Stamford visit:
On a very fine spring day on 26 April a group of 20 Fellows and staff visited the College’s original home of Stamford (in south Lincolnshire), where the famous door knocker came from. In fact we saw a replica of that door knocker on Brazenose Lane just opposite Stamford School.
The world’s most famous knocker marked the entrance to Brasenose Hall (one of the forerunners of the College) from before 1279 but was apparently removed to Stamford by a band of migrating students. Stamford was then host to a large group of Carmelite schools. It seems that there was a battle between students from the North and South which drove them from their Oxford home to Stamford. Until 1827 every Oxford graduate took the oath “Tu jurabis, quod non leges nec audies [deliver to attend lectures] Stamfordiae” because what was taught in Stamford was considered against the grain.
The nose remained in Stamford until 1890 when it was retrieved by the College at auction. Maurice Platnauer, one of my predecessors, later presented the school with a reproduction of the knocker.
We started our tour in the very fine buildings of Stamford School, where we were met by the Interim Head, Mark Stead and Nichole Presthall, the Development Director. The School provided a lovely tea. We then went on a guided tour round the town. If things had turned out a bit differently it could have been linked with Cambridge as “Stamford and Cambridge” rather than the now familiar “Oxford and Cambridge.”
We heard from Nicola Sandall our excellent guide to Stamford that the town started as a Saxon village and later became a Royal Borough well known for its Stamford Pottery. The Castle dates from 1075 and the school is one of the oldest surviving establishmments in the UK. It has always been a major religious centre. At one time there were 14 churches, 4 friaries and tw nunneries. It was a horse and carriage stop for many years as it is close to what is now the A1. We also heard about the Brazenose College for Girls which ceased some years ago in the town.
We dined well at the Crown Hotel and there was opportunity for people to wander around on their own after lunch. In all a great day out.
Brasenose in the Supreme Court:
Brasenose continues to rule the waves in law. In a recent Supreme Court judgment given on 19 March called Rukhadze and others v Recovery Partners GP Ltd and another two of our Fellows, Profs Lionel Smith and Bill Swadling were cited in the judgment. It was an unusual occasion when the Court sat as a bench of 7 (usually there are 5) which demonstrates its importance. The judgment opens “This appeal requires the Supreme Court to consider whether the time has come to make an important change to the equitable principles about the duties and liabilities of fiduciaries” which is probably as much information as you need. Additionally, one counsel for the Appellant is a Brasenose lawyer (Watson Pringle), as are two of their lordships (Lord Burrows and Lady Rose).
Temple Bar:
In support of Frewin Hall, we gathered on 30 April at the Temple Bar for a special reception and dinner hosted by Will Palin (English, 1990), Patron of the Frewin Hall Fundraising Campaign. The event was held to advocate for and encourage support for the rediscovery and transformation of Frewin Hall – one of Oxford’s most fascinating yet often overlooked historic treasures. Guests also heard from Tim Lee (Modern History, 1990), the architect leading the Frewin Project. If you would like to learn more about the project or explore ways to support it, please contact Begina Cox at begina.cox@bnc.ox.ac.uk
The role of the unions in women’s rights:
As part of our ongoing series of Conversations celebrating 50 years of women in Brasenose Diana Holand (former Assistant General Secretary of Unite the Union) was in conversation with Narmada Thiranagama who is a national policy officer for UNISON a College alumna and recent President of our Alumni Society. Diana recounted fascinating stories about the fight for equal pay going back to the early dispute at Vauxhall in which she was involved. There were many questions about the glass ceiling for women and what Diana called the “sticky floor”.
Chapel:
On the first Sunday of term the chaplain offered a reflection on the story of the Emmaus Road, that the journey of life and faith is an accompanied journey best found in community, and not a solo act. On the second Sunday we welcomed the Senior Catholic Chaplain to the University of Oxford, Fr Damian Howard SJ. It was poignant having a Catholic and a Jesuit preacher on the Sunday after the death of Pope Francis. Fr Damian reflected on John 21 and the intimacy between Jesus and Peter, speaking rather beautifully about the human need for encounter and intimacy.
Congratulations:
We welcomed our PPE Fellow Dr Zenobia Chen this term. She joins us from Nuffield College.
Prof Elspeth Garman our Emerita Supernumerary Fellow has produced a new textbook