Dr Francis Warner (1937–2021)

It is with great sadness that St Catharine’s College has learnt that Dr Francis Warner, Honorary Fellow of the College, died on 7 December 2021. The College flag will be flown at half-mast today in his memory.

Dr Warner joined St Catharine’s in 1956 when he arrived to study English as an undergraduate. He distinguished himself from an early age as a poet, playwright, musician and scholar. He received acclaim for his lyrical poetry but the focus of his later literary career was on Agora, a dramatic cycle of 16 individual plays that tracks the development of European culture from ancient Greece to the present. In 1999, the College was delighted to confer an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of Dr Warner’s considerable accomplishments.

Professor Sir Mark Welland, Master of St Catharine's, commented, "Francis was a truly remarkable person and his formidable talent will be missed by the St Catharine’s community. We are proud to have been able to nurture a life-long connection with him and take comfort that he continued to enjoy many happy times with his wife Penelope even in his final months. On behalf of the College, I want to express my deepest sympathies to his family and friends.”

The funeral will be at 2pm on Monday December 20th at St Michael at the Northgate in Cornmarket Street in central Oxford. It will be livestreamed for those not able to attend in person. A memorial service is also planned for later in the New Year by St Peter's College, Oxford, where Dr Warner was an Emeritus Fellow.