The opening of Mansfield College in 1886 reflected the aspirations of nonconformists (Congregationalists in particular) that they should once again contribute to the religious life of the University of Oxford, from which they had been excluded since 1662. Elaine Kaye reveals the major contribution the College has made to biblical studies, to the ecumenical movement, to the formation of the United Reformed Church in 1972, and to the mediation of Scottish, German, and American Reformed theology to Oxford.

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On 11 April 1995 Mansfield College became the first undergraduate college at Oxford to gain a Royal Charter for over thirty years. Since 1955, when Mansfield became a Permanent Private Hall, the College has, through a democratic process, re-created its tradition as a pluralist college appropriate to the end of the twentieth century, while continuing to educate ministers for the United Reformed and Congregational Churches.

It has now achieved full collegiate status within the University of Oxford, pioneering initiatives in which theological and non-theological members work in inter-disciplinary partnership.