Wadham College, Oxford Facts for Kids

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Wadham College

Blazon: Gules, a chevron between 3 roses argent barbed vert (Wadham); impaling Gules, a bend or between 2 escallops argent (Petre)

University

Oxford

Location

Parks Road

Coordinates

51°45′21″N 1°15′17″W / 51.755871°N 1.254593°W

Full name

Wadham College of the Foundation of Nicholas Wadham Esquire and Dorothy his wife in the University of Oxford

Latin name

Collegium Wadhamensi

Established

1610; 414 years ago

Named for

Dorothy (née Petre) and Nicholas Wadham

Sister college

Christ's College, Cambridge

Warden

Robert Hannigan

Undergraduates

462 (2015/2016)

Postgraduates

182

Boat club

Wadham College Boat Club

Map

Location in Oxford city centre

Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road.

Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, according to the will of her late husband Nicholas Wadham (1531–1609), a member of an ancient Devon and Somerset family.

The central buildings, a notable example of Jacobean architecture, were designed by the architect William Arnold and erected between 1610 and 1613. They include a large and ornate Hall. Adjacent to the central buildings are the Wadham Gardens.

Amongst Wadham's most famous alumni is Sir Christopher Wren. Wren was one of a brilliant group of experimental scientists at Oxford in the 1650s, the Oxford Philosophical Club, which included Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke. This group held regular meetings at Wadham College under the guidance of the warden, John Wilkins, and the group formed the nucleus which went on to found the Royal Society.

Wadham is a liberal and progressive college which aims to maintain the diversity of its student body and a friendly atmosphere. Founded as a men's college, in 1974 it was among the first to become coeducational, and the college has a strong reputation as a promoter of gay rights. In 2011 it became the first Oxford college to fly the rainbow flag as part of queer week, a celebration of sexual diversity and individuality.

Wadham is one of the largest colleges of the University of Oxford, with about 460 undergraduates, 180 graduate students, and 65 fellows.

As of 2018, it had an estimated financial endowment of £107 million, and in 2014/2015 ranked 3rd in the Norrington Table, a measure which ranks Oxford colleges by academic performance.

Images for kids

Statues of the founders above the main entrance to the Hall
College entrance on Parks Road
Front quad
Hall
Chapel
Holywell Music Room in 2021
The Bowra Building by Sir Richard MacCormac
Holywell Quad, composed mainly of old town houses restored in the 1950s
Back quad
Sir Roger Penrose, Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics (1973–1999) and Nobel Laureate
Sir Christopher Wren, architect and astronomer
Robert Boyle, physicist
Sir Roger Penrose, mathematician
C. B. Fry, cricketer
Arthur Onslow, former Speaker of the House of Commons
Sir Kamisese Mara, first prime minister of Fiji
Abdul Halim of Kedah, King of Malaysia
Sir William Fox, former Prime minister of New Zealand
Robert Blake, Father of the Royal Navy
Michael Foot, former Leader of the Labour Party
Rowan Williams, former archbishop of Canterbury
Rosamund Pike, actress
Felicity Jones, actress
Melvyn Bragg, broadcaster and author
Marcus du Sautoy, mathematician and Simonyi Professor

Wadham College, Oxford facts for kids

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See also