The Hertford Society

What is the Hertford Society and why should you become a member?

The Society has been in existence for over 60 years.

Our aims are:

• to reach out to former members of Hertford and bring them together, both in Oxford and elsewhere, complementing the alumni relations programme organised by the college’s Development Office; and
• to find ways of supporting the college: mainly by funding a range of significant projects, small and large, which might not normally be given priority by the college; or by contributing to major college projects.

We hold a popular mid-summer social event in college each year: usually drinks in the Quad followed by, in alternate years, a buffet lunch or a black-tie dinner in Hall. We also regularly organise other events in London, such as tea on the terrace of the House of Lords, which attracts over 100 Society members and their guests. For the last two years we have held special reunion parties in London for recent Hertford leavers.

The ways in which we support the college have ranged from arranging the restoration of 13 of the most historic portraits in the Hall, to cleaning the World War II memorial outside the Chapel, sponsoring some furniture in the new Library and contributing to the upkeep of Simpkin, the college cat. We also make regular financial contributions to the JCR and MCR to support their Freshers’ Weeks.

The Society is particularly interested in helping to encourage interest in the college’s long history and we are looking into restoring/conserving the Annunciation carvings on the Octagon in conjunction with an expert from the college’s heritage consultants.

General enquiries about the Hertford Society may be made to its Secretary Graham Jones or Membership Secretary Christopher Mockler.