Fell, John

(1625–86)

   Bishop and Educator.

   Fell was the son of a Dean of Christchurch College, Oxford, England, and he was educated at that university. As a staunch Royalist, he lost his college fellowship during the Commonwealth period, but he was reinstated with the accession of King Charles II and he became Dean of the College in his turn. In 1676 he was consecrated Bishop of Oxford. Among his writings was an important critical edition of the works of St cyprian. He was successful in reestablishing loyalty to the Church of England in the university and he was instrumental in removing John locke from his studentship at Christchurch. He was also a significant figure in the founding of the Oxford University Press and he attracted many famous scholars to Oxford. Thus he must be seen as an important figure in the restoration of the university as an outstanding place of learning. However, his main claim to fame is as the subject of an undergraduate rhyme, based on one of Martial’s epigrams: ‘I do not love thee Dr Fell,/The reason why I cannot tell,/But this I know, I know full well/I do not love thee Dr Fell!’

   S. Morrison and H. Carter, John Fell, the University Press and the ‘Fell’ Types (1967).