Books about the College

On the title page of every Annual Report there is an extremely succinct history of the College:

Founded at Manchester, 22 February 1786
Removed to York, 1 September 1803
Restored to Manchester, September 1840
Transferred to London, October 1853
Transferred to Oxford 1889

This summary provides a real sense of how nomadic our life was until we arrived at our final destination, Oxford, over 135 years ago.  There are several useful histories for those interested in finding out how the College came about and why it was so peripatetic in its early years.  The establishment of the College by Dissenters in the industrialised heart of the North and its journey from Manchester to the centre of the educational establishment in Oxford via York and London is a fascinating story of ideals and beliefs coupled with good old fashioned practical necessity. 

The most accessible history available is a timeline – Harris Manchester College – a journey - put together by Niall Sheekey (formerly of the Library now at St Anne’s).  This handy online history is a wonderfully concise but comprehensive guide to our journey from Manchester to Oxford. 

Another compact history is by Joanne Parker (a previous Librarian) Manchester College: A short history 1786-1990.  This title is about 20 pages long and masterfully sprints through 200 years of history in an intelligible way.  It only has line drawings as illustrations but it is a great printed addition to the online timeline.

The most comprehensive history is by V.D. Davis's A History of Manchester College from its foundation in Manchester to its Establishment in Oxford.  Despite the fact that it was published in 1932, it is an excellent history and is particularly strong in locating the college within the Dissenting Academy tradition and showing its close relation to the Warrington Academy.  

Truth, liberty, religion: essays celebrating two hundred years of Manchester College edited by Barbara Smith (another Librarian) provides more in-depth chapters on the college's contribution to specific aspects of 19th century culture and education.  It was written, as the title suggests, in celebration of the college’s bicentennial. 

The above list is merely a taste of what’s available to those that are interested in the College and its background.  There are further articles available in the Library plus more specific books on topics such as the Warrington Academy, Nonconformists and Education, Unitarian thinkers, and titles by individuals who shaped the College throughout its existence. 

The Archive also contains vast amounts of valuable material including minute books, letters, testimonials, subscriber lists plus printed items such as prospectuses, exam papers and lists of students.  For further recommendations on what to read or how to use the archive or special collections email anyone in the Library team – library@hmc.ox.ac.uk or archive@hmc.ox.ac.uk.

^{Above - a screenshot of the timeline of the College on the website}