John Ronald Reuel Tolkien matriculated at Exeter College Oxford October 1911.  He left with a 1st class Honorary English 1915, where he joined the 16th Lancashire Fusiliers in 1915.  He was made an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College in 1958.

This resource list has been updated from the original research undertaken by John Garth in 2013. 

Matriculation

College Register (1825-1915) [Reference EC/2/1/4] 27 January 1911 p.437, awarded exhibition grant

‘John Ronald Reuel Tolkien of King Edward VIth School Birmingham to an open exhibition of £60 for Classics’

Entrance book (1909-1922) [Reference EC/7/6/18] – Michaelmas term 1911, records age, family and education

Tuition

Tuition Fund Committee (1898-1943) [Reference EC2/14/1] 7 November 1913

‘That all outside Tuition for undergraduates reading the Honour English School be paid at the rate of £4 a term for one hour a week private tuition...That the above fee be paid to Mr Tiddy for Mr Ashworth’s tuition, to Mr Sisam for Mr Tolkien’s tuition, and to Mr Brett-Smith for Mr Earp’s tuition.’

Accounts and Awards

Register (1825-1915) [Reference EC/2/1/4] p. 451 16 June 1913, p. 455 22 June 1914

Re-election of scholars and exhibitioners including Tolkien

College Orders (1886-1921) [Reference EC/2/2/4]

Ordinary meeting 1 June 1912 p.293

‘That the payment of Mr Tolkien’s exhibition be transferred to the Loscombe Richards fund as from the beginning of the year 1912’

16 May 1914 ‘That the Skeat Prize be awarded to Mr Tolkien’ (Walter William Skeat, Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge gave £100 for an annual prize for English Language and Literature in 1899)

Scholarships book (1831-1912) [Reference EC/7/6/26] Michaelmas 1911, Hilary 1912:

£20 held for battels, £20 dividend

Register (1825-1915) [Reference EC/2/1/4]

p. 400. opposite page dated 1899; letter from Skeat re setting up of Skeat Prize. 22 March 1899 ‘Professor WW Skeat DCL (Hon)’ offers £100 to set up prize. [Subject continues on pp. 402-3 but 400-1 are the most valuable for display.]

Examination

Examination results (1897-1914) and (1914-1940) [Reference EC/7/5/1 & EC/7/5/2]

Tolkien’s results:

Hilary 1913: ‘Hon. Mods. Class II.’ Michaelmas 1914: ‘Mods Holy Scripture, Dec 7th’

Trinity 1915: ‘Hon English. Class I’ (alongside Cullis, class III Lit. Hum.)

Tutorials

Tutorial Lists of undergraduates (4 items) [Reference EC/7/4/1]

Michaelmas 1913: Tolkien listed along with exhibition, classics Mods result, and the fact that he is now reading English. Tutor: Dr Marett

Hilary 1914: [hand-updated copy of Mich’ 1913; details for Tolkien unchanged]

Michaelmas 1914: (similar booklet, now also noting undergraduates ‘away on service’).

Michaelmas 1914 (another copy): Tolkien marked with x for ‘up Lent Term ’15’]

Accommodation

Battels Quarterly Book (1914-1920) [Reference EC/8/4/1]

Charges for Tolkien for two terms: to Lady Day 1914 and to Midsummer 1914.

Room rents (1896–1920) [Reference EC/8/8/6]

Michaelmas 1911 to Trinity 1912: Room 7, Staircase 8

Michaelmas 1912 to Trinity 1914: Room 9, Staircase 7

Library

Loans register (June 1911-November 1920) [Reference EC/10/6/1/7] Tolkien’s borrowings listed on *25 November 1911 (including Finnish Grammar); 16 October, 25 October (Finnish Grammar again) and 16 November 1912; 17 January and 3 May 1913; 26 January, 29 January, 13 March, 1 June, 19 June, 23 October, 5 November, 14 November 1914 (Finnish Grammar); 28 January, 12 March, 27 April, 4 May, 15 May, 31 May, 9 June 1915; 22 May, 18 June, 14 October 1919; 21 January 1920

·         Library books borrowed (selected titles)

·         WSV30 Finnish Grammar, C.N.E. Eliot. Annotated by Tolkien pp. xxvii, 16 and 56.

·         WB81 A History of English Sounds, Henry Sweet. Annotated by Tolkien.

·         YY80A2 Anglo-Saxon Primer, Sweet. Annotated by Tolkien.

·         140E36 The Tale of Beowulf, William Morris and A.J. Wyatt (Kelmscott Press).

·         137C17 The Deeds of Beowulf, John Earle. 137aD12 An English Miscellany. Presented to Dr [Frederick James] Furnivall

·         137F15 Bibliothek der angelsächsischen Poesie, Grein & Wülcker. (Source of line from Cynewulf’s Crist which inspired Tolkien’s first ‘Middle earth’ poem)

·         132B16 An Old English Miscellany, Richard Morris

·         132A4 Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight, Richard Morris

·         137H13 Dictionary of Old English, F.H. Stratmann

·         137C26 First Middle English Primer; A Primer of Historical English Grammar

-         137C31 Short Historical English Grammar; 137C27 Second Middle English Primer. – all Henry Sweet.

Clubs and Societies

Dialectical Society minutes v.4 (1909-1919) [Reference EC/13/8/3]

Tolkien would have attended meetings of this society.

Essay Club minutes v.4 (1914–1921) [Reference EC/13/9/4]

Tolkien was a member of the Essay club, becoming President of this club in Trinity term 1914. Other references include:

Tolkien’s paper on Francis Thompson, meeting number 128, 4 March 1914.

Rules of Exeter College Essay Club, 4pp, signed C.C. and J.R.R.T.

The Fall of Gondolin, meeting number 143, 10 March 1920.

Junior Common room minutes (1887-1943) [Reference EC/4/4/1/1]

Two entries feature Tolkien's signature as President [October-November 1914] page 81 and 87

Stapeldon Society minutes v.6 (Jan, 1912 – May, 1916) [Reference EC/13/15/7]

Tolkien was Honorary Secretary [October-December 1913] as well as President of the Stapeldon Society [January-March 1914]

Meetings from number 785 to 791 are in Tolkien’s handwriting when acting as Honorary Secretary. Meeting minutes from 792 to 798 are signed by Tolkien as President.

Also of interest: meeting number 782. Tolkien’s ‘arrest and subsequent release’ regardiing his attempt to scale the Swiss Cottage.

Other references to him in meetings are 762, 771, 774, 778, 781, 785, 786 (Tolkien's use of language, e.g. ‘moldiewarp’), 787, 788, 790, 800, 801, 802, 803, 804 (Tolkien proposes motion for spelling reform), 805, 806, 809 (Tolkien on baths and bursarial logic).

Stapeldon Magazine v. 3, 4, 5, and 7 Reading room library [Reference ZMA 45]

Vol 3 December 1911, p. 110. Reference to Tolkien’s rugby-playing.

Vol. 4, no. 19, June 1913, p. 276. Report on Tolkien’s paper on the Norse Sagas, read to the Essay Club.

Vol. 4, No. 20, December 1913, p. 11. Tolkien’s poem, ‘From the many-willow’d margin of the immemorial Thames’, signed ‘J.’, appears jointly under the heading ‘Midnight at Oxford’ with a poem by H.R. Freston.

 p. 33. ‘Stapeldon Society’: Tolkien is Secretary for Michaelmas Term.

Vol. 4, no. 21, June 1914, p. 45. Tolkien’s role in sexcentenary dinner.

p. 93. ‘Stapeldon Society’: Tolkien is President for Hilary Term.

p. 95. ‘Essay Club’: Tolkien’s paper on Francis Thompson.

p. 96. ‘Essay Club’ cont.: Tolkien is President for Summer Term.

Vol. 4, no. 22, December 1914, p. 123. ‘Essay Club’: Tolkien is Critic.

Vol. 5, No. 26, June 1920, pp. 69-70. Tolkien’s poem ‘The Happy Mariners’ (written in July 1915 shortly after leaving Exeter). Signed ‘JRRT’. p. 83. ‘Essay Club’ notice records Tolkien’s reading of ‘The Fall of Gondolin’.

Vol 7, December 1926, p. 96. Report on Tolkien’s paper on the Elder Edda to the Essay Club.

Vol 7, No. 40, June 1927, pp. 123-7. Two poems, ‘Fastitocalon’ and ‘Iumbo’, signed ‘Fisiologus’, under the heading ‘Adventures in Unnatural History and Medieval Metres’.  (possible precursors of poems in his The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.)

Photographs

Junior Common room album 2 (1908–1914) [Reference EC/15/1/2]

College group 1912, with Tolkien seated (centre).

College group 1913, with Tolkien (centre) standing just to right and behind Allen Barnett.

Junior Common room album 3 (1914-1922) [Reference EC/15/1/3]

College group 1914, with Tolkien prominent against vine.

Rugby XV & Boat Club 1914

George Doughty Wheway Alumni photograph album [Reference EC/15/2/11/5 and EC/15/2/11/6] Exeter College Rugby XV versus the Boat club match group, one photograph with no names and two action shots of the match 1914

George Doughty Wheway loose photographs [Reference EC/15/4/1/5 and /7 and /8] George Doughty Wheway matriculated the same time as Tolkien in 1911.  These loose photographs are from a collection, some of which are duplicates in one of the Alumni photograph albums.  Rugby XV versus the Boat club match group photograph and additional match action shot with Tolkien running 1914. Photograph of the Sexcentenary Junior Common Room (Stapeldon Society) dinner.