| Harris Manchester College | ||||||||||||||||
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| University of Oxford | ||||||||||||||||
 Harris Manchester College Arlosh Quad | ||||||||||||||||
 Arms: Gules two torches inflamed in saltire proper, on a chief argent, between two roses of the field barbed and seeded, an open book also proper. | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | Mansfield Road (map) | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°45′21″N1°15′07″W / 51.755758°N 1.252044°W /51.755758; -1.252044 | |||||||||||||||
| Full name | Manchester Academy and Harris College | |||||||||||||||
| Latin name | Collegium de Harris et Manchester | |||||||||||||||
| Abbreviation | HMC | |||||||||||||||
| Motto | Veritas Libertas Pietas (Latin) | |||||||||||||||
| Motto in English | Truth, Freedom, Piety | |||||||||||||||
| Established | 1786; 239 years ago (1786) | |||||||||||||||
| Named after | Philip Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham | |||||||||||||||
| Previous names | Warrington Academy, Manchester Academy and Manchester College | |||||||||||||||
| Architect | Thomas Worthington | |||||||||||||||
| Sister college | Homerton College, Cambridge | |||||||||||||||
| Principal | Beth Breeze[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Undergraduates | 113[2] (2020) | |||||||||||||||
| Postgraduates | 178 (2020) | |||||||||||||||
| Endowment | £14.4 million(2020)[3] | |||||||||||||||
| Website | www | |||||||||||||||
| JCR | hmcjcr | |||||||||||||||
| Map | ||||||||||||||||
  Location in Oxford city centre | ||||||||||||||||
Harris Manchester College (HMC) is aconstituent college of theUniversity of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded inWarrington in 1757 as a college forUnitarian students and moved to Oxford in 1893. It became a full college of the university in 1996, taking its current name to commemorate its predecessor the Manchester Academy and a benefaction byLord Harris of Peckham.
The college's postgraduate and undergraduate places are exclusively for students aged 21 years or over. With around 100undergraduates and 150postgraduates, Harris Manchester is the smallest undergraduate college in either of theOxbridge universities.
The college started as theWarrington Academy in 1757 where its teachers includedJoseph Priestley,[4] before being refounded as the Manchester Academy inManchester in 1786.[5] Originally run byEnglish Presbyterians, it was one of severaldissenting academies that providedreligious nonconformists withhigher education, as at the time the only universities in England – Oxford and Cambridge – were restricted toAnglicans. It taught radical theology as well as modern subjects, such as science, modern languages, language, and history; as well as the classics. Its most famous professor wasJohn Dalton, developer ofatomic theory.[6]
The college changed its location five times before settling in Oxford. It was located in Manchester between 1786 and 1803. It moved toYork until 1840. It was located at 38 Monkgate, just outside Monkbar; later this was the first building of theCollege of Ripon and York St John (now York St John University). The key person in York wasCharles Wellbeloved, aUnitarian minister, after whom a function room in the college is named. Because he would not move to Manchester, the college moved to York to have him as head. At first he taught all subjects, but hired additional tutors after a year. He always worked hard and several times his health broke. Wellbeloved did not allow the school to be called Unitarian because he wanted students to have an open mind and to discover the truth for themselves. In 1809 he wrote toGeorge Wood,
I do not and will not teach Unitarianism or any ism butChristianism. I will endeavour to teach the students how to study theScripture—nice if they find Unitarianism there—well ifanimism—well ifTrinitarianism—well, only let them find something for themselves.
Under Wellbeloved's principalship 235 students were educated at the college: 121divinity students and 114 laymen. Of the former, 30 did not enter the ministry and five entered the Anglican priesthood. Among the lay students were scholars, public servants, businessmen, and notable men in the arts. The majority was Unitarian.[citation needed]
In 1840, when age forced him to retire, the college moved back to Manchester, where it stayed until 1853.[7] In 1840, the college started an association with theUniversity of London, and gained the right to present students for degrees from London. Between 1853 and 1889 the college was located inLondon, inUniversity Hall, Gordon Square.[8] From London it moved to Oxford, opening its new buildings in 1893.[9] In Oxford, the Unitarian Manchester College was viewed with alarm by orthodox Anglicans.William Sanday was warned that his presence at the official opening of 'an institution which professedly allows such fundamental Christian truths as the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation to be treated as open questions' would 'tend to the severance of the friendly relation subsisting between the university and the Church'.[10]
In its early days, the college supported reforming causes, such as theabolition of slavery (1778), and therepeal of the Test Act (1828) and theCorporation Act (1828). In 1922 the principal,L.P. Jacks, hostedRudolf Steiner to present a conference onalternative education and the modelWaldorf school atStuttgart,Germany which led to the establishment of such schools inBritain.[11]In the 1920s and 1930s, the college provided courses for theWorkers' Educational Association.[citation needed]
Women were permitted to attend some lectures in college from 1876, and in 1877, the college set up a series of examinations in theology, which could be taken by women as well as men.[12] In 1901,Gertrude von Petzold graduated from her training at Manchester College to become a minister in theUnitarian church- the first woman to be qualified as a minister in England.[13] This was possible despite the fact that Oxford University did not formally accept female students or award them degrees until 1920 because Manchester College was at that time associated with theUniversity of London, which in 1878 became the first UK university to award degrees to women.[14]
Manchester College played a significant part in the planning of theD-Day landings on 6 June 1944. TheMinistry of Works and Buildings requisitioned most of the college's buildings on 17 October 1941 to facilitate theNaval Intelligence and theInter-Services Topographic Department (ISTD). ISTD operations focussed on gathering of topographical intelligence for the day when theAllies would return to continental Europe.[15]
Departments were divided between Oxford and Cambridge, but it was the ISTD section in Manchester College which plannedOperation Overlord, known as the D-Day landings. The college's Arlosh Hall served as the main centre of operations, withNissen huts and tents put up in the quads. Among various other sources, the nearby School of Geography of the university supplied the ISTD with many maps and charts which proved an essential part in the success of the invasion.[15][16]
Manchester College became apermanent private hall of Oxford University in 1990 and subsequently a fullconstituent college, being granted a royal charter in 1996.[17] At the same time, it changed its name to Harris Manchester College in recognition of a benefaction byPhilip Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham. Formerly known as Manchester College, it is listed in the University Statutes (V.1) as Manchester Academy and Harris College, and at university ceremonies it is calledCollegium de Harris et Manchester.[citation needed]
Today the college only accepts students over the age of 21, both for undergraduate and graduate studies. The college tries to continue its liberal and pioneering ethos, considering its mature student focus as a modern means of providing higher education to those that have been excluded from it in the past.[citation needed]
The college houses several research centres, including theCommercial Law Centre, directed byKristin van Zwieten, Clifford Chance Professor of Law and Finance, which engages in research in all aspects of national, international, transnational and comparative law relating to commerce and finance;[18] and the Wellbeing Research Centre, directed byJan-Emmanuel De Neve, which applies interdisciplinary research and teaching on well-being at Oxford.[19]
The main quad was designed by architectThomas Worthington, and built between 1889 and 1893. It houses the Tate Library and the chapel. The Arlosh hall, designed byPercy Worthington, was added in 1913.[20] The college also has several newer buildings to the West of the main quad. In 2013–2014 the Siew-Sngiem Clock Tower & Sukum Navapan Gate were added to the Arlosh quad.[21] The inscription on the tower "It is later than you think, but it is never too late", refers to the role of the college in educating mature students.[22][23]
In 2018 a new building named Maevadi Hall was completed after two years of construction. It is situated to the west of the Arlosh Hall and contains a conference room, student accommodation and a student social area.[citation needed]
The chapel designed by "Worthington and Elgood" was inaugurated in 1893. The chapel is notable for its stained-glass windows by the Pre-Raphaelite artists SirEdward Burne-Jones andWilliam Morris, as well as its ornate wood carvings and organ, which was painted byMorris and Co. Seating in the chapel consisted of individual chairs until pews were added in 1897. The oak screen was added in 1896 and the original windows were made of plain glass until the installation of stained glass windows in 1895 and 1899.[24]
Particularly noteworthy are the stained glass windows on the north wall of the chapel, which were installed in 1896 and depict theSix Days of Creation. These were donated by James and Isabella Arlosh in memory of their son Godfrey.[25] The Unitarian-affiliated Manchester College Oxford Chapel Society meets in the college chapel on Sundays. The society is affiliated to theGeneral Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.[citation needed]
Despite being one of the smallest colleges ofOxford University, Harris Manchester boasts the sixth largest college library and offers the best student population to book ratio.[citation needed] It houses a collection of books and manuscripts dating back to the fifteenth century and is famous for its antiquarian books, tract collection, and library of Protestant Dissent.[26] The Tate Library was built bySir Henry Tate, the benefactor behind London's Tate Gallery. The library was expanded in 2011 with the addition of a gallery, designed to blend in with the Victorian Gothic architecture. The library is well stocked in all the major subjects offered by the college including English Literature, Philosophy, Theology, Politics, Economics, Law, History and Medicine. It also holds a significant collection on the history of Protestant dissent in England and is home to the Carpenter Library of World Religions, donated to the college by its former principal,J. Estlin Carpenter.[citation needed]
Harris Manchester College is located 200 metres from theBodleian Library, the main research library ofOxford University, as well as the English, History, Social Sciences, and Law faculty libraries.[citation needed]
Despite the small student body, the college offers a wide array of courses. Many undergraduate tutorials are carried out in the college, though for some specialist papers undergraduates may be sent to tutors in other colleges.[citation needed] Members are generally expected to dine in the Arlosh Hall, where there is a twice-weekly formal dinner on Mondays and Wednesdays at which students dress in jackets, ties, and gowns.[citation needed]
Although the college does not have its own sports ground, it consistently enters women's and men's teams into the university leagues, and members routinely join teams from other colleges. The college has a punt, The Royle Yacht, and a croquet lawn.
In recent years the college'sice hockey team has been successful, once winning second place in the intercollegiatecuppers tournament, with the Basketball team winning third place in its intercollegiatecuppers tournament the year before. There is also an active pool team and a thriving squash club.[27]
Harris Manchester also has an affiliation with neighbouringWadham College for those interested in becoming members ofWadham College Boat Club, which came in second in the 2012 Women'sTorpids andSummer VIIIs, and saw both the First and Second Men's boats winning blades.[citation needed]
Harris Manchester has one of the three remaining student run college bars in Oxford (the others beingBalliol College andSt Cross College).[28] The common room is decorated withWilliam Morris wallpaper.[citation needed]
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Since October 2025 the principal of the college has been the sociologist,Beth Breeze.
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