Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford[6] in England and the fourth-oldest college of the university.

The college was founded in 1314 by Devon-born Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter, as a school to educate clergymen and has been located on Turl Street since 1315. At its foundation Exeter was popular with the sons of the Devonshire gentry, though has since become associated with a much broader range of notable alumni, including Raymond Raikes, William Morris, J. R. R. Tolkien, Richard Burton, Roger Bannister, Alan Bennett, and Philip Pullman.

Exeter College's Broad Street frontage

Exeter College was founded in 1314 by Walter de Stapledon of Devon, Bishop of Exeter and later treasurer to Edward II, as a school to educate clergy.[7] The college initially used Hart Hall, now Hertford College, and moved to Turl Street in 1315.[7] During its first century, it was known as Stapeldon Hall and was significantly smaller, with just twelve to fourteen students.[7] The college grew significantly from the 15th century onward, and began offering rooms to its students. The college motto is "Floreat Exon.", meaning "Let Exeter Flourish".[8]

In the 16th century, donations from Sir William Petre, assumed to be an Exeter graduate, whose daughter Dorothy Wadham (1534–1618) was a co-founder with her husband Nicholas Wadham (1531–1609) of Wadham College, created the eight Petrean Fellowships, and further contributions from his son John Petre, 1st Baron Petre (1549–1613) helped to expand and transform the college.[7]

Sir John Acland (died 1620), a Devonshire gentleman, donated £800, which largely financed the building of a new dining hall, and also established two scholarships for poor students, the first to be created at the college.[9] In a clever move by the bursar to fill the new buildings as they were completed, a significant number of noble Roman Catholic students were invited to enrol and take classes at the enlarged college; however, they were not allowed to matriculate. As a result, over time, Exeter College became one of the leading colleges in the university.[citation needed]

In the 18th century the college experienced declining popularity, as did all of Oxford's other colleges. University reforms in the 1850s helped to end this period of stagnation.[citation needed]

For over six centuries after its founding, women were not permitted to study at Exeter, but in 1979 it joined many other men's colleges in admitting its first female students.[10] Today it admits men and women in roughly equal numbers.[6] In 1993, Exeter College became the first of the former all-male colleges to elect a woman, Marilyn Butler, as its rector.[11][12] When Butler's tenure expired in October 2004, the college elected another woman—Frances Cairncross, former senior editor of The Economist—as rector.[13]

In 2014, the author J. K. Rowling was elected an honorary fellow of the college for the "extraordinary contribution she has made to the field of literature, and in particular to children’s reading and literacy"[14].[15]

Formed in the 1850s, the Adelphi Wine Club is reputed to be one of the oldest three wine clubs in Oxford. The club draws its membership from undergraduates studying at Exeter College. It has been forcibly closed down by college authorities several times throughout its tumultuous existence and is currently believed to be dormant. The club was renowned for its extravagant dinners, and for excessive gambling after each meeting. One black ball was sufficient to exclude an undergraduate from membership. Beginning in 1923, the college forbade any student holding an exhibition or scholarship to join the club.[16]

Notable members include Sir Martin Le Quesne,[17] and J.P.V.D. Balsdon.[16]