Ruskin College

Ruskin College stands in Headington, a suburb of Oxford, on a redeveloped site with modern academic buildings and a restored walled garden. The college was founded in 1899 by Americans Charles A. Beard and Walter Vrooman to offer affordable education to working-class adults. It began as Ruskin Hall with courses in political economy, labour history and English literature, taught at low cost. The college has played a notable part in British social history. In 1970 it hosted the first National Women’s Liberation Conference, attended by 500 to 600 people. Former students include Labour politicians Jack Ashley and Judith Cummins, and Kenyan leader Tom Mboya. The Callaghan Library, opened in 2012, honours the former prime minister who spoke at Ruskin in 1976. Visitors find the Callaghan Library with its MacColl–Seeger archive and a cafeteria open to the public. The walled garden, with its distinctive crinkle crankle wall, is tended by local volunteers. The college also provides access to the Bodleian Library and other University of Oxford resources.