History
The College was founded in 1614 by the Society of Jesus in Leuven, (present-day Belgium), then moved in 1624 to Liège. Whilst in Liège, the college received patronage from Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, and the blue and silver on the College's coat of arms was adopted from Maximilian's own crest. During the wars surrounding the French Revolution, the college moved to Britain - philosophy was taught at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire and theology in St. Beuno's in North Wales. Tracing its history back almost 400 years, Heythrop is one of the oldest universities in England.
In 1836 the University of London came into being. Its charter of foundation enabled it to grant degrees not only to students of the two existing colleges, University College and King’s, but to students of other colleges around the country who had reached the required standard. Stonyhurst applied for recognition as an institution preparing for London degrees, and this right was granted it in 1840, allowing both lay and clerical students to prepare for London University degrees: the lay students were called "Philosophers", as had been the students at Liège back in the 1620s.
In 1926, the colleges came together in Heythrop Hall, Oxfordshire. At the time of moving to Heythrop, the college was awarding degrees from the Jesuit-run Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. However, the college sought to integrate itself fully with the British education system, and moved to London in 1970, becoming a college of the University of London in 1971, and began to award University of London degrees. Upon moving to London, the College retained the name of its previous location, and has been called 'Heythrop College' ever since. The College moved to its current Kensington location in 1993.
In 2014, Heythrop College will celebrate the 400th anniversary of its foundation. While the college still retains its original function as a centre for the education of future priests and ministers of the Catholic Church, its student body is now much larger, more international and more diverse.
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