St Mark’s Day 2026 | 150 Years of Keble Chapel

Chancellor Lord Hague speaks at the St Mark’s Service, celebrating 150 years of the Keble Chapel

‍Fr Max Kramer, Chaplain, writes:

“I am not a little proud, I need hardly say, that on an occasion entirely belonging to this College — an entirely domestic occasion as I may call it — the Chancellor has seen cause enough to lead him to pay one of those rare visits, which, according to the traditions of his office, the Chancellor pays to Oxford… not as the servant of necessity, but because he wished to come.”

Warden Talbot’s words to Lord Salisbury at the opening of Keble Chapel on St Mark’s Day 1876 after an exhaustive (not to say exhausting) day of services, sermons, speeches, processions and stone layings, seem equally apt a century and a half later, as the College welcomed his successor, Lord Hague, to speak at our 150th Anniversary Service.

Fr Max Kramer and the Keble Choir

Our outstanding Chapel Choir sang a range of music from the era of the foundation. Stainer’s I saw the Lord spoke to the majestic vision of the architecture and resonated powerfully in the Chapel’s impressive acoustic. Wood’s setting of Keble’s translation Hail Gladdening Light and the hymn Blessed are the Pure in Heart paid tribute to the priest and poet in whose memory the College was founded; and Stanford’s Te Deum in B-flat provided a rousing culmination to the act of worship.

The service was followed by our St Mark’s Feast, where, with the Hall packed to capacity, as is our tradition, the same food is served to students and Fellows alike, complemented by excellent wine, the gift of Mr Richard Orders (1973 English Language and Literature).

At the heart of it all was the Chancellor’s Chapel Address. In this wonderful oration, a little briefer, thankfully, than Dr Pusey’s dense 30-page sermon of 1876, the Chancellor conjured something of the energy and drive of the era, and reminded us of the significance and value of the founders’ purposes for us today, even in very different times.

One final reminiscence of 1876: in his vote of thanks, Warden Talbot reminded the assembly that the College’s vocation was to hold on to the tradition in which John Keble lived and died, without becoming in any way the College of a “faction or a party,” but rather one that could train students for the multiplicity of callings the world offers.

The same is my hope for the Chapel today, 150 years on: to treasure our continuity with everything our founders intended, while being radically open and welcoming to all members of what, to Talbot, would have been an unimaginably large and diverse community, whatever they do or don’t believe themselves.

A live-stream recording of the service is available on the Chapel YouTube channel, and a transcript of Lord Hague’s speech can be found on our website.

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Help us celebrate Keble Chapel’s 150th Anniversary by supporting our Chapel 150 Campaign. The Chapel and its Music have been integral to College life since Keble’s foundation. 150 years on, the vision of our founders continues to be reflected here in a thriving and inclusive Chapel life. This anniversary presents a special opportunity for us to fund our numerous important projects in music, community life and worship. We hope you will consider contributing to this timely appeal to ensure that the Chapel can thrive for another 150 years and beyond!

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