St Mary Hall was a medieval academic hall of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it was re-incorporated into Oriel College in 1902.
History
In 1320, when he was appointed rector of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Adam de Brome was given the rectory house, St. Mary Hall, on the High Street. Crossley, Alan (editor), "Churches", A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 4: The City of Oxford (1979) pp. 369–412, Oxford University Press VCH series British History Online St. Mary Hall was acquired by Oriel College in 1326: Bedel Hall, which adjoins St. Mary's to the south, was given by Bishop Carpenter of Worcester in 1455. These two halls, along with St. Martin's Hall, served as annexes for Oriel College.
In the early 16th century, the college's St. Antony's and Dudley exhibitioners were lodged in St Mary Hall and Bedel Hall, and around this time the two halls were united. St. Mary Hall subsequently developed into an independent entity, and in 1545, on the order the Visitor, Bishop Longland of Lincoln, the door between St Mary Hall and Oriel was blocked. The Hall subsequently employed its own lecturers, and the intake of St Mary's was periodically more than that of Oriel.
In 1552, there were 18 members of St. Mary Hall, excluding the Principal. The Principals of St Mary Hall continued to be fellows of Oriel until 1656. By 1875, the size of St.Mary Hall's undergraduate body had risen to 60, a large number for one of the University's colleges at that time.Salter H. E. and Lobel, M. D. (editors), "St Mary Hall", A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3: The University of Oxford (1954) pp. 129–131, Oxford University Press VCH series,
The Hall was effectively the property of its Principal, who was also Vicar of St Mary's Church. The last Principal, Drummond Percy Chase, who had been appointed in 1857, created an agreement with Oriel as a consequence of which the Hall became the property of Oriel on his death, which subsequently occurred in 1902, when according to the agreement, the Hall was incorporated into Oriel College.Barbara Harlow, Mia Carter, Archives of Empire: Volume 2. The Scramble for Africa, p. 545 Some agreements created when St. Mary Hall were a separate organisation continue to exist: for example, the benefice of the Vicar of St Mary's Church includes dining rights at Oriel.
The present St. Mary's Quad, or 'third quadrangle', of Oriel occupies three ranges of the former buildings of the St. Mary Hall. The Principal's house was demolished for the construction of the Rhodes Building, which was designed by Basil Champneys, and which was completed in 1911.
Principals Adam de Brome 1532–1537: John Rixman 1546–1550: Morgan Phillips 1556–1561: William Allen, later a Cardinal 1656–1660: Thomas Cole 1660–1664: Martin Llewellin (1616-1681/82)J. Foster, Alumni Oxonienses, 4 vols (Parker and co., Oxford and London 1891-92), III, p. 921 (HathiTrust). 1664–1689: Joseph Crowther (died 1689), also Chaplain to the Duke of YorkRobert Latham & William Matthews, eds., The Diary of Samuel Pepys: A New and Complete Transcription (2001), p. 83 1689–1712: William Wyatt (died Nov. 1712)Anthony à Wood, Philip Bliss, Athenae Oxonienses, Volume 4, col. 457 1712–1719: John Hudson 1719–1764: William King 1764–1801: Thomas Nowell 1801–1815: Phineas PettThe Oxford University and City Guide, on a New Plan (new edition, 1839), p. 159 1815–1833: John Dean (born 1769, died 1833)'Dr John Dean, D.D.' In The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 153 (1833), pp. 468–469 1833–1848: Renn Dickson Hampden 1848–1857: Philip Bliss (born 1787, died 1857)M. G. Brock, M. C. Curthoys, The History of the University of Oxford: Nineteenth-Century Oxford, p. 738Alan Bell, ‘Bliss, Philip (1787–1857)’, in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004), online text (subscription site) 1857–1902: Drummond Percy Chase (born 1820, died 1902)Brock & Curthoys, p. 329
Notable former students John Ball (Puritan), BA 1608 William Henry Charsley, Master of Charsley's Hall, Oxford Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot, matriculated 1742 Brajendranath Dey, of the Indian Civil Service, matriculated 1874Brajendra at indiansaga.com Who's Who: Famous Personalities Thomas Elyot (alleged) Thomas Harriot, 16th-century astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer, and translator Theodore Hook, matriculated but did not come into residence; author Robert Hues, B.A. 1578 John Hunter, matriculated 1755 Sir Christopher Hatton, lord chancellor of England James Leith Moody, priest (BA, 1840; MA, 1863) Henry Newton, diplomat Geoffrey Osbaldeston, High Court judge in Ireland, matriculated 1575 Robert Parsons, leading Jesuit priest George Sandys John Marston (poet) Thomas Jackson Rev 1812– 1886 graduated BA 1834 and MA 1837
References
External links History of St Mary Hall from Oriel College