Holywell Manor, Oxford

The manor was held by the rectors of the Church of St Peter-in-the-East in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was acquired by Balliol College in 1929, prior to which it had been a convent of the Community of St John Baptist, Clewer and a home for unmarried mothers (though it was deserted by 1929). The purchase was planned by Kenneth Norman Bell in order to provide accommodation for undergraduates and was funded by donations to the Balliol Society which he had founded expressly for this purpose. The extensive extensions to the original manor were designed by the architect George Kennedy, an alumnus of the College. These include the road facing façade, the entrance courtyard and the grand Queen…