Blackfriars College | College History and University Clothing

Blackfriars is a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford, it is owned and governed by outside institutions and not by its fellows. Located in central Oxford, its neighbours include St John's College, St Cross College and the Ashmolean Museum. It houses three distinct institutions: the Priory of the Holy Spirit, the religious house of the friars and Blackfriars Hall.

The name Blackfriars is commonly used to denote a house of the Dominican Friars in England, a reference to the black-coloured "cappa", which is part of their habit. The history of Blackfriars is well documented. This is a result of the hall being part of an international fraternity of scholarship, allowing the fortunes to be monitored and documented even during times of the hall’s collapse.

The hall is heir to the oldest tradition of teaching in Oxford. A tradition that precedes both the aularian houses that would characterise the next century and the rest of the University of Oxford’s history. Blackfriars came into repeated conflict with university authorities. With the Reformation, all monastic houses were suppressed. In 1921, Blackfriars was re-founded as a religious house, within 600 metres from the original site. It was established as a permanent private hall in 1994. 

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