The Snell Exhibition is an annual scholarship awarded to students of the University of Glasgow to allow them to undertake postgraduate study at Balliol College, Oxford. The award was founded by the bequest of Sir

John Snell Sir John Snell (1629 – 6 August 1679), founder of the Snell Exhibitions at the University of Oxford, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of a blacksmith. He attended the University of Glasgow from 1642 to 1644. He joined the royalists du ...

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 w ...

made in 1677, although the original stipulation referred to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a 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 world's second-oldest university in contin ...

, 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 Royalist in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

, 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. By Adam Smith'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 ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' 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 is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, in honour of the foundation.

Notable Exhibitioners

Notable Snell Exhibitioners include: *

W. G. S. Adams William George Stewart Adams (8 November 1874 – 30 January 1966) was a Scottish political scientist and public servant who became principal of an University of Oxford, Oxford College and a leader in the fields of voluntary service and rural r ...

: 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 * 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 poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

: Byzantinist * Edward Caird: philosopher * Professor Tom Campbell: legal philosopher * John Douglas: Bishop of Salisbury * 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 collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...

: writer * John Gibson Lockhart: writer * Professor Sir Neil MacCormick: jurist and

MEP MEP may refer to: Organisations and politics * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka * Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...

* Martin McLaughlin: FIAT-Serena Professor of Italian, Oxford *

Archibald Main Archibald Main, (17 December 1876 – 14 March 1947) was a Scottish ecclesiastical historian, Church of Scotland minister, military chaplain, and academic. From 1915 to 1922, he was Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of S ...

: ecclesiastical historian *

J. H. Muirhead John Henry Muirhead (28 April 1855 – 24 May 1940) was a British philosopher best known for having initiated the Muirhead Library of Philosophy in 1890. He became the first person named to the Chair of Philosophy at the University of Birmingha ...

: philosopher * John Nichol: biographer * Herbert James Paton: philosopher * Murray Pittock: academic *

Robert Ranken Robert Burt Ranken (24 February 1840 – 4 August 1902) was a Scottish first-class cricketer. The son of Thomas Ranken, he was born at Edinburgh in October 1840. He was educated in the city at the Edinburgh Academy, before going up to the U ...

: cricketer * John Campbell Shairp: literary critic * Adam Smith: moral philosopher *

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

: Savilian Professor of Geometry, Oxford * James Stirling: mathematician *

Richard Susskind Richard Eric Susskind OBE FRSE (born 28 March 1961) is a British author, speaker, and independent adviser to international professional firms and national governments. He is the IT adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, hold ...

: legal and IT adviser * Archibald Campbell Tait: Archbishop of Canterbury *

Diane Watt Diane Watt 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 the Institute of Medieval ...

: medievalist *

W. S. Watt William Smith Watt, FBA (20 June 1913 Harthill – 23 December 2002) was a British Latin scholar. He was fellow and tutor in classics at Balliol College from 1938 to 1952. He was Regius Professor of Humanity The Regius Professorship of Human ...

: 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