PEMBROKE COLLEGE
Architectural History
Pembroke College, founded
in 1624, was the direct
descendant of Broadgates,
one of the most important
of the medieval halls. Its site is bounded by St. Ebbe's
St. on the west, Brewer's St. on the south, St. Aldate's
on the east, and Beef Lane on the north. This site was
made up of an agglomeration of tenements, some once
academic halls themselves, most of which were rented
by Broadgates Hall at the time of its decease.
The site of Broadgates Hall was given to St. Frideswide's Priory by Richard Segrim in 1254. (fn. 1) The college possesses only one document dating from the
period of the hall, (fn. 2) but a few points can be made out
from other sources. It is first mentioned in University
records in 1446, when its Principal, William Wytham,
is included in a list of those who produced the necessary
security for the rent of their halls. (fn. 3) A rental of St.
Frideswide's, long perished, but seen by Twyne, has
an entry in 1517: 'From magister John Noble, principal
of Broadgates, once called Segrene Hall, xxx s; lately
xl s; for the future xx s with the burden of repairs.' (fn. 4)
The property passed over to Christ Church after the
Dissolution, and the rent, together with 6s. 8d. for
Abingdon Buildings, was redeemed by Pembroke
College for £40 in 1866. A portion of the 15th-or 16thcentury buildings of the hall survives, the refectory,
which served until 1847 as the college hall and is now
the library. It was a high room, probably with buttery
screens at the east end. Until 1709, when a room was
built over it to house the library, there was a lantern
and louvre in the middle of the roof, to remove the
smoke from a central hearth. (fn. 5) In 1620, under the rule
of Dr. Clayton, last Principal of Broadgates and first
Master of Pembroke, the hall was enlarged by the
addition of a transverse at the west end, on which the
high table stood, lit by several windows, (fn. 6) some of which
were later filled with stained glass by individual benefactors.
The other sites and buildings absorbed by Broadgates are not always easy to identify. Those lying to the
west of it left some remains until last century. In the
Middle Ages there stood here, between Broadgates and
Littlegate St. (now St. Ebbe's), a row of halls; Camby's
Lodgings, Minote or St. John's, SS. Michael and
James, Beef, Wylde's Entry, and Dunstan. All but
two of these had been academic halls at one time.
Camby's Lodgings occupied approximately the site of
the old Master's Lodgings of the present college. It
was a small tenement which in the Middle Ages paid a
quit-rent of 4s. to St. Frideswide's. (fn. 7) At the beginning
of the 16th century it was owned by John Camby and
was not united to Broadgates. The St. Frideswide's
rental of 1517 records: 'From John Camby, late John
Isbury, a quitrent from a house formerly occupied by
mag. Leonard Saye, now by James Souche, having a
tenement belonging to Magdalen College on the West,
and the hall of the Prior, called Segrene Hall alias
Brodyates on the South and East 4 s.' (fn. 8) Anthony Wood,
taking this from Twyne without acknowledgement,
states that Camby rebuilt the lodgings 'to the end that
the Scholars of Broadgates might live in them', (fn. 9) but
there is no proof of this statement. After this date it
passed through various hands, including those of two
Principals of Broadgates (one of whom, Summaster,
largely rebuilt it some time after 1596), and was
finally bought by the Master and fellows of the new
college in 1626. (fn. 10) They repaired and altered it to serve
as the Master's Lodgings. The result of these two
rebuildings seems, from the prints, to be a lath-andplaster building with an overhanging top story,
occupying the site of the later Lodgings, except that
it projected slightly less to the north on Beef Lane.
Minot or St. John's Hall which adjoined it was the
property of the hospital of St. John, (fn. 11) and so later of
Magdalen College. It was known in the hospital as
Minot Hall, from the man who had once owned it,
but in the University it was called St. John's Hall.
By 1519 it was only a garden, (fn. 12) and from 1554 it was
held by the Principal of Broadgates. (fn. 13) In 1634 Pembroke leased it from Magdalen (it had formerly been
let to one Henry Millward). (fn. 14) In 1781 it was purchased in fee from Magdalen for £18. Wood says that
Summaster was the first to make chambers for students
in Minot, (fn. 15) and a building on this site certainly retained the name of Summaster's into the 18th century.
Till 1844 there existed to the south of Beef Lane, on
the site of the present new buildings, two old, detached, gabled buildings, usually called the Back
Lodgings. The eastern of these seems certainly to have
been Summaster's. Judging from Burgher's print, it
was a 17th-century building of regular plan, and the
arrangement of its windows gives every reason to think
that it had either been built or remodelled to suit the
needs of academic accommodation. It contained in
1738 six sets of rooms. (fn. 16)
Next on the west came two halls, St. Michael's to
the east and St. James's on the west. We know the
Principals of both of them in and before 1470, but not
later. They were given to All Souls in 1440. (fn. 17) In
1555 these formed 'a garden where once were two
messuages'. (fn. 18) There is no evidence if they were ever
used by Broadgates; their lease was obtained from All
Souls in 1634, and the rent finally redeemed in 1773
for £12 12s. (fn. 19)
Next came Beef Hall, after which Beef Lane was
named. This hall, of which we have Principals down to
the year 1514, (fn. 20) was given to the University in 1322. (fn. 21)
It obtained its name from Thomas de Beaufo (Bella
Fago), who owned it. It seems to have absorbed the
site of Dunstan Hall. In 1626 Hutton speaks of it as
'not inhabited with anie scholars, but become the
Tenement of some private person'. (fn. 22) By 1637 the
lease was in the possession of Pembroke who let it to
John Peacock, except for an upper and lower chamber,
a cock-loft and a part used as a stable, which was let to
John Darby, M.A. (fn. 23) It does not appear to have been
used for academic purposes until 1730. (fn. 24) The University sold it to Pembroke in 1872.
The rest of the Back Lodgings, destroyed in 1844,
seems to have represented St. James's and Beef Halls.
In addition to Summaster's, there was farther west an
L-shaped building consisting apparently of two separate
parts. (fn. 25) Mr. Macleane thinks it possible that both
parts were originally Beef Hall, but more probable
that the part farther from St. Ebbe's is on the site of
St. James's Hall, and that the small western building,
described in 1730 as consisting of two cock-lofts, two
chambers, and two low rooms, and called in the
contemporary endorsement, Beef Hall, is all that
remained of the old Beef Hall. (fn. 26) In the list of rooms of
1738 all that was to the west of Summaster's Lodging
was a building with two staircases, one of six rooms,
and one of three. These small remains are perhaps all
that was left by fire, for the great fire of 1644 may have
reached this tenement.
Next to the west was an oblong holding, (fn. 27) about 100
ft. east to west and 150 ft. north to south; at the southwest corner was a hall known indifferently as Adulstan,
Wolstan or Dunstan Hall. It was given to the University in 1479. (fn. 28) We have names of Principals until
that date, but none afterwards, though Rowse (c. 1491)
includes it in his list of halls for legists. (fn. 29) Probably its
site was united with Beef Hall. Its lease was purchased
with that of Beef Hall. (fn. 30) The north-west corner was
occupied by a property, sometimes called Wyld's entry,
which belonged to Magdalen. It was leased to Pembroke from 1635 and sold to them in 1781. (fn. 31)
Beyond them, at the extreme west was a small portion
of land which in the Middle Ages was waste land, but
which was occupied by some small tenements from
about 1600 (fn. 32) and was sold to Pembroke by the city in
1897.
To the east of Broadgates Hall the two tenements
lying between the hall and Wolsey's almshouses left no
trace of buildings. The almshouses were in no way
connected with Pembroke until the college bought
them from Christ Church in 1888. Immediately to the
east of Broadgates was land of Abingdon Abbey, and
beyond it land of New College. When William of
Wykeham acquired the latter tenement it was bounded
on the west by 'land of the abbot of Abingdon'. (fn. 33) In
a New College rental of 1480 it was bounded on the
west by Broadgates, which shows that the hall had
been extended by that time. At the Dissolution
Abingdon Abbey was in receipt of a rent of 13s. 4d.
for this land from the Principal of Broadgates. (fn. 34) The
Crown reduced this to a quit-rent of 6s. 8d., which was
given to Christ Church, in addition to the quit-rent of
£1 from Broadgates.
The tenement of New College next door was
leased to the Principal of Broadgates from 1498 onwards; (fn. 35) the freehold was acquired in 1886. Finally
between this tenement and the almshouses was a
narrow strip of land which the college rented from
Christ Church for 1s. from 1667 until they purchased
it in 1773. Christ Church reserved the 1s. rent which
by custom was paid to the almsmen (fn. 36) until 1888, when
the college acquired the almshouses. This was the
collection of lands and buildings which Pembroke either
inherited from Broadgates or the use of which it
acquired in its early years.
Broadgates Hall was transformed into Pembroke
College in a time of rapid expansion. This may in part
account for the great building operations, which outdo
even those of the 19th century. Already in 1620
money had been subscribed by forty-nine subscribers
to enlarge the hall and (as it was hoped) to increase
accommodation. (fn. 37) The money was used to add the
transverse at the west end. The new endowments
which accompanied its transformation into a college
and a number of subscriptions made possible more
extensive changes. By 1626 the buildings on the city
wall had been pulled down and the south side of the
existing quadrangle built; while the west side (on the
ground floor of which were the kitchen and buttery,
and entrance to the beer cellar) was also built adjoining
the old hall, and the east side was begun. The old front
was repaired and left standing. (fn. 38) No accounts survive of
this period of building; which was succeeded by a lull
of nearly fifty years. Between 1670 and 1699 there
was another great burst of activity in which the quadrangle was completed, the gate tower built, and the
Master's Lodgings rebuilt. For these some accounts
survive. (fn. 39) The masons were in 1670 first William
Edwards and later Thomas Knight, and in 1691
John Townsend, member of a well-known Oxford
family of builders, took over and completed the work.
In 1670 the east side was completed. (fn. 40) By 1673
the buildings on the north side were half pulled
down, and a new side to the quadrangle was rising,
which was complete as far as the gate by 1691. In
1694 the gate tower was finished, and in 1695 the
lodgings were completed, a fine three-storied stone
building encroaching a few feet on to Beef Lane. (fn. 41) The
two periods of building in the quadrangle show some
differences, but their general plan is typical of college
buildings of the period. Two large chambers open off
each staircase on every floor, and from each of these
several unheated studies or small compartments opened.
Though later alterations make decisive judgement
impossible, it seems likely that the chambers each
served, or could serve, more than one student, and that
the part of the quadrangle built in the second half of
the century was planned on somewhat the same lines
as Byrd's building at New College. (fn. 42) The internal
plan of the earlier building is harder to understand.
PEMBROKE COLLEGE
East End of Pembroke College: continuation of plan opposite.
In the 18th century the only buildings erected were
a small library and the chapel. With regard to both,
Pembroke inherited a curious position from Broadgates. Members of the hall had gained (originally, it
seems likely, with other nearby halls) the right to use
Docklington's aisle in St. Aldate's Church for their
devotions. When Pembroke was founded it also took
over for a library a room over the aisle which had
already served as a library of law books, dispersed
under Edward VI. (fn. 43) In 1709, however, when Pembroke received a legacy of books from a former master,
Bishop Hall, they built a small square room over the
hall to serve as a library, still in use as a book stack.
The building of the chapel was a more important
matter. Even in 1624 the Master spoke of the need
of one; (fn. 44) in 1723 Bartholomew Tipping gave £200
for the purpose on condition that work should be
started by midsummer 1724, and in 1724 the Master
and fellows sent out an appeal for funds. (fn. 45) By means
of this substantial gift, a legacy from a former fellow, a
subscription, and £375 14s. 4d. provided by the
college itself from various sources, a chapel was built
and consecrated on 10 July 1732, an excellent example
of a small religious building of the early 18th century. (fn. 46)
The accounts show the mason to have been William
Townesend, son of the mason formerly employed. His
estimates survive, the final one dated 20 Dec. 1727. It
totals £650; £490 for the building itself (less the surprisingly large sum of £100 if there is no balustrade or
parapet on the Brewer's St. side), £80 for carpenter's
work, £30 for slating, £35 for plumbing, and £15 for
smith's cramping. In addition about £80 was calculated for digging the foundations. Piecework wages for
masons were appended. (fn. 47)
The building of the chapel was the first step towards
the destruction of one of the glories of 17th- and 18thcentury Pembroke: its three gardens, which lay to the
west of the 17th-century quadrangle. The prints of
them differ too much to inspire confidence. From the
earliest, Loggan (temp. Charles II), they agree, however,
in showing three rectangular inclosures. The westernmost was the Fellows' Garden, in which Burgher in
1701 is the first to show a raised terrace running along
the city wall to a pagoda or summer common-room at
the south-west corner. This was only destroyed in
1869. Next to it was the Master's Garden, and
easternmost was the Commoners' Garden, (the name
was first used in college documents in 1653) (fn. 48) in
which the chapel was now placed. In the 19th-century
building all the gardens were destroyed, except a
narrow strip along the south wall to the west of the
chapel.
During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and
the years directly following them, no building was
done except necessary repairs. Between 1820 and
1827 the hall was slightly enlarged. In 1829–30 the
big changes began (fn. 49) when an Oxford builder, Daniel
Evans, was employed to face the old quadrangle
within and without in the Gothic style, and to raise the
tower by a story. The cost of this misguided effort was
£2,897 19s. The east side of the quadrangle temporarily escaped, pending abortive attempts to purchase the almshouses from Christ Church, but in 1838
it was finished in similar style for £570 16s. 3d. The
mastership of Dr. Jeune saw great expansion. In Nov.
1844 the plans of John Hayward were passed for the
building now standing on the site of the old Back
Lodgings containing fellows' and undergraduates'
rooms and a senior common room. The builders,
Daniel Evans and J. R. Symm of Oxford, presented a
tender of £5,286 14s. In 1846 it was decided to
build a new hall at right angles to the new building,
and to use the old hall as a library. Hayward was again
the architect, and the tender of a London builder was
accepted for £4,677, but extra expenses were sanctioned and the final sum paid was over £6,500. At
the same time the Master's Lodgings were extensively
altered. In 1869 the kitchen built with the new hall
was turned into a servants' hall, and the kitchen and
offices at present in use were built to the designs of C.
Buckeridge.
The chapel had been fortunate to escape this renovating zeal. It was not 'restored' until 1883 and then
fell into gentler hands. In Nov. 1883 C. E. Kempe,
the glass-painter, prepared a plan and rough estimate
for its renovation, which were passed next year. (fn. 50) It
included six good glass windows costing £630. In
1893 two more were added. By 1893 more than
£4,000, raised by subscription and supplemented by
the college, had been spent, but the restoration was
restrained and sympathetic.
With this the 19th-century out burst of building
came to an end. In the present century only one big
alteration has been made. In 1888 the college, after
many attempts, obtained possession of the Wolsey
almshouses. The college did not itself make use of
them until 1927, when, partly as the result of a tercentenary appeal, they were able to adapt them to serve
as the Master's Lodgings, the old Lodgings being
turned into sets of rooms for undergraduates.
This building, which largely dates from the early
16th century, occupies the site of several small tenements, which were probably in decay in 1523; one of
them may have been the tenement given to St. Frideswide's Priory by Richard Segrim in 1254. (fn. 51) When
Wolsey took over the priory's possessions he began to
build a house there to serve as an almshouse. (fn. 52) His fall
overthrew his foundation, but Henry VIII completed
it in a modified form. He included in his collegiate
foundation of 1546 a body of 24 almsmen. (fn. 53) He made
no provision for a separate lodging for them (his death
followed within a few weeks), but they seem by the
17th century to be well established in the almshouse. (fn. 54)
Though it remained unfinished, some work must have
been done on it after Wolsey's fall if the tradition is
true that the 15th-century wooden roof in what is
now an attic in the north block came from Oseney
Abbey. It became increasingly dilapidated in the
18th and early 19th centuries until in 1834, as part of
a scheme for widening the road beside St. Aldate's
Church giving access to Pembroke, its front was set
back by the demolition of some buildings on the north
side, and it was considerably restored by H. J. Underwood. (fn. 55) In 1868 the Dean and Chapter, complaining
of the expensive repairs the old building required, got
permission to alter the trust and to make allowances to
the almsmen in their homes. This change prepared the
way for the satisfaction of Pembroke's ambitions.
History of the College
Broadgates Hall, like most of
the halls in that neighbourhood,
was a legists' and therefore
originally to a great extent a
graduates' hall, but by the later 16th century it had
some undergraduate members studying Arts. In 1572
it had on its books the Principal, one doctor, 34
masters, 10 bachelors, 7 undergraduates, and 11
servants (famuli). (fn. 56) It is difficult to assess the numbers
of undergraduates in the early 17th century, just
before it became a college, as the evidence is hard
to interpret. An estimate made in the Long Vacation
of 1612 gives it 62 undergraduate members. (fn. 57) This
seems a rather large number in view of the matriculation
figures of the last few years—in 1609, 7; in 1610, 21;
in 1611, 12—though, as has been pointed out, gentlemen commoners at this period often failed to matriculate. (fn. 58)
On the other hand, the lists which are found in the
University Register on the occasion of the nominal
election of Principals contain surprisingly few undergraduate names. In 1619 there are 7 M.A.s, 10 B.A.s.
and 16 undergraduates. In 1620 8 M.A.s, 11 B.A.s,
and 16 undergraduates. (fn. 59) It is true the matriculation
figures for the years 1617–20 seem remarkably low. In
1624 when the new college was founded there were 24
graduate and 25 undergraduate members, and in the
two succeeding years 37 undergraduates entered and
7 graduates. (fn. 60) At the time it was changed into a college it made no pretentions to specialization in law.
This fact made the change from hall to college the
easier, as did also the change in the nature of colleges
which is mirrored in the College Statutes of the period.
The foundation of the college was due to two benefactions obtained in a strange manner. (fn. 61) Thomas
Tesdale of Glympton and formerly of Abingdon,
dying in June 1610, left £5,000 in trust to maintain 7
fellows and 6 scholars at Balliol or some other Oxford
college, to be elected out of Abingdon School 'if such
can there be found'. Six of them were to be chosen
from the poorer sort of his kin and seven from Bennett's
Poor Children in Abingdon School. After some delay
Tesdale scholars began to go to Balliol, but no fellows
were sent as it was necessary for funds to accumulate.
Provisional arrangements were drawn up with
Balliol but nothing final. When, about 1623, Richard
Wightwicke, rector of East Ilsley, offered to augment
Tesdale's foundation, so that there would be 10 fellows
and 10 scholars, all from Abingdon School, the Mayor
and Corporation of Abingdon, who were governors
of the school, had new ideas, and with the assent of
George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, the last of
the Tesdale Trustees, they petitioned the king to turn
Broadgates Hall into a college, where the 20 students
of the Tesdale and Wightwicke foundations might
reside. Evidently it was hoped that as Westminster
sent scholars to Christ Church, and Merchant Taylors'
School to St. John's, so Roysse's School at Abingdon
would supply the intellectual backbone of the new
college. Letters Patent and a charter of Mortmain
dated 29 June 1624 were obtained and read in the hall
on 5 Aug., constituting the Master, fellows, and scholars
of Pembroke College in the University of Oxford, 'of
the foundation of King James at the cost and charges
of Thomas Tesdale and Richard Wightwicke'. (fn. 62) A
commission including the Earl of Pembroke and other
notables, academic and non-academic, was appointed
to draw up the statutes. In 1624 they issued a provisional set which they amended and put into final form
in 1628. At first sight they seem much like other
college statutes, but on closer study it will be observed
that they mention no salaries for the Master or anyone
else. The fact is that the college had no possessions at
that time. At its foundation nobody gave it anything,
if we except the Earl of Pembroke, who surrendered
the patronage to the principalship of Broadgates Hall,
which belonged to him as Chancellor. The Tesdale
and Wightwicke funds were not for the college but for
certain individuals. Tesdale's £5,000, which had been
invested in land, was to supply £20 a year to 7 Tesdale
Fellows, £15 a year to two Tesdale kin scholars, and
£12 a year to four other scholars, and this with £20 a
year to the Master makes a total of £238; this represents almost 5 per cent, on Tesdale's money. The
Wightwicke foundation was £20 a year to three
fellows, and £10 a year to four scholars, together with
£10 to the Master; his gift was a rent of £110 a year
for 499 years, after which the estate reverts to the
college. It was owing to this lack of income that there
was no feeding allowance for the Master or anyone
else; the statutes speak of 'commons', but each fellow
and scholar paid for his own commons. There were no
free chambers, except where a 'foundation' had paid
for the building of rooms for the housing of its fellows
or scholars. In accordance with this statute Richard
Wightwicke in 1628 set aside a sufficient sum to build
five chambers, three for his three fellows, and two for
his four scholars. It is probable that at some time in the
17th century the Tesdale foundation was able to
build chambers for its fellows and scholars, for in a list
of rooms made in 1738 there were 17 in all which
were free of rent. The Master's emoluments were
those of the Principal of Broadgates; viz. the rents of
the rooms in the hall, and a share of the customary fees
that were paid by a student when he was admitted
and when, if ever, he took a degree; in addition there
was £30 a year from the Tesdale and Wightwicke
foundations. The buildings of the college belonged to
the Master; he took the rents and was personally
responsible for the repairs, a responsibility which
belonged to no other head of a college. In process of
time gifts were made to the college as a whole, and the
lands held by the Tesdale foundation produced more
than £238 a year as rents continued to rise, so that
there was a residue which was divided in certain
proportions between the Master and the college.
Besides the fellows and scholars the statutes make
mention of gentlemen commoners, commoners, battelers, and servitors. A gentleman commoner is
described as one who sat at the same table as the
Masters and Bachelors; he alone of the undergraduates
was allowed to wear his cap in the presence of a doctor;
his entrance fee in the next century was 22s.; for a
commoner and for a scholar 10s.; for a batteler 8s. 6d.;
for a servitor 5s. The position of a batteler is vague, as
in other colleges; grace in hall was to be said either by
a scholar or a batteler; waiting at table was to be done
either by battelers or servitors. Perhaps battelers were
scholars who were willing to perform certain menial
work in return for advantages. The statutes do not
mention the 'bible clerks' who were found in the
college in the 19th century. The Chancellor of the
University was to be the Visitor. The statutes lay
down courses of instruction, such as were customary
at that time; but it may be noticed that the lecturers,
appointed by the Master, were not paid by the college
but by the fees of those who attended, and attendance
was compulsory. The college was at first little more
than a hall, buttressed by the Tesdale and Wightwicke
foundations, but the peculiarities of its early statutes
were gradually eliminated, at first by the permission of
the Visitor and subsequently by Royal Commissions,
until it is now of the same form as all colleges. The two
original endowments were supplemented by others
with the passing of time. Charles I was a patron. He
presented it in 1636 with the living of St. Aldate's, as
part of his policy of restoring church property then in
the hands of the Crown. He also endowed it to further
another purpose he had at heart, the providing of
Anglican clergy for the Channel Islands. In 1636,
when property in London and at Medmenham,
Bucks., had escheated to the Crown, he endowed three
fellowships to be held respectively at Exeter, Jesus, and
Pembroke, for natives of Jersey and Guernsey. After
the Restoration the royal policy was continued by the
Bishop of Winchester, Morley, who endowed in 1678
five scholarships at Pembroke, three for natives of
Jersey and two for those of Guernsey. Still another
royal endowment came to Pembroke when, in 1713,
Queen Anne attached a canonry at Gloucester to the
mastership, (fn. 63) which was disannexed in 1938.
Other fellowships and scholarships were endowed:—two scholars to study Divinity, under a will of Juliana
Stafford of 1629; three Divinity scholars under a will
of Francis Rous (1658) who must be either descendants
of himself, his brothers and sisters, or failing these be
chosen from the upper forms of Eton: two scholars
and two fellows to be chosen from his own scholars of
two years' standing, endowed by Sir John Bennet
(Lord Ossulton) in 1672: (fn. 64) eight scholars to be chosen
from the chief school of Gloucester (the Crypt school
was chosen) and the schools of Cheltenham, Chipping
Campden, and Northleach, under a will of George
Townsend (d. 1683); two exhibitions to be chosen
from the scholars of Charterhouse in receipt of Sutton's
charity, under a will of Dame Elizabeth Holford,
widow, who died in 1719 but who ordered that her
benefaction should accumulate until sufficient income
was obtained, so that the exhibitions were not awarded
until 1737; a scholar to be called the Cutler Boulter
Scholar, endowed by Edmund Boulter in 1736,
to be chosen from his descendants or those of kindred
selected by himself (the estate, owing to a dispute,
fell to the administration of Chancery and the scholarship was not awarded until 1792. In 1792, by order
of the court, a second scholarship was awarded out of
the accumulated funds). In 1749 Sir John Phillips
founded a fellowship and a scholarship for natives of
Pembrokeshire in the first instance, and in default
of them for natives of anywhere in south Wales. (fn. 65)
Dr. John Ratcliffe, Master of the college 1738–75, endowed by will an exhibition for the sons of
Gloucestershire clergy themselves destined for the
Church. In 1776 Francis Wightwick endowed by a
contingent bequest four fellowships and three scholarships with preference to the name or kin of Wightwick.
The bequest came to the college in 1843. In 1846
Mrs. Sophia Sheppard, sister of Dr. Routh, President
of Magdalen, endowed two lay fellowships for the
study of Law and Medicine. In 1855 Christopher
Cleobury, sometime fellow of the college, bequeathed
with life interest to his wife benefactions which included a sum for founding a scholarship. This estate
came to the college in 1882. A Henney Scholarship,
first awarded in 1863, was endowed in memory of
Thomas Henney, fellow and vicegerent of the college
(d. 1859). In 1889 the last of the Wightwick benefactions was made by Mrs. Dorothea Wightwick, who
endowed two or more scholarships, preference being
given in the first place to the descendants of her two
sisters, and in the second to candidates from Cheltenham College. (fn. 66)
Benefactors not only endowed fellowships and
scholarships, but contributed to the expenses of building, the purchase of books, and other useful purposes.
Dr. Benjamin Slocock, a former fellow, endowed, in
the early 18th century, a Hebrew Lecturership. In
1772 the Rev. Mr. Eaton left an estate at Ludgershall,
Bucks., to augment the stipend of one Wightwicke
Fellow and of two Wightwicke scholars who were not
of founder's kin. (fn. 67) In 1731 the Rev. Mr. Oades left a
provision for the payment of sums not exceeding £5 to
servitors or battelers of the college. (fn. 68) There were also
three important benefactions for the purchase of
advowsons to which the college might present its
fellows, a type of gift then greatly appreciated by colleges. In 1749, when founding his fellowship and
scholarship, Sir John Phillips also gave the college
the perpetual curacy of West Haroldston with Lambton, Pembrokeshire, to be held by his fellow. (fn. 69) In
1773 the Rev. James Phipps, sometime Tesdale
Scholar, left government stock and properties, chief of
which was the lordship of the manor of Temple
Cowley and Littlemore, to purchase four advowsons
each worth £150 p.a. for the Tesdale Fellows. (fn. 70)
Coin St. Denis (Gloucs.), Ringshall (Suffolk), Lydiard
Millicent (Wilts.) and Sibstone (Leic.) were purchased. In 1809 Dr. John Smyth, Master 1796–1809,
left the reversion of part of his estate to buy one
or more advowsons for the benefit of fellows. Brinkworth, Wilts., was bought from Lord Holland in
1830. (fn. 71)
These endowments were never enough to make
other than a poor college and its numbers were small.
A list of the rooms in 1738 with their rents gives
eleven staircases: 1 (Gate Staircase) 2 rooms; staircases 2–5 each 6 rooms; staircases 6 and 7 each 5
rooms; staircase 8 had 6 rooms; staircase 9 (Summaster's Lodgings) had 6; staircase 10 had 6, and
staircase 11 had 3, these last two staircases being called
B and D Hall, which elsewhere is expanded to Beef
and Dunstan Hall. The rents vary from £6 to £2, but
17 of the rooms on staircases 4 to 7 paid no rent and
are marked F; we know that 5 of these rooms were
for the Wightwicke foundation, and the five scholars of
Bishop Morley were to have rooms free in return for
a yearly payment of £10 to the Master; but we are not
told how many rooms they were to have, perhaps only
2. The other rooms were probably the property of
the Tesdale foundation. There remain 40 rooms
which paid rent. Probably every commoner had a room
to himself, as we know was the case with Dr. Johnson.
During the three years 1732–5 the Master received
entrance payments from 3 gentleman commoners, 28
commoners, 4 scholars, 6 battelers, and 3 servitors,
which is 44 in all, but as some of the scholars and
battelers would be of the Tesdale and Wightwicke
foundations, and therefore among the 17 rooms which
paid no rent, it seems that there would be sufficient
rooms for the undergraduates if they did not stay more
than three years on an average. (fn. 72)
In the 18th century its business routine became
settled. The accounts though complicated and antiquated in their method were fairly adequate for their
purpose. What came to be called the 'Convention
Books', minutes of the meetings of Master and fellows
(the term is used as early as 1730 but was not permanently adopted in the books till 1773), may be said to
begin with the 'Register of Pembroke College containing all Acts and agreements of the Society' (Dec. 1712
to July 1779) also called more simply 'Acts of the
Society'. The entries after 1772 are scattered, and it is
obviously succeeded by the first of the convention books
proper, labelled on the cover 'Orders of Conventions,
&c., 1772'. Accounts and convention books enable us to
see the working of the 17th-century statutes, in which
a number of modifications have tacitly been made. The
elaborate system of lectures has been simplified. In
1772 three fellows fulfil all that remains of the duties of
lecturers and moderators:—one is Senior Moderator,
Dr. Slocock's Hebrew Lecturer, and Latin Lecturer;
another is Junior Moderator and Greek Lecturer; (fn. 73) and
a third is Divinity Lecturer. After 1796 the positions of
Senior and Junior Moderator, no doubt only nominal
in nature, disappear. On the other hand, the tutorial
positions are becoming more official. In 1731 payments for tuition are put on the battels, (fn. 74) the two
tutors to be found in 19th-century Pembroke seem
already to be in existence, though the expressions
'tutor of the college' and 'senior tutor' both occur for
the first time in the Convention Books in 1841. (fn. 75) In
1814 the payments for tuition were raised from an
unspecified sum to 26 guineas a year from gentlemen
commoners and 13 guineas from commoners and
scholars, 'other Colleges in the University taking the
same or higher sums'. (fn. 76)
A point of interest is the growth of the common
rooms. Nothing is known of the early history of the
common-room, except the existence of the garden
room. It is clear that until some time after the 1770's,
both senior and junior members used the same
common-room. It is noteworthy, however, that John
Collins, in residence as Tesdale Scholar 1768–71, and
as fellow from 1771, pays a common-room fee of
£1 1s., but only on taking up his fellowship. (fn. 77) It
seems as if the junior members were ceasing to be there
on equal terms. By 1795 the separation was complete,
for in that year a subscription book was made up for a
junior common room, a wine club beginning with
eighteen original members who each subscribed
£1 1s. to the room and 2s. 6d. to a fund. (fn. 78) They also
subscribed for the rent of the room and an allowance
for the common-room man. It is not known how early
they occupied the older of the two rooms until recently
in use; (fn. 79) certainly by 1859. A new senior commonroom had been built in the new buildings, and it seems
probable that they took over the room formerly used
by the senior members. Until 1920 the junior common-room showed in its unusual organization its
origin as a small club.
These internal developments had since the inauguration of the college only been disturbed by one great
outside event, the Civil War and Commonwealth.
Pembroke was at first strongly Royalist. Under
Clayton, (fn. 80) its Laudian Master, it provided many
officers for the royal army and melted down its
plate as other colleges did. An accident, however,
caused it to be affected with peculiar thoroughness by
the Parliamentary Visitation of Oxford. Its Master
died shortly after the surrender of Oxford. Though a
Parliamentary Committee had ordered that no university appointments should be made, the fellows of
Pembroke hastily elected Henry Wightwicke as
Master. On 26 Aug. Parliament retorted by appointing Henry Langley, one of the Parliamentary Visitors,
and himself a Pembroke man, in his place. On 8 Oct.
the order was read in Pembroke. (fn. 81) Most of the
members submitted to the authority of the Visitors
and the new Master, but some, including the Master,
Wightwicke, were expelled. Some later made their
peace. Others do not seem to have returned until
the expulsion of Langley at the Restoration. Under
Langley Pembroke became, on the whole, strongly
Puritan, and after the short and discreditable rule of
the restored Wightwicke, Dr. John Hall, a Puritan
but a Conformist, carried on the tradition. (fn. 82) In the
18th century no religious or political movement
touched it strongly enough to influence it, for Whitefield's methodism received no more than contemptuous pity. During the Napoleonic Wars it was
stirred to some patriotism; (fn. 83) and the hard times
moved it to some charity. (fn. 84) The rising prices of this
war period obviously necessitated financial adjustments, for the last years of the century are marked by
raised fees and charges. No national movement was
to affect it again until the Great War.
The 19th century was pre-eminently the era of
reform, and Pembroke found itself not a passive
victim but an active supporter of the reforming movement. Early in the century it began to show signs
that the movement stirring in the University was
affecting it. The effects of the new system of public
examinations are shown in the resolution of 1818 not
to raise any scholar to a fellowship 'who shall have
brought discredit upon the Society by having been
refused a 'Testamur' at the public examination'. (fn. 85)
In 1821 an exception was made if he should subsequently obtain a place in the first or upper part of the
second class. (fn. 86) In the thirties, possibly under the
influence of Francis Jeune, then fellow (1830–7) and
tutor (1828–32) and later a reforming Master, the
college refused a number of scholars sent up from the
schools preferred in the closed endowments as 'insufficient in doctrine'; for example from Abingdon
Grammar School in 1837. (fn. 87) In 1843 Jeune was
elected Master after a controversy into which the Duke
of Wellington as Visitor entered hastily but from
which he extricated himself with credit to his honesty
if not to his judgement. (fn. 88) Vigorous internal reorganization of the college began at once, including the kitchen
and other expenses incurred by undergraduates. (fn. 89) At
the same time Jeune took an active part among the
reform party in the University, and in 1850 was
appointed a member of the Parliamentary Commission
to examine the condition of the University, of which
he proved a most active member. Pembroke was, in
consequence, one of the colleges most prominent in
giving the Commission the information it desired,
including a full statement of college finances. The
Commission's report of 1852 recommended at Pembroke (fn. 90) the abolition of a number of out-of-date
regulations, including the requirement that fellows
should take orders, and urged the opening of all
fellowships and scholarships (except five scholarships
to be reserved for Abingdon Grammar School) and
the reduction of fellowships to ten. In the pause that
then followed to test University opinion, Pembroke
showed its attitude by suggesting even more radical
revision of its own statutes, and asked that it might
be permitted to carry out its own reform under
the control of the Visitor by means of a permissive
private act; a request to which Lord John Russell
replied sympathetically but guardedly. (fn. 91) On the
appointment of the second committee of 1854, of
which Jeune was not a member, the college entered
into negotiations with them to win their approval of
the proposed new statutes. The Commission was not
prepared to go so far as the college wished in abolishing closed scholarships, but agreement was thought to
be reached before the expiry of the time allowed by
Parliament for colleges to make their own reforms. A
last-minute hitch about the Channel Island endowments, however, for which the college does not seem
to blame, ruined these plans, and Jeune noted indignantly in a memorandum in the Convention Book 'the
College has thus lost the credit of effecting its own
reforms'. (fn. 92) In the Ordinances of the Commissioners
promulgated in 1857 the fellowships were reduced to
ten, with possibility of future expansion, and were to
be appointed by open examination, except in the case
of Professors or other persons of eminence, and were
to be 'made accessible to excellence in every branch
of knowledge for the time being recognized in the
Schools'. Honorary Fellows might be elected. The
Sheppard Fellowships were excluded from these arrangements. Celibacy was still enforced, but the obligation to proceed to Holy Orders was removed though
a fixed proportion of the fellows was to be in orders.
The scholarships were far less drastically altered. There
was a good deal of consolidation and reduction of
numbers, and the first assault was made on founders'
kin, but the preference to schools and localities remained
in a great number of cases. Bishop Morley's Scholarships
and King Charles' Fellowships (changed into four
scholarships and two exhibitions) remained closed in
favour of the Channel Islands; five Tesdale Scholarships
were awarded, to candidates, if of sufficient attainments,
sent from Abingdon Grammar School, and the Townsend, Rous, and Holford benefactions retained their
conditions in favour of the four Gloucestershire schools,
Eton and Charterhouse respectively. Provision was
made for the Master and fellows by a two-thirds
majority to amend the statutes, with the consent of the
Visitor. (fn. 93)
The changes thus begun made possible the provision
of far more adequate college teaching than had been
available before. Already in Dr. Bartholomew Price
the college had added a Mathematics Lecturer to its
teaching staff. (fn. 94) Now a Philology Lecturer and a
Lecturer in Law and History were provided, and in
Nov. 1863 a fund was opened to pay for 'professional
or private instruction for such undergraduates as are
fitted to receive it'. (fn. 95) A few months later Jeune resigned on obtaining the Deanery of Lincoln, and
Pembroke lost its place in the forefront of reform.
The period of State intervention into the affairs of
University and colleges, in particular into their
financial affairs had, however, begun, and further
changes soon followed. As a result of the Act of 1877
Pembroke drew up a new set of statutes in 1881,
which was accepted by the Commission, and although
this time their demands were more and not less
conservative than those of some other colleges, they
bring the college much nearer its present organization.
Two types of fellows were recognized, the Ordinary
and the Tutorial. The two Sheppard Fellows were
alone excluded from either of these classes. Ordinary
Fellows were to be chosen by open competition and
might hold office for seven years only. Tutorial Fellows
were to be not more than five in number and might be
chosen by examination or otherwise as the Masters and
fellows chose. They were to be elected for ten years
and were eligible for re-election. The Ordinary Fellows
might marry and need not reside. The Tutorial Fellows
must reside and must resign their fellowships on
marriage. Honorary Fellows might be elected and
Professors and Readers elected to Ordinary Fellowships. Few alterations were made with regard to
scholarships, but those reserved for candidates from
Abingdon Grammar School were reduced to four and
founders' kin was wholly abolished.
Since that date the gradual evolution of Pembroke
into a modern college has been unspectacular. Its
statutes were once more revised as a result of the
Commission of 1922. By these, seven types of fellowships are set up; Professorial, Official (which includes
tutors and all college officers who are fellows), Senior
and Junior Research, Emeritus, Supernumary, and
Honorary Fellows. The two Sheppard Fellowships
were at this time amalgamated into one to be used for
the study of either Law or Medicine. Conditions with
respect to marriage are retained only with regard to
the Official Fellows. An Official Fellow must vacate
on marriage unless he has obtained the sanction of the
governing body, which is not to be granted unless
he has served seven years in this capacity, and unless
there are at least two fellows, either tutors or lecturers,
residing unmarried in the college. (fn. 96) Within seventy
years the college life, like that of all colleges, has
changed out of all recognition, in organization, in
personnel, and in methods and subjects of study.
Seal.
The college used until 1925 what is believed
to be its original seal. Oval 3½ in. by 2 in. Within
a round arch, inscribed with the words 'Probis Pateo'
and supported on fluted columns, and having a portcullis in the tympanum thereof, a seated and robed
female figure. In her right hand a medallion charged
with a figure on horseback. In the left hand an open
book, having on the sinister 6 thongs and surmounted
by a crown or coronet. At her feet a shield of the arms
of Herbert with the chief thereof charged with the rose
of England and the thistle of Scotland, being the arms
granted to the college in 1625.
Legend: Sigillum magistri sociorum et scholarium Collegii Pembrochiæ in Universitate Oxon.
Since 1925 an impressed seal has been used bearing
the arms of the college.
Plate.
For plate in the possession of the college in
1897 see Macleane, op. cit., Appendix C, pp. 514–15.
Since that date there have been numerous accessions
including valuable gifts from the late J. S. Compton,
M.A. (these include spoons of 1599, 1610, and 1636;
a cup of 1656; beakers of 1672 and 1688; porringers
of 1671 and 1688; and a tankard and a chased salver
of 1692), the late A. T. Barton, M.A. (Fellow), Bishop
Mitchinson (Master), and Dr. F. P. Barnard (Hon.
Fellow). Mention should be made of a Grace Cup
without cover (Wm. Lukin 1699) presented by Sir
John Salt, K.C.M.G. (Hon. Fellow), and a Japanese
silver cup, bearing the sixteen-leaved chrysanthemum,
the crest of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, presented by Sir Conyngham Greene (Hon. Fellow).
Library.
The MSS. in the college Library have
been described in Hist. MSS. Comm, vi, 549–51. This
account needs to be supplemented by reference to
Macleane, op. cit., pp. 44, 215, 275–6, 394–6.
Since 1897, when Macleane wrote, the Library has
received an important accession in the correspondence
of Sir Peter le Page Renouf (Egyptologist and Assyrologist), which includes autograph letters from Cardinal
Newman, Lord Acton, Dollinger, and others.
Portraits.
The college possesses a number of
interesting portraits. Among those listed by Mrs. R. L.
Poole (fn. 97) the following are worthy of special note:
William Shenstone by Thomas Ross, Simon Viscount
Harcourt by Sir Godfrey Kneller, and Dr. Samuel
Johnson by Sir Joshua Reynolds. There are also portraits by Opie and Lawrence, and a marble bust of
Dr. Johnson by Nollekens which is considered a particularly fine example of his work. Notable among the
eleven recent acquisitions are a 17th-century painting
on a wooden panel of James I (Founder) and Kenneth
Green's portrait of the present master of Pembroke as
Vice-Chancellor.
Masters of Pembroke College
5 Aug. 1624. Thomas Clayton, M.D.
c. 13 July 1647. Henry Wightwicke, B.D. (deposed by Parliament).
8 Oct. 1647. Henry Langley, D.D. (installed by
Parliamentary Visitors).
3 Aug. 1660. Henry Wightwicke, B.D. (restored).
31 Dec. 1664. John Hall, D.D.
15 Feb. 1709. Colwell Brickenden, D.D.
3 Sept. 1714. Matthew Panting, D.D.
23 Feb. 1738. John Ratcliffe, D.D.
26 July 1775. William Adams, D.D.
28 Jan. 1789. William Sergrove, D.D.
28 Apr. 1796. John Smyth, D.D.
2 Nov. 1809. George William Hall, D.D.
26 Dec. 1843. Francis Jeune, D.C.L.
3 Mar. 1864. Evan Evans, D.D.
14 Jan. 1892. Bartholomew Price, D.D.
11 Feb. 1899. John Mitchinson, D.C.L.
12 Nov. 1918. Frederick Homes Dudden, D.D.
Advowsons
(a) Now held by the College
Sibstone, Leicestershire. Bought from the Phipps
bequest, which came to the college in 1778.
Ringshall, Suffolk, bought from the Phipps bequest,
which came to the College in 1778, united with
Battisford and Little Finborough in 1934, the presentation being now held alternately by the college and the
Bishop of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
Bury Pulborough, Sussex, with Houghton. Bury
was taken in exchange for Coln St. Denys, Gloucestershire, in 1931, the latter going to the Dean and Chapter
of Gloucester. Houghton was united to Bury in 1935.
Codford St. Peter, Wiltshire, bought from Lord
Holland in 1820, united with Codford St. Mary in
1930, since when presentation is held alternately by
the college and by St. John's College, Oxford.
Lydiard Millicent, Wiltshire, bought from the
Phipps bequest, which came to the college in 1778.
(b) No longer held by the College
St. Aldate's, Oxford, obtained from the Crown in
1636; sold 1858.
West Haroldston, with Lambton, Pembrokeshire,
obtained from Sir John Phillips in 1749, taken over
by Welsh Church Commissioners in 1922.
Coln St. Denys, Gloucestershire, bought from the
Phipps bequest, which came to the college in 1778;
see Bury, supra.
Brinkworth, Wiltshire, bought from Lord Holland
with the Smyth bequest, 1830, sold to the Bishop of
Bristol in 1927.