In 1525, the Lord Chancellor of England and Cardinal Archbishop of York Thomas Wolsey cleared Oxford’s ancient St Frideswide’s Priory to make way for a great educational institution.
Founded as ‘Cardinal College’, Wolsey’s project would ultimately be adopted by King Henry VIII, who in 1546 established ‘Christ Church’ as a unique joint Foundation between the College and the site’s church, which he appointed as Oxford’s cathedral.
Half a millennium later, much has changed, but the two elements in Christ Church’s Foundation remain steadfast in their purpose – the College, to educate and further human understanding as a constituent of the University of Oxford; the Cathedral, to lead the Diocese of Oxford in worship.
500 years have seen some of modern history’s most distinguished figures and finest thinkers enter our doors – from John Locke, Robert Hooke and John Wesley to Robert Peel, William Gladstone and Lewis Carroll.
Among our illustrious alumni we count kings, 13 British Prime Ministers, two Nobel laureates, and individuals influential in all areas of discourse, art and research, from music, poetry and sport to mathematics, medicine and philosophy.
