The Snell Exhibition is an annual scholarship awarded to students of the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

to allow them to undertake

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

study at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. The award was founded by the bequest of Sir John Snell in a

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

made in 1677, although the original stipulation referred to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, rather than Balliol in particular. Snell died on 6 August 1679, but wrangling over the will meant that it was nearly twenty years before the first scholarships were awarded; the first four Snell Exhibitioners were admitted to Balliol in mid-1699. Snell had been a

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in the

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, and was later secretary to the Duke of Monmouth and had the management of his Scottish estates. He intended the bequest to be used to educate Scottish clergymen for the then-established

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...

. By

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...

's day, the bequest was mostly regarded as an educational charity, though its exact status was not settled until later. "By the will of John Snell his exhibitors were under bond to take Anglican orders and return to Scotland, but the penalty was not enforced in the case of Adam Smith and numerous others." ( C. R. Fay, quoting ''

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'' obituary of Smith.) Snell is buried in St Cross Church, which since 2011 has housed Balliol's Special Collections Library, being next to the college's graduate centre, Holywell Manor. Each year, there is an annual dinner held at Balliol and attended by delegates of Balliol, Glasgow and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, in honour of the foundation.

Notable Exhibitioners

Notable Snell Exhibitioners include: * W. G. S. Adams: political scientist and public servant * Hely Hutchinson Almond: headmaster of Loretto School * Matthew Baillie: physician and pathologist * Captain Robert Blair: soldier * Sir Drummond Bone: Master of Balliol and former Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

* Denis Brogan: historian *

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

: Byzantinist * Edward Caird: philosopher * Professor Tom Campbell: legal philosopher * John Douglas:

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

* Sir William Hamilton: metaphysician *

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...

: writer * John Gibson Lockhart: writer * Professor Sir Neil MacCormick: jurist and MEP * Martin McLaughlin: FIAT-Serena Professor of Italian, Oxford * Archibald Main: ecclesiastical historian * J. H. Muirhead: philosopher * John Nichol: biographer * Herbert James Paton: philosopher * Murray Pittock: academic * Robert Ranken: cricketer * John Campbell Shairp: literary critic *

: moral philosopher * John Smith: Savilian Professor of Geometry, Oxford * James Stirling: mathematician * Richard Susskind: legal and IT adviser * Archibald Campbell Tait: Archbishop of Canterbury *

Diane Watt Diane Watt Learned Society of Wales, FLSW is a British medievalist, currently professor of medieval English literature at the University of Surrey. She previously held a personal chair at Aberystwyth University, where she was deputy director of ...

: medievalist * W. S. Watt: classicist

External links

The Snell Foundation
Information from Balliol College
Snell Exhibitioners
Complete list of recipients, 1699–2000 {{University of Glasgow Balliol College, Oxford University of Glasgow Scholarships in the United Kingdom Awards and prizes of the University of Oxford 1677 establishments in Scotland Awards established in 1677

Notable Exhibitioners

Further reading

External links