Harris Manchester College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, renowned as the only Oxford college dedicated solely to mature students—those aged 21 or over at the start of their course. The college was originally founded in Warrington in 1757 as a place for Unitarian students, later moving through Manchester and London before settling in Oxford in 1893.
The college boasts connections with significant historical figures, including Joseph Priestley (discoverer of oxygen) and Thomas Malthus (political economist), and continues to be led by distinguished academics such as its current principal, historian Professor Jane Shaw.
Originally founded as a “Dissenting Academy,” Harris Manchester was a radical institution dedicated to Nonconformist education—primarily Unitarian, but open to all religious backgrounds and those excluded from Oxford and Cambridge due to religious tests. Early students and professors studied not only theology, but also new science, history, and modern languages, making it an incubator of progressive thought at a time when the older universities resisted change.
 
Interesting fact...
During the Second World War, the college grounds and buildings played a covert role as part of Oxford’s military intelligence quarter. Secret papers were incinerated on its tennis court, and military and government personnel occupied parts of the site to support classified activities including intelligence gathering and mapmaking. The college became closely intertwined with Bletchley Park operations and hosted agencies working on war planning and codebreaking