Lincoln College, University of Oxford

Turl Street, Oxford

Founded by Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln 1427
Lincoln College (in full: The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, then Bishop of Lincoln. It is the ninth oldest of Oxford University's colleges. Richard Fleming founded the College in order to combat the Lollard teachings of John Wyclif. He intended it to be "a little college of true students of theology who would defend the mysteries of Scripture against those ignorant laymen who profaned with swinish snouts its most holy pearls".[citation needed]. To this end, he obtained a charter for the College from King Henry VI, which combined the parishes of All Saints, St. Michael's at the North Gate, and St. Mildred's within the College under a rector. The College now uses All Saints Church as its library and has strong ties with St Michael's Church at the North Gate, having used it as a stand-in for the College chapel when necessary.[3]

Despite insufficient endowment and trouble from the Wars of the Roses (for their charter was from the deposed Lancastrian), the College has survived thanks to the efforts of its fellows and the munificence of a second Bishop of Lincoln, Thomas Rotherham. Richard Fleming died in 1431, and the first rector, William Chamberleyn, in 1434, leaving the College with few buildings and little money. The second rector, John Beke, secured the College's safety by attracting donors. By 1436, the College had seven fellows. John Forest, Dean of Wells and a close friend of Beke's, donated such an amount that the College promised to recognise him as a co-founder; it did not keep this promise. His gifts saw the construction of a chapel, a library, hall and kitchen.[4] After a pointed sermon from the incumbent rector, Thomas Rotherham was compelled to give his support and effectively re-founded it in 1478, with a new charter from King Edward IV.[5]