Jesus College, Oxford|date=25 September 2010|access-date=6 October 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101018054655/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/news/2010/september/opening-of-ship-street-centre|archive-date=18 October 2010}}</ref>

== People associated with the college ==

=== Principals and Fellows ===
{{Main|List of Principals and Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford}}
[[File:Lodgings and chapel, Jesus College.jpg|thumb|alt=Adjoining buildings with battlements to the side of an area of grass; on the left, regularly-placed windows in a three-storey building, and foliage and flowers growing above and around a stone canopy over the doorway; on the right, a chapel with three arched windows and a stone porch; a bench alongside the chapel, and a tree at the far right|The Principal's Lodgings (left) and the chapel (right) are located within the First Quad of Jesus College.]]

[[File:Lodgings front door.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A large decorated shell-like stone canopy, with a shield in the centre and carved foliage around; beneath it, a wooden door with brass handle and knocker, set into a stone building; foliage grows above and around the canopy|Front door of the principal's lodgings, showing the shell-hood of c.1700]]

The college is run by the Principal and [[Fellow]]s. The Principal must be "a person distinguished for literary or scientific attainments, or for services in the work of education in the University or elsewhere".<ref>Statute III "The Principal", clause 1 "Qualifications"</ref> The Principal has "pre-eminence and authority over all members of the College and all persons connected therewith" and exercises "a general superintendence in all matters relating to education and discipline".<ref>Statute III, clause 4(a) "Duties"</ref> The current Principal, [[Nigel Shadbolt|Sir Nigel Shadbolt]], was appointed in 2015.<ref name="New Principal, Jesus College" /> Fourteen Principals have been former students of the college: [[Griffith Powell]] (elected in 1613) was the first and [[Alfred Hazel]] (elected in 1925) was the most recent. The longest-serving principal was [[Henry Foulkes]], from 1817 to 1857.<ref>Baker (1954), pp. 278–279</ref>

When the college was founded in 1571, the first charter installed [[David Lewis (lawyer)|David Lewis]] as Principal and named eight others as the first Fellows of the college.<ref name=Founders>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/founders.php |title=Jesus College, Oxford&nbsp;– The Founders |date=14 November 2000 |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |access-date=24 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061026145636/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/founders.php |archive-date=26 October 2006 }}</ref> The statutes of 1622 allowed for 16 Fellows.<ref name=Benefactors /> There is now no limit on the number of Fellowships that the Governing Body can create.<ref>Statute IV "The Fellows", clause 3 "Number of Fellowships"</ref> The college statutes provide for various categories of Fellows.<ref name="The Fellows">Statute IV, clause 1 "Classes of Fellows and qualifications"</ref> Professorial Fellows are those [[Professor]]s and [[Reader (academic rank)|Readers]] of the university who are allocated to the college by the university.<ref>Statute IV, clause 5 "Professorial Fellowships"</ref> One of these professorships is the [[Jesus Professor of Celtic]], which is the only chair in [[Celtic Studies]] at an English university. Celtic scholars such as [[John Rhys|Sir John Rhys]] and [[Ellis Evans]] have held the position since its creation in 1877.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/celtic/|title=Celtic at Oxford|access-date=15 July 2007}}</ref> The chair is currently held by [[David Willis (linguist)|David Willis]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/about-jesus-college/news/2020/january/dr-david-willis-appointed-new-jesus-chair-celtic|title=Dr David Willis appointed as the new Jesus Chair of Celtic|access-date=11 February 2020|archive-date=13 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413074937/https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/about-jesus-college/news/2020/january/dr-david-willis-appointed-new-jesus-chair-celtic|url-status=dead}}</ref> who took up the position in 2020 after the previous holder [[Thomas Charles-Edwards]] retired in 2011.<ref name=TCE><!--?REPEAT1?-->{{cite web |url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/staff/charlesedwards.php |title=Professor Thomas Charles-Edwards |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |date=18 January 2006 |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080601184649/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/staff/charlesedwards.php |archive-date=1 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=[[John Krebs, Baron Krebs|Lord Krebs]]|year=2011|title=The Principal's Report|journal=Jesus College Record|pages=5–6}}</ref> The zoologists [[Charles Godfray]] and [[Paul H. Harvey|Paul Harvey]] are both Professorial Fellows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/staff/personal/godfray_hcj.htm|title=Charles Godfray|publisher=Department of Zoology, University of Oxford|date=6 March 2008|access-date=3 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930051754/http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/staff/personal/godfray_hcj.htm|archive-date=30 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/staff/harvey.php |title=Professor Paul Harvey |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |access-date=7 July 2008 |date=23 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080601185137/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/staff/harvey.php |archive-date=1 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Official Fellows are those who hold tutorial or administrative appointments in the college. Past Official Fellows include the composer and musicologist [[John Caldwell (musicologist)|John Caldwell]], the historians [[Goronwy Edwards|Sir Goronwy Edwards]] and [[Niall Ferguson]], the philosopher [[Galen Strawson]] and the political philosopher [[John N. Gray|John Gray]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=De'Ath|first=John|year=1999|title=Fellows' News|journal=Jesus College Record|pages=15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sir Goronwy Edwards&nbsp;– A loyal and learned Welshman|date=21 June 1976|work=[[The Times]]|page=16}}</ref><ref name=Ferguson>{{cite journal|last=Clarke|first=Peter|year=2002|title=Fellows' News|journal=Jesus College Record|pages=18}}</ref><ref name=Strawson>{{cite journal|last=De'Ath|first=John|year=2000|title=Fellows' News|journal=Jesus College Record|pages=19}}</ref><ref name=Gray>{{cite journal|last=De'Ath|first=John |year=1998 |orig-year=1997 |title=Fellows' News|journal=Jesus College Record|pages=15}}</ref> There are also Senior and Junior Research Fellows. Principals and Fellows who retire can be elected as [[Emeritus]] Fellows.<ref name="The Fellows" />

A further category is that of Welsh Supernumerary Fellows, who are, in rotation, the [[Vice-Chancellor]]s of [[Cardiff University]], [[Swansea University]], [[Lampeter University]], [[Aberystwyth University]], [[Bangor University]] and the [[University of Wales College of Medicine]].<ref name="The Fellows" /> There is one Welsh Supernumerary Fellow at a time, holding the position for not longer than three years.<ref>Statute IV, clause 4 "Welsh Supernumerary"</ref> The first of these was [[John Viriamu Jones]] in 1897.<ref name="Baker62">Baker (1971), pp. 62–63</ref>

The college formerly had a category of [[missionary]] Fellows, known as Leoline Fellows after their founder, [[Leoline Jenkins]] (a former principal). In his will in 1685, he stated that "It is but too obvious that the persons in Holy Orders employed in his Majesty's fleet at sea and foreign plantations are too few." To address this, he established two Fellowships at Jesus College, whose holders should serve as clergy "in any of his Majesty's fleets or in his Majesty's plantations" under the direction of the [[British Admiralty|Lord High Admiral]] and the [[Bishop of London]] respectively. The last of these, [[Frederick de Winton]], was appointed in 1876 and held his Fellowship until his death in 1932. This category was abolished in 1877 by the Oxford and Cambridge Universities Commission, without prejudice to the rights of existing holders such as de Winton.<ref name=Hazel>{{cite news|title=The Rev. F. H. de Winton|last=Hazel|first=Alfred|author-link=Alfred Hazel|date=3 May 1932|work=The Times|page=19}}</ref> Another category of Fellowship that was abolished in the 19th century was that of the [[Charles I of Great Britain|King Charles I]] Fellows, founded by King Charles in 1636 and tenable by natives of the [[Channel Islands]] in an attempt by him to "reclaim the Channel Islands from the extreme Calvinism which characterised them."<ref name=Hardy77>Hardy, p. 77</ref> The first such Fellow was [[Daniel Brevint]].<ref name=Hardy77 />

=== Honorary Fellows ===
{{Main|List of Honorary Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford}}
[[File:David Lloyd George 1911.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A man in his late 40s, with brown hair and moustache, wearing a black suit, white wing-collared shirt and black tie, together with a black gown repeatedly patterned in gold brocade; he sits in a chair, holding a piece of paper in his right hand|[[David Lloyd George]], pictured in 1911, was elected an Honorary Fellow of the college in 1910 and said that he would prize no honour more highly.]]
The Governing Body has the ability to elect "distinguished persons" to Honorary Fellowships.<ref name=clause23>Statute IV "The Fellows", clause 23 "Honorary Fellowships"</ref> Under the current statutes of the college, Honorary Fellows cannot vote at meetings of the Governing Body and do not receive financial reward.<ref name=clause23 /> They can be called upon, however, to help decide whether to dismiss or discipline members of academic staff (including the Principal).<ref>Statute V "The Academic Staff", clauses 11, 16, 29 and 42</ref>

Three former principals of the college ([[John Traill Christie|John Christie]], [[John Habakkuk|Sir John Habakkuk]] and [[Peter North (academic)|Sir Peter North]]) have been elected Honorary Fellows on retirement.<ref name=Clarke2004>{{cite journal|last=Clarke|first=Peter|year=2004|title=Editorial|journal=Jesus College Record|pages=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=News from the Universities |date=25 October 1967|work=The Times |page=12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2002-3/weekly/160103/coll.htm |title=Memorial Services: All Souls and Jesus College |work=Oxford University Gazette |date=16 January 2003 |publisher=University of Oxford |access-date=30 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051229185344/http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2002-3/weekly/160103/coll.htm |archive-date=29 December 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Some Honorary Fellows were formerly Fellows of the college, others were [[Old Member]]s of the college, and some were in both categories. Others had no previous academic connection with the college before their election. Some of these were distinguished Welshmen&nbsp;– for example, the Welsh businessman [[Alfred Lewis Jones|Sir Alfred Jones]] was elected in 1902 and the Welsh judge [[Samuel Thomas Evans|Sir Samuel Evans]], President of the [[Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division]] of the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]], was elected in 1918.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Times|date=24 May 1902 |title=University Intelligence|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Fellowship for Sir S. Evans |work=The Times|date=19 March 1918|page=3}}</ref> The Welsh politician [[David Lloyd George]] was elected to an Honorary Fellowship in 1910 when he was [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]. He wrote to Sir John Rhys, the Principal at the time, to thank the college for the honour, saying:

{{blockquote|I wish to express to you and to the Fellows of Jesus College my deep sense of the great honour which you have done me in electing me to be one of your body. It is a very special gratification to me to be associated in this intimate way with Jesus College. As a Welshman, I have watched with pleasure and pride the prosperity, especially since you have been Principal, of the college which is so closely connected with our country, little thinking ever to find myself a member of it; and I can honestly say that no honour can fall to my lot which I shall prize more highly than this Fellowship which you have conferred upon me. Please accept and express to the Fellows of the college my hearty and sincere thanks. Ever yours sincerely, D. LLOYD GEORGE.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Times|page=5|date=12 July 1910|title=University Intelligence}}</ref>}}

The first three Honorary Fellows, all former students of the college, were elected in October 1877: John Rhys, the first Jesus Professor of Celtic (later an Official Fellow (1881–1895) and Principal (1895–1915)); the historian [[John Richard Green]]; and the poet [[Lewis Morris (1833–1907)|Lewis Morris]].<ref name=VCH>Baker (1954)</ref> The college noted in 1998 that the number of Honorary Fellows of the college was markedly below the average of other Oxford colleges and it adopted a more methodical approach to increase numbers.<ref name=methodical>{{cite journal |year=1999 |orig-year=1998 |title=Fellows' News| journal=Jesus College Record |pages=12 |last=De'Ath |first=John}}</ref> Seven Honorary Fellows were elected that year, followed by another five in 1999. The college's Honorary Fellows have included two Old Members who later became Prime Minister of their respective countries: [[Norman Washington Manley]], who studied at Jesus College as a [[Rhodes Scholar]] and who was [[Prime Minister of Jamaica|Chief Minister of Jamaica]] from 1955 to 1962, and [[Harold Wilson]], who was twice [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] (1964–1970 and 1974–1976).<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/34849|title=Manley, Norman Washington (1893–1969)|last=Sealy|first=T. E|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/34849|access-date=14 July 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Wilson of Rievaulx|work=Who Was Who|url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U176314|url-access=subscription |date=December 2007| publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref> The first female honorary fellow was the journalist and broadcaster [[Francine Stock]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Krebs|first=Lord|author-link=John Krebs, Baron Krebs|journal=Jesus College Record|year=2007|title=The Principal's Report|pages=10}}</ref>

=== Alumni ===
{{hatnote<!-- generic template chosen because {{main}} would produce ugly repetition of "Jesus College, Oxford"  -->|For more information about the college's alumni, see [[List of alumni of Jesus College, Oxford|the main list of alumni]] and further lists for [[List of clergy educated at Jesus College, Oxford|clergy and theologians]], for [[List of politicians, lawyers, and civil servants educated at Jesus College, Oxford|politicians, lawyers, and civil servants]] and for [[List of mathematicians, physicians, and scientists educated at Jesus College, Oxford|mathematicians, physicians, and scientists]].}}

[[File:Kevin_Rudd_DFAT_(smile).jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Kevin Rudd]], who was [[Prime Minister of Australia]], completed his [[DPhil]] at Jesus College Oxford]]

Notable former students of the college have included politicians, scientists, writers, entertainers and academics. [[T. E. Lawrence]] ("Lawrence of Arabia"), known for his part in the [[Arab Revolt]] of 1916–1918 and for his writings including ''[[Seven Pillars of Wisdom]]'', studied history at the college. His thesis on [[List of Crusader castles|Crusader castles]] (the fieldwork for which marked the beginning of his fascination with the [[Middle East]]) is held in the Fellows' Library.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/admissions/prospectus/history.php |title=History |work=Jesus College Prospectus |access-date=29 March 2007 |author=Jesus College, Oxford |date=27 December 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701212908/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/admissions/prospectus/history.php |archive-date=1 July 2007 }}</ref> Other former students include [[Harold Wilson]], who was [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] from 1964 to 1970 and 1974–1976, [[Kevin Rudd]] who was [[Prime Minister of Australia]], [[Norman Washington Manley]] who was [[Prime Minister of Jamaica]], [[Pixley ka Isaka Seme]] (a founder and president of the [[African National Congress]]), [[William Williams (speaker)|Sir William Williams]] ([[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of the [[United Kingdom House of Commons|House of Commons]] 1680–1685), and [[John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey|Lord Sankey]] ([[Lord Chancellor]] 1929–1935).<ref name=alumni>{{cite web|url=http://alumni.jesus.ox.ac.uk/notableOMs.php |year=2007 |access-date=21 September 2009 |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |title=Notable Old Members |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804154220/http://alumni.jesus.ox.ac.uk/notableOMs.php |archive-date=4 August 2009 }}</ref> Members of Parliament from the [[List of political parties in the United Kingdom#Major parties in the House of Commons|three main political parties]] in the United Kingdom have attended the college, as have politicians from Australia ([[Neal Blewett]]),<ref name="FN1998/9">{{cite journal |last=De'Ath |first=John |year=1999 |orig-year=1998 |title=Fellows' News|journal=Jesus College Record |pages=12}}</ref> New Zealand ([[Harold Rushworth]]),<ref>{{DNZB|last=Gustafson|first=Barry|author-link=Barry Gustafson|title=Rushworth, Harold Montague 1880–1950|id=4r30|access-date=5 April 2011}}</ref> Sri Lanka ([[Lalith Athulathmudali]])<ref>{{cite journal |title=Old Members' Notes and News |year=1994 |orig-year=1993 |journal=Jesus College Record |pages=72–73}}</ref> and the United States ([[Heather Wilson]]).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=w000789|title=Wilson, Heather, (1960&nbsp;– ) |work=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]] |publisher=[[United States Congress]] |access-date=4 February 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Siân_Lloyd_(weather_presenter).jpg|thumb|[[Siân Lloyd]] (weather presenter)]]
The founders' hopes that their college would produce prominent Welsh clergy were fulfilled in no small measure when a former student, [[A. G. Edwards (bishop)|A. G. Edwards]], was elected the first [[Archbishop of Wales]] when the [[Church in Wales]] was disestablished in 1920.<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32977|title=Edwards, Alfred George (1848–1937)|last=Duncan-Jones|first=A. S|author2=Jones, O. W|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/32977|access-date=14 July 2007}}</ref> Two later Archbishops of Wales, [[Glyn Simon]] (Archbishop from 1968 to 1971) and [[Gwilym Owen Williams]] (Archbishop 1971–1982) were also educated at the college.<ref name=alumni /> [[Celtic studies|Celticists]] associated with the college include [[John Rhys|Sir John Rhys]],<ref name="John Rhys">{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35734|title=Rhŷs, Sir John (1840–1915)|last=Fraser|first=John|author-link=John Fraser (Celticist)|author2=Williams, Mari A|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/35734|access-date=14 July 2007}}</ref> [[John Morris-Jones|Sir John Morris-Jones]],<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35120|title=Jones, Sir John Morris- (1864–1929)|last=Williams|first=I.|author2=Rees, D. Ben|editor1-first=D. Ben|editor1-last=Rees|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/35120|access-date=18 July 2007}}</ref> and [[T. H. Parry-Williams|Sir Thomas (T. H.) Parry-Williams]],<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/37835|title=Williams, Sir Thomas Herbert Parry- (1887–1975)|last=Evans|first=Ellis|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/37835|author-link=Ellis Evans|access-date=25 July 2007}}</ref> whilst the list of historians includes the college's first graduate, [[David Powel]], who published the first printed history of Wales in 1584,<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/22643|title=Powel, David (1549x52–1598)|first=Ronald H|last=Fritze|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/22643|access-date=10 April 2008}}</ref> the Victorian historian [[John Richard Green|J. R. Green]],<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/11391|title=Green, John Richard (1837–1883)|last=Brundage|first=Anthony|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/11391|access-date=14 July 2007}}</ref> and the historian [[Richard J. Evans]]. [[Angus Buchanan (VC)|Angus Buchanan]] won the [[Victoria Cross]] during the First World War.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Jesus College Newsletter |title=From the Archives: A Jesus College VC |pages=10 |last=Dunhill |first=Rosemary |year=2006 |access-date=15 July 2007 |issue=5 |url=http://alumni.jesus.ox.ac.uk/NewsletterTT06.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701181516/http://alumni.jesus.ox.ac.uk/NewsletterTT06.pdf |archive-date= 1 July 2007 }}</ref> Record-breaking [[quadriplegic]] solo sailor [[Hilary Lister]] was also a student here,<ref>{{cite web|title=To France by mouth |url=http://www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/2005-06/v18n2/09.shtml |work=[[Oxford Today]] |publisher=[[University of Oxford]] |orig-year=Hilary Term |date=2006 |last=Villiers |first=Charles |access-date=1 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070823035954/http://www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/2005-06/v18n2/09.shtml |archive-date=23 August 2007 }}</ref> whilst from the field of arts and entertainment there are names such as [[Elwyn Brook-Jones]], actor, (1911–1962), [[Magnus Magnusson]], presenter of ''[[Mastermind (TV series)|Mastermind]]'',<ref name=alumni /> the National Poet of Wales [[Gwyn Thomas (poet)|Gwyn Thomas]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.academi.org/national-poet-of-wales/i/130562/|publisher=[[Literature Wales|Academi]]|title=National Poet of Wales: Gwyn Thomas|access-date=23 July 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913152907/http://www.academi.org/national-poet-of-wales/i/130562/|archive-date=13 September 2007}}</ref> and television weather presenters [[Kirsty McCabe]] and [[Siân Lloyd]].<ref name=alumni /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passedfailed-an-education-in-the-life-of-siacircn-lloyd-weather-presenter-448101.html|last=Sale|first=Jonathan|title=Passed/Failed: An education in the life of Siân Lloyd, weather presenter&nbsp;– "I'm the world's best crammer"|work=[[The Independent]]|date=10 May 2007|access-date=31 July 2009}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> [[Nigel Hitchin]], the [[Savilian Professor of Geometry]] at Oxford since 1997, studied at the college,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/~hitchin/|title=Hitchin's home page|publisher=Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford|access-date=15 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513035552/http://www2.maths.ox.ac.uk/~hitchin/|archive-date=13 May 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> as did [[Edward Hinds]] (a physicist who won the [[Rumford Medal]] in 2008),<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Jesus College Record|title=Honours, Awards and Qualifications|year=2008|page=118}}</ref> [[Chris Rapley]] (director of the [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/news/news07.php |title=New Director of Science Museum |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |date=23 July 2007 |access-date=2 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005214250/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/news/news07.php |archive-date= 5 October 2009 }}</ref> and the zoologists [[Edward Bagnall Poulton]] and [[James Brontë Gatenby]].<ref name=alumni />

== Student life ==
There are about 325 undergraduates and 150 postgraduates. About half of the undergraduates studied at state schools before coming to Oxford, and about 10% are from overseas.<ref name="UNI_PROSPECTUS" /> Students from the college participate in a variety of extracurricular activities. Some contribute to student journalism for ''[[Cherwell (newspaper)|Cherwell]]'' or ''[[The Oxford Student]]''. The [[Turl Street Arts Festival]] (a week-long student-organised event) is held annually in conjunction with the two other colleges on Turl Street, [[Exeter College, Oxford|Exeter]] and [[Lincoln College, Oxford|Lincoln]] colleges. The festival, which takes place in Fifth Week of [[Hilary term]], includes exhibitions, plays and concerts. Although the college does not award [[choral scholar]]ships, the chapel choir is well-attended by college members and others. The choir is non-auditioning for college members, and is run by one or more undergraduate [[organ scholar]]s.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Every three years, the college co-organises the [[Somerville-Jesus Ball]] on the grounds of [[Somerville College, Oxford|Somerville College]]. The last ball was held in April 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/news-events/event/somerville-jesus-ball/|title=The Somerville-Jesus Ball |date=30 April 2022}}</ref>

=== Sports ===
[[File:Jesus Sc XII.jpg|thumb|right|alt=An open square-topped stone archway, with a flower bed to the right and leaves growing above; written on the top of the arch "Men's 2nd Torpid 06"; to the right, a red dragon holds a green flag, above the words "Lincoln II / Balliol II / Somerville / Hertford II"|Doorway of staircase XII&nbsp;– chalk markings celebrate the success of the men's 2nd VIII in [[Torpids]] 2006]]
{{Main|Jesus College Boat Club (Oxford)}}
In common with many Oxford colleges, Jesus provides sporting facilities for students, including playing fields at a site in east Oxford off the [[Cowley Road]] known as Bartlemas (for its proximity to [[St Bartholomew's Chapel, Oxford|St Bartholomew's Chapel]]). Football, rugby, netball, field hockey, cricket, and tennis can be played there. Squash courts are at a separate city-centre site on [[St Cross Road]]. The college also provides students with membership of the university's gym and swimming pool on [[Iffley Road]].<ref name="UNI_PROSPECTUS">{{cite web|url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/colleges/jesus_college/jesus_college.html|title=Jesus College|publisher=University of Oxford|date=4 March 2009|access-date=21 September 2009|archive-date=4 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004111442/http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/colleges/jesus_college/jesus_college.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Jesus College Boat Club (commonly abbreviated to JCBC) is the [[rowing (sport)|rowing]] club for members of the college. The club was formed in 1835, but rowing at the college predates the foundation of the club: a boat from the college was involved in the earliest recorded races between college crews at Oxford in 1815, when it competed against a crew from [[Brasenose College, Oxford|Brasenose College]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Sherwood|first=W. E.|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordrowinghist00sheruoft/page/8 8]|year=1900|title=Oxford Rowing: A History of Boat-Racing at Oxford from the Earliest Times|publisher=Henry Frowde|location=Oxford and London|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordrowinghist00sheruoft}}</ref> These may have been the only two colleges who had boats racing at that time, and the Brasenose boat was usually victorious.<ref name=Hardy229>Hardy, p. 229</ref> Neither the men's nor the women's [[Eight (rowing)|1st VIIIs]] have been "Head of the River" during [[Eights Week]], the main college races, but the women's 1st VIII was Head of the River in the spring races, [[Torpids]], between 1980 and 1983.<ref>{{cite news|date=3 March 1980|work=The Times|title=Oriel remain unruffled at the top|page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Oriel wear crown for ninth year in a row|work=The Times|date=2 March 1981|page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Oriel keep headship in Torpids|work=The Times|date=1 March 1982|page=17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Twelve in a row for Oriel|work=The Times|date=28 February 1983|page=20}}</ref> Jesus boats have also had other successful seasons: the 1896 Jesus College boat had a reputation of being one of the faster boats in the university,<ref name=Hardy230>Hardy, p. 230</ref> and the women's 1st VIII of 1993 [[bumps race|won their "blades"]] in the first divisions of both Torpids and Eights Week, an achievement that led to the crew being described in the ''Jesus College Record'' as vying "not just for the College team of the decade, but perhaps for the team of the last three decades", in any sport.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Jesus College Record |year=1994 |orig-year=1993 |page=70 |title=Sports Report 1992–93 |last=De'Ath|first=John}}</ref>

A number of college members have rowed for the university against [[Cambridge University]] in the [[Boat Race]] and the [[Henley Boat Races|Women's Boat Race]]. [[Barney Williams (rower)|Barney Williams]], a Canadian rower who studied at the college, won a silver medal in [[rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics]], and participated in the Boat Race in 2005 and 2006.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Jesus College Record|year=2006|page=91|title=Sports Report 2005–2006|last=Bennett| first=Ivor|author2=Pearce, Claire}}</ref> Other students who rowed while at the college have achieved success in other fields, including [[John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey|John Sankey]], who became [[Lord Chancellor]], [[Alwyn Williams (bishop)|Alwyn Williams]], who became [[Bishop of Durham]], and [[Maurice Jones]], who became Principal of [[St David's College, Lampeter]].<ref name="Baker84">Baker (1971), p. 84</ref><ref>Baker (1971), p. 108</ref> Another college rower, [[James Page (rower)|James Page]], was appointed Secretary of the [[Amateur Rowing Association]] and coached both the [[Oxford University Boat Club|Oxford]] and [[Cambridge University Boat Club|Cambridge]] University boat clubs.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mr. James H. Page|page=14|date=17 December 1977|work=The Times}}</ref>

The college [[boathouse]], which is shared with the boat club of [[Keble College, Oxford|Keble College]], is in [[Christ Church Meadow, Oxford|Christ Church Meadow]], on the [[Isis (river)|Isis]] (as the [[River Thames]] is called in Oxford). It dates from 1964 and replaced a moored [[barge]] used by spectators and crew-members. The last college barge had been purchased from one of the [[Livery Companies]] of the [[City of London]] in 1911. It is now a floating restaurant further down the Thames at [[Richmond-upon-Thames|Richmond]], and for some years was painted in the college scarf of green and white.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Jesus College Record|pages=52–53|last=De'Ath|first=John|year=2001|title=The College Barge}}</ref>

=== Welsh connection ===
[[File:Jesus Chapel St David.jpg|left|thumb|alt=A man in white robes wearing a mitre, reading a book in his right hand; alongside him, a cross; robes, mitre, book and cross are encrusted with jewels. On his right shoulder, a dove with a halo. In the background, golden crowns over a stylised letter "d" |Late 19th-century stained glass in the chapel, showing [[Saint David|St David]], the patron saint of Wales]]
Education in [[Wales]] had been stimulated by the foundation of schools during the reigns of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] and [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]]: [[King Henry VIII Grammar School]] in [[Abergavenny]] 1542 and [[Christ College, Brecon]] 1541 were established in the 1540s, and [[Friars School, Bangor]] dates from 1557.<ref>Hardy, pp. 5–6</ref> However, despite the numbers of Welsh students coming to Oxford University as a result, there was no special provision for Welshmen before 1571. Despite the links with Wales that Hugh Price and many of the founding Fellows had, neither the 1571 charter nor any of the later charters limited entry to the college to Welshmen.<ref name=Welshcollege>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/welsh.php |title=Jesus College&nbsp;– The Welsh College |date=12 November 2000 |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |access-date=10 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080715163303/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/history/welsh.php |archive-date=15 July 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Nevertheless, the college students were predominantly Welsh from the outset,<ref>Allen, pp. 117–123</ref> and the college became "the pinnacle of the academic ambition of the young men of Wales".<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of Wales|last=Davies|first=John|author-link=John Davies (historian)|page=250|isbn=978-0-14-028475-1|year=2007|publisher=Penguin Books}}</ref> Many of the fellows in the past were Welsh, since when new fellowships were created by benefactions (often by people of Welsh descent) there was frequently a stipulation that the recipients would be related to the donor or come from a specified part of Wales. These specific limitations were removed as part of reforms of Oxford University during the 19th century. Between 1571 and 1915, only one Principal ([[Francis Howell (philosopher)|Francis Howell]], 1657–1660) was not from Wales or of Welsh descent.<ref name=Welshcollege />

Jesus still has a particular association with Wales and is often referred to as "the Welsh college". The college is home to the university's [[Jesus Professor of Celtic|Professor of Celtic]], and a specialist [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] library in addition to the college's normal library. Meyrick scholarships, from the bequest of [[Edmund Meyrick]] in 1713, are awarded for academic merit where the student is a native of Wales (or the child of a native of Wales), able to speak [[Welsh language|Welsh]] or was educated for the last three years of secondary school in Wales.<ref name="scholar">{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/notices/scholarshipsandexhibitions.php |title=Scholarships and Exhibitions (Undergraduates) |publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |date=20 September 2005 |access-date=25 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926015835/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/notices/scholarshipsandexhibitions.php |archive-date=26 September 2006 }}</ref>

The college's undergraduate gossip sheet is entitled ''The Sheepshagger'' in allusion to an offensive joke about Welsh people's supposed [[Zoophilia|penchant for sheep]]. Furthermore, the Welshness of the college is self-perpetuating, as Welsh students will often apply to Jesus because it is seen as the Welsh college. Old members recall the college having a majority of Welsh members until well into the 20th century;<ref>{{cite web | url = https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmstand/f/st030123/am/30123s02.htm | title = Debate on Hunting Bill, House of Commons Standing Committee F
| access-date =15 March 2007 | author = Garnier, Edward | date = 23 January 2003 | author-link = Edward Garnier}}</ref> today, however, around 15% of undergraduates come from Wales.<ref name="JESUS_WALES">{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/welcome/wales.php |title=Jesus College and Wales |access-date=15 March 2007 |author=Jesus College, Oxford |date=13 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926012837/http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/welcome/wales.php |archive-date=26 September 2006 }}</ref> For comparison, residents of Wales comprise just under 5% of the United Kingdom population (2.9&nbsp;million<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/pyramids/pages/w.asp|title=Census 2001 Population Pyramids&nbsp;– Wales|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|access-date=7 July 2009}}</ref> out of a total of 58.8&nbsp;million<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/pyramids/pages/uk.asp|title=Census 2001 Population Pyramids&nbsp;– United Kingdom|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|access-date=7 July 2009}}</ref> at the time of the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 Census]]).

In modern times, the Welsh roots of the college come to the fore most prominently on [[Saint David's Day]]. The feast is marked by a choral [[Evening Prayer (Anglican)#Service in prayerbooks in the tradition of 1662|Evensong]] in the chapel, decorated for the occasion with [[daffodil]]s. The service, including music, is conducted entirely in Welsh (despite only a small minority of the choir usually being [[First language|native speakers]] of the language). It is generally well attended by members of the Welsh community in Oxford.<ref name="JESUS_WALES" /> The college's annual St. David's Day Dinner traditionally culminates with the serving of [[Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 3rd Baronet|Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn]]'s Pudding. The name recalls the Welsh politician and prominent [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] who attended the college early in the 18th century.<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30155|title=Wynn, Sir Watkin Williams, third baronet (1693?–1749)|date=May 2008 |last=Thomas|first=Peter D. G. |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/30155|access-date=7 July 2009}}</ref>

The Welsh connection is also evident in the college's outreach activities, such as organising a [[summer school]] for Welsh students in partnership with the [[Welsh Government]]'s [[Seren Network]].<ref name="BBC - Jesus">{{cite news |last1=Hume |first1=Colette |title=Oxford Uni taster for Welsh students |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-39261215 |access-date=8 June 2018 |work=BBC News |date=15 March 2017}}</ref>

==Library and archives==
[[File:Jesus-College-MS-111 00379 190r (cropped).jpg|thumb|Opening lines of one of the [[Mabinogion|Mabinogion tales]] from the [[Red Book of Hergest]] (written pre-13c, incorporating pre-Roman myths of Celtic gods):<br />''Gereint vab Erbin. Arthur a deuodes dala llys yg Caerllion ar Wysc...'' <br />(Geraint the son of Erbin.  Arthur was accustomed to hold his Court at Caerlleon upon Usk...)]]
The main library at Jesus College is the Meyricke Library; older printed books are housed in the historic Fellows' Library. The medieval manuscripts should be directed to re held at the Bodleian Libraries, where they are on deposit. The archives hold the administrative documents of the college since its foundation, as well as a large collection of documents, photographs, and printed papers. There is also an extensive Celtic Library. In 2021, the College Librarian was Owen McKnight.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Jesus College/History/ Libraries and Archives |url=https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/about-jesus-college/history/libraries-and-archives/ |website=jesus.ox.ac.uk |access-date=20 July 2021}}</ref>

Medieval and early modern manuscripts owned at Jesus College date back to the 11th century and since 1886 have been deposited at the [[Bodleian Libraries]]. Some of the most important [[Welsh language]] manuscripts are at Jesus College, including the [[Red Book of Hergest]] (1285–1320). Modern manuscripts include [[T.E. Lawrence]]'s undergraduate thesis (MS. 181).

== Silverware ==
The college's collection of silverware includes a [[silver-gilt]] [[punch bowl]], presented by Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn in 1732.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Glanville |first=Philippa |author-link = Philippa Glanville|title=A Treasured Inheritance |journal=Oxford Today |volume=16 |issue=3 |publisher=Oxford University Public Affairs Directorate |year=2004 |url=http://www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/2003-04/v16n3/07.shtml |access-date=15 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009055031/http://www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/2003-04/v16n3/07.shtml |archive-date=9 October 2006 }}</ref> The bowl, which weighs more than {{convert|200|oz|kg}} and holds {{convert|10|impgal|L}}, was used at a dinner held in the [[Radcliffe Camera]] in 1814, to celebrate what was supposed to be the final defeat of [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]. Those present at the dinner included the [[Alexander I of Russia|Tsar]], the [[Frederick William III of Prussia|King of Prussia]], [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher|Blücher]], [[Klemens Wenzel von Metternich|Metternich]], the [[George IV of the United Kingdom|Prince Regent]], the [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Duke of York]] and the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]].<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.oxfordinscriptions.com/war_and_peace.htm
 |title=War and Peace
 |access-date=15 March 2007
 |last=Popkin
 |first=Michael
 |date=November 2001
 |work=Oxford Inscriptions: Inscribed Stones and Plaques in Oxford
 |url-status=usurped
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315004641/http://www.oxfordinscriptions.com/war_and_peace.htm
 |archive-date=15 March 2007
}}</ref> There is a college tradition that the bowl will be presented to anyone who can meet two challenges. The first is to put arms around the bowl at its widest point; the second is to drain the bowl of strong punch. The bowl measures {{convert|5|ft|2|in|m}} at its widest point, and so the first challenge has only been accomplished rarely; the second challenge has not been met.<ref>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Llewellyn|author-link=Thomas Llewellyn Thomas|editor=Clark, Andrew|title=The colleges of Oxford: their history and traditions|url=https://archive.org/details/collegesofoxford00clarrich|access-date=19 August 2008|year=1891|publisher=Methuen & Co|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/collegesofoxford00clarrich/page/387 387]|chapter=Jesus College}}</ref>

== Coat of arms ==
[[File:Jesus College crest, Ship Street entrance.JPG|left|thumb|alt=A carved stone crest of three stags (two above one) facing left, with their front right feet raised; below, the date "1907"|The college crest above the [[Ship Street, Oxford|Ship Street]] entrance gate.]]

The college's [[coat of arms]], in [[heraldry|heraldic]] terminology, is ''Vert, three stags trippant argent attired or''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Oxford University Calendar2004-2005| year=2004|page=255|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-951904-8}}</ref><ref name=Lincoln>{{cite journal|journal=Jesus College Record|year=2008|title=Revisiting the Heraldic Wars of the Turl: Lincoln and Oxford|last=Langford |first=Paul|author-link=Paul Langford|pages=48–52}}</ref> The arms are not those of Hugh Price.<ref name="PRICE_DNB">{{cite ODNB | last = Walker | first = David | title = Price, Hugh | year = 2004 | doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/22750 | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/22750 | access-date =14 July 2009}}</ref> His arms, according to their depiction in the margins of his will, were [[gules]] (red) a chevron ermine between three [[fleur-de-lis|fleurs-des-lis]].<ref name=Massa>{{cite journal |title=The College Arms |last=Massa|first=David|journal=Jesus College Record |year=1995 |orig-year=1994 |pages=44–49}}</ref> The arms were not granted or authorised by the [[College of Arms]], but the length of time for which they have been used has given them a prescriptive authority.<ref name=Massa />
The earliest depiction of the arms was thought to be about 1590, in a document held by the College of Arms, which refers to the stags appearing on a blue (in heraldic terms, [[Azure (heraldry)|azure]]) background but subsequent examination of this document by Peter Donoghue, Bluemantle Pursuivant shows that the arms were added c.1680. The first known appearance of the arms is therefore on John Speed's Map of Oxfordshire in 1605 with a blue field. The green field made its appearance by 1619 in an armorial quarry painted by one of the Van Linge brothers.<ref name=Eden>{{cite journal|title=Oxford Heraldic Quarries|last=Eden|first=F. Sydney|journal=The Connoiseur|date=Feb 1938|pages=81 & 106}}</ref> The green background became generally (but not universally) used by the 1730s, still appearing as horizontal hatchings indicating azure were in use on bookplates for the college library as late as 1761.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Jesus College Coat of Arms: An addendum |last=Rees |first=David |journal=Jesus College Record |year=1998 |orig-year=1997 |pages=41–42}}</ref>

There are similarities with the arms of [[Lincoln College, Oxford]], where one of the elements consists of three golden stags statant (standing still); this was derived from the coat of arms of Lincoln's so-called "second founder", [[Thomas Rotherham]].<ref name=Lincoln /> It was once claimed that Jesus had stolen the stags from Lincoln,<ref>Langford's 2008 article refers to {{cite journal|last=Landon|first=Percy|title=Notes on the Heraldry of Oxford Colleges|journal=Archaeologia Oxoniensis|year=1893–94}}</ref> but the counter-argument (from an antiquarian with close Lincoln connections) was that the origins of each were distinct.<ref>Langford's 2008 article refers to Andrew Clark's contribution to the debate in the ''English Historical Review'' (1895)</ref> One suggestion (by [[Paul Langford]], the Rector of Lincoln College) is that Jesus College continued the arms adopted by a theological college founded by Rotherham in his home town&nbsp;– Jesus College, [[Rotherham]]&nbsp;– which had been suppressed in the time of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]].<ref name=Lincoln />

The arms of [[Maud Green, Lady Parr]], mother of [[Catherine Parr]] (the last of the six [[wives of Henry VIII]] and stepmother to Elizabeth I), were of three stags on an azure background, and this became one of the elements of the arms of Catherine Parr on her marriage.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Jesus College Record|year=2008|title=Were we ever Tudors?|page=37|last=Morgan|first=Gerald}}</ref> Her sister, [[Anne Parr, Lady Herbert|Anne Parr]], married [[William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1501–1570)|William, 1st Earl of Pembroke]], whose grandson (the [[William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke|3rd Earl]], also called William) became the first [[Visitor]] of the college in 1622. Maud Green's arms are depicted in plasterwork from about 1592 at [[Powis Castle]], owned by a kinsman of the earls. One writer has suggested that the college may have adopted the arms in order to be associated with one of the leading Welsh families of the day.<ref name=Massa />

This latter theory is not heraldically tenable as the quarters in an achievement after the first and pronominal quarter brought into the family by marriage to heraldic heiresses cannot meaningfully exist on their own to represent the person who now quarters them. It is more probable then that the arms of the college really are those of Archbishop Rotherham and were assumed to be those of the college by John Speed who saw them on one of its buildings in 1605 when preparing his map. Lawrence Hall in Ship Street was given to Rotherham in 1476 and leased to Jesus in 1572. It may well have displayed the Archbishop's arms in its structure as did the building on the south side of the front quad of Lincoln which he completed. These arms for Jesus College could not be confused with those of Lincoln as that college, since 1574, already had a complex tripartite coat granted to it by Richard Lee, Portcullis Pursuivant, in which the colour of the stags in the centre section had been changed to Or (gold) and their attitude to statant.<ref name=Murray>{{cite journal|title=The Arms of Jesus College, A Reappraisal|last=Murray|first=Hugh|journal=Jesus College Record|year=2010|pages=44–47}}</ref>

== References ==
=== Citations ===
<references>

{{r|n=jesus-ox-statutes|r=
{{Cite web
| author=Jesus College, Oxford
| title=Statutes of Jesus College, Oxford

| url=https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/All-Statutes-220216.pdf
| url-status=live
| access-date=2022-10-19

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704042855/https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/All-Statutes-220216.pdf
| archive-date=2022-07-04
}}
}}
</references>

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web |url = http://home.jesus.ox.ac.uk/gov/statutes.pdf/attachment_download/file |title=Jesus College Statutes|publisher=Jesus College, Oxford |access-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://archive.today/20121223115751/http://home.jesus.ox.ac.uk/gov/statutes.pdf/attachment_download/file |archive-date=23 December 2012}}
* {{cite book |last=Baker |first=J. N. L.|author-link=J. N. L. Baker| editor1-first=H. E. |editor1-last=Salter |editor2-first=Mary D. |editor2-last=Lobel |title = A History of the County of Oxford Volume III&nbsp;– The University of Oxford |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=543|access-date=22 June 2009 |series= [[Victoria County History]]|year=1954 |publisher=[[Institute of Historical Research]], [[University of London]]|isbn=978-0-7129-1064-4 |chapter=Jesus College |chapter-url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63887 }}
* {{cite book |last=Baker|first=J. N. L.|title=Jesus College, Oxford 1571–1971|publisher=Oxonian Press Ltd|location=London|year=1971|isbn=0-9502164-0-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Gibson|first=Strickland|author-link=Strickland Gibson|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63862|chapter= The University of Oxford|access-date=10 August 2008|year= 1954|title= A History of the County of Oxford Volume III&nbsp;– The University of Oxford |editor1-first=H. E.|editor1-last=Salter |editor2-first=Mary D. |editor2-last=Lobel |publisher= Institute of Historical Research, University of London|series =Victoria County History}}
*{{cite book|last=Hardy|first=E. G.|author-link=Ernest George Hardy|title=Jesus College|year=1899|oclc=7961179|publisher= F. E. Robinson & Co |location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/jesuscollege00hardrich|access-date=22 June 2009}}
*''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'' ({{ODNBsub}}). [[Oxford University Press]]. Cited in references as: ''ODNB''
*{{cite book|last=Pevsner|first=Nikolaus|author-link=Nikolaus Pevsner|author2=Sherwood, Jennifer|title=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides|The Buildings of England]]&nbsp;– Oxfordshire|chapter=Jesus College|year=1974|isbn=0-300-09639-9|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikisource|Literary Landmarks of Oxford/Jesus|Jesus College, as described in "Literary Landmarks of Oxford"}}
{{Commons category|Jesus College, Oxford}}
* [http://mcr.jesus.ox.ac.uk/ MCR (postgraduates) website] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619003353/https://mcr.jesus.ox.ac.uk/ |date=19 June 2022}}
* [http://jcr.jesus.ox.ac.uk/ JCR (undergraduates) website]
* [https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/College-History-for-web.pdf ''Jesus College Oxford 'of Queene Elizabeth's Foundation' - The First 450 Years'': text of 2021 book]
* [http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtour/jesus/default.asp Virtual Tour of Jesus College]{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210072815/http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtour/jesus/default.asp |date=10 February 2021 }}

{{Jesus College, Oxford}}
{{University of Oxford}}
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[[Category:Jesus College, Oxford| ]]
[[Category:1571 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Colleges of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in the 1570s]]
[[Category:Culture of Wales]]
[[Category:Elizabeth I]]