Tag Archives: Lincoln College

Aug 09 2014
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Books, Oxford

Green on Wesley at Lincoln College, Oxford

After his graduation from Christ Church, John Wesley became a fellow of Lincoln College. In his book, The Young Mr. Wesley, V.H.H. Green writes:

John Wesley was admitted to his fellowship on March 27, 1726. His fellowship provided financial security with an annual salary of 60 pounds.

He drew up a scheme of studies….He would now concentrate as far as possible on what seemed serious and important to him. Mondays and Tuesdays were to be for the study of Roman and Greek history and literature; Wednesdays for logics and ethics; Thursdays for studies in Hebrew and Arabic; Fridays for metaphysics and Natural Philosophy; Saturdays for the composition of poetry and oratory; Sundays for Divinity. He would not keep these resolutions but the anxiety to use his time to the best advantage was one of the factors which contributed to his decision that the secret of the right use of time was early rising in the morning.

He was able to request leave from Lincoln College and returned to Epworth where he stayed from 1727 to 1729 while making short trips to Oxford.

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Aug 07 2014
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Oxford

John Wesley in Oxford

John Wesley had a number of connections to Oxford, UK.

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Jul 26 2014
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Books, United Kingdom

John Wesley, George Smiley and the University of North Carolina

The link to John Wesley, George Smiley and the University of North Carolina is the Rev. Vivian Hubert Howard Green. I am currently reading Green’s book Young Mr. Wesley, focused on Wesley’s years at Oxford and published in 1961. Wesley graduated from Christ Church at Oxford in 1724. He later became a fellow a Lincoln College. Green was a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, for over 30 years and its Rector from 1983 to 1987. He wrote a full biography of Wesley in 1963.

One of Green’s students at Lincoln was John Le Carre, known for his spy novels. His trilogy that includes Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy tells the story of George Smiley. While Green never served in the British Secret Service, Le Carre acknowledged that he used Green’s temperment and outlook in creating the character of Smiley.

In the early 1980s, Green served a short period as a visiting professor at the University of North Carolina.

Read more about Green in this 2005 obit.

 

 

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May 31 2014
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University

John Wesley at Oxford

John Wesley attended Oxford, entering in 1720. He eventually began leading a group his brother Charles had organized. The small groups regular meetings earned them nicknames such as Bible Moths and Methodists.

Wesley was educated at Charterhouse School in London and was nominated by his schoolmaster for an exhibition to Christ Church, Oxford to which he was admitted as a commoner in 1720. He studied classics and logic and very much enjoyed ‘Oxford Life’ frequenting coffee houses, playing cards and making excursions up the river. It was at Oxford that he started to keep a diary, an old red note book in which he would sometimes write in code (only accurately and fully deciphered in 1972).

After completing his BA, Wesley followed the traditions of his family by taking Holy Orders and was made a deacon in Christ Church Cathedral in September 1725. Three years later he was ordained.

In 1726 a vacancy became available for a Fellowship at Lincoln College, which at that time was open only to those born in the diocese of Lincoln. Wesley’s father had connections with Dr Morley, Rector of Lincoln College, and after being examined in Homer and Horace he was duly elected to a fellowship on March 25th.

http://www.linc.ox.ac.uk/Famous-AlumniJohn-Wesley-1703—1791

Looking forward to visiting Oxford in July.

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