Vincent's Club

The club was founded in 1863 by Walter Bradford Woodgate, a Brasenose scholar. Woodgate, a great oarsman, who rowed in the Oxford Blue boat, won eleven Henley titles, is said to have introduced coxless fours to this country.

Woodgate selected forty original members – many from nineteenth century sporting colleges like University, Merton and Brasenose - and they met and drafted the rules. They set up the club house above the publishers at 90 High Street, named Vincent, and thus the club got its name. For the last hundred plus years it has been housed at 1a, King Edward Street on two floors above Shepherd and Woodward.

The idea of the founders was to gather an elite of University members who should be selected for all-round qualities; social, physical, and intellectual. The ethos has changed little over its lifespan, and the club proudly welcomed female members in 2015, allowing the Club to properly represent the finest at Oxford.

Part of the reason for the little change in ethos probably lies in the fact that though the emphasis has always been on sports minded people there has never been a sporting qualification for membership. Though many of those who represent the University are members, it does not at all follow that membership accompanies a Blue. And “once a member, always a member”. With around 200 members currently “up” or “resident” at the University, there are over 5,000 members worldwide.

The Vincent’s “Resident Membership” lists over the years are studded with future archbishops, headmasters, cabinet ministers, judges, and alumni of all kinds. The presidential roll includes such illustrious names as Sir Robin Butler, J O Newton-Thompson, Sir Roger Bannister, D B Carr, and M J K Smith.