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Christ Church
Tom Tower, Christ Church, Oxford.png
The Great Quadrangle
Christ Church Oxford Coat Of Arms.svg
Blazon: Sable, on a cross engrailed argent, a lion passant gules, between four leopards' faces azure, on a chief or, a rose gules barbed and seeded proper, between two Cornish choughs sable, beaked and membered gules.
University Oxford
Coordinates 51°45′01″N 1°15′21″W / 51.750199°N 1.255853°W / 51.750199; -1.255853
Full name The Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Christ in Oxford of the Foundation of King Henry the Eighth
Latin name Aedes Christi/ Ecclesia Christi Cathedralis Oxon: ex fundatione Regis Henrici Octavi
Established 1546; 478 years ago (1546)
Named for Jesus Christ
Sister college Trinity College, Cambridge
Morse College, Yale
Dean Vacant
Undergraduates 432 (2017/2018)
Postgraduates 196
Boat club Christ Church Boat Club
Map
Christ Church, Oxford is located in Oxford city centre
Christ Church, Oxford
Location in Oxford city centre

Christ Church (Latin: [Ædes Christi] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), the temple or house, ædēs, of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Christ Church is a joint foundation of the college and the cathedral of the Oxford diocese (Christ Church Cathedral and its cathedral school), which serves as the college chapel and whose dean is ex officio the college head.

It was founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, and is one of the larger colleges of the University of Oxford with 629 students in 2016. It is also among the wealthiest colleges with an endowment of £577.6m as of 2019. Christ Church has a number of architecturally significant buildings including Tom Tower (designed by Sir Christopher Wren), Tom Quad (the largest quadrangle in Oxford) and the Great Dining Hall, which was also the seat of the parliament assembled by King Charles I during the English Civil War. The buildings have inspired replicas throughout the world in addition to being featured in films such as Harry Potter and The Golden Compass. This has helped Christ Church become the most popular Oxford college for tourists with almost half a million visitors annually.

Christ Church has produced 13 British prime ministers out of the 28 educated at Oxford (the highest number of any college at Oxford or Cambridge). Other notable alumni include King Edward VII, King William II of the Netherlands, seventeen Archbishops, writers Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland) and W. H. Auden, philosopher John Locke, and scientist Robert Hooke. Christ Church is also partly responsible for the creation of University College Reading, which later gained its own Royal Charter and became the University of Reading. The first female undergraduates matriculated at Christ Church in 1980.

History

Hall of Christ Church College
Hall of Christ Church
Oxford Library of Christ Church
Christ Church's library in the early 19th century
1 christ church hall 2012
Hall of Christ Church
Tom quad Tom tower by Pavel Kliuiev
Tom Tower as seen from Tom Quad

In 1525, at the height of his power, Thomas Wolsey, Lord Chancellor of England and Cardinal Archbishop of York, suppressed the Priory of St Frideswide in Oxford and founded Cardinal College on its lands, using funds from the dissolution of Wallingford Priory and other minor priories. He planned the establishment on a magnificent scale, but fell from grace in 1529, with the buildings only three-quarters complete, as they were to remain for 140 years.

In 1531 the college was itself suppressed, but it was refounded in 1532 as King Henry VIII's College by Henry VIII, to whom Wolsey's property had escheated. Then in 1546 the King, who had broken from the Church of Rome and acquired great wealth through the dissolution of the monasteries in England, refounded the college as Christ Church as part of the reorganisation of the Church of England, making the partially demolished priory church the cathedral of the recently created Diocese of Oxford.

Christ Church's sister college in the University of Cambridge is Trinity College, Cambridge, founded the same year by Henry VIII; these college are traditionally considered the most aristocratic of their universities. Since the time of Queen Elizabeth I the college has also been associated with Westminster School, which continues to supply a significant number of undergraduates to the college. The dean remains to this day an ex officio member of the school's governing body.

Major additions have been made to the buildings through the centuries, and Wolsey's Great Quadrangle was crowned with the famous gate-tower designed by Sir Christopher Wren. To this day the bell in the tower, Great Tom, is rung 101 times at 9 pm at the former Oxford time (9:05 pm GMT/BST) every night, for the 100 original scholars of the college (plus one added in 1664). In former times this was done at midnight, signalling the close of all college gates throughout Oxford. Since it took 20 minutes to ring the 101, Christ Church gates, unlike those of other colleges, did not close until 12:20. When the ringing was moved back to 9:00 pm, Christ Church gates still remained open until 12.20, 20 minutes later than any other college. Although the clock itself now shows GMT/BST, Christ Church still follows Oxford time in the timings of services in the cathedral.

King Charles I made the Deanery his palace and held his Parliament in the Great Hall during the English Civil War. In the evening of 29 May 1645, during the second siege of Oxford, a "bullet of IX lb. weight" shot from the Parliamentarians warning-piece at Marston fell against the wall of the north side of the Hall.

Several of Christ Church's deans achieved high academic distinction, notably Aldrich and Fell in the Restoration period, Jackson and Gaisford in the early 19th century and Liddell in the high Victorian era. During the Commonwealth, John Owen attained considerable eminence.

Organisation

Christ Church, formally titled "The Dean, Chapter and Students of the Cathedral Church of Christ in Oxford of the Foundation of King Henry the Eighth", is the only academic institution in the world which is also a cathedral, the seat (cathedra) of the Bishop of Oxford. The Visitor of Christ Church is the reigning British sovereign, and the Bishop of Oxford is unique among English bishops in not being the Visitor of his own cathedral.

The head of the college is the Dean of Christ Church, who is a clergyman appointed by the crown as dean of the cathedral church. There are a senior and a junior censor (formally titled the Censor Moralis Philosophiae and the Censor Naturalis Philosophiae) the former of whom is responsible for academic matters, the latter for undergraduate discipline. A Censor Theologiae is also appointed to act as the Dean's deputy.

The form "Christ Church College" is considered incorrect, in part because it ignores the cathedral, an integral part of the unique dual foundation.

Governing body

The governing body of Christ Church consists of the dean and chapter of the cathedral, together with the "Students of Christ Church", who are not junior members but rather the equivalent of the fellows of the other colleges. Until the later 19th century, the students differed from fellows in that they had no governing powers in their own college, these residing solely with the dean and chapter.

Buildings

Christ Church College Meadow Building
The Meadow Building
The Meadow Building
The Meadow Building on a sunny autumn day
Christ Church cathedral
Christ Church cathedral

Christ Church has a number of architecturally significant buildings. These include:

  • Christ Church Library
  • Peckwater Quadrangle
  • The Great Quadrangle or Tom Quad including Tom Tower
  • Blue Boar Quadrangle
  • Canterbury Quadrangle
  • The Old Library
  • Christ Church Hall
  • The Meadow Building
  • The Lee Building
  • Christ Church Cathedral
  • Christ Church Picture Gallery

The college gardens, quadrangles, and meadow are Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Cathedral choir

Christ Church Cathedral Interior 2, Oxford, UK - Diliff
Nave of Christ Church Cathedral looking to the altar
Christ Church Cathedral Interior 1, Oxford, UK - Diliff
Choir and organ of Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church is unique in that it has both a cathedral choir and a college choir. The cathedral choir comprises twelve men and sixteen boys. The men are made up of lay clerks and choral scholars, or academical clerks. The boys, whose ages range from eight to thirteen, are chosen for their musical ability and attend Christ Church Cathedral School. Aside from the director, there is also a sub-organist and two organ scholars. The college choir, however, is always a student run society, and sings Evensong once a week in term time. In vacations the services are sung by the Cathedral Singers of Christ Church (director John Padley) - a choir drawn from semi-professional singers in and around Oxford. The cathedral also hosts visiting choirs from time to time during vacations.

Throughout its history, the cathedral choir has attracted many distinguished composers and organists - from its first director, John Taverner, appointed by Cardinal Wolsey in 1526, to William Walton. The present director of music (known as the organist), is Stephen Darlington. In recent years, the choir have commissioned recorded works by contemporary composers such as John Tavener, William Mathias and Howard Goodall, also patron of Christ Church Music Society.

The choir, which broadcasts regularly, have many award-winning recordings to their credit and were the subject of a Channel 4 television documentary Howard Goodall's Great Dates. The documentary was nominated at the Montreux TV Festival in the arts programme category - and has since been seen internationally. The choir's collaboration with Goodall has also led to their singing his TV themes for Mr. Bean and Vicar of Dibley. They appeared in Howard Goodall's Big Bangs, broadcast in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 in March 2000. Treasures of Christ Church is the choir's most recent recording and debuted as the highest new entry in the UK Specialist Classical chart. The disc featured on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune on 26 September and on Radio 3’s Breakfast Show on 27 September.

ChCh Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral spire and associated buildings

Picture gallery

Christ Church holds one of the most important private collections of drawings in the UK, including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo. The collection is composed of approximately 300 paintings and 2,000 drawings, a rotated selection of which are available to the public for viewing in the purpose built Christ Church Picture Gallery. Many of the works were bequeathed by a former member of the college, General John Guise, enabling the creation of the first public art gallery in Britain.

Coat of arms

College arms

The college arms are those of Cardinal Wolsey and were granted to him by the College of Arms on 4 August 1525. They are blazoned: Sable, on a cross engrailed argent, between four leopards' faces azure a lion passant gules; on a chief or between two Cornish choughs proper a rose gules barbed vert and seeded or. The arms are depicted beneath a red cardinal's hat with fifteen tassels on either side, and sometimes in front of two crossed croziers.

Christ Church Cathedral arms
Christ Church Cathedral arms

Cathedral arms

There are also arms in use by the cathedral, which were confirmed in a visitation of 1574. They are emblazoned: "Between quarterly, 1st & 4th, France modern (azure three fleurs-de-lys or), 2nd & 3rd, England (gules in pale three lions passant guardant or), on a cross argent an open Bible proper edged and bound with seven clasps or, inscribed with the words In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum and imperially crowned or."

Graces

The college preprandial grace reads:

Latin English
[

Nōs miserī hominēs et egēnī, prō cibīs quōs nōbis ad corporis subsidium benignē es largeītus, tibi, Deus omnipotēns, Pater cælestis, grātiās reverenter agimus; simul obsecrantēs, ut iīs sobriē, modestē atque grātē ūtāmur.

Īnsuper petimus, ut cibum angelōrum, vērum panem cælestem, verbum Deī æternum, Dominum nostrum Iēsum Christum, nōbis impertiāris; utque illō mēns nostra pascātur et per carnem et sanguinem eius fovēāmur, alāmur, et corrōborēmur. Āmen.] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)

"We unhappy and unworthy men do give thee most reverent thanks, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for the victuals which thou hast bestowed on us for the sustenance of the body, at the same time beseeching thee that we may use them soberly, modestly and gratefully.

And above all we beseech thee to impart to us the food of angels, the true bread of heaven, the eternal Word of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, so that the mind of each of us may feed on him and that through his flesh and blood we may be sustained, nourished and strengthened. Amen."

ChristChurchMeadow
Christ Church from the south- east across Christ Church Meadow
Christ Church Cathedral from across the Meadow
Christ Church Cathedral from the east across Christ Church Meadow

The first part of the grace is read by a scholar or exhibitioner of the House before formal Hall each evening, ending with the words Per Iēsum Christum Dominum nostrum ("Through Jesus Christ our Lord.") The remainder of the grace, replacing Per Iēsum Christum, etc., is usually only read on special occasions:

There is also a long postprandial grace intended for use after meals, but this is rarely used. When High Table rises (by which time the Hall is largely empty), the senior member on High Table simply says Benedictō benedīcātur ("Let the Blessed One be blessed", or "Let a blessing be given by the Blessed One"), instead of the college postprandial grace:

(The Bible clerk reads from the Greek Testament.)

[

Omnipotens et misericors Deus, qui donis Tuis nos exsatiasti, effice ut quicquid per nos fieri aut prætermitti velis, diligenter observemus, mandata Tua universa prompto atque fideli obsequio obeuntes, per Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)

Versicle: [Domine, salvam fac Reginam.] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
Response: [Et exaudi nos, quando invocamus Te.] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)

[

Deus in cuius manu sunt corda regum; qui es humilium consolator, fidelium fortitudo, protector omnium in Te sperantium, da Reginæ nostræ Elizabethæ populoque Christiano ut Te Regem regum, et dominantium Dominum, agnoscant semper et venerentur, et post hanc vitam regni Tui æterni fiant participes ; per Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Deus, a quo derivatur omnis munificentia et bonitas, debitas Tibi gratias agimus, quod felicis memoriæ Regem Henricum eius nominis octavum, ad Ecclesiam hanc fundandam animaveris; et rogamus pro sancta Tua misericordia, ut cum nos hoc tanto beneficio adiuti, ad laudem Tui nominis profecerimus, una cum omnibus qui iam in Domino dormierunt, beatam resurrectionem, et æternæ felicitatis præmia consequamur, per Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)

Student life

As well as rooms for accommodation, the buildings of Christ Church include the cathedral, one of the smallest in England, which also acts as the college chapel, a great hall, two libraries, two bars, and common rooms for dons, graduates and undergraduates. There are also gardens and a neighbouring sportsground and boat-house.

Accommodation is usually provided for all undergraduates, and for some graduates, although some accommodation is off-site. Accommodation is generally spacious with most rooms equipped with sinks and fridges. Many undergraduate rooms comprise 'sets' of bedrooms and living areas. Members are generally expected to dine in hall, where there are two sittings every evening, one informal and one formal (where gowns must be worn and Latin grace is read). The buttery next to the Hall serves drinks around dinner time. There is also a college bar (known as the Undercroft), as well as a Junior Common Room (JCR) and a Graduate Common Room (GCR).

There is a college lending library which supplements the university libraries (many of which are non-lending). Law students have the additional facility of the college law library, which has received large financial supplements from Christ Church law graduates. Most undergraduate tutorials are carried out in the college, though for some specialist subjects undergraduates may be sent to tutors in other colleges.

Croquet is played in the Masters' Garden in the summer. The sports ground is mainly used for cricket, tennis, rugby and football. Rowing and punting is carried out by the boat-house across Christ Church Meadow - the college is traditionally strong at rowing, having been Head of the River more times than any other. The college also owns its own punts which may be borrowed by students or dons.

The college beagle pack (Christ Church and Farley Hill Beagles), which was formerly one of several undergraduate packs in Oxford, is no longer formally connected with the college or the university, but continues to be staffed and followed by some Oxford undergraduates.

Gallery



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See also

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