St Johns College, Cambridge hall during a formal meal

Churchill College, Cambridge dining hall prepared for a formal

Formal Hall is the name given to a formal evening meal at any college in the universities of Oxford, Cambridge or Durham open to all members of the college and their guests. Different colleges have varying policies on formals: some hold them several times a week, while others do so quite rarely. Formal Halls are separate from informal evening meals, which most colleges hold daily. The largest formals are believed to be at Van Mildert College, Durham, where 440 guests are usually present. Image File history File links Cam_formal_dinner_st_johns_hall_2005. ... Image File history File links Cam_formal_dinner_st_johns_hall_2005. ... Full name The College of Saint John the Evangelist of the University of Cambridge Motto - Named after The Hospital of Saint John the Evangelist, Cambridge, named after John the Evangelist Previous names - Established 1511 Sister College Balliol College Master Prof. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 263 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 263 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Full name Churchill College Motto Forward Named after Sir Winston Churchill Previous names - Established 1966 Sister College Trinity College Master Sir John Boyd Location Storeys Way Undergraduates 440 Graduates 210 Homepage Boatclub Churchill College Main Entrance Churchill College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... REDIRECT [1] ... Durham University is a university in England. ... Van Mildert College, commonly known as Mildert, is a college of the University of Durham in England. ...

Terminology

The meal is often referred to as Formal, or in Cambridge Hall. Some of the larger colleges have both a large dining hall and a canteen-style dining room (often called the Buttery); in these cases informal evening meals are taken in the Buttery and formal meals in the hall, and the term Hall is used uniquely to mean the formal meal. Colleges with only one dining room may often use Hall to mean the informal meal and Formal to mean the formal one.

Traditions

Some colleges have elaborate traditions, while others are more relaxed. The wearing of gowns at formals is compulsory at some colleges and various other traditions are usually observed, including grace said in latin. The wearing of gowns may sometimes constitute the only dress code; in other cases formal wear (for example a lounge suit for men or equivalent for women) is required in addition to, or instead of, the gown. Academic dress or academical dress is traditional clothing worn specifically in academic settings. ... Grace may stand for: // Meaning a quality of aesthetics, usually applied to human motion. ... Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Suits from the 1937 Chicago Woolen Mills catalog A suit, also known as a business suit or lounge suit, comprises a collection of matching clothing consisting of: a coat (commonly known as a jacket) a waistcoat (optional) (USA vest) for men, a pair of trousers (USA pants), or for women...

The tradition of pennying is long established in most Cambridge and Durham colleges, although this often holds the risk of possible expulsion from the meal by staff members. A variation of the tradition is found at University College, Durham, where corks are used instead of pennies. See pennying for more details. Pennying is a simple drinking game popular among students at the University of Cambridge, and rumoured to have originated there in the reign of King Henry VIII in the 16th century but actually probably only goes back a few decades. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... Durham University is a university in England. ... University College, commonly known as Castle, is a college of the University of Durham in England. ... Pennying is a simple drinking game popular among students at the University of Cambridge, and rumoured to have originated there in the reign of King Henry VIII in the 16th century but actually probably only goes back a few decades. ...

Almost all Oxford and Cambridge college formal halls include a High Table, exclusively for Fellows of the college and their guests, with students eating at the lower tables. The high table is often raised above the ground level of the hall. A few of the more modern colleges (for example Linacre College, Oxford) have discontinued (or never had) this practice, in order to promote equality between fellows and students. At Oxford and Cambridge colleges, and more traditional academic institutions, High Table is a table on a raised platform at the end of the dining hall for the use of fellows (members of the Senior Common Room) and their guests. ... A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. ... Linacre College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, currently offering graduate entry only. ...

Formal Hall is the preferred venue in Oxford colleges for crew-dates, a notorious system of celebration especially associated with the period after Summer Eights and Torpids. Here college sports teams (usually one male and one female team) meet to eat and drink in Formal Hall, and on the whole blow off steam through binge-drinking. These are an excellent source of inter-collegiate socialising (one of the few examples where this will occur at Oxbridge outside of a club), and generally much fun is to be had by all involved (to the consternation of the High Table). The more famous crew-dates are to be had with the Oriel Men's First Boat (who often repair back to the famous Oriel rowing-room), and the St Peter's Women's Boats. A variation on the pennying tradition is Shoeing - if there is a spillage resulting from an unsuccessful pennying attempt, or any another unsocial/drunken act, the Captain of the men's boat is obliged to remove his shoe. It is presented as a recepticle for the remains of the unpennied wine, which must then be drunk from the shoe by the pennying miscreant. At Oxford and Cambridge colleges, and more traditional academic institutions, High Table is a table on a raised platform at the end of the dining hall for the use of fellows (members of the Senior Common Room) and their guests. ... Oriel College (in full: The House of Blessed Mary the Virgin in Oxford commonly called Oriel College, of the Foundation of Edward the Second of famous memory, sometime King of England) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... Oriel College (in full: The House of Blessed Mary the Virgin in Oxford commonly called Oriel College, of the Foundation of Edward the Second of famous memory, sometime King of England) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The Basilica of Saint Peter from Castel SantAngelo. ...