St Hugh's College

St Hugh’s College stands on a five-and-a-half-hectare site in North Oxford, reached by St Margaret’s Road. Founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women’s college, it moved to its present grounds in the early 20th century. The college owns the freehold of the whole site and keeps its original gardens. Its Main Building and later blocks sit among mature trees and lawns. The college’s name honours Hugh of Lincoln, a 12th-century bishop who was canonised in 1220. The college is known for its attractive setting and for the people who have studied or taught there. Alumni include Theresa May, Aung San Suu Kyi, Amal Clooney and Lady Hallett. J. R. R. Tolkien tutored undergraduates here in the 1920s. During the Second World War the site became a military hospital treating more than thirteen thousand servicemen and women. The college’s endowment reached nearly forty million pounds by 2023. Visitors walk through the Main Building to the Howard Piper Library and the Moberly Library. The Kenyon and Wolfson Buildings provide modern student rooms. The chapel has an organ installed in 1980. The Shrubbery, once an American soldiers’ club, is now the principal’s residence. The gardens and lawns remain open to the public during daylight hours.