Foundation , shown in a portrait in the college hall Jesus College was founded on 27 June 1571, when
Elizabeth I issued a
royal charter. It was the first new Oxford college since 1555, in the reign of
Queen Mary, when
Trinity College and
St John's College were founded as
Roman Catholic colleges. The foundation charter named a principal (
David Lewis), eight
fellows, eight
scholars, and eight commissioners to draw up the statutes for the college. The commissioners included
Hugh Price, who had petitioned the queen to found a college at Oxford "that he might bestow his estate of the maintenance of certain scholars of Wales to be trained up in good letters." The charter also transferred to the college the land and buildings of White Hall, an academic hall on part of the current site. The college was originally intended primarily for the education of clergy. The particular intention was to satisfy a need for dedicated, learned clergy to promote the
Elizabethan Religious Settlement in the parishes of England, Ireland and Wales. The college has since broadened the range of subjects offered, beginning with the inclusion of medicine and law, and now offers almost the full range of subjects taught at the university. The
letters patent issued by Elizabeth I made it clear that the education of a priest in the 16th century included more than just theology, however: 's map of Oxford (1578) (south at the top), with the early college plan (highlighted) near the city wall Price continued to be closely involved with the college after its foundation. On the strength of a promised legacy, worth £60 a year on his death (approximately £ in present-day terms), he requested and received the authority to appoint the new college's principal, fellows and scholars. He financed early building work in the college's front
quadrangle, but on his death in 1574 it transpired that the college received only a
lump sum of around £600 (approximately £ in present-day terms).
17th century The main benefactor, other than the King, was
Eubule Thelwall, from
Ruthin, North Wales, who became Principal in 1621; he succeeded in securing a
new charter and statutes for the college from
James I, having spent £5,000 of his own money on the hall and chapel, which earned him the title of its second founder. Thelwall died on 8 October 1630, aged 68 and was buried in Jesus College Chapel where a monument was erected to his memory by his brother Sir Bevis Thelwall (Page of the King's Bedchamber and Clerk of the Great Wardrobe). Other benefactions in the 17th century include
Herbert Westfaling, the
Bishop of Hereford, who left enough property to support two fellowships and scholarships (with the significant proviso that "my kindred shallbe always preferred before anie others"). Sir
Eubule Thelwall (principal 1621–1630) spent much of his own money on the construction of a chapel, hall and library for the college. The library, constructed above an over-weak
colonnade, was pulled down under the principalship of
Francis Mansell (1630–1649), who also built two staircases of residential accommodation to attract the sons of Welsh gentry families to the college. Mansell was removed from his position as principal and
Michael Roberts was installed. After
the Restoration, Mansell was briefly reinstated as principal, before resigning in favour of
Leoline Jenkins. It was Jenkins (principal 1661–1673) who secured the long-term viability of the college. On his death, in 1685, he bequeathed a large complex of estates, acquired largely by lawyer friends from the over-mortgaged landowners of the Restoration period. These estates allowed the college's sixteen fellowships and scholarships to be filled for the first time – officially, sixteen of each had been supported since 1622, but the college's income was too small to keep all occupied simultaneously. In 1713, the bequest of Welsh clergyman and former student
Edmund Meyricke established a number of scholarships for students from north Wales, although these are now available to all Welsh students.
18th and 19th centuries The 18th century, in contrast to the disruption of the 17th century, was a comparatively quiet time for the college. A historian of the college,
J. N. L. Baker, wrote that the college records for this time "tell of little but routine entries and departures of fellows and scholars". During the first half of the 19th century, the academic strength of the college diminished: scholarships were sometimes not awarded because of a lack of suitable candidates, and numbers fell: there were only seven new entrants in 1842. A
Royal Commission was appointed in 1852 to investigate the university. The college wished to retain its links with Wales, and initial reforms were limited despite the wishes of the commissioners: those scholarships that were limited to particular parts of Wales were opened to the whole of Wales, and half of the fellowships awarded were to remain open only to Welshmen if and so long as the Principal and Fellows shall deem it expedient for the interests of education in connection with the Principality of Wales. The numbers of students at the college still fell, despite prizes being awarded for success in university examinations.
Daniel Harper, principal from 1877 to 1895, noted the continuing academic decline. Speaking in 1879, he noted that fewer students from the college were reaching high standards in examinations, and that more Welsh students were choosing to study at other Oxford colleges in preference to Jesus. A further Royal Commission was appointed. This led to further changes at the college: in 1882, the fellowships reserved to Welshmen were made open to all, and only half (instead of all) of the 24 scholarships were to be reserved for Welsh candidates. Thereafter, numbers gradually rose and the non-Welsh element at the college increased, so that by 1914 only about half of the students were Welsh. , who was twice
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) at Jesus College, graduating with first class honours. In the inter-war years (1918–1939) Jesus was seen by some as a small college and something of a backwater; it attracted relatively few pupils from the
public schools traditionally seen as the most prestigious. The college did, however, attract many academically able entrants from the
grammar schools (particularly those in
northern England and Scotland). Among these grammar-school boys was
Harold Wilson, who would later become
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. During the Second World War, many of the fellows served in the armed forces or carried out war work in Oxford. The college remained full of students, though, as it provided lodgings for students from other colleges whose buildings had been requisitioned, and also housed officers on military courses. The college had its own science laboratories from 1907 to 1947, which were overseen (for all but the last three years) by the
physical chemist David Chapman, a fellow of the college from 1907 to 1944. At the time of their closure, they were the last college-based science laboratories at the university. They were named the
Sir Leoline Jenkins laboratories, after a former principal of the college. The laboratories led to scientific research and tuition (particularly in chemistry) becoming an important part of the college's academic life. The brochure produced for the opening ceremony noted that the number of science students at the college had increased rapidly in recent years, and that provision of college laboratories would assist the tuition of undergraduates, as well as attracting to Jesus College graduates of the
University of Wales who wished to continue their research at Oxford. A link between one of the college science lecturers and
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) led to 17 students joining ICI between the two World Wars, some, such as
John Rose, reaching senior levels in the company. The laboratories became unnecessary when the university began to provide centralised facilities for students; they were closed in 1947. between one-third and one-half of the undergraduates are women. A long-standing
rivalry with nearby
Exeter College reached a peak in 1979, with seven police vehicles and three fire engines involved in dealing with trouble in Turl Street.{{cite news|title=The Record|year=2018 |publisher=Jesus College |url=https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2019-02/The%20Record%202018.pdf
21st century The hereditary
visitor of the college remains the
Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery ex officio. The current visitor is
William Herbert, 18th Earl of Pembroke, 15th Earl of Montgomery. Jesus,
Magdalene College, Cambridge and
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge are the only three
Oxbridge colleges that continue to prescribe by
statute visitations held by
hereditary peers. == Location and buildings ==