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Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world.

Members of Balliol have been awarded 13 Nobel Prizes with 12 Laureates (the most of any Oxford college). Balliol has educated four prime ministers of the United Kingdom (the second highest of any Oxford college), Harald V of Norway, Empress Masako of Japan, President Richard von Weizsäcker of Germany, and Seretse Khama of Botswana. Balliol alumni also include the astronomer James Bradley, legal figures Lord Bingham and John Marshall Harlan II, geneticist Baruch Samuel Blumberg, writers Robert Southey, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Matthew Arnold, Graham Greene and Algernon Swinburne, historians R. H. Tawney, Christopher Hill and James H. Billington and philosophers J. L. Austin, T. H. Green, Derek Parfit, W. D. Ross, Charles Taylor, and Bernard Williams. Among the most famous students are economist Adam Smith, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith Shoghi Effendi, the biologist Julian Huxley and his brother Aldous Huxley, the author of Brave New World.

Foundation and origins
Balliol College was founded in about 1263 by John I de Balliol under the guidance of Walter of Kirkham, the Bishop of Durham. According to legend, the founder had abducted the bishop as part of a land dispute and as a penance he was publicly beaten by the bishop and had to support a group of scholars at Oxford. After de Balliol's death in 1268, his widow, Dervorguilla of Galloway (their son and grandson each became Kings of Scotland), made arrangements to ensure the permanence of the college in that she provided capital and in 1282 formulated the college statutes, documents that survive to this day.

Balliol lays claim to being the oldest Oxford college, though this is disputed by both University College and Merton. Balliol's claim is that a house of scholars was established by the founder in Oxford in around 1263, in contrast to Merton, which was the first college to be granted an official statute in 1274, and University College, which, while provisionally founded by will in 1249, was only officially established around 1280. However, Balliol also acknowledges that the other two have legitimate claims on their respective bases, depending on what criteria are used to define the oldest.

New Inn Hall
Under a statute of 1881, New Inn Hall, one of the remaining medieval halls, was merged into Balliol College in 1887. Balliol acquired New Inn Hall's admissions and other records for 1831–1887 as well as the library of New Inn Hall, which largely contained 18th-century law books. The New Inn Hall site was later sold and is now part of St Peter's College, Oxford.

The Masque of Balliol
In 1880, seven mischievous Balliol undergraduates published The Masque of B-ll--l, a broadsheet of forty quatrains making light of their superiors – the master and selected fellows, scholars, and commoners – and themselves. The outraged authorities immediately suppressed the collection, and only a few copies survived, three of which found their way into the college library over the years, and one into the Bodleian Library. Verses of this form are now known as Balliol rhymes.

The best known of these rhymes is the one on Benjamin Jowett. This has been widely quoted and reprinted in virtually every book about Jowett and about Balliol ever since. "First come I. My name is J-W-TT. There's no knowledge but I know it. I am Master of this College, What I don't know isn't knowledge."

This and 18 others are attributed to Henry Charles Beeching. The other quatrains are much less well known.

William Tuckwell included 18 of these quatrains in his Reminiscences in 1900, but they all came out only in 1939, thanks to Walter George Hiscock, an Oxford librarian, who issued them personally then and in a second edition in 1955.

Women at Balliol
For over 700 years, Balliol College admitted men only. New College had in 1964 resolved to admit women, but had been prevented from doing so without the approval of the university, which argued that this would be detrimental to the existing women's colleges. On 2 June 1971, a consilium at Balliol voted 26–2 to admit women, and at the next college meeting on 6 December 1971 it was resolved 30–8 to admit women "as soon as the change in its Statutes permitting this was approved by the Privy Council". Permission was granted by the university on 8 March 1977. With the appointment of Carol Clark to a Tutorial Fellowship in Modern Languages in 1973, Balliol became the first ancient all-male college to appoint a female fellow.

Before the full admission of women as undergraduates, the college had decided to establish a co-educational graduate institution. The decision was made on 16 March 1964, and the senior tutor approached St Anne's College shortly after this. The creation of the Balliol–St Anne's Graduate Institution with St Anne's in 1967 led to the coeducation of men and women on the Holywell Manor site. Following the arrival of women at Balliol and men at St Anne's in 1979, the joint Graduate Institution was terminated in 1984 by the consent of both colleges. Holywell Manor is now solely a part of Balliol College.

In 1979, along with many other previously all-male colleges, Balliol accepted its first cohort of female students. One of the first woman undergraduates to live at Balliol was Elena Ceva-Valla, who arrived on 16 September 1979. Other female undergraduates who arrived that term were Cressida Dick, Katy Koralek and Penny Phillips. In 2010, the college unveiled a sundial in the Garden Quad commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the admission of women to the college, inscribed with the phrase "About Time". The first portrait of a woman in Hall since that of the co-founder, Dervorguilla of Galloway, was unveiled in 2012, depicting benefactor and Oxford Internet Institute founder Dame Stephanie Shirley. This portrait has since been joined by portraits of Carol Clark and the mathematician Dame Frances Kirwan.

In 2018, Dame Helen Ghosh succeeded Sir Drummond Bone to become the college's first female master. In the same year, Dame Frances Kirwan became the twentieth Savilian Professor of Geometry and the first woman to hold that post.

Between the years of 2015 and 2017, 39.4% of UK undergraduates admitted to Balliol were women.

In 2021, students sent an open letter to the College and protested regarding their welfare following an alleged incident of sexual assault on a female graduate student that was covered by Al Jazeera English.

Buildings and grounds
The college has been on its present site since its inception by Balliol's scholars as their residence with a lease dating to 1263 to them being the traditional "foundation" date.

Front quadrangle
The oldest parts of the college are the north and west ranges of the front quadrangle, dated to 1431, respectively the medieval hall, west side, now the "new library" and the "old library" first floor north side. The ground floor is the Old Senior Common Room. Balliol's second library pre-dates the publication of printed books in Europe. There is a possibility that the original Master's Chamber, south west side, adorned with a fine oriel window, is earlier than these; it is now the Master's Dining Room.

William Grey, Bishop of Ely, was a benefactor of the college in the 15th century. Grey devoted much care to the collection of manuscripts, and wherever he resided constantly employed scribes to make copies of such books as he could not otherwise obtain. Many of these he had adorned with costly miniatures and initial letters by the skill of an artist who worked for him at Florence. It was his desire to make his collection the nucleus of a library for Balliol College, to the building of which, as well as to that of the master's lodgings and of the old buttery and hall, he contributed largely. The work was finished about 1477 by Robert Abdy, then master of the college, and enriched with some two hundred manuscripts, the bishop's gift. Of these, many were destroyed in the reign of Edward VI and during the great rebellion, and by Wood's time few of the miniatures in the remaining volumes had escaped mutilation. But by 1890, no less than 152 of Grey's codices were still in the possession of the college, and form a large part of Roger Mynors's 1963 catalogue of the college's manuscripts. The bishop's coat of arms (gules, a lion rampant, within a bordure engrailed argent) is displayed on two windows of the Old Library, and in the panels below the window of the Master's dining room. The chapel is the third (perhaps fourth) on the site and was designed by William Butterfield in 1857.

Alfred Waterhouse designed the main Broad Street frontage of the college (1867–68), along with gateway and tower, known as the Brackenbury Buildings after philanthropist and donor Hannah Brackenbury, replacing earlier structures (Staircases I–VII). The first staircase next to the Chapel contains the Organ Scholar's lodgings.

Garden Quadrangle
South-side is the front part of the Master's Lodgings on Broad Street from the Waterhouse improvements of the 1860s of the front quad. The neighbour to this is the Fisher Building of 1759 (Stc X) The undistinguished looking Stc XI, south west side, is in fact the oldest structure in this quadrangle, 1720, originally intended as accommodation for scholars from Bristol, hence its name. Continuing the west-side Stc XII–XIV dates from 1826, by George Basevi, and marks the beginnings of the college's academic renaissance being required for the increasing number of Commoners applying for places. Stc XV by Warren of 1912 filled in the last gap of the quadrangle; the ground floor and basement is the principal Junior Common Room. This unfortunately obscures the lines of the Salvin designed Stc XVI–XIX with Tower of 1853. As does the 1968 building by Beard Stc XX, replacing a Victorian structure. This completely hides a formal gateway similar to that at the Broad Street main entrance, this can be viewed outside from Little Magdalen Street, through the gap marked XIX one finds the small function room "Massey Room". At north side, of Stc XX is the "Back Gate" which is part of the 1906 Warren building, west and north side, Stc XXI. 1 St Giles' is its neighbour which is part of the college and houses the Oxford Internet Institute. Beard's Stc XXII replaces Victorian rooms, which were provided from the Vivian Bulkeley-Johnson benefaction. Beard's Stc XX and XXII are connected by the Snell Bridge accommodation at third-floor level, which was provided from Glasgow University's Snell Benefaction.

The college's dining hall was built in 1877, replacing an older hall in the front quadrangle, which had become too small for the college's population. Designed by Alfred Waterhouse, the hall is built in geometric style, using Bath stone and Tisbury stone, with roof and woodwork made of oak. The hall features a Willis organ, again instituted by Benjamin Jowett. The old hall became part of the library.

The ground floor contains the college bar and shop, known as "The Buttery" (west side) and the Senior Common Room lunch room (east side). The 1966 new Senior Common Room range (Stc XXIII) (northern and eastern sides) was a benefaction of the Bernard Sunley Foundation and contains some smaller rooms and the principal SCR lounge, replacing Victorian facilities. Below this is a Lecture Room ("LR XXIII").

The east side of the quad is a neighbouring wall with Trinity College, at the southern end is the Master's Garden, in front of the chapel, and the Fellows' Garden in front of the "Old" (Senior) Common Room. The Tower forming the corner between the "Old Hall" and "Old Library" is also by Salvin, of 1853 and balances that at Stc XVI–XIX.

Underneath part of the Garden Quad and extending into Trinity were the Balliol-Trinity Laboratories, the most prominent Oxford physical and chemical laboratories in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in which physical chemist Henry Moseley (originator of the atomic number) and Nobel Laureate Cyril Hinshelwood worked. These are now disused, following the construction of the university Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory on South Parks Road.

The Garden Quad at Balliol is the scene of the well-known limerick that parodies the immaterialist philosophy of Bishop Berkeley:

There was a young man who said, God Must think it exceedingly odd If he finds that this tree Still continues to be When there's no one about in the Quad.

and also of the response, by the Balliol-educated Catholic theologian and Bible translator Ronald Knox, which more accurately reflects Berkeley's own beliefs:

Dear Sir, your astonishment's odd: I am always about in the Quad. And that's why the tree Will continue to be, Since observed by, Yours faithfully, GOD.

Holywell Manor, Manor Road and Jowett Walk
The majority of research and post-graduate students are housed in the Holywell Manor complex, a Grade II listed building acquired by Balliol in 1932 under the direction of Kenneth Norman Bell. It hosts a collection of artworks by alumni of the college, including a mural by Gilbert Spencer depicting the college's founding, and hosts a biennial Holywell Manor Festival, Garden Party, and Garden Play. Balliol hosts more graduate students than any other ancient college, and the Manor forms the centre of this community, providing facilities such as the Middle Common Room (MCR) itself, an extensive garden, TV and computer rooms, music practice rooms, a 'Cockpit' leisure room, and the graduate-student-run 'Megaron' bar. The Manor from 1967 until the full admission of women at Balliol in 1979 was host to the Balliol-St Anne's Graduate Institution, including students from St Anne's College, Oxford. Former residents include Bill Clinton and Masako, Empress of Japan.

The 20th century saw several further additions to the college's accommodation, the Martin Building of 1966 ('Holywell Minor, a reference to Holywell Manor, across the road) and the Dellal Building (1986) for graduates on Manor Road.

Many undergraduates and some graduates live in buildings on Jowett Walk a phased development 1996–2004 (Phase 1 completed September 1996, Phase 2 completed July 2004), containing a small theatre facility, the Michael Pilch Studio, five minutes' walking distance from the main college site; these two developments are on the outskirts of the Master's Field, the sports ground and pavilion facilities of the college. Jowett Walk has also provided accommodation for some non-Balliol undergraduates, as part of an arrangement with Wadham College, Oxford.

From 2010, St Cross Church, next to the Manor, has been the college's Historic Collections Centre, an extension to the library's services. The church dates from the 11th or 12th century and is a Grade I listed building. This is the third time an Oxford college has incorporated a redundant church as a Library (see Lincoln College and St. Edmund Hall).

In 2017, the college entered into a specialised financial arrangement which enabled it to project a new 200 plus 'study-bedsits' accommodation range at the Master's Field/ Jowett Walk/ St Cross Road site which would also replace the Eastman Professor's House, Martin and Dellal buildings there. This would mean a net increase of approximately 140 rooms fulfilling the college's long-term intention of providing accommodation to all its undergraduates for all their Degree terms and also some rooms for Dons.

The project includes ten new buildings and a new sports pavilion, including a space for dining, events, spectators and squash courts in the basement. The first building opened in spring 2019 and the completion and occupation of the rest is due by January 2021. In the first phase, work began on the south of the site, at the corner of Jowett Walk and St Cross Road, to provide the accommodation for undergraduates and the new pavilion.

Oxford Internet Institute
Balliol College, and its previous Master Andrew Graham, played a major role in 2000–01 in setting up the Oxford Internet Institute. This was the first multidisciplinary research and policy centre in a European university devoted to examining the impact of the Internet on society. It is a department within the Social Sciences Division of Oxford University, but is physically located within the grounds of Balliol, and its previous Director (William H. Dutton) was a Professorial Fellow of Balliol.

Facilities
The college provides its students with facilities including accommodation, the Hall (refectory), a library, two bars, and separate common rooms for the fellows, the graduates and undergraduates. The JCR provides many services from laundry facilities, one of the few entirely student-run bars left in Oxford (the Manager, Lord/Lady Lindsay, is elected each year by students in the JCR) to a student-run cafeteria known as Pantry. There is a garden quadrangle and a nearby sports ground (the Master's Field) and boathouse. The sports ground is mainly used for cricket, tennis, hockey and football. Croquet may be played in the Master's Field or, in the summer term, in the garden quadrangle.

The majority of undergraduates are housed within the main college or in the modern annexes (Jowett Walk buildings) around the sports ground. The graduates are housed mainly within Holywell Manor which has its own bar, gardens, common room, gym and computing facilities.

Traditions and customs

Along with many of the ancient colleges, Balliol has evolved its own traditions and customs over the centuries, many of which occupy a regular calendar slot.

The patron saint of the college is Saint Catherine of Alexandria. On her feast day (25 November), a formal dinner is held for all final year students within Balliol. This festival was well established by 1550. Another important feast is the Snell Dinner. This dinner is held in memory of John Snell, whose benefaction established exhibitions for students from the University of Glasgow to study at Balliol (the first exhibitioners were matriculated in 1699) one of whom was Adam Smith. The feast is attended by fellows of Balliol College, the current Snell Exhibitioners, and representatives from Glasgow University and St John's College, Cambridge.

The MCR has one black-tie dinner each term: the Christmas Dinner in Michaelmas, Burns Night in Hilary, and the May Dinner in Trinity Term.

By far the most eccentric event is The Nepotists carol-singing event organised by the college's Arnold and Brackenbury Society. This event happens on the last Friday of Michaelmas term each year. On this occasion, Balliol students congregate in the college hall to enjoy mulled wine and the singing of carols. The evening historically ended with a rendition of "The Gordouli" (see Balliol–Trinity rivalry below) on Broad Street, outside the gates of Trinity College, although in recent years the song has been sung from within the college walls.

A college society which no longer survives is the Hysteron Proteron Club, which aimed to live one day of each term backwards.

Tortoises
Balliol also takes pride in its college tortoises. The original tortoise, who lived at the college for at least 43 years, was known as Rosa, named after the Marxist Rosa Luxemburg. Each June, pet tortoises from various Oxford colleges are brought to Corpus Christi College where they participate in a very slow race; Balliol's own Rosa competed and won many times. Rosa disappeared in the Spring of 2004, and while numerous conspiracy theories abounded, none is officially recognised by the college. However, on 29 April 2007, Chris Skidmore, a graduate of Christ Church working at the House of Commons, donated a pair of tortoises - one to his own college, and one to Balliol, where he had attended an open day in 1999. The new tortoise, Matilda, died in April 2009. Taking care of the resident tortoise is one of the many tasks assigned to Balliol students each year. This position, known as "Comrade Tortoise", has been filled by a student every year.

Balliol–Trinity rivalry
For many years, there has been a traditional and fierce rivalry shown between the students of Balliol and those of its immediate neighbour to the east, Trinity College. It has manifested itself on the sports field and the river; in the form of songs (of varying degrees of offensiveness) sung over the dividing walls; and in the form of "raids" on the other college. The rivalry reflects that which also exists between Trinity College, Cambridge and Balliol's sister college, St John's College, Cambridge.

In college folklore, the rivalry goes back to the late 17th century, when Ralph Bathurst, President of Trinity, was supposedly observed throwing stones at Balliol's windows. In fact, in its modern form, the rivalry appears to date from the late 1890s, when the chant or song known as a "Gordouli" began to be sung from the Balliol side.

The traditional words run: "Gordouli Face like a ham, Bobby Johnson says so And he should know."

The shouting of chants over the wall is still known as "a Gordouli", and the tradition continues as the students gather to sing following boat club dinners and other events. The traditional Gordouli is said to have been sung by Balliol and Trinity men in the trenches of Mesopotamia in the First World War.

Balliol became known for its radicalism and political activism in the 20th century, and saw an abortive coup in the 1960s in which students took over the college and declared it "the People's Republic of Balliol". The contrast between the radical tendencies of many Balliol students and the traditional conservatism and social exclusivity of Trinity gave the rivalry an extra edge. The fact that Balliol (in contrast to Trinity) had admitted a number of Indian and Asiatic students also gave many of the taunts from the Trinity side a distinctly racist tone: Balliol students, for example, were sometime referred to as "Basutos".

In Five Red Herrings (1931), a Lord Peter Wimsey novel by Somerville alumna Dorothy L. Sayers, Lord Peter (a Balliol man) is asked whether he remembers a certain contemporary from Trinity. I never knew any Trinity men,' said Wimsey. 'The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Sayers also alludes to the rivalry in Murder Must Advertise (1933): Mr Ingleby, a Trinity man, comments, "If there is one thing more repulsive than another it is Balliolity."

One of the wittier raids from Balliol, in 1962 or 1963, involved the turfing of the whole of Trinity JCR (complete with daffodils). The last incident suspected to relate to the feud was the vandalisation of Trinity's SCR pond, which led to the death of all but one of the fish.

Notable people
Balliol has produced a wide range of figures who have contributed deeply to public life. Balliol people were, for example, prominent in establishing the International Baccalaureate, the National Trust, the Workers Educational Association, the welfare state, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Amnesty International.

 Nobel Prize winners

Balliol has produced 12 Nobel Laureates with 13 wins in total, of which 5 were students and 7 were fellows of the college.  Science

Balliol played an important role in early modern science:

 * The early Newtonian David Gregory was "the first to openly teach the doctrines of the Principia, in a public seminary" and was elected Savilian Professor of Astronomy, due in large part to the influence of Isaac Newton
 * John Keill, another important defender of Newton, who after being appointed as lecturer in experimental philosophy at Hart Hall, started performing experiments based on Newton's findings
 * The mathematician James Stirling, best remembered for Stirling's approximation for factorials, was a Snell and Warner exhibitioner expelled in 1715 for his correspondence with Jacobites
 * James Bradley, best known for his discovery of the aberration of light and the nutation of the Earth's axis, who was placed (after Hipparchus and Kepler) "above the greatest astronomers of all ages and all countries" by Delambre and was appointed Savilian Professor of Astronomy, eventually becoming the third Astronomer Royal in 1742

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins was a Balliol student from 1959 to 1962.

 Politics

Balliol has produced four British Prime Ministers:

 * H. H. Asquith
 * Harold Macmillan
 * Edward Heath
 * Boris Johnson

Other senior leadership positions:

Current politically prominent alumni:
 * Jo Grimond
 * Denis Healey
 * Yvette Cooper
 * Roy Jenkins
 * George Nathaniel Curzon
 * Alfred Milner

 * Yvette Cooper
 * Rory Stewart
 * Yuan yang

International leaders:

 * Richard von Weizsäcker, President of Germany from 1984 to 1994, considered the most popular of Germany's presidents, who oversaw the reunification of Germany
 * Sir Sereste Khama, "Father of Independence" and first President of Botswana, who led his country's independence movement and transition from British rule into an independent, democratic nation
 * Abdullah Bishara, first secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (1981–1993) who played a vital role during the first Gulf War, former Kuwait representative to the United Nations (1971–1981)

Royal alumni:

 * Empress Masako of Japan
 * Olav V of Norway, (after whose donation of expanding the JCR is named the Norway Room)
 * His son and current king Harald V of Norway

Political journalists:

 * The Financial Times's associate editor Stephen Bush
 * The Guardian's chief arts writer Charlotte Higgins
 * Columnist and Labour communications specialist Seumas Milne
 * The Times Columnist David Aaronovitch
 * Christopher Hitchens

Shoghi Effendi, Head of the Baha'i Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957, also studied Economics and Social Sciences

 Law
 * John Marshall Harlan II, described as one of the most influential US Supreme Court justices of the twentieth century, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1960
 * Thomas Bingham was the Senior Law Lord of the United Kingdom, described by Nick Phillips as "head and shoulders above everybody else in the Law in my view…yes just outstanding…his clarity of thought, his academic knowledge. I think almost everyone would say that he was, you know, the great lawyer of his generation"
 * Brian Hutton and Alan Rodger held equivalent positions in Northern Ireland and Scotland, at one point, all three simultaneously
 * Cressida Dick is the immediate past Commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, the first woman to hold this role

 Literature

The height of Baliol's literary influence came in the Victorian era, when virtually all major poets had some connection with Balliol:
 * Robert Southey, Poet Laureate chiefly remembered today for the original version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"

 * Gerard Manley Hopkins, though publishing little while alive, has experienced posthumous fame that placed him among leading English poets with his prosody establishing him as an innovator, as did his praise of God through vivid use of imagery and nature; by 1930 Hopkins's work was seen as one of the most original literary advances of his century
 * Matthew Arnold, influential poet and critic
 * A.C. Swinburne, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1903 to 1909
 * Robert Browning, deemed "the most considerable poet in English since the major Romantics", was a personal friend of master Benjamin Jowett and became the college's first Honorary Fellow, donating his portrait and other memorabilia to the college, which grew to become "one of the most distinguished collections of Browning material"

Of 20th century writers:
 * Ronald Knox, Catholic Priest, crime writer and translator of the Knox Bible, which was called "an exceptional achievement both of scholarship and of literary dedication" by Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams
 * Graham Greene, regarded as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century, shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times
 * Joseph Macleod, one of the earliest interpreters of Chekhov in the UK, whom Basil Bunting claimed was the most important living British poet, while also gaining admiration from Pound
 * Anthony Powell, associate of Orwell who wrote A Dance to the Music of Time, ranked 36th on the BBC list of 100 greatest British novels
 * Robertson Davies, one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished "men of letters"
 * Nevil Shute, whose novels A Town Like Alice, Trustee from the Toolroom at and On the Beach featured on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels of the 20th century
 * Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World and The Doors of Perception, widely acknowledged as one of the foremost intellectuals of his time, nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature nine times, and elected Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature in 1962
 * Franco-English writer Hilaire Belloc

Among contemporary writers:

 * Gwyneth Lewis, MBE (born 1959), is a Welsh poet, who was the inaugural National Poet of Wales in 2005
 * John Minford is sinologist, known for his translation of Chinese classics like The Art of War, the I Ching and the Tao Te Ching

In terms of critics, Balliol has produced A.C. Bradley, writer of Shakespearean Tragedy, described as probably the most influential single work of Shakespearean criticism ever published, the "polyglot and polymath" George Steiner, and Christopher Ricks who has been acclaimed as the "greatest living critic"

 Philosophy

Notable Balliol philosophers include:

 * Adam Smith, a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, regarded as "The Father of Economics" or "The Father of Capitalism"
 * T. H. Green, whose teaching is considered the most potent philosophical influence in England during the last quarter of the 19th century, cited by many social liberal politicians, often Balliol alumni, such as Herbert Samuel and H. H. Asquith

Like most philosophy faculties in the Anglosphere, contemporary thought at Balliol is firmly grounded in the so-called analytic tradition:

 * J. L. Austin, a leading proponent of ordinary language philosophy
 * Charles Taylor, the first president of the Oxford Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
 * Bernard Williams, moral theorist described as an "analytical philosopher with the soul of a general humanist", who Martin Hollis said had "a good claim to be the leading British philosopher of his day"
 * Derek Parfit, widely considered one of the most important and influential moral philosophers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, whose first book, Reasons and Persons has been described as the most significant work of moral philosophy since the 1800s
 * Jonathan Barnes, Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Oxford from 1989 to 1994, who revised the Oxford Aristotle, universally recognized as the standard English version, in light of modern scholarship

Other notable contemporary philosophers include J. R. Lucas, R. M. Hare, Michael Sandel, Joseph Raz, Peter Geach, Michael Otsuka, Michael E. Rosen, and Timothy Williamson.

 Sport

Balliol has also contributed to the sporting world; I. A. K. Pataudi and his son Tiger Pataudi, both India cricket captains and the 8th and 9th Nawabs of Pataudi respectively, were both Balliol graduates who played for the university. US Olympian rower Caryn Davies received her MBA at Balliol.

 Other

Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK and President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union graduated in 2004.

Howard Marks, a convicted drug dealer and later author, attended Balliol between 1964 and 1967 to study physics and then again between 1968 and 1969 to study History and Philosophy of Science. Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who was convicted of sex trafficking of children for Jeffrey Epstein in 2021, graduated from Balliol in 1985.

The first transgender hereditary peer, Matilda Simon, 3rd Baroness Simon of Wythenshawe, graduated from Balliol with a bachelor's degree and a doctor of philosophy.

The first person documented to brew coffee in England, Nathaniel Canopius, was a Cretan student at Balliol from 1637 to 1648.

 Chancellors of the University of Oxford

Balliol members have predominated as holders of the office of Chancellor of the university from the 20th century to the present;

 * George Nathaniel Curzon
 * Harold Macmillan
 * Roy Jenkins
 * Chris Patten

The last two being opposed in their election by Edward Heath and Lord Bingham of Cornhill respectively. Members of the college have been elected to masterships not only at Balliol but also at other colleges, and include the current Master of Christ's College, Cambridge, Jane Stapleton, a former fellow of Balliol.

Academics and Fellows
As with all colleges, Balliol has a more or less permanent set of teaching staff, known as Fellows. The college statutes provide for various categories of Fellows and these include both tutorial fellows and professorial fellows. Professorial fellows are those professors and readers of the university who are allocated to the college by the university. One of these professorships is the Beit Professor of Commonwealth History, which is currently held by James Belich. The Professorship of Internet Studies is currently held by political scientist Philip N. Howard. Other professorships include the Boden Professor of Sanskrit and the Montague Burton Professor of International Relations. Official Fellows are those who hold tutorial or administrative appointments in the college. There are also senior and junior research fellows. The college can also elect "distinguished persons" to honorary fellowships.

The fellows are supplemented by academics on short-term contracts. In addition, there are visiting international academics who come to Oxford for periods of up to a year, an example of this is the George Eastman Visiting Professorial Fellowship.

Masters

Balliol College is run by the master and fellows of the college. The master of the college must be "the person who is, in their [the Fellows] judgement, most fit for the government of the College as a place of religion, learning, and education". The current master is Dame Helen Ghosh, former Director-General of the National Trust and Home Office Permanent Secretary, and an alumna of St Hugh's and Hertford colleges.

Although the rules in no way suggest there is a preference for an alumnus or Fellow of the college to be chosen there have been few who were not, only one in the 20th century had no previous connection. A former student of the college, Baruch Blumberg, was the first American master and the first Nobel Laureate, receiving his prize in medicine for the identification of the hepatitis B virus. The former Master of Balliol, Sir Drummond Bone, was a post-graduate student there (Snell Exhibitioner from Glasgow University) and a scholar of the Romantic poet Lord Byron, and held the post from October 2011 to April 2018, following his retirement as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool in 2008.

title: Balliol College, Oxford


text:
Middleburg, North Carolina

Middleburg is a town in Vance County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 133 at the 2010 census. It was in Warren County and known as Middleburgh prior to the establishment of Vance County in 1881.

History
Middleburg Baptist Church was established on November 27, 1881. The first pastor was Reverend M.V. McDuffy.

The Pleasant Hill/Hawkins House is located near Middleburg. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The original dwelling was probably built by Colonel Philemon Hawkins II, and birthplace of Governor William Hawkins (1777-1819).

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 square mile (1.5 km2), all land.

Middleburg is located roughly halfway between New York and Atlanta, which is possibly the etymology of the town.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 162 people, 54 households, and 46 families residing in the town. The population density was 284.6 PD/sqmi. There were 56 housing units at an average density of 98.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 34.57% White, 63.58% African American, 1.23% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.70% of the population.

There were 54 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 24.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.0% were non-families. 13.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,313, and the median income for a family was $28,750. Males had a median income of $21,563 versus $18,125 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,552. About 4.2% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.

Notable people

 * Tiny Broadwick, pioneer parachutist and inventor of the ripcord
 * John Clifford Hawkins, second ever African American member of the New York State Assembly
 * William B. Henderson, state legislator in North Carolina

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Middleburg, North Carolina


text:
South Henderson, North Carolina

South Henderson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Vance County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,213 at the 2010 census.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.9 square miles (5.0 km2), all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,220 people, 452 households, and 321 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 629.8 PD/sqmi. There were 505 housing units at an average density of 260.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 46.89% White, 49.02% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.41% Pacific Islander, 2.70% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.52% of the population.

There were 452 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 24.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $26,008, and the median income for a family was $36,389. Males had a median income of $26,563 versus $20,395 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $15,221. About 6.3% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

title: South Henderson, North Carolina


text:
Apex, North Carolina

Apex is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. At its southern border, Apex encompasses the community of Friendship. In 1994, the downtown area was designated a historic district, and the Apex train depot, built in 1867, is designated a Wake County landmark. The depot location marks the highest point on the old Chatham Railroad, hence the town's name. The town motto is "The Peak of Good Living".

In the late 19th century, a small community developed around the railroad station. The forests were cleared for farmland, much of which was dedicated to tobacco farming. Since Apex was near the state capital, it became a trading center. The railroad shipped products such as lumber, tar, and tobacco. The town was officially incorporated in 1873. By 1900, the town had a population of 349. As of the 2020 census, its population was 58,780, making it the 17th-most populous municipality in North Carolina.

The population boom occurred primarily in the late 1990s. The Research Triangle Park, established in the 1960s, created strong demand for technology workers. This also drove population growth.

History

In 1869, the Chatham Railroad, connecting Chatham County with Raleigh, was completed. At the highest point of the line, which railroad workers dubbed the "apex of the grade", existed a pond. Trains leaving out of Chatham would stop at the pond to replenish their water. A community began to grow around the stop, which the railroad workers called Apex. The town of Apex was incorporated in 1873. The pond was eventually drained by culverts and ceased to exist by 1900.

Apex grew slowly through the succeeding decades, despite several devastating fires, including a June 12, 1911, conflagration that destroyed most of the downtown business district. The town center was rebuilt and stands to this day, now one of the most intact railroad towns in the state. At the heart of town stands the Apex Union Depot, originally a passenger station for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and later home to the locally supported Apex Community Library. The depot now houses the Apex Chamber of Commerce.

Apex suffered mild setbacks during the Great Depression era, but growth began again in earnest in the 1950s. The town's proximity to RTP spurred additional residential development, yet the town managed to preserve its small-town character. During the 1990s, the town's population quadrupled to over 20,000, placing new demands upon Apex's infrastructure.

Apex has continued to grow in recent years. A sizable shopping center was built at the intersection of Highway 55 and US 64, and several new neighborhoods have been built as the town grows toward the west.

In October 2006, a chemical explosion and fire in a waste-processing facility prompted the evacuation of over 16,000 residents. There were few serious injuries, and residents were soon able to return home. In 2009, a federal court approved a $7.85M settlement to compensate Apex residents affected by the disaster. Each household received $750. Businesses received $2,200.

In 2015, Apex was named the number-one place to live in America, according to Money magazine.

In addition to the Apex Union Depot, the Apex City Hall, Apex Historic District, Calvin Wray Lawrence House, and Utley-Council House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography
The town is a suburb of both Raleigh and Research Triangle Park (RTP). It is situated to the southwest of Raleigh with direct highway access via US 1. Apex is south of RTP with direct highway access via NC 540. Apex crests the watersheds of both the Neuse and Cape Fear Rivers. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 25.15 sqmi, of which 25.06 sqmi is land and 0.09 sqmi (0.36%) is water. Neighboring towns include Cary to the north and northeast, Holly Springs to the south, and Raleigh to the east and northeast.

Government
Apex's council–manager form of government has a mayor and five council members (one of whom serves as mayor pro tem), who are each elected at-large in staggered four-year terms. The town's attorney and manager serve at the pleasure of the council. All the other staff report to the town manager and manage the town's day-to-day business.

The town is led by Mayor Jacques K. Gilbert, elected in 2019. The council members, in order of tenure, are: Brett D. Gantt (2017), Audra M. Killingsworth (2017), Terry J. Mahaffey (2019), Ed Gray (2021), and Arno Zegerman (2023).

In the North Carolina House of Representatives, Apex is represented by Julie von Haefen (district 36), Erin Paré (district 37), and Gale Adcock (district 41). In the North Carolina Senate, Apex is represented by Sydney Batch (district 17). In the U.S. House of Representatives Apex is represented by Deborah Ross (NC-02) and Wiley Nickel (NC-13).

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, 58,780 people, 18,197 households, and 14,027 families reside in the town.

2010 census
At the 2010 census, there were 37,476 people, 13,225 households, and 9,959 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,437.9 people per square mile. The 13,922 housing units had an average density of 905.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 69% White, 7% African American, 12% Asian, 3% from other races, and 9% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8% of the population.

Of the 18,197 total households, 14,027 (77%) were family households, of which 46% had children under 18 living with them, 63% of the family households were married couples living together, and 11% had a female householder with no husband, 4,170 households were not families, comprising 23% of total households. The average household size was 3.12, and the average family size was 2.81.

Top employers
According to the 2020 Comprehensive Financial Report for Apex, these were the town's top employers:

Schools
Apex's public schools are operated by the Wake County Public School System.

Over 4,000 students are enrolled in two public high schools in Apex, Apex Friendship High School and Apex High School.

Public middle schools include:
 * Apex Friendship Middle School
 * Apex Middle School
 * Lufkin Road Middle School
 * Salem Middle School

Public elementary schools include:
 * Apex Elementary School
 * Apex Friendship Elementary School
 * Baucom Elementary School
 * Laurel Park Elementary School
 * Olive Chapel Elementary School
 * Salem Elementary School
 * Scotts Ridge Elementary School

Private schools:
 * Peace Montessori School
 * St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School
 * Thales Academy of Apex

Charter schools:
 * Peak Charter Academy
 * The Math and Science Academy of Apex

Roads

 * ,, and are the major roads through Apex.
 * The Triangle Expressway southwestern section is a toll road connecting to . This is a partially completed loop road around the greater Raleigh area.
 * The Apex Peakway' is a loop road orbiting downtown Apex. The peakway was conceived as a means to relieve traffic in the downtown area and provide a bypass for commuters traveling from one side of the town to the other. It is currently the only "peakway" in North Carolina, taking its name from Apex's town motto: "The Peak of Good Living." When finished, the Apex Peakway will be 6 mi long; so far 5 mi have been constructed.

Transit

 * Air: is on  approximately 12 miles north of downtown Apex.  is to the south on, 22 miles from downtown.
 * Rail:Apex is not served directly by passenger trains. Amtrak serves the nearby municipalities of Cary and Raleigh. CSX manages a freight train switch yard in the center of Apex.
 * Bus: The Triangle Transit Authority branded as GoTriangle operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Greyhound has terminals in Raleigh and Durham. In 2022, GoTriangle launched its first Apex branded bus service, GoApex. GoCary also operates an express route that connects the two communities.

Bicycle

 * USBR 1 (2009).svg U.S. Bicycle Route 1 routes through downtown Apex.
 * US Bike 5 (M1-8).svg North Carolina Bicycle Route 5 connects Apex to Wilmington and closely parallels the NCBC Randonneurs 600 kilometer brevet route.
 * There are numerous greenway trails including the Beaver Creek Trail and the American Tobacco Trail popular with cyclists.

Utilities
Apex Utilities provides water/sewer, electricity, garbage, recycling, and yard waste pickup. Natural Gas is provided by PSNC.

Health care
Emergency, primary, and specialist care is provided at the WakeMed Apex Healthplex.

Fire
Fire protection is provided by the Apex Fire Department operating from five stations with a sixth under construction.

Police
Police service is provided by the Apex Police Department.

Parks and recreation
The Apex Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources department manages many parks, greenways, and sport programs, including a skate park near downtown.

Major parks include:
 * Apex Community Park
 * Apex Jaycee Park
 * Hunter Street Park & Trackside Skate Plaza
 * Kelly Road Park
 * Nature Park & Seymour Athletic Fields
 * Pleasant Park (opened in November 2023)
 * Salem Pond Park

There are both youth and adult sport programs for:
 * Baseball
 * Basketball
 * Lacrosse
 * Soccer
 * Softball
 * Tennis
 * Volleyball

Arts and culture

 * Apex PeakFest is the community's annual festival held on the first Saturday in May. The downtown area is closed off and over 200 vendors provide food, arts & crafts, rides, and other entertainment.
 * The Halle Cultural Arts Center provides a theater, classroom, and gallery spaces. It was built as the Town Hall in 1912.

Notable people

 * Jayson Alexander, racing driver
 * Wes Durham, sportscaster
 * Tim Federowicz, MLB player
 * Seth Frankoff, MLB player
 * Randi Griffin, ice hockey player who competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics as part of the Unified Korea women's national team
 * Susan Higginbotham, American historical fiction author and attorney
 * C. J. Hunter, 1999 World Champion shot putter and later coach
 * Justin Jedlica, known as the Human Ken Doll
 * Brendan Lambe, USL player for Atlanta United 2
 * Matt Mangini, former MLB player for the Seattle Mariners
 * Sio Moore, former NFL player for the Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, and Arizona Cardinals
 * Landon Powell, former MLB player for the Oakland Athletics
 * Julia Montgomery Street, American poet, playwright and author
 * William Wynn, NFL defensive end

title: Apex, North Carolina


text:
Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina

Fuquay-Varina is a town in southern Wake County, North Carolina, United States, lying south of Holly Springs and southwest of Garner, and north of the Harnett County town of Angier and west of the unincorporated community of Willow Springs. The population was 17,937 at the 2010 census, and estimated at 36,736 as of July 2021. The hyphenated name attests to the town's history as two separate towns. Fuquay Springs and Varina merged in 1963 to create the modern town. Economically, the town initially grew due to tobacco trade and agriculture, but has seen recent population growth and real estate development due to its proximity to Research Triangle Park.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 31.5 sqkm, of which 31.3 sqkm is land and 0.2 sqkm, or 0.51%, is water.

Fuquay-Varina is located in the northeast central region of North Carolina, where the North American Piedmont and Atlantic Coastal Plain regions meet. This area is known as the "Fall Line" because it marks the elevation inland at which waterfalls begin to appear in creeks and rivers. Its central Piedmont location situates Fuquay-Varina approximately three hours west of Atlantic Beach by car and four hours east of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Climate
Fuquay-Varina enjoys a moderate subtropical climate, with moderate temperatures in the spring, fall, and winter. Summers are typically hot with high humidity. Winter highs generally range in the low 50s°F (10 to 13 °C) with lows in the low-to-mid 30s°F (-2 to 2 °C), although an occasional 60 °F (15 °C) or warmer winter day may occur. Spring and fall days usually reach the low-to-mid 70s°F (low 20s°C), with lows at night in the lower 50s°F (10 to 14 °C). Summer daytime highs often reach the upper 80s to low 90s°F (29 to 35 °C). The rainiest month is July.

Early history
Frenchman William Fuquay first settled in the small farming town of Sippihaw, named for the original Native American tribe that inhabited the area. Although there is no history of a tribe called Sippihaw, there are historical accounts in the area of a tribe called Susippihaw. Around 1858, while plowing the fields of the family tobacco farm, Stephen Fuquay, son of William, discovered a spring. Originally the spring was used solely for drinking water. Stephen soon came to the conclusion that the mineral water flowing from the springs had healing properties. As word spread, locals began to help the springs establish this reputation, which brought residents from neighboring communities and counties to its waters. The springs were eventually walled in to better serve the tourists coming to the area by road or rail. In 1860, Fuquay sold the springs to a group of local investors who formed the Chalybeate Springs Company to market the attraction and its waters.

At that time another Sippihaw resident, J. D. "Squire" Ballentine, was returning home from the Civil War. Ballentine had been the town's schoolmaster before going off to fight for the Confederate Army. During his tour of duty, he had received letters from one of many southern ladies who wrote to the troops to improve their morale. Originally signing her name "Varina", perhaps an homage to the wife of Jefferson Davis, Virginia Avery would later meet and fall in love with Ballentine. He continued to call her Varina throughout their life together. When he became the first postmaster at the new post office in town in 1880, he named it "Varina" in her honor. A community grew just south of the springs, near the post office and the couple's Varina Mercantile Company general store. In time, it adopted the same name. Ballentine's business success allowed him to construct the Ballentine Spence House in 1910, the first house to have plumbing and electricity in the area. This house, a local historic landmark, still stands today.

Growth around the start of the 20th century
The Fuquay Mineral Spring's popularity grew in the 1890s and around the start of the 20th century as local businessman John Mills developed the idea to offer "Moonlight Excursions" to the springs. He fitted flat rail cars with seats and offered nighttime train trips to southern Wake County from Raleigh. As more guests came to the springs to "take the waters", a group of small hotels sprung up in town, along with restaurants, barbecue stands, and a dance pavilion with a player piano. The town became a tourist destination and was the site of special celebrations on Fourths of July and Easter Mondays. During these events, residents of Raleigh would take the train down to watch the accompanying baseball games and participate in the dances and celebrations. Hotels like the Ben Wiley Hotel (now called the Fuquay Mineral Spring Inn & Garden) catered to the out-of-towners and became as much a center of town life as the springs. In 1902, Sippihaw was renamed "Fuquay Springs" in honor of its founding family and was officially incorporated in 1909.

When it was incorporated, the new Fuquay Springs town limits included the core of the neighboring town of Varina, consisting of its business district and the rail junction of the Cape Fear and Northern Railway and the Norfolk Southern Railway. But Varina reestablished itself the following year when the Varina Union Station was erected and a new post office was created, spurred by the lobbying of Ballentine. Four years later, the Bank of Varina was established, competing directly with the Bank of Fuquay (now Fidelity Bank). Several warehouses for the growing tobacco business were built in town over the next few years, capitalizing on the railroad connections. Another supply store and a knitting factory followed. As Varina came into its own as a hub for area agriculture, the Fuquay Springs Corporation was formed and began bottling and selling mineral water from the springs commercially. Area businesses continued to develop and, in 1927, U.S. Route 401 was paved through town, shortening travel times to Raleigh and nearby communities.

Unification and the present
By this time, Fuquay Springs and Varina had become major trading hubs for southern Wake County as well as neighboring Harnett and Johnston counties. Yet improvements to automobiles and area roads caused a decline in tourism at the springs. Rather than visiting the springs, residents in the region chose to visit the coast as travel times decreased. During this time, however, the tobacco industry continued to drive the area economy, with five warehouses, a cotton buyer, and fifteen stores established by the end of the 1920s. The shared emphasis on agricultural and industrial growth brought the towns to a shared vision, and as their residents worked, played, and attended church together, the towns merged into Fuquay-Varina in 1963.

While development in the area today includes numerous residential communities and commercial sites along the major roadways into town, many of the older structures from its past remain within the town limits. The Victorian, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival homes constructed in the late 19th century and early 20th century are contributing structures to the Fuquay Springs Historic District, while the downtown shops and businesses are part of the Varina Commercial Historic District. Area landmarks located in these districts include the Ben-Wiley Hotel, the Ballentine-Spence House, and the Dr. Wiley S. Cozart House, built across the street from the springs by the original owner and proprietor of the Ben Wiley. The springs are now contained in a small park developed on the site in 1945 which was handed over to the town in 1998 to maintain as a historic park. Lexie McLean owned and operated McLean's Grocery on Academy Street for many years. McLean was a community leader and considered a major factor in the growth and development of the Fuquay-Varina area. Edward N. Farnell was the principal of the Fuquay Spring High School from 1952 through 1967. Farnell was an important community leader and educator; many of his students went on to become community and state leaders.

From 1970 to 2000, the population more than doubled, growing from 3,576 residents to 7,898. The population more than doubled again between 2000 and 2010, growing to 17,937 at the 2010 census. According to the NC State Data Center, Fuquay-Varina grew 23% from 2000 to 2003, making it the 26th fastest growing community in the state and the 11th fastest for those with populations over 5,000.

The mayor of Fuquay-Varina is Blake Massengill, who was elected in 2021 with 50% of the vote over Commissioner Bill Harris. Prior to being elected as mayor, Blake served as Mayor Pro-Tem for six years.

Fuquay-Varina is also the former hometown of Internet personalities Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, who moved their studio there in 2010, as well as Link who until then lived in Apex, North Carolina.

In addition to the Ben-Wiley Hotel, Fuquay Springs Historic District, and Varina Commercial Historic District, the Fuquay Mineral Spring, Fuquay Springs High School, Fuquay Springs Teacherage, Fuquay-Varina Woman's Club Clubhouse, J. Beale Johnson House, Kemp B. Johnson House, Jones-Johnson-Ballentine Historic District, and Wayland H. and Mamie Burt Stevens House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 34,152 people, 9,494 households, and 7,150 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,898 people, 3,122 households, and 2,126 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,156.0 PD/sqmi. There were 3,375 housing units at an average density of 494.0 /sqmi. The racial composition of the town was: 70.63% White, 24.40% Black or African American, 7.38% Hispanic or Latino American, 0.48% Asian American, 0.41% Native American, 0.02% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 2.94% some other race, and 1.15% two or more races.

There were 3,122 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,903, and the median income for a family was $49,531. Males had a median income of $35,497 versus $28,551 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,268. About 9.0% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education
The town is served by seven public schools, administered by the Wake County Public School System. Public schools include Ballentine Elementary School, Fuquay-Varina Elementary School, Lincoln Heights Elementary School, Herbert Akins Road Elementary, Fuquay-Varina Middle School, Fuquay-Varina High School, and South Lakes Elementary School. Southern Wake Academy, a publicly funded charter school serving grades 6 through 12, is also located in Fuquay-Varina. Hilltop Christian School is a private school located in the town.

The area is served by Wake Technical Community College, which is located between Fuquay-Varina and Raleigh. The 2007 enrollment was approximately 57,000 and was projected to grow to 78,000 by 2015.

Roads
Two state routes and one U.S. route run through Fuquay Varina. All three routes occupy part of Main Street in the main business district in town, and each goes in a different direction outside of the main business district.

 * NC 42 enters the town from the west, after traveling through a large sparsely populated rural area including the unincorporated community of Duncan. The next sizable settlement on NC 42 is Sanford, about 25 miles away.  After entering the town, it follows Academy Street, which marks the central east–west street of the town grid system.  After meeting Main Street, NC 42 leaves Academy Street and joins US 401 along North Main Street.  After meeting NC 55 at Broad Street just south of Old Varina, the three share North Main Street before NC 55 and NC 42 leave US 401 at the northeastern corner of town.  The two routes share pavement only for a few dozen yards before NC 42 splits off in an eastbound direction towards Willow Springs and Cleveland in Johnston County.
 * NC 55 enters the town from the northwest, entering the town from Holly Springs and forming the main route through the Varina Commercial Historic District, one of the former towns that merged to make Fuquay-Varina. After meeting the other two routes, the three share North Main Street before NC 55 and NC 42 leave US 401 at the northeastern corner of town.  The two routes share pavement only for a few dozen yards before NC 55 splits to the south and heads towards the unincorporated community of Kennebec and from then on to Angier.
 * US 401 enters the town from the south, after traveling through northern Harnett County from Lillington. Forming the main thoroughfare through the Fuquay Springs Historic District, one of the former towns that merged to make Fuquay Varina, following South Main Street.  After meeting NC 42 at Academy Street and NC 55, the three routes follow North Main Street through town before NC 42 and NC 55 leave towards the southeast, and US 401 heads northeast towards Garner.

Public transport

 * Air: Raleigh-Durham International Airport is located in northwestern Wake county on I-40.
 * Rail: Fuquay-Varina is not served directly by passenger trains. Amtrak serves the nearby municipalities of Cary and Raleigh.
 * Local bus: The Triangle Transit Authority operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.

Parks and recreation
The town is served by the following parks:
 * Fuquay Mineral Spring Park - This park is the site of the natural spring around which the Fuquay Springs community developed. The facility includes picnic tables, a footbridge, restored spring house, park benches, granite historical marker, and memorial brick path.
 * South Park - Facilities include a concession/scorekeeper building, scorekeeper booth, two baseball fields, one multi-purpose field, two soccer fields, multi-purpose area, community center, administrative offices, a picnic shelter, playground units, a miniature water park for children, grilling area, and a walking track.
 * Falcon Park - Facilities include a youth baseball/softball field, picnic shelter, playground, charcoal grill area, concession stand, sand volleyball court and a gymnasium.
 * Action Park - Facilities include two youth softball/baseball fields, Batting cages, one multipurpose field (softball, baseball, football, soccer), four lighted tennis courts, and a playground.
 * Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Education Park - The park has nature trails and free teaching kits available for use. Lesson plans and supplies for grades K-12 are included in each kit and kits are available to be checked out from the community center. Facilities include 1.5 - 2.0 mi of interpretive walking trails, overlooks, bridges, outdoor classroom, restrooms, and a picnic pavilion with tables.
 * Ballentine School Park - Facilities include three youth baseball/softball fields and one multi-purpose field.
 * Library Park - Facilities include a picnic shelter, playground area, and a charcoal grilling area.
 * Honeycutt Road Park - Facilities include two lighted soccer fields, one lighted multi-purpose field, two tennis courts, playground, concession stand with restrooms, paved walking track, and paved parking areas.
 * Kinton Soccer Field - Youth soccer field
 * Ransdell Soccer Field - Youth soccer field
 * Fleming Loop Soccer Complex - Youth soccer fields
 * Lawrence Street Park - Soccer Field (2 acre)
 * Herbert Akins Park - Three soccer fields (10 acre) Great for tournaments or picnics
 * Banks Road Park - Two soccer fields and a baseball/softball field (14 acre)
 * Splash Pad - 6,000 square foot pentagon shaped pad features multiple jets of streaming water from more than 35 water features. Free for residents but must have a Resident Splash Pad card which can be picked up at the Community Center during regular business hours (Monday-Friday 8 am-9 pm; Saturday 8 am-5 pm).

Government
Fuquay-Varina is governed by a council-manager form of government. The current mayor is Blake Massengill while the town manager is Adam Mitchell. The Town Board serves as the main legislative body, whose members, called commissioners, are all elected at-large for staggered four-year terms, with one member serving as mayor pro ten for a two-year term. The mayor is elected at-large for a two-year term, and serves as chairman of the board. The mayor and commissioners are elected on a nonpartisan basis.

 * Blake Massengill, Mayor (2021 - )
 * Marilyn Gardner, Mayor Pro Tem (2015 - )
 * Bill Harris, Commissioner (1987 - )
 * Charlie Adcock, Commissioner (2015 - )
 * Jason Wunsch, Commissioner (2013 - )
 * Bryan Haynes, Commissioner (2021 - )

Notable people

 * Lynton Y. Ballentine, North Carolina dairyman, farmer and politician
 * Andre Bowden, Arena Football League fullback and linebacker
 * Curley Bridges (1934–2014), was an American electric blues, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues singer, pianist and songwriter
 * Beverly Buchanan, African-American artist whose works include painting, sculpture, video, and land art
 * Connor Donovan, professional soccer player
 * Franklin Taylor Dupree Jr., Federal judge who lived in Fuquay-Varina while he presided over the Jeffrey MacDonald murder trial
 * Count Grog, professional wrestling manager and promoter
 * C.J. Hunter, US Olympic shot putter
 * Rhett and Link, Internetainers (a portmanteau of the words "Internet" and "entertainers") who host Good Mythical Morning
 * Katharine Stinson, aeronautical engineer and the Federal Aviation Administration's first female engineer

title: Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina


text:
Blackfriars, Oxford

Blackfriars Priory (formally the Priory of the Holy Spirit) is a Dominican religious community in Oxford, England. Its primary work is the administration of two educational institutions: Blackfriars Studium, a centre of theological studies in the Roman Catholic tradition; and Blackfriars Hall, a constituent permanent private hall of the University of Oxford. The current prior of Blackfriars is Dominic White. The name Blackfriars is commonly used in Britain to denote a house of Dominican friars, a reference to their black cappa, which forms part of their habit.

Blackfriars is located in central Oxford on St Giles', between the Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies and St Cross College.

History

The Dominicans arrived in Oxford on 15 August 1221, at the instruction of a General Chapter meeting headed by Saint Dominic himself, little more than a week after the friar's death. As such, the hall is heir to the oldest tradition of teaching in Oxford, a tradition that precedes both the aularian houses that would characterise the next century and the collegiate houses that would characterise the rest of the University of Oxford's history. In 1236 they established a new and extensive priory in the St. Ebbes district.

Like all the monastic houses in Oxford, Blackfriars came into rapid and repeated conflict with the university authorities. With the Reformation, all monastic houses, including Blackfriars, were suppressed. The Dominicans did not return to Oxford for some 400 years, until 1921 when Blackfriars was refounded by Bede Jarrett as a religious house. The original priory building was designed by Edward Doran Webb and completed in 1929. The Dominican studium at Blackfriars had a close relationship with the university, culminating in the establishment of Blackfriars as a permanent private hall in 1994.

Blackfriars' Studium
Blackfriars offers those preparing for the Catholic priesthood the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (STB) granted by the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum in Rome. It is also possible for lay men and women to begin the Angelicum's STB programme by studying in the Blackfriars Studium and to conclude the programme with at least a year's full-time study at the Angelicum.

Notable Friars

 * Malcolm McMahon, Archbishop of Liverpool, former Prior.
 * Aidan Nichols, first John Paul II Memorial Visiting Lecturer at the University of Oxford
 * Brian Davies - philosopher
 * Richard Finn
 * Timothy Radcliffe - former Prior and sometime Master of the Order of Preachers.
 * Fergus Kerr - former Prior.

Burials at Blackfriars Abbey, Oxford

 * Robert Bacon (writer)
 * Richard Fishacre

title: Blackfriars, Oxford


text:
Brasenose College, Oxford

Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mid-17th century and the new quadrangle in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

For 2020–21, Brasenose placed 4th in the Norrington Table (an unofficial measure of performance in undergraduate degree examinations). In a recent Oxford Barometer Survey, Brasenose's undergraduates registered 98% overall satisfaction. In recent years, around 80% of the UK undergraduate intake have been from state schools.

Brasenose is home to one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, Brasenose College Boat Club.

Foundation

The history of Brasenose College, Oxford stretches back to 1509, when the college was founded on the site of Brasenose Hall, a medieval academic hall whose name is first mentioned in 1279. Its name is believed to derive from the name of a brass or bronze knocker that adorned the hall's door.

The college was associated with Lancashire and Cheshire, the county origins of its two founders – Sir Richard Sutton and the Bishop of Lincoln, William Smyth – a link which was maintained strongly until the latter half of the twentieth century. The first principals navigated Brasenose, with its Catholic sympathisers, through the Reformation and continuing religious reforms.

Most of Brasenose favoured the Royalist side during the English Civil War, although it produced notable generals and clergy on both sides.

The library and chapel were completed in the mid-17th century, despite Brasenose suffering continuing financial problems.

Nineteenth century
After 1785 the college prospered under Principal William Cleaver. The college began to be populated by gentlemen, its income doubling between 1790 and 1810, and achieved considerable academic success. But the reconstruction of Brasenose was not completed until the end of the 19th century with the addition of New Quad between 1886 and 1911. Brasenose's financial position remained secure, although under the tenure of Principal Edward Hartopp Cradock Brasenose's academic record waned greatly, with much of its success focused on sport, where it excelled most notably in cricket and rowing.

The mid-century Royal Commissions were navigated; although they were initially opposed, some recommendations were welcomed, including the election of fellows on merit rather than by their place of birth. The election of Charles Heberden as principal in 1889 led to a gradual improvement in Brasenose's academic fortunes, although its sporting performance suffered. As the first lay principal, Heberden presided over an increasingly secular college, which opened up the library to undergraduates, instituted an entrance exam for the first time and accepted Rhodes scholars.

Early twentieth century
Brasenose lost 115 men in the First World War (including a quarter of the 1913 year), with its undergraduate numbers greatly reduced.

Lord Curzon's post-War reforms were successfully instituted. The inter-war period was defined by William Stallybrass, who as fellow and eventual principal (until 1948) dominated college life. Brasenose once again produced top sportsmen – cricketers, rowers, and others. This came at the cost of falling academic standards and poorly performing finances, which would see Stallybrass' authority challenged. He died in a railway accident before he could be forced out, however.

After the war, sporting achievements waned (although there were notable exceptions) but academic success did not improve significantly, in what was now one of Oxford's largest colleges.

Since 1970
The 1970s saw considerable social change in Brasenose, with more post-graduate attendees and fewer domestic staff. In 1974 Brasenose became one of the first men's colleges to admit women as full members, bringing an end to 470 years of the college as a men-only institution. The other previously all-male colleges to begin admitting women in 1974 were Jesus College, Hertford, St Catherine's, and Wadham. The College's first female Governing Body Fellow, lawyer Mary Stokes, was elected in May 1981 and took up her Fellowship in October 1982.

There was also considerable construction work to ensure that undergraduates could be housed for the entirety of their degree on the main site and on the Frewin site; this objective was finally achieved in 1997 with the opening of the St Cross annexe and Frewin extension. Brasenose's finances were secured, and it thus entered the twenty-first century in a good position as regards financial, extracurricular and academic success.

As of 2022 the college admits undergraduates for most major courses in 17 subject groups across science, humanities, social science and arts.

Location and buildings

Brasenose faces the west side of Radcliffe Square opposite the Radcliffe Camera in the centre of Oxford. The north side is defined by Brasenose Lane, while the south side reaches the High Street. To the west is Lincoln College. At its south-east end, the college is separated from the University Church by St Mary's Passage. The main entrance of the college can be found on Radcliffe Square. Although not located on Turl Street the college has informal links with the three Turl Street colleges (Lincoln, Jesus, and Exeter). The college is also physically linked to Lincoln College through a connecting door, through which Brasenose College members are permitted to enter Lincoln College on Ascension Day each year. The door is opened for five minutes and it is the only time during the year that this door is unlocked. Brasenose members are then served an ale by Lincoln College, which is traditionally flavoured with ground ivy.

The main college site comprises three quads, the original Old Quad, a small quad known as the Deer Park, and the large New Quad, as well as collection of smaller houses facing Radcliffe Square and the High Street. The original college buildings comprised a single two-storey quad, incorporating the original kitchen of Brasenose Hall on the south side. In the 17th century a third floor was added to the quad to form the current Old Quad. A separate chapel was also built to the south, connected to the quad by a library built over a cloister as shown in a 1670 print, thus enclosing the Deer Park. The cloister was for a time the college burial ground, and evidence suggests there were at least 59 people buried there, with the last recorded burial being in 1754. The cloister was filled in to make two or three chambers in around 1807, used as student bedrooms or administrative offices until 1971, when the space was converted into the graduate common room. More recently the graduate common room moved to the Old Quad, and the space, still known as the "Old Cloisters" has been used as a library overspill area, a teaching room and, in 2010–11, as the temporary Senior Common Room. In January 2015, archaeological investigations began as a prelude to a major building project that will restore the stone work and integrate the lower and upper reading rooms, greatly enhancing the college's library provision. The nickname for the Chapel Quad is often thought to be a friendly jibe at Magdalen College which has a genuine deer park known as The Grove.

Dining hall
In the 16th century the dining hall was heated by an open fire in the centre of the room, supplemented by movable braziers. In the 1680s the hall was renovated, with a raised floor to accommodate a wine cellar below and a reconstructed roof. Another renovation phase in the mid-18th century included a new chimneypiece, a new ceiling to cover the original timber beams and two gilded chandeliers. The original brazen nose was placed above high table in 1890.

Chapel and library
Building began on the current chapel in 1656, and it replaced an old chapel which was located in a space now occupied by the Senior Common Room. An inscription commemorates this above the door to Staircase IV. Building materials were taken from a disused chapel at the site of St Mary's College (now Frewin Hall), transported piece by piece by horse-and-cart to Brasenose College. The chapel, a mix of Gothic and Baroque styles, features a hanging fan vault ceiling of wood and plaster, and was consecrated in 1666. The internal fittings are largely 18th and 19th century, and include chandeliers presented to the college in 1749. These were donated to a parish church and later converted to gas but then returned to Brasenose when the church switched to electric lights. The chandeliers were then converted back to their original state so that candles could be used in them once again.

Various alterations were made to the Chapel after completion. Although repairs were undertaken in the meantime, the interior of the Chapel was renovated (having fallen into a poor state) in 1819, and the exterior beginning in 1841. In 1892–3 a new organ was purchased and fitted, paid for by the then Principal Charles Buller Heberden; the current organ was installed in 1973, and rebuilt in 2001–2.

The current library was begun in 1658 and received its first books in 1664. It replaced a smaller library on Staircase IV, which is now used as a meeting room. The books in the current library were fixed by chains, which were only removed in the 1780s, over a hundred years later.

In May 2018 author Philip Pullman opened the extensively renovated Greenland Library following a £4 million project to provide a better working space for students (architects - Lee/Fitzgerald). The library works were funded by three college alumni, Duncan Greenland, James Del Favero and Gerald Smith. Two reading rooms are named in honour of Del Favero and Smith respectively with the overall library taking Greenland's name The renovations won an RIBA regional RIBA Conservation award in 2019.

New Quad

New Quad was designed by TG Jackson and finished in 1911, replacing a number of existing buildings. The current site was completed in 1961 with new buildings, used largely for first year undergraduate accommodation, designed by the architects Powell and Moya.

In 2010 a project was begun to renovate the kitchens, servery, dining hall and some other areas of college. The project included the installation of under floor heating and a new timber floor in the dining hall, new kitchen equipment, a new servery area, additional dining and meeting places, and disabled access to the dining hall. During the project, the Old Quad housed a temporary dining hall and kitchen, while the New Quad was used to store building materials.

The dining hall refurbishment was completed by September 2010, whilst the remaining work was completed around Easter 2012. The new catering facilities were unveiled during a ceremony on 14 March 2012. During the ceremony, college members gathered in a restored 15th century building in the heart of college, originally the college kitchens and most recently used as the servery. This room, to be known as the Mediaeval Kitchen, will be used as a new dining space in addition to the main dining hall, which will remain the usual location for student meals. The temporary kitchen and builder's yard were removed and the Quads restored to their normal state during the Easter 2012 vacation.

In recent years the Junior Common Room (JCR) and Bar have also been renovated.

Annexes
The college has a large undergraduate annexe situated on St Michael's Street, developed from Frewin Hall in the 1940s. Frewin Hall had previously housed a number of tenants from outside the college, including King Edward VII.

Second, Third and Fourth year undergraduates typically choose to live in bedrooms at Frewin. A recent building project at Frewin, aimed to increase the undergraduate bedroom provision and improve facilities, has unearthed some significant archeological finds including a 4,000-year-old prehistoric burial mound, a limestone wall foundation, butchered animal bones, decorated floor tiles, a stone flagon, a bone comb and a medieval long cross silver penny

There is also a graduate annexe shared with St Cross College, which was completed in 1995. The St Cross annexe is laid out in clusters of five bed-sitting rooms, sharing two shower rooms and a kitchen. A second graduate annexe, Hollybush Row, was opened in September 2008 and is located close to the railway station and Said Business School. It consists of single rooms with en-suite bathrooms and shared kitchens.

Coat of arms
Brasenose College's coat of arms is quite complex, since it incorporates the personal arms of the founders and the arms of the See of Lincoln.

Its blazon (description in formal heraldic terms) is: Tierced in pale: (1) Argent, a chevron sable between three roses gules seeded or, barbed vert (for Smyth); (2) or, an escutcheon of the arms of the See of Lincoln (gules, two lions of England in pale or, on a chief azure Our Lady crowned seated on a tombstone issuant from the chief, in her dexter arm the Infant Jesus, in her sinister arm a sceptre, all or) ensigned with a mitre proper; (3) quarterly, first and fourth argent, a chevron between three bugle-horns stringed sable; second and third argent, a chevron between three crosses crosslet sable (for Sutton).

A simpler form has occasionally been used where the central tierce contains the arms of the See of Lincoln, rather than displaying them on a mitred escutcheon. Because of the complexity of the arms they are not suitable for use on items such as the college crested tie, where the brazen nose is used instead.

College prayer
The college prayer is read by the principal or a fellow at evensong on Sundays during term and at gaudies.

"Almighty and heavenly Father, we desire thy loving-kindness upon this, our well loved Society. We implore thy blessing on those of its members who now serve thee in their several callings. Strengthen them, O Lord, to serve thee as thou deservest, and, as thou hast called them to thy service, make them worthy of their calling. And we keep for ever before thee in grateful remembrance of their lives and their sacrifice, those of our body who fell in the Wars; and into thy hands we commend them, thou God with whom do live the spirits of just men made perfect. And we pray for ourselves, that we may learn here to know and do thy will; that through thy protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul, through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

O Lord God, in whose name are gathered here the memorials of many generations, we give thanks for all former members of this College, who have served thee with faithful labour in thy Church and Kingdom; as thou didst enable them to add their portion to thy work, so teach and strengthen us, we pray thee, to do the tasks awaiting us in this our generation; through him who offered himself to do thy will and finish thy work, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O eternal God, the Resurrection and the Life of all them that believe in thee, trust in thee, and serve thee; thou that art always to be praised, as well for the dead as those that are alive; We give thee most hearty thanks for our Founders and Benefactors, by whose Bounty and Charity we are brought up to religion and the studies of good learning, and particularly for William Smyth and Richard Sutton our Founders; beseeching thee, that we may so well use these thy blessings to the praise and honour of thy holy Name, that at last, we, with them, may be brought to the immortal glory of the Resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen."

Individual benefactors are commemorated in an annual pattern, with the founders being commemorated (as shown above) on the first Sunday of Michaelmas Term, and at all gaudies.

Graces
The following preprandial grace is read by the Bible Clerk at Formal Hall:

The grace after dinner is only read on special occasions, and the list of benefactors included in this grace is quite variable.

Student life
The JCR plays a central part in the life of the undergraduate community. Offering social, recreational and welfare support to the students, the elected committee addresses many aspects of student life and liaises with the governing body and graduate student representatives.

Unlike most Oxford colleges, the graduate common room is known as the Hulme Common Room (HCR), named after a past benefactor, rather than the Middle Common Room (MCR).

The college also organises an annual summer arts festival, one of the largest in the university. First staged in 1994, it features plays, pantomimes, comedy evenings, musical performances, and a keenly-contested bake-off. In 2016, the college held its 22nd summer arts festival, which featured six days of open-air plays, music concerts, a stage combat workshop, an outdoor film night, a poetry brunch as well as an outdoor summer bar, all organised by Brasenose students. In 2015 Brasenose also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the admission of women into the college through an exhibition, which modelled the portraits in the Dining Hall, by filling the JCR with a series of portraits of female alumnae "40 Years of Brasenose Women". In 2017 the undergraduates held their first "Frewchella" festival, named after the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California and the college's Frewin Annexe, featuring food, music and a bouncy castle. In 2018 special events included Chinese New Year, a St David's Day dinner and an Egg Hunt.

Music
The college has a director of music, who directs the chapel choir with the assistance of up to three organ scholars. The director of music also facilitates a range of concerts, which usually happen on a weekly basis. These include the professional Platnauer Concerts, held in memory of Maurice Platnauer, principal of Brasenose (1956–1960). Other concerts are designed to highlight talented soloists or groups of performers in college. The college awards up to four music scholarships at any one time through auditions in the year prior to entry or at the beginning of the academic year.

Brasenose College has a non-auditioned choir, although up to eight choral scholarships are offered to members of Brasenose, again, through auditions in the year prior to entry or at the beginning of the academic year. Up to four choral exhibitions may also be given to members of Brasenose and other colleges. The choir sings Evensong every Sunday, and also sings for various special services and events, including two carol services, the annual joint service with Lincoln College and other occasions. Recently there has been the inauguration of a biennial Alumni and Music Reunion Dinner, with a Festal Evensong for all attendees preceding this. The choir regularly goes on tour, for instance to Paris in 2006, Lombardy in 2009, Rome in 2010 and Belgium in 2013, and sings at cathedrals near Oxford during term-time.

In 2010 and 2011 the college ran the Wondrous Machine event, where local primary school children were invited to Brasenose for interactive sessions to learn about the pipe organ and the science behind the musical instrument.

Sport
Brasenose students participate in a wide range of sports including football, netball, hockey, lacrosse, basketball, badminton, squash, pool, rugby, darts, boxing, dancesport and more. Student play at all levels and participation is completely optional and forms no part of the admissions process.

Brasenose College Boat Club (commonly abbreviated to BNCBC) is the rowing club of the college and is believed to be one of the oldest boat clubs in the world. The date of formation of the club is impossible to verify: a boat from the college took part in the earliest recorded race between rowing clubs anywhere in the world. This was a head race in Oxford in 1815, beating Jesus College Boat Club. A number of college members have rowed for the university against Cambridge University in the Boat Race and the Women's Boat Race. Notably, Walter Woodgate, a Boat Race winner, eleven-time Henley champion and inventor of the coxless four, John (Con) Cherry who represented Great Britain at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and Andrew Lindsay who won a gold medal in rowing at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and participated in the Boat Race in 1998 and 1999.

The college boathouse, which is shared with Exeter College Boat Club, is in Christ Church Meadow, on the Isis (as the River Thames is called in Oxford). It replaced a moored barge used by club-member and spectators. Brasenose College Rugby Football Club (abbreviated to BNCRFC) can draw association with William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as the inventor of the game and studied at Brasenose.

People associated with the college

Notable former students of the college have included politicians, scientists, writers, entertainers and academics.

Among the best known living Brasenose alumni are former Prime Minister David Cameron, former Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull, actor/comedian Mark Williams, actor/comedian Michael Palin, and Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist, as well as Duncan Campbell, journalist and co-founder of the charity Stonewall, Dominic Barton, former managing director of McKinsey and the Canadian ambassador to China, author David Langford, J. Michael Kosterlitz, Nobel laureate in Physics in 2016, Kate Allen director of Amnesty International UK, and George Monbiot, environmental and political activist.

Earlier alumni include Henry Addington, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Elias Ashmole, founder of the Ashmolean Museum, John Buchan, author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Clavell, highwayman and author, Colin Cowdrey, English Test batsman, William Webb Ellis, often credited with the invention of Rugby football, John Foxe, author of Actes and Monuments popularly abridged as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, William Golding, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, John Gorton, Prime Minister of Australia, William Robert Grove, pioneer of fuel cells, Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, soldier, Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury, Bruce Kent, active in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and Thomas Traherne, poet and theologian.

title: Brasenose College, Oxford


text:
Botkyrka Municipality

Botkyrka Municipality ( kommun) is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, not far from the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the town of Tumba.

In 1971 Grödinge was merged with Botkyrka and in 1974 Salem was added. The Salem part was split off again in 1983, and a new Salem Municipality was formed.

Botkyrka has an estimated population of 95,592.

History
The municipality is named after Saint Botvid, a Christian missionary during the 12th century. Saint Botvid is shown on the seal and coat of arms of Botkyrka Municipality, where he carries an axe and a fish. Another remnant of Botkyrka's Christian medieval history is the Botkyrka church, made of stone.

Politically the municipality is primarily Social Democratic, that has governed Botkyrka for a long period except 3 years in the early 1990s. However, with fewer seats the party now governs together with The Green Party, and The Left Party. There have also been several local parties. For a long period a local party called Botkyrkapartiet (The Botkyrka Party) has held several seats. A party was also active from mid 1980s to mid 1990s with only one purpose - to prevent the exploitation of the small airfield, F18, in Tullinge to become a commercial airport in the 1980s. In the election 2010 a local party for the area of Tullinge got 6 seats on the agenda of separating Tullinge from Botkyrka as a separate municipality.

Botkyrka has two local, weekly, newspapers called "Mitt i Botkyrka" (Middle of Botkyrka) and "Södra Sidan" (South side). They are delivered free of charge to all households.

The Swedish hip hop group The Latin Kings raps about life in Botkyrka in several of their songs.

In its December 2015 report, Police in Sweden placed the Hallunda and Norsborg districts in the most severe category of urban areas with high crime rates. In its 2017 report, Police in Sweden added the Alby and Fittja districts to the category.

Battle of Botkyrka
On 31 August, a battle between John III, Duke Charles, and Eric XIV took place in Botkyrka. Despite his inferior forces, the battle resulted in a victory for Eric XIV's army, and forced John and Charles to flee.

Demographics
The northern and eastern parts of the municipality are in the contiguous Stockholm urban area. Tumba forms a locality (tätort) of its own (which partly is in Salem Municipality). Vårsta is in the central part. The southern half of the municipality is mostly rural.

2022 population by district
This is a demographic table based on Botkyrka Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.

In total there were 95,226 residents, including 61,194 Swedish citizens of voting age resident in the municipality. 51.2% voted for the left coalition and 45.4% for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.

Residents with a foreign background
Botkyrka, particularly Northern Botkyrka, has one of the highest percentages of first and second generation immigrants in Sweden. 56.4% of the population has at least one parent born in another country. This makes the municipality a multi-cultural community with for example a big Syriac Orthodox Church in Hallunda and a mosque in Fittja.

In 2017, Botkyrka was one of three municipalities in Sweden with a population majority of foreign background. On 31 December 2017 the number of people with a foreign background (persons born outside of Sweden or with two parents born outside of Sweden) was 53 827, or 58.56% of the population (91 925 on 31 December 2017). On 31 December 2002 the number of residents with a foreign background was (per the same definition) 35 384, or 47.04% of the population (75 216 on 31 December 2002). On 31 December 2017 there were 91 925 residents in Botkyrka, of which 38 130 people (41.48%) were born in a country other than Sweden. Divided by country in the table below – the Nordic countries as well as the 12 most common countries of birth outside of Sweden for Swedish residents have been included, with other countries of birth bundled together by continent by Statistics Sweden.

Public transportation
Botkyrka is served by the Stockholm public transport system. Stockholm metro has four and Stockholm commuter rail two stations within the municipality. There is also an extensive SL bus network.

Companies
Botkyrka is a municipality with several world-famous companies.
 * Alfa Laval, a producer of specialized products used to heat, cool, separate and transport products including oil, water, chemicals, beverages, foodstuffs, starch and pharmaceuticals. The company also owns significant land in Botkyrka used for development of its agricultural division.
 * DeLaval, a leading producer of dairy and farming machinery.
 * Crane AB, a banknote design and paper production company.

Notably, Lars Magnus Ericsson who founded the LM Ericsson company (now known as Ericsson) also had properties in Botkyrka, including Hågelby gård which today is used for conferences and as an excursion place with gardens, animals, stone age village and more.

Districts

 * Fittja
 * Alby
 * Hallunda
 * Norsborg
 * Eriksberg
 * Tumba
 * Tullinge
 * Vårsta

Sports
The following sports clubs are located in Botkyrka:

 * Arameiska-Syrianska Botkyrka IF
 * Konyaspor KIF
 * Assyriska Botkyrka FF
 * IFK Tumba FK

title: Botkyrka Municipality