| Pembroke College | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Oxford | ||||||||||||
 Pembroke College Hall over the Chapel Quad | ||||||||||||
 Arms:see below | ||||||||||||
| Location | Pembroke Square, Oxford OX1 1DW | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°45′00″N1°15′28″W / 51.750062°N 1.257827°W /51.750062; -1.257827 | |||||||||||
| Latin name | Collegium Pembrochianum | |||||||||||
| Established | 1624; 401 years ago (1624) | |||||||||||
| Named for | William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke | |||||||||||
| Sister college | Queens' College, Cambridge | |||||||||||
| Master | Sir Ernest Ryder | |||||||||||
| Undergraduates | 390 (2024/2025)[1] | |||||||||||
| Postgraduates | 245 (2024/2025)[1] | |||||||||||
| Endowment | £58.9 million(2020)[2] | |||||||||||
| Website | www | |||||||||||
| Boat club | Pembroke College Boat Club | |||||||||||
| Map | ||||||||||||
  Location in Oxford city centre | ||||||||||||
Pembroke College, aconstituent college of theUniversity of Oxford, is located onPembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 byKing James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part theendowment of merchantThomas Tesdale, and was named afterWilliam Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke,Lord Chamberlain and then-Chancellor of the University.[3]
Like many Oxford colleges, Pembroke previously accepted men only, admitting its firstmixed-sexcohort in 1979.[3] As of 2020, Pembroke had an estimatedfinancial endowment of £58.9 million.[2] Pembroke College provides almost the full range of study available at Oxford University.
A formerSenior President of Tribunals andLord Justice of Appeal, SirErnest Ryder, has held the post ofMaster of Pembroke since 2020.[4]
In 1610,Thomas Tesdale gave£5,000 on his death for the education ofAbingdon School Scholars (seven fellows and six scholars) atBalliol College, Oxford. However, in 1623, this money was augmented by the ReverendRichard Wightwick, parish priest ofEast Ilsley, and used instead for the conversion ofBroadgates Hall into Pembroke College.[5][6] Broadgates Hall had been anacademic hall for law students. The site of the hall was given to the Priory of St Frideswide by a Richard Segrim in 1254.[7] Theletters patent founding the college were signed byKing James I in 1624, it being named afterWilliam Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke,Lord Chamberlain,Chancellor of the University,[3] and rumoured patron ofWilliam Shakespeare.[8]
Pembroke College'sarms weregranted on 14 February 1625, beingblazoned by theHeralds' College:
King James I and theEarl of Pembroke are both represented in the College's arms: the former by the union of the crowns asJames I of England andJames VI of Scotland, depicted by the rose (of England) and the thistle (of Scotland); the latter using the three lions rampant and colours from the Pembroke family arms.[citation needed]
Following its foundation, the college proceeded to expand around Broadgates, building what is now known as "Old Quad" in the 1600s. Built in stages through the seventeenth century out of the localCotswoldlimestone, space restrictions saw the south-side of the Quad built directly on top of the oldOxford city wall.[9]
A Chapel was built in 1732, followed by the introduction of further accommodation in 1846 and the Hall in 1848 to designs by Exeter-based architectJohn Hayward,[10] together creating "Chapel Quad".[11] The Chapel was designed and built by William Townsend, although the interior was dramatically revamped byCharles Kempe—a Pembroke graduate—in 1884. Pembroke alumnus Dr. Damon Wells was a significant benefactor of the college over many years: he funded the restoration of the Chapel in 1972 and again in the 1990s and provided ongoing support to the Chaplaincy and History Fellowship.[12] The Chapel, which is still used for regular worship, now bears his name.[13]
Further expansion of the College came in the 1960s, after the closure of Beef Lane to the north of Chapel Quad. The private houses north of the closed road were acquired by the college in a piecemeal fashion and reversed so that access was only possible from the rear. The area is now known as "North Quad" and was formally opened in 1962.[11]
In April 2013HRH The Duke of Kent officially opened a newquadrangle named after the lead donorChris Rokos[14] The new buildings include a 170-seat multi-purpose auditorium, a new café, art gallery, and teaching and function rooms. The development is physically joined to the college's existing city-centre site via a new bridge crossingBrewer Street and the original medieval city wall, and 'landing' in the old Fellows' Garden adjacent to Chapel Quad. Having historically been one of the university's dimensionally smaller colleges, following the opening of the new building, undergraduates are now able to live in college premises for all years of study. Postgraduates also benefit from more rooms, and there are six flats for those with partners.[15]
A modern annexe on the banks of theRiver Isis atGrandpont provides accommodation for around 115 graduates and 40 undergraduates of the college.[16] Named the Geoffrey Arthur Building (commonly referred to as "The GAB"), the building is named after the diplomatSir Geoffrey Arthur, Master of the College (1975–1985).[17]
Pembroke offers a broad range of courses, covering most subject areas offered by the university having a strong involvement with Economics,Languages,[18] as well asManagement Studies, being the first traditionalOxford college to elect aFellow in the field.[19] The college maintains a relationship with theSaïd Business School.[20]
In March 2002 two Pembroke fellows resigned after allegations that they had offered a place to the fictional child of an undercover reporter in return for a donation to the college library; a journalist had taped a conversation where he posed as the father of a fictitious son.[21]
Pembroke leads an educational Access initiative called OxNet, delivered in collaboration with other Oxford colleges and Higher Education institutions in addition to a national network of Hub and Link schools across West London, the North West and North East of England.[22] OxNet runs a series of academic programmes for pupils from these target regions, aiming to raise educational aspiration and attainment and to widen access to the University of Oxford and other competitive universities, irrespective of a person's background of location.[23] Their programmes aim to challenge pupils to think beyond the curriculum, raise academic resilience and confidence, demystify preconceptions ofOxbridge and equip pupils with important skills for continued study.[24][25]
Pembroke is home to aJunior Common Room (undergraduate community) notable for its artistic wealth and sporting prowess. The JCR is the wealthiest in Oxford due to the purchase and sale of aFrancis Bacon painting in the mid 20th century; it was bought in 1953 for £150 and sold for £400,000 in 1997.[26] The JCR has used those funds to support a student support scheme and an artistic acquisition programme.[27]
In 2018, Pembroke became the first college to win two rugby honours in one year, with the women's team winning Cuppers, and the men's team winning the Cuppers Bowl.
Pembroke College Boat Club in 2013 held both theTorpids andSummer Eights men's headship, with the women's 1st boat sitting at 4th and 7th places respectively. In 2016, the men held Head of the River in Torpids and 4th in Summer Eights, and the women held 3rd and 2nd for Torpids and Summer Eights respectively.[28] Pembroke Men's 2nd Torpids also bumped five places up to 11th in Division 1—the first time there have been two men's boats from a single college in over 40 years.[29] Pembroke was the top club in aggregate points across all boats for three years running.[30] In 2003, Pembroke became the first college to win the "Double Headship Trophy" for having both men's and women's Eights head the river. In 2018, the Pembroke Women's 1st boat again achieved the Summer Eights headship[31] and in 2025 it became the first Women's boat in college's history to achieve Torpids headship.[32]
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Samuel Johnson was one of the college's more famous alumni, though he did not complete his degree (he was later awarded an honorary degree by the University); lack of funds forced him to leave Oxford after about a year and a half. Two of his desks and various other possessions are displayed around the college. He spoke fondly of Pembroke to his death, recalling especially the college's many poets, telling friends that 'we were a nest of singing birds.'[33]James Smithson, whose bequest founded theSmithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. (despite him never having visited the United States) was an undergraduate at Pembroke, under the name "James Lewis Macie"—he changed his name to that of his natural father after the death of his mother. In addition, SenatorJ. William Fulbright, who established theFulbright Program, was aRhodes Scholar at Pembroke in the 1920s.[34]
In more recent years,Pete Buttigieg, US presidential candidate and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation completed a graduate degree at Pembroke.Katharine Viner, the first female Editor in Chief of the Guardian Newspaper read English at Pembroke in 1990.
Thomas Randolph, principal of Pembroke's precursor mediaeval hall, Broadgates, served as ambassador forElizabeth I to Scotland from 1559, where he gained the friendship ofMary, Queen of Scots, until he was accused of supporting the rebellion ofJames Stuart.[35] In 1568 he was despatched to Moscow to secure trading rights fromIvan IV, also known asIvan the Terrible, gaining valuable access to Russia for English merchants of theMuscovy Company.[36]
More recently,John, Baron Kerr of Kinlochard, served as HM Ambassador to the United States from 1995 to 1997, before being appointed Head of theBritish Foreign and Commonwealth Office.Philip Lader served as US Ambassador to the UK from 1997 to 2001. Thus in 1997, both the US Ambassador in London and the UK Ambassador in Washington were former Pembroke students.Peter, Baron Ricketts was Head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 2006 until 2010, before serving as British Ambassador to France for six years until his retirement in 2016.[37]
Additionally, two former chairmen of theSenate Foreign Relations Committee SenatorRichard G. Lugar, (Republican), and SenatorJ. William Fulbright (Democrat), were students of Pembroke, between them chairing theSenate Foreign Relations Committee for a 27-year period.[38]
From Europe, the Prime Minister of Hungary,Viktor Orbán and Polish Foreign MinisterRadek Sikorski MEP studied at Pembroke, as too did theSultanHaitham bin Tariq of Oman andKing Abdullah II of Jordan.[39]
J. R. R. Tolkien was aFellow of Pembroke from 1925 to 1945, and wroteThe Hobbit and the first two volumes ofThe Lord of the Rings during his time there. Since 2013 the college has held anannual lecture on fantasy literature in his honour.[40]Robin G. Collingwood, historian, philosopher, and author ofThe Idea of History, was a Fellow of the College between the Great War and the Second World War.
Andy Orchard, a British academic inOld English,Norse andCeltic literature. He isRawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at theUniversity of Oxford and afellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. He was previouslyProvost ofTrinity College,Toronto, from 2007 to 2013. In 2021, claims of sexual harassment and assault by Orchard were publicized, which were alleged at universities where he has worked, including the University of Cambridge, the University of Toronto, and the University of Oxford.[41][42]
Among the college's more recent Masters were SirGeoffrey Arthur, former chairman of theJoint Intelligence Committee and SirRoger Bannister, the first man to run the mile in under four minutes.Sir Ernest Ryder, a former Lord Justice of Appeal, succeededDame Lynne Brindley as Master of Pembroke College on 1 July 2020.[4]
