Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/8

Harris Manchester College, on Mansfield Road just to the east of the city centre, was established in 1786 in Manchester, and was initially called the Manchester Academy. It provided education to religious non-conformists who at that time were not allowed to study at the universities of Oxford or Cambridge. Between 1803 and 1840, the academy was based in York to accommodate its principal, Charles Wellbeloved, who would not move to Manchester. After a period in London (1853 to 1889), it moved to Oxford, with buildings designed by the architect Thomas Worthington opening in 1893. The chapel has ornate wood carvings and notable stained-glass windows by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. It became a Permanent Private Hall of the university in 1990, and gained full college status in 1996. The college's name reflects its history in Manchester and a donation from Lord Harris of Peckham. It has about 110 undergraduate students and 40 postgraduates, all of whom are mature students (over 21), and is one of the smallest colleges at Oxford; the Principal is the theologian Ralph Waller, who is also Director of the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies which is based at the college.