The Queen's College Record 2023

Donations to the College after a fire in
the Provost’s Lodgings, 1778, recorded
in the Benefactors’ Book
particularly rich insight into these and
other aspects of student life in the 1970s.
Paul has also been working to organise
this material in a way that gives further
insight into its meaning to him, as well as
his memories of Queen’s. Such a detailed
record of a student’s life and experiences
at Queen’s is unparalleled in the Archive,
and we’re delighted to find a place for it.
Similarly, Francois Gordon has presented
us with three Queen’s ball posters from
the early 1970s. These are all the more
interesting for the fact that one of them
never actually happened! We’re rather
hoping that these two gifts might start
a trend, and would be very glad to hear
from other Old Members who have similar
collections that they would be willing
to let us add to the Archive.
Reports and College Activities
Another highlight of the year was our annual ‘pop-up’ exhibition where we put on
a temporary display of items from the Archive for College members to see in the
Multi-Purpose Room of the New Library. This year Amy curated an exhibition on ‘The
Troublous Times’ which, inspired by the pandemic, looked at times of war, plague,
and strife in the history of the College. The earliest item related to the Black Death,
and there was also a memorandum about the legal battle with Eton College for Monk
Sherborne and an appeal to the Visitor by Provost Dennyson against ‘contentious
persons’ in the College (both of which I’ve written about in previous editions of the
Record). A splendid page of the Benefactors’ Book, recording benefactions after the
fire of 1778, shows Front Quad ablaze, and the exhibition ended with a document
about the rent strikes of the 1970s. Though the exhibition only ran for six hours it
was seen by 51 members of College – a record number – and was judged by the
Bursar, no less, to be a ‘blockbuster exhibition’!
Over the course of the year 26 people visited the College to consult the Archive,
which is approaching pre-pandemic levels. We received a further 176 enquiries on
a range of subjects, including College pets, 17 th and 18 th century coffee pots, and
the age of the old lodge. This, we found, was erected in 1906 and was a good deal
older than anyone was expecting!
I’d like to end by congratulating Amy – or, I should say, Dr Ebrey – on her successful
defence of her doctoral thesis, Mendicant Ecclesiology and the Apostolic Life in the
Thought of the Oxford Masters, c.1250-1325’, a subject of some relevance to the
early years of the College.
College Record 2023 | The Queen’s College 45