Originally founded so that monks of Ampleforth Abbey could take degrees at Oxford, St Benet’s is today comprised of both monks and lay students. The Hall welcomes students of all faith traditions and none, inviting them to engage in rigorous scholarship within a community of learning inspired by the Rule of St Benedict.

As such, the Hall represents the closest living embodiment of the kind of community which shaped the University in the 13th century. The Hall concentrates on a small number of closely related subjects, mostly in the Humanities, at both graduate and undergraduate level.

There are presently five monks in residence, five graduate students and fifty undergraduates. The building itself is a fine Grade II listed Georgian house containing a chapel, a library, a dining hall and bedrooms for its students, and possessed of an enclosed garden.

The monastic office and Mass are celebrated daily in the Chapel, and all members are welcome to attend if they wish. The main common room is shared by tutors, graduates and undergraduates, and all eat at the same common table, building an unusually cohesive community.

Graduates, other than monks, are usually asked to live out but can sometimes be offered accommodation in the Hall, but this is not guaranteed. There is no family accommodation. All bedrooms in the Hall have internet points and telephones.

There are laundry machines on site, free to members. The Hall provides all meal, seven days a week, for a flat charge per term.

There are no Hall awards, but support will be given for applications to other bodies for awards tenable at St Benet’s.

For information about University awards, please see the Oxford Funding Search.

The library, open 24/7, is principally an undergraduate library of about 8000 volumes, a pleasant workspace with internet points and computers linked to the University’s library network.

There is a small, much-used computer room in the Hall, with an efficient printer/photocopier/scanner. Wireless internet access is available throughout the Hall.

St Benet’s has a rowing VIII. For all sports, students may participate in the teams of other colleges.

Students sing in University choirs, participate in the Oxford Union, and in general are encouraged to take a full part in Oxford life, its societies and activities.

There is a disabled toilet on the ground floor and portable ramps for access into the Hall.

St Benet’s has a joint MCR and JCR, with MCR representation on the JCR committee. The main common room of the Hall is a large, pleasant sitting room, with newspapers, magazines and a piano.

The MCR and JCR also share a spacious, more informal room with flat-screen TV/DVD, kitchenette and fridge. The enclosed garden includes a croquet lawn and a walled, private garden area.