| Campion Hall | |||||||||||||
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| University of Oxford | |||||||||||||
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 Arms: Argent on a cross sable a plate charged with a wolf's head erased of the second between in pale two billets of the field that in chief charged with acinquefoil and that in base with a saltire gules and in fesse as many plates each charged with acampion flower leaved and slipped proper on a chief also of the second two branches of palm in saltire enfiled with acelestial crown or. | |||||||||||||
| Location | Brewer Street, Oxford | ||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°44′59″N1°15′30″W / 51.7496°N 1.2582°W /51.7496; -1.2582 | ||||||||||||
| Founder | Richard Clarke SJ | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1896; 129 years ago (1896) | ||||||||||||
| Named after | Edmund Campion | ||||||||||||
| Master | Nicholas AustinSJ | ||||||||||||
| Postgraduates | 15 | ||||||||||||
| Website | campion.ox.ac.uk | ||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||
  Location in Oxford city centre | |||||||||||||
Campion Hall is one of the fourpermanent private halls of theUniversity of Oxford in England. ACatholic hall, it is run by theSociety of Jesus and named afterEdmund Campion, a martyr and fellow ofSt John's College, Oxford. The hall is located on Brewer Street, betweenChrist Church andPembroke College. The buildings, along with many of the fixtures and fittings, were designed by SirEdwin Lutyens, his only buildings in Oxford. The hall also houses an extensive collection of religious art spanning 600 years; the pieces were collected primarily by FrMartin D'Arcy in the 1930s.
The origins of Campion Hall began on 9 September 1896 when Fr Richard Clarke, who was a former member ofSt John's College, Oxford, opened aprivate hall called Clarke's Hall. He was sent by his superiors from theChurch of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, in London toSt. Aloysius Church in Oxford to set up a hall for Jesuit undergraduates. He founded a small house at 40St Giles', Oxford, and was the first master of the hall. On 10 September 1896 the hall had its first four students. The hall allowed Jesuits to study for degrees from the University of Oxford.[1][2]
The rented accommodation that was originally used was too small and 15 months later the hall was moved to Middleton Hall at 11St Giles', which was leased to the Society of Jesus until 1936.[3]
In 1900, Fr Clarke died suddenly atYork and, with his death, the hall ceased to exist. That year the hall was reopened as Pope's Hall under Fr O'Fallon Pope as master who continued to be master until 1915. In 1902, he purchased 14 and 15 St Giles' and, in 1903, 13 St Giles' was also bought.[citation needed]
Fr O'Fallon Pope was succeeded by Fr Charles Plater and the hall again changed its name, this time to Plater's Hall.[4]
In 1918, the hall was granted permanent status[5] and changed its name to Campion Hall after StEdmund Campion, an English Jesuit andmartyr who had been a fellow at St John's College.Permanent private halls (PPH) within the University of Oxford were established for the reception of students on the condition that they are not for purposes of profit. Apart from Campion Hall, the other early permanent private halls wereSt Benet's Hall from 1918 andSt Peter's Hall from 1929 to 1947. Permanent private halls have the same privileges as members ofcolleges.[citation needed]
In 1921, Fr Plater died and Fr Henry Keane was appointed master, until his retirement in 1926. He was succeeded by Fr Ernest G. Vignaux, who was master until 1933. At that time, there were plans for the building of a new hall in Giles'. He was succeeded as master by FrMartin D'Arcy until 1945.[citation needed]
In 1933, when Fr. D'Arcy became Master, the lease of the St. Giles property had only three years to run,[6] so in 1935 a project of building in St. Giles was dropped and a new home was found inBrewer Street.[4] The properties in St. Giles's were subsequently sold toSt. John's College.[citation needed]
Brewer Street, also known as 'Sleying Lane' was occupied in the medieval period by brewers and butchers.[7] There is a long history of brewing in Oxford. Several of the colleges had private breweries, one of which,Brasenose College, survived until 1889.[8] In the 16th century, brewing and malting appeared to have been the most popular trades in the city. By 1874 there were nine breweries in Oxford and 13 brewers' agents in Oxford shipping beer in from elsewhere, Brewer Street was no exception.[9]
At Brewer Street, Campion Hall bought two buildings, one a large and ancientlodging house, known as 'Micklem Hall', which in the past belonged to Hall's Brewery. It was owned by a brewer named Micklem (1820–1870). The second building was a garage which had once been the stables for the horses which pulled the Oxford trams. The garage was demolished, as well as some of the rooms of Micklem Hall, with others incorporated into the new building.[10]
The new building was designed bySir Edwin Lutyens and completed in 1936. The building was opened in June 1936, bythe Duke of Alba, Spanish ambassador to London, alongside Alban Goodier S.J., the formerArchbishop of Bombay, andJulian Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith.[11]
The building wasGrade II* listed in 1954.[12] It is the only building in Oxford designed by Lutyens, although in 1928 he did design the fountain inTom Quad at nearby Christ Church.[13] The style of Lutyens's exterior has been compared to 17th-centuryCotswold architecture.[14] The chapel has a semi-circularapse with abaldachin,[15] and Lutyens provided chapel light fittings having red tassels like those on acardinal's hat.[14]
In 1912 Lutyens had laid outNew Delhi as the new capital of India.[16] He devised an architecturalDelhi Order there, with small bells hanging from thecapitals of the columns,[17] and subsequently made use of it in his design for Campion Hall, including in the columns supporting the baldachin in the chapel.[15]
Fr. D'Arcy continued as Master of Campion Hall until 1945, when he was succeeded by Fr. Thomas Corbishley.[citation needed] In 2001, the Jesuit spirituality journal,The Way, began to operate from Campion Hall.[citation needed]
Campion Hall hosts the Jesuit academic community within University of Oxford and has an international student body, admitting graduate students in Humanities and Social Science subjects, and occasionally in other disciplines.
In 2018, the Laudato Si' Research Institute was started at Campion Hall. It has the aim of conducting and fostering inter-disciplinary research on issues relating to integral ecology.[18]
In 2011, a painting "The Crucifixion of Jesus" which had been hanging in a hall of Campion Hall, was thought to have been a long-lostMichelangelo masterpiece worth £100 million. The painting was bought by Fr.Martin D'Arcy when he was Master of Campion Hall at aSotheby's auction in the 1930s. Some experts argue that the painting dates from towards the end of Michelangelo's life when his eyesight was failing, so is more likely to be a painting byMarcello Venusti.[citation needed]
The painting was removed from its position on a wall in Campion Hall and sent to theAshmolean Museum where it is on display.[19]
The Way is a spirituality journal that publishes articles quarterly to an international readership through an editorial board on subjects relating to contemporary Christian spirituality and operates out of Campion Hall. It was founded in 1961 by its editor James Walsh. He was joined by William Yeomans, Denise Critchley-Salmonson and Philip Caraman, who also editedThe Month. Originally it was located inHeythrop Park. In September 1970, it moved toBeaumont College and Michael Ivens joined the staff. In May 1972, it moved to Southwell House inWest Hampstead. In 1978, it moved again, this time toCampion House in Osterley in 1978. In the early 1980s, it moved toHeythrop College's new location in London, as part of the Institute of Spirituality there. James Walsh stood down as editor andPhilip Sheldrake, David Lonsdale and laterLavinia Byrne became editors. In 1992, Jacqueline Hawkins became the editor. In 2001, it moved to Campion Hall and Philip Endean with Elizabeth Lock became editors two years later. It was relaunched and ceased publishing the annual supplement. In 2008, Philip Endean was replaced by Paul Nicholson.[20][21][22] Since 2022 Philip Harrison has taken the position of editor.[23]
The Laudato Si' Research Institute was also based out of Campion Hall. It was founded in 2018 and named afterthe encyclical byPope Francis. It was founded by its current directorCelia Deane-Drummond to conduct multidisciplinary research on the environmental issues present in the world. Celia Deane-Drummond also edits the international journalPhilosophy, Theology and the Sciences. It has links with a master's degree programme operating out of theLondon Jesuit Centre on theology, ecology and ethics. It is currently working on establishing the Laudato Si' Research Network to encourage global research collaboration.[24][25] On 21 February 2020, its new offices in Albion House, Oxford were opened by the Master of Campion Hall, Nicholas Austin.[26]
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