Editing St John's College, Oxford

{{For|other institutions named St John's College|St John's College (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|College of the University of Oxford}}
{{Infobox residential college
| name           = St John's College
| full_name      = Saint John Baptist College
| latin_name     = Collegium Sancti Johannis Baptistae
| university     = [[University of Oxford]]
| photo          = UK-2014-Oxford-St John's College 01a.jpg
| scarf          = {{scarf|{{cells|2|#000}}{{cell|#FF3}}{{cells|2|#000}}{{cell|#C03}}{{cells|2|#000}}{{cell|#FF3}}{{cells|2|#000}}}}
| named_for      = [[John the Baptist]]
| established    = {{start date and age|1555}}
| founder        = [[Thomas White (merchant)|Sir Thomas White]]
| motto          = 
| sister_college = [[Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge]]
| president      = [[Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome|Sue Black]] <!-- DO NOT ADD Professor, per WP:CREDENTIAL -->
| undergraduates = 419 (2022)<ref name="ox.ac.uk">{{cite web| title= St John's College, University of Oxford |url= https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/colleges/college-listing/st-johns-college |date=28 June 2023}}</ref>
<!--| visitor = [[Bishop of Winchester]]-->
| graduates      = 244 (2022)<ref name="ox.ac.uk">{{cite web| title= St John's College, University of Oxford |url= https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/colleges/college-listing/st-johns-college |date=28 June 2023}}</ref>
| coordinates    = {{coord|51.75612|-1.258605|display=inline,title}}
| location_map   = Oxford (central)
| location       = [[St Giles', Oxford|St Giles, Oxford OX1 3JP, UK]]
| shield         = [[File:St-John's College Oxford Coat Of Arms.svg|150px]]
| blazon         = of St John's College, Oxford (arms of Sir [[Thomas White (merchant)|Thomas White]]): ''Gules, an annulet in chief or on a canton ermine a lion rampant sable a bordure of the fourth charged with eight estoiles of the second''
| homepage       = {{URL|http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/}}
| boat_club      = [[St John's College Boat Club (Oxford)|SJCBC]]
| JCR            = {{URL|https://www-jcr.sjc.ox.ac.uk/}}
| MCR            = {{URL|http://mcr.sjc.ox.ac.uk/}}
|caption=Canterbury Quad}}

'''St John's College''' is a [[Colleges of the University of Oxford|constituent college]] of the [[University of Oxford]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=St John's College {{!}} University of Oxford |url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/colleges/college-listing/st-johns-college |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=www.ox.ac.uk}}</ref> Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.<ref name=":1">Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist</ref> Its founder, Sir [[Thomas White (merchant)|Thomas White]], intended to provide a source of educated [[Roman Catholic]] clerics to support the [[Counter-Reformation]] under [[Mary I of England|Queen Mary]].

St John's is the wealthiest college in Oxford, with assets worth over of £790 million as of 2022, largely due to nineteenth-century suburban development of land in the city of Oxford of which it is the ground landlord.<ref name="stjohns1718">{{cite web|url= http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts2122/St_Johns.pdf |title=Saint John Baptist College in the University of Oxford : Annual Report and Financial Statements : Year ended 31 July 2022|website= ox.ac.uk|page=6|access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref>

The college occupies a site on [[St Giles', Oxford|St Giles']] and has a student body of some 390 undergraduates and 250 postgraduates.<ref name="official-about">{{cite web|url=http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/343/About_St-John%27s.html |title=About Us |publisher=St John's College Oxford |access-date=14 October 2012}}</ref> There are over 100 academic staff,<ref name="official-about"/> and a like number of other staff.<ref name="2012finances">{{cite web |url=http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts1112/St_Johns.pdf |title=Report and Financial Statements |author= St John's College, Oxford |date=31 October 2012 |page=21 |access-date=25 June 2013}}</ref> In 2018 St John's topped the [[Norrington Table]], the annual ranking of Oxford colleges' final results, and in 2021, St John's ranked second with a score of 79.8.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2018/08/20/2018-norrington-table/|title=St John's tops the 2018 Norrington Table|first=James|last=Ashworth|date=20 August 2018|website=Oxfordstudent.com|access-date=27 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-01 |title=Special Report: Merton tops 2021 Norrington Table but rankings show link between college wealth and academic performance |url=https://cherwell.org/2022/06/01/special-report-merton-tops-2021-norrington-table-but-rankings-show-link-between-college-wealth-and-academic-performance/ |access-date=2022-08-04 |website=Cherwell |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Sampson Strong Sir Thomas White.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Thomas White, founder of the college]]
On 1 May 1555, [[Thomas White (merchant)|Sir Thomas White]], lately [[Lord Mayor of London]], obtained a Royal Patent of Foundation to create a charitable institution for the education of students within the University of Oxford.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/about-college/history/ |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=St John's College |language=en}}</ref> White, a [[Roman Catholic]], originally intended St John's to provide a source of educated Roman Catholic clerics to support the Counter-Reformation under [[Mary I of England|Queen Mary]], and indeed [[Edmund Campion]], the Roman Catholic martyr, studied here.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/edmundcampionbio00simpuoft|title=Edmund Campion, a biography|last=Simpson|first=Richard|date=1 January 1896|publisher=London, Hodges|pages=[https://archive.org/details/edmundcampionbio00simpuoft/page/4 4]}}</ref>

White acquired buildings on the east side of [[St Giles', Oxford|St Giles']], north of [[Balliol College, Oxford|Balliol]] and [[Trinity College, Oxford|Trinity]] Colleges, which had belonged to the former [[St Bernard's College, Oxford|College of St Bernard]], a monastery and house of study of the [[Cistercian]] order that had been founded in 1437 and closed in 1540 during the [[dissolution of the monasteries]].<ref>{{cite book|first=James G.|last=Clark|title=The Dissolution of the Monasteries: a new history|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2021|page=449}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/about-college/history/|title=History|website=St John's College|access-date=27 April 2019}}</ref> The grant also included half of the grove of [[Durham College, Oxford|Durham College]], which had likewise been suppressed and whose buildings had become Trinity College.<ref>{{cite book|first=Clare|last=Hopkins|title=Trinity: 450 years of an Oxford college community|location=Oxford|year=2005|edition=2007 reprint|isbn=978-0-19-951896-8|pages=9-15}}</ref> Initially the new St John's College was rather small and not well endowed financially. During the reign of Elizabeth I the fellows lectured in rhetoric, Greek, and dialectic, but not directly in theology. However, St John's initially had a strong focus on the creation of a proficient and educated priesthood.<ref>Schmitt, Charles Bernard (1983) ''John Case and Aristotelianism in Renaissance England''. Kingston [Ont.] : McGill-Queen's University Press {{ISBN|0-7735-1005-2}}</ref>

White was Master of the [[Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors|Merchant Taylors' Company]], and established a number of educational foundations, including the [[Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood|Merchant Taylors' School]]. Although the college was closely linked to such institutions for many centuries, it became a more open society in the later 19th century. (Closed scholarships for students from the Merchant Taylors' School, however, persisted until the late 20th century. As well as these, scholarships existed for students from [[Christ's Hospital]], two for [[King Henry VIII School, Coventry|Coventry School]], two for [[Bristol Grammar School]], two for [[Reading School]] and one for [[Tonbridge School]].<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Student's Handbook to the University and Colleges of Oxford |url=https://archive.org/details/studentshandboo00oxfogoog |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/studentshandboo00oxfogoog/page/n80 56] |date=1891}}</ref>) Female students were first admitted in 1979, after over four centuries of the college as an institution for men only.<ref name=":1" /> [[Elizabeth Fallaize]] was appointed as the first female fellow in 1990.<ref>{{cite news |last=Still |first=Judith |date=3 January 2010 |title=Elizabeth Fallaize obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/jan/03/simonedebeauvoir-oxforduniversity |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=10 March 2014 }}</ref>

Although primarily a producer of Anglican clergymen in the earlier periods of its history, St John's also gained a reputation for degrees in law, medicine and PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics).{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

===Endowments===
The endowments which St John's was given at its foundation, and during the twenty or so years afterward, served it very well and in the second half of the nineteenth century it benefited, as ground landlord, from the suburban development of the city of [[Oxford]] and was unusual among colleges for the size and extent of its property within the city. The patronage of the parish of [[St Giles' Church, Oxford|St Giles]] was included in the endowment of the college by Thomas White. Vicars of St Giles were formerly either fellows of the college, or ex-fellows who were granted the living on marriage (when Oxford fellows were required to be unmarried). The college retains the right to present candidates for the benefice to the bishop.<ref>Kettler, Sarah Valente & Trimble, Carole (2003) ''The Amateur Historian's Guide to the Heart of England''. Sterling, Va.: Capital Books 1892123657</ref> Today St John's maintains the largest endowment of the Oxford colleges, for example owning the [[Oxford Playhouse]] building<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/aboutus/OPandOU.aspx |title=Oxford Playhouse and University of Oxford |quote=St John's College owns the Playhouse building, and leases the auditorium and adjoining offices to the Playhouse Trust. |publisher=Oxford Playhouse |access-date=11 December 2012}}</ref> and the [[Millwall F.C.]] training ground.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsatden.co.uk/37291-exclusive-training-ground-purchase-is-on-millwalls-agenda.html |title=Exclusive: Training ground purchase is on Millwall's agenda |quote=St. John's College, Oxford, bought the facility for £1.85million when Peter de Savary was chairman. |publisher=News at Den Playhouse |access-date=3 July 2014 |date=3 July 2014}}</ref>

In January 2020, students carried out a five-day occupation on the college's front quad to protest against the endowment fund's continued investments in fossil fuels.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-02-04|title=Oxford alumni threaten to withhold donations to college amid row over fossil fuels|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/oxford-university-fossil-fuel-divestment-st-johns-college-students-occupation-a9316976.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/oxford-university-fossil-fuel-divestment-st-johns-college-students-occupation-a9316976.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-02|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Climate activists camp out at Oxford college|url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18199372.st-johns-oxford-climate-protest-fossil-fuels/|access-date=2021-11-02|website=Oxford Mail|date=30 January 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Buildings==
The college is situated on a single {{convert|5.5|hectare|m2}} site. Most of the college buildings are organised around seven quadrangles (quads).{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

===Front Quadrangle===
[[File:St John's College front quadrangle.jpg|thumb|Front Quad]]
The Front Quadrangle mainly consists of buildings built for the [[Cistercian]] [[St Bernard's College, Oxford|St Bernard's College]]. Construction started in 1437, though when the site passed to the crown in 1540, due to the [[dissolution of the monasteries]], much of the exterior was as it is now, but the Eastern range was incomplete. [[Christ Church, Oxford|Christ Church]] took control of the site in 1546 and Thomas White acquired it in 1554. He made major alterations to create the current college hall, and designated the Northern part of the Eastern range as the lodging of the president, for which it is still used today.<ref name="history-county">{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63886 |title=St John's College |editor1-first=H. E.|editor1-last=Salter|editor2-first=Mary D.|editor2-last=Lobel|publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1954 |work=A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3: The University of Oxford |access-date=24 December 2013 }}</ref> Front Quad was gravelled until the college's 400th anniversary when the current circular lawn and paving were laid out.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tyack |first=Geoffrey |date=2000 |title=St John's College Oxford: A Short History and Guide |isbn=095389570X |page=21}}</ref>

The turret clock, made by [[John Knibb]], dates from 1690.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/history_heritage/folklore/8745039.The_clockmakers_of_Claydon/ |title=The clockmakers of Claydon |last1=Lisle |first1=Nicola |date= 17 December 2010 |newspaper=The Oxford Times |access-date=20 June 2013}}</ref> The main tower above the Porters' Lodge features a statue of John the Baptist by [[Eric Gill]].{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

====Chapel====
[[File:St John's College Oxford Chapel.jpg|thumb|The Chapel facing west]]
The chapel was built in 1530, dedicated to St Bernard of Clairvaux.<ref name="chapel-history"/> It was re-dedicated to St John the Baptist in 1557. The Baylie chapel in the north-east corner was added 1662–69 and refitted in 1949.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1046649 |desc=St Johns College, North Range Including Chapel and Hall |access-date=3 April 2015}}</ref>  In 1840 the interior of the chapel's underwent major changes which created the gothic revival pews, roof, wall arcading and west screen.<ref name="chapel-history">{{cite web |url=http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/2334/History.html |title=History |publisher=St John's College Oxford |access-date=26 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323102632/http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/2334/History.html |archive-date=23 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Thomas White, [[William Laud]] and [[William Juxon]] are buried beneath the chapel. All three were presidents of the college, with the latter two also holding the office of Archbishop of Canterbury.<ref name="history-county"/> To the south of the chancel is a hidden pew directly accessible from the President's Lodgings, which historically allowed the only woman in college, the president's wife, to worship without distracting college members.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tyack |first=Geoffrey |date=2000 |title=St John's College Oxford: A Short History and Guide |isbn=095389570X |page=26}}</ref>

Choral services have been sung in the chapel since 1618.{{Citation needed|date=December 2013}} [[Orlando Gibbons]]'s famous anthem "''[[This is the Record of John]]''" was written at the college's request, and presumably received its first performance here.<ref name="chapel-history"/> The college in 1620 commissioned the anthem ''As they departed'' from [[Michael East (composer)|Michael East]].<ref>Peter Lynan, ‘East, Michael (c.1580–1648)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8410, accessed 24 December 2013]</ref> The college choir today sings [[Evening Prayer (Anglican)|evensong]] services on Sundays and Wednesdays during term time,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/2329/Choir.html |title=Choir |publisher=St John's College Oxford |access-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225085913/http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/2329/Choir.html |archive-date=25 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> as well as singing the grace at Sunday formal hall. Since 1923 the choir has been directed by student organ scholars.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/4922/Organ-Scholars-History.html |title=Organ Scholars History |publisher=St John's College Oxford |access-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225084930/http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/4922/Organ-Scholars-History.html |archive-date=25 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The chapel has always held an organ. The present three-manual instrument by Bernard Aubertin was installed in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/2327/Organ.html |title=Organ |publisher=St John's College Oxford |access-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225090329/http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/2327/Organ.html |archive-date=25 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Canterbury Quadrangle===
This quad is the first example of Italian [[Renaissance architecture]] in Oxford. It was substantially commissioned by Archbishop Laud and completed in 1636.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/3766/St%20John%20the%20College%20and%20the%20Merchant%20Taylors.pdf.download |title=St. John, the College and the Merchant Taylors' Company |author=Mr Michael Riordan |date=24 June 2011 |access-date=24 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105021313/http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/3766/St%20John%20the%20College%20and%20the%20Merchant%20Taylors.pdf.download |archive-date=5 November 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The college library is here, consisting of four connected parts: The Old Library (south side, built 1596–1598), The Laudian Library (built 1631–1635 above the eastern colonnade, overlooking the garden), The Paddy Room (1971–77) and the new Library and Study Centre, designed by [[Wright & Wright Architects]] and opened in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/about-college/library/history-library/ |title=Discover the Library |website=St John's College, Oxford |access-date=3 February 2012}}</ref> Until moving to the Kendrew Quadrangle in 2010, the Holdsworth Law Library was situated in the neighbouring southwest corner of Canterbury Quadrangle. The college holds [[Robert Graves]]' Working Library<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/1419/Robert-Graves.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822061743/http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/1419/Robert-Graves.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 August 2009 |title=Robert Graves |publisher=St John's College Oxford |access-date=26 April 2012 }}</ref> and in 1936 it acquired the '[[A. E. Housman]] Classics Library', consisting of about 300 books and pamphlets containing hand-written notes by Housman in margins and on loose leaves.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/1420/A.E.%20Housman.html |title=A. E. Housman's Classics Library |publisher=St John's College Oxford |access-date=26 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423122215/http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/1420/A.E.%20Housman.html |archive-date=23 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The Holmes Building is a 1794 south spur off the Canterbury Quad, containing fellows' rooms.<ref name="history-county"/>

===North Quadrangle===
The North Quadrangle was not designed as a whole, but is the irregular product of a series of buildings constructed since the college's foundation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=North Buildings, St John's College, St Giles, Oxford |url=http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/stgiles/tour/east/stjohns_3_north.html |access-date=2022-03-06 |website=www.oxfordhistory.org.uk}}</ref>

In 1612 the college’s cook, Thomas Clarke, was given permission to build a college kitchen, with residential rooms above. The college bought this building, just north of the hall, from Clarke in 1620 and expanded it during 1642–1643 to produce the current Cook's Building.<ref name="history-county"/>

In 1676 the first part of today's Senior Common Room was constructed,<ref name="history-county"/> just north of the chapel. Its ceiling, completed in 1742, features the craftsmanship of Thomas Roberts, who also worked on the [[Radcliffe Camera]] and the [[Codrington Library]].<ref>Tyack, Geoffrey (1998) ''Oxford: An Architectural Guide''. Oxford University Press, 1998 {{ISBN|0-19-817423-3}}</ref> Various additions and renovations took place in 1826, 1900, 1936<ref name="history-county"/> and 2004–2005. The latest renovation and extension to the Grade I listed building was by [[MJP Architects]] and received two awards in 1996, the Design Partnership Award from the National Association of Shopfitters, and the other from the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mjparchitects.co.uk/projects/senior-common-room/ |website=MJP Architects |title= Senior Common Room, St John's College |access-date=24 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.architecture.com/Awards/RIBAAwards/Winners2006/South/SeniorCommonRoomStJohnsCollegeO.aspx |publisher=[[Royal Institute of British Architects]] |title=Senior common room, St Johns College, Oxford |access-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225062512/http://www.architecture.com/Awards/RIBAAwards/Winners2006/South/SeniorCommonRoomStJohnsCollegeO.aspx |archive-date=25 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In 1742 property was bought from Exeter College and between 1794 and 1880 was used for college purposes, known as the Wood Buildings. It was replaced when in 1880 the construction of today's [[St Giles', Oxford|St Giles']] range began. What is today thought of as a single building was constructed as several distinct sections. The first part (1880–1881) consisted of the gate tower and the rooms between it and Cook's building to the south. The second part to be constructed (1899–1900) forms the northern half of the St Giles' range. Finally the Rawlinson Building (1909) formed the northern side of the quadrangle. More rooms were added by Edward Maufe in 1933.<ref name="history-county"/>

With completion of the "Beehive" (1958–1960), made up of irregular hexagonal rooms, the quadrangle took on its current appearance. The Beehive was designed by Michael Powers of the [[Architects' Co-Partnership]] and is clad in [[Portland stone]].<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1278860 |desc=ST JOHNS COLLEGE, THE BEEHIVES |access-date=3 April 2015}}</ref> This Eastern part of the quadrangle previously held the old Fellows' Stables.<ref name="history-county"/>

===Dolphin Quadrangle===
Three houses at 2–4 St Giles' formed the Dolphin Inn. When demolished in 1881 the houses were known as the South Buildings, and used as college accommodation.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/stgiles/tour/east/02_04.html |title = Dolphin Gate of Trinity College and Dolphin quadrangle of St John's |last = Jenkins |first = Stephanie |website = St Giles' Oxford |access-date= 21 December 2013 }}</ref> In 1947–48 the college constructed, at a cost of £43,216, the neo-Georgian Dolphin Quadrangle on the site. It was designed by [[Edward Maufe]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Tyack |first=Geoffrey |date=28 April 2005 |title=Modern Architecture in an Oxford College: St John's College 1945-2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199271627 |pages=11–14}}</ref> There was a shortage of construction materials in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, but the college built the new quadrangle with its own timber, stored in [[Bagley Wood]], still owned by the college.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

===Sir Thomas White Quadrangle===
[[File:Thomas White Quad.jpg|thumb|Thomas White Quad]]

Built in 1972–1975, this is not actually a quadrangle, but an L-shaped building partially enclosing an area of garden. The upper floors are predominantly student residences, but ground floor contains communal facilities including the college bar, TV room, DVD room and JCR. Underground areas contain the Games Room and Erg Room for [[indoor rower|rowing]]. The Prestwich, Larkin and Graves rooms are multi-purpose and used for a variety of events.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://conference-oxford.com/venues/st-johns-college|title=St John's College|website=Conference Oxford|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref>

The building is an early design by [[Philip Dowson]] of [[Arup Associates]] which won both the 1976 [[Concrete Society]] Award<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Times|page=3|date=8 June 1976|title=The Sir Thomas White Building at St John's College, Oxford, winner of the Concrete Society 1976 building award. It was designed by Arup Associates and built by Johnson Bailey}}</ref> and the 1981 Royal Institute of British Architects architectural excellence award.<ref>{{cite news |title=Double first for Arup designs |first=Charles|last=McKean  |newspaper=The Times |page=3 |date=7 August 1981 }}</ref> It was also Commended in the 2011 Mature Building Category of the Construct: Concrete Awards<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arupassociates.com/en/projects/SirThomasWhiteBuildingStJohnsCollege/|title=Sir Thomas White Building, St John's College|access-date=20 June 2013}}</ref> and became a Grade II [[listed building]] in 2017.

===Garden Quadrangle===
[[File:St John's College Garden Quad.jpg|thumb|Garden Quad]]
The Garden Quadrangle is a modern (1993) neo-Italianate design from [[MJP Architects]] that includes the college auditorium, student rooms and kitchens. The complex structure is very unlike a conventional quadrangle. After it won five awards (RIBA Award 1995, Civic Trust Award 1995, [[Oxford Preservation Trust]] Award 1994, ''[[The Independent|Independent on Sunday]]'' Building of the Year 1994 and Concrete Society Award – Overall Winner 1994), a 2003 poll organised by ''[[The Oxford Times]]'' voted the £7.5m quadrangle the best building erected in Oxford in the preceding 75 years.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/yourtown/oxford/1164358.St_John_s_to_build_quad_off_St_Giles/ |last=Little |first=Reg |date=2 February 2007 |access-date=1 July 2013 |newspaper=[[The Oxford Times]] |title=St John's to build quad off St Giles}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.mjparchitects.co.uk/projects/garden-quadrangle/ |website=MJP Architects |title=Garden Quadrangle, St John's College |access-date=1 July 2013}}</ref>

The site was previously occupied by the Department of Agriculture, and the [[Parks Road]] frontage of this building survives today, separated from the quadrangle by a detached building containing three music rooms.<ref name=":0" />

===Kendrew Quadrangle===
The most recent quad, completed in 2010, was also designed by MJP architects. The quad is named after [[John Kendrew|Sir John Kendrew]], former president of the college, Nobel Laureate and the college's greatest benefactor of the twentieth century. The construction has been dubbed "the last great quad in the city centre" and is notable for its attempt to provide energy from sustainable sources: much of the energy required to heat the building is provided by a combination of solar panels on the roof, geothermal pipes extending deep below the basement and woodchips from the college wood used to fire the boilers.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

As the first phase of The Kendrew Quadrangle project Dunthorne Parker Architects were appointed by the college to refurbish three Grade II Listed buildings fronting on to St Giles. Works were carried out to No 20 St Giles which became alumni residential accommodation, The Black Hall, a 17th-century building, which became teaching accommodation and The Barn, which became an exhibition and performance space.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}

===College properties on Eastern side of St Giles'===
[[File:Lamb and Flag.jpg|thumb|The [[Lamb & Flag, Oxford|Lamb & Flag]] (owned by the college)]]
The college now owns almost all the buildings on the Eastern stretch of St Giles'. Most of these are fairly unnoticeable, with various previous owners, today all used for various college purposes. However a few are more distinctive.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Middleton Hall is a curious house, north of the North Quad and abutting the Lamb & Flag.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Number 16 is St Giles' House, which dates from 1702. It was described by [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] as "the best house of its date in Oxford". It was previously known as The Judge's Lodgings, due to its use between 1852 and 1965 by the judge when visiting for [[Assizes]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/stgiles/tour/east/16.html |title = No. 16: St Giles' House |last = Jenkins |first = Stephanie |website = St Giles' Oxford |access-date= 21 December 2013 }}</ref> It is today used by the college for dinners and receptions, with the upper levels including various rooms for tutors.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

The [[Lamb & Flag (Oxford)|Lamb & Flag]] pub is owned by the college which up to 2021 operated it, using the profits to fund graduate scholarships.<ref>{{cite news|first=Andrew|last=Ffrench|title=Historic Lamb & Flag pub in St Giles is to close after lockdowns hit trade|url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/19028173.historic-lamb-flag-pub-st-giles-close/|work=[[Oxford Mail]]|date=2021-01-21|accessdate=2021-09-11}}</ref>

===Western side of St Giles'===
The college owns a stretch of the Western side of St Giles', including (until its sale by the college in 2023) [[The Eagle and Child]] pub (formerly owned by [[University College, Oxford]]), where the well-known writers [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] and [[C. S. Lewis]] often met their literary friends.

===Gallery===
<gallery align="center" mode="packed">
File:St John's College quad 2.jpg|Canterbury Quad
File:St John's through canterbury quad to front from garden.jpg|Gate from gardens
File:St John's College garden front ... - geograph.org.uk - 1376333.jpg|Garden Party in the gardens
File:Garden of st johns college oxford uk.jpg|College gardens
File:Alfred-Louis Brunet-Debaines07.jpg|1896 drawing
</gallery>

==Student life==
[[File:St John's College tower and flag.jpg|thumb|Tower and flag]]

===Facilities===
St John's offers onsite accommodation to all undergraduates for the duration of their course (although students are not obliged to take up this offer). For first years, this is mostly in the Thomas White Quad, with some students also accommodated in the Beehive. The college also accommodates some undergraduates (mostly second years) in houses owned by the college on [[Museum Road]], with some postgraduates in [[Blackhall Road]].{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

===Middle Common Room===
All graduate students are members of the [[Middle Common Room]]. The MCR represents graduates in the college, organises events and maintains graduate facilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mcr.sjc.ox.ac.uk/|title=Home • St John's College MCR Oxford|website=St John's College MCR Oxford|access-date=27 April 2019}}</ref> The MCR building was completed in 1998.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tyack |first=Geoffrey |date=2000 |title=St John's College Oxford: A Short History and Guide |isbn=095389570X |page=50}}</ref>

===Societies===
[[St John's College Boat Club (Oxford)|St John's College Boat Club]] (SJCBC) is the largest of a number of college sports clubs. In [[Summer Eights]] 2013, eight SJCBC boats qualified for the racing, and the women's 1st VIII bumped up to become the Head of the River - the first time any crew from SJCBC has achieved this in the club's 150-year history. The women's 1st [[Torpids|Torpid]] won blades three years in succession from 2011 to 2013, and in 2013 also won the right to represent the Oxford colleges in the women's intercollegiate race at the [[Henley Boat Races]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcs.org.uk/racing/hbr|title= Henley Boat Races Collegiate Race |website=Oxford University Rowing Clubs|access-date=27 April 2019|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20190129042423/http://www.ourcs.org.uk/racing/hbr|archivedate=29 January 2019}}</ref>

In 2006 St John's launched SJCtv, becoming the first Oxford college to start its own television station.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sjctv.co.uk|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218092901/http://www.sjctv.co.uk/ |archivedate=18 February 2007|title= Welcome to the television network of St John's College, Oxford University}}</ref> The college drama group operates under the banner of ''St John's Mummers''. In addition to the chapel choir, the college regularly hosts performances from professional musicians and two non-auditioning ensembles (open to all Oxford students) rehearse in college: the ''Oxford Open Orchestra'' and ''Oxford University Symphonic Band''.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

==People associated with St John's==
===Fellows and alumni===
{{main|List of alumni of St John's College, Oxford}}
Prominent male Fellows and alumni of St John's have included 17th-century Archbishops of Canterbury [[William Laud]] and [[William Juxon]], the early [[Fabian Society|Fabian]] intellectual [[Sidney Ball]], [[List of colonial governors of Burma|Chief Commissioner of Burma]] Sir [[Charles Crosthwaite]], former [[Prime Minister of Canada]] [[Lester B. Pearson]], former [[Sudan]]ese prime minister [[Sadiq al-Mahdi]], the poets [[A. E. Housman]], [[Philip Larkin]] and [[Robert Graves]] and the latter's brother, journalist [[Charles Patrick Graves|Charles Graves]], the novelist [[Kingsley Amis]], the historian [[Peter Burke (historian)|Peter Burke]], the biochemist Sir [[John Kendrew]], and former [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[Tony Blair]]. More recent prominent female alumni include Labour MPs [[Angela Eagle]] and [[Rushanara Ali]], Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience [[Sarah-Jayne Blakemore]], and CEO of Chatham House [[Bronwen Maddox]].

{{Further|List of Honorary Fellows of St John's College, Oxford}}

<gallery class="center">
File:John Smith, Speaker of the House of Commons.jpg|[[John Smith (Chancellor of the Exchequer)|John Smith]], Chancellor of the Exchequer
File:1stViscountCave.jpg|[[George Cave, 1st Viscount Cave]], lawyer and Conservative politician
File:William Laud.jpg|[[William Laud]], 76th Archbishop of Canterbury
File:Blair visiting Poland April 07.jpg|[[Tony Blair]], Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1997-2007)
File:Korn Chatikavanij.jpg|[[Korn Chatikavanij]], former Finance Minister of Thailand
File:Alan Duncan Official.jpg|[[Alan Duncan]], Conservative MP
File:Geoffrey Gallop Midland (cropped).jpg|[[Geoff Gallop]], 27th Premier of Western Australia
File:David Heath Minister.jpg|[[David Heath (politician)|David Heath]], Liberal Democrat MP (1997-2015)
File:Abhisit royal.jpg|[[Abhisit Vejjajiva]], 27th Prime Minister of Thailand (2008-2011)
File:Evan Davis (15741846746).jpg|[[Evan Davis]], journalist and TV presenter
File:Yannis Philippakis - Foals - Roskilde 2011.jpg|[[Yannis Philippakis]], musician
File:Jakov Milatović in 2024 MGR2967 ((cropped).jpg|[[Jakov Milatović]], 3rd President of Montenegro (2023–present)
</gallery>

===Presidents===
{{main|List of Presidents of St John's College, Oxford}}
The current President of St John's is Professor Dame [[Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome]], a Scottish forensic anthropologist known for her work on identification in criminal convictions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Black |first1=Sue |title= Professor Dame Sue Black appointed next President |url=https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/news/professor-dame-sue-black-appointed-next-president/ |website=St John's College, Oxford |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[:Category:Fellows of St John's College, Oxford|Fellows of St John's College, Oxford]]
* [[List of alumni of St John's College, Oxford]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk St John's College]
* [https://mcr.sjc.ox.ac.uk St John's College MCR]
* [https://www.sjc-jcr.com St John's College JCR]
* [http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtour/stjohnscollege/front.htm Virtual Tour of St. John's College]

{{University of Oxford}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}

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[[Category:St John's College, Oxford| ]]
[[Category:1555 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Colleges of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in the 1550s]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Oxford]]
[[Category:Grade I listed educational buildings]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Edward Blore buildings]]