The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its eighteenth-century architecture. The college had an estimated financial endowment of £131m as of 2006.
The College was founded during the 14th century by the chaplain, Robert de Eglesfield (d'Eglesfield), of Queen Philippa of Hainault, wife of King Edward III of England; hence its name. It should be noted that whilst the name of Queens' College, Cambridge is plural, the Oxford college is singular, and must be written with the definite article. The College's coat of arms is that of the original Chaplain; it differs slightly from his family's coat of arms, which did not include the gold star on the breast of the first eagle. The current coat of arms was adopted by d'Eglesfield because he was unable to use his family's arms, being the younger son. The magnificent frontage was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, part of a substantial rebuilding in the 18th century during which the impressive library was built. The mediaeval foundations, however, remain beneath the current eighteenth-century structure. Queen's is notable for the beautifully clean, classical lines of its buildings, unique among the largely gothic constructions that predominate amongst Oxford colleges.
The College has had a long association with the north of England, in part because of its founder; Eglesfield is a village in Cumberland. This connection was reinforced for many years until relatively recently by the large number of Hastings Scholarships given to men from 20 schools in Yorkshire, Westmorland and Cumberland. Graduate students from the universities of Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield, or York are still able to apply for Hastings Senior Scholarships. One of the most famous feasts of the College is the Boar's Head Gaudy, which originally was the Christmas Dinner for members of the College who were unable to return home to the north of England over the Christmas break between terms, but is now a feast for old members of the College on the Saturday before Christmas.
The Queen's College has one of the best-stocked college libraries in Oxford. The current lending library consists of around 50,000 volumes. Extensive provision is made for Final Honour Schools, often through the purchase of multiple copies of titles in high demand. There is also an excellent range of journals and a large and an ever-increasing number of on-line resources.
The Upper Library is considered one of the finest rooms in Oxford and has been a focal point for the College ever since its construction at the end of the seventeenth century. The Upper Library remains as a reading room for students and is virtually unique in this respect in the University.
The College has one of the largest (around 100,000 volumes) and most diverse collections of rare books in Oxford.
The College Chapel is noted for its excellent Frobenius organ in the west gallery. It was installed in 1965, replacing a Rushworth and Dreaper organ from 1931. The earliest mention of an organ is 1826. The Chapel Choir has been particularly successful and busy in recent years, and is described as "Oxford's finest mixed-voice choir".
The Chapel has stood virtually unchanged since it was consecrated by the Archbishop of York in 1719.
The Chapel has a significant place in College life. Holy Communion is celebrated every Sunday morning and at other times and is open to all communicant members of any Christian church or denomination. The Sunday evening service takes the traditional form of Choral Evensong, which is also held on Wednesday and Friday evenings during term. Morning and evening prayer is said daily, and at other times some like to use the stillness for their own prayer. Baptisms, confirmations, and weddings are also conducted for members or former members of the College. The religious life of the College is both lively and stimulating during term-time.
Queen's is an active community performing strongly in intercollegiate sport competitions, having a variety of societies and, as one of the larger colleges, hosting triennial Commemoration balls. The 2004 ball was notable for the presence of Chesney Hawkes and his rendition of "The One and Only", while the 2007 ball coincided with the 666th anniversary of the college. Queen's is host to a number of dining, drinking and sports societies as well as some which are more academically orientated such as a medical society.