Linacre College, Oxford

Linacre College UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
No End To Learning
Oxford, Oxfordshire
Principal:	Nick Brown
Website:	www.linacre.ox.ac.uk
Location
Grid reference:	SP51870701
Location:	51°45’34"N, 1°14’59"W

Linacre College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, whose members comprise approximately 50 fellows and 550 postgraduate students.

Linacre is a diverse college in terms of both the international composition of its members (the majority of whom are from outside the United Kingdom and represent 133 countries), as well as the disciplines studied. Linacre was the first graduate college in the United Kingdom for both sexes and all subjects. Unlike most colleges, students and fellows share the same common room and there is no high table.

The college was founded in 1962 and is named after Thomas Linacre (1460–1524), founder of the Royal College of Physicians as well as a distinguished renaissance humanist — multidisciplinary interests that the college aims to reflect.

The college is located on St Cross Road at its junction with South Parks Road, bordering University Parks to the north and the University Science Area to the west.

History

Linacre College (called Linacre House for its first three years) was the United Kingdom's first graduate society for both sexes and all subjects. Founding Principal John Bamborough described it as "a deliberate experiment by the University to see whether the needs of graduate students could be met by a new type of society."

It was founded on 1 August 1962, in premises on St Aldate's formerly occupied by St Catherine's Society (now St Catherine's College) and currently home to the university's Music Department. Initially there were 115 members of whom only 30 were British. The first senior members included Isaiah Berlin, Dorothy Hodgkin and John Hicks.

In November 1964, Linacre became a self-governing society and then on 1 August 1986 an independent college of Oxford University by royal charter. In 1977, Linacre moved to its present site at Cherwell Edge, a Queen Anne building designed in part by Basil Champneys, which was formerly a private home, a convent of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, and a residence for students of other colleges.

Proposed renaming

On 31 October 2021, the college signed a memorandum of understanding with SOVICO Group, represented by their chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao to receive a donation of £155 million. The MoU sets out the intention to create a new graduate centre and endow graduate access scholarships. After receipt of the first £50 million, the College will approach the Privy Council to ask for permission to change the name from Linacre College to Thao College. The donation and proposed name change has been a source of controversy for some university staff and students due to SOVICO's interests in fossil fuel industries.

Buildings and facilities

Linacre College from New College Sports Ground

Linacre's main site is on the corner of South Parks Road and St Cross Road. In addition to the original building of 1886 (now known as the OC Tanner Building) there are three much newer accommodation blocks on the main site, all built of "Linacre College Special Blend Brick" with matching Queen Anne style architecture. The Bamborough, Abraham, and Griffiths buildings were completed in 1986, 1995, and 2008 respectively, raising the total number of student rooms on the main college site to 92.

OC Tanner Building

Library of Gilbert Ryle

The oldest part of the college, known as the OC Tanner Building, contains most of the central facilities, all staff offices and some student accommodation. The heart of the building is the large common room, which has a bar and other leisure facilities. The college library, formerly a chapel, includes shared computing facilities for college members.

Gilbert Ryle Collection

As well as the main library there is also Gilbert Ryle's personal library, part of which he donated in 1968, and the remainder after his death in 1976. Ryle was involved in the creation of Linacre House in 1962, when the institution had no library. When Ryle retired in 1968, he donated many of his books to Linacre College, and the remainder of the collection after he died in 1976. The books are stored in the Linacre Bookcase and are available for use in the Linacre Library.

Bamborough Building

The first major addition to the main college site was the Bamborough Building, which opened in 1985 and was officially named in 1986. It is located beside the OC Tanner Building to form a quad featuring an ornamental fountain. A plaque on the Bamborough Building commemorates it winning an Oxford Preservation Trust award in 1987.

The Rom Harré Garden

The most recent major development at Linacre has been the completion of a garden extension on the main site of the college in 2010. This is a quiet spot with flowers and outdoor seating. Rom Harré is a former Vice-Principal and Emeritus Fellow.

Pictures

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Linacre College, Oxford)

• 
  Main Entrance
• 
  View from the west
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  OC Tanner Building
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  Abraham Building
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  Griffiths Building
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  Dining Hall
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  Rom Harré Garden
• 
  The college's arms on oak wood

Outside links

• Linacre College
• Linacre Common Room

References

• Virtual Tour of Linacre College