[5] Richard Fleming, the then Bishop of Lincoln, founded the college in order to combat the Lollard teachings of John Wyclif.

He intended it to be "a little college of true students of theology who would defend the mysteries of Scripture against those ignorant laymen who profaned with swinish snouts its most holy pearls".

[6] Despite insufficient endowment and trouble from the Wars of the Roses (for their charter was from the deposed Lancastrian), the college has survived and flourished thanks to the efforts of its fellows and the munificence of a second bishop of Lincoln, Thomas Rotherham.

[7] After a pointed sermon from the incumbent rector, Thomas Rotherham was compelled to give his support and effectively re-founded it in 1478, with a new charter from King Edward IV.

Chef Jim Murden and butler Kevin Egleston have worked in the college's kitchen and buttery for 33 and 28 years respectively, as of 2010.

Artist Daphne Todd was commissioned for the painting, who has had such previous sitters as the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Spike Milligan.

[21] As part of the college's commitment to environmental sustainability, a dedicated Green Impact team was set up in 2021,[22] which has since won an Oxford University gold award.

[citation needed] The wine cellar is accessed through Deep Hall, and extends completely beneath the Grove.

[29] Much of the chapel was restored in a project beginning in 1999, having been deemed to be in unacceptable disrepair in the early 1990s, when a funding campaign began.

The black slate and white marble tiles were repaired, cleaned and replaced where necessary, whilst most of the age damage was to be found in the woodwork, which was suffering greatly from poor ventilation and having been laid directly on to earth, resulting in worm and wet rot.

It is believed, however, that on some of the later features of the church, particularly on the tower and spire, the work of Nicholas Hawksmoor, the Baroque architects, is to be found.

Graduates and undergraduates are able to work in the building until 2.00 a.m. most nights; the Bodleian and faculty libraries have earlier closing times.

[32] The upper reading room, or Cohen Room, has an elaborate plastered ceiling and the Senior Library (downstairs) holds some of the college's older books, including pamphlets from the English Civil War, Wesleyana, and plays dating from the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as well as a small collection of manuscripts.

There were at one point vague plans for a bridge over Turl Street connecting the annexe to the college proper; these never materialised.

The EPA Science Centre, named after Edward Abraham, was constructed behind them in the early 21st century and contains apartment-style accommodation, teaching facilities and the college's archives.

[citation needed] Due to Lincoln's small numbers and tight-knit community, its Junior Common Room (JCR) plays a greater role in student life than do the JCRs of most other colleges.

[citation needed] JCR elections, held in Trinity and Michaelmas Terms, attract one of the highest turnouts of any Oxford college.

[40] The JCR was founded in 1854 as the Lincoln College Debating Society but was renamed in 1919 (although it continued to be referred to by its former name for some time after).

With around 350 graduate students in residence each year, the MCR organises a full and varied programme of meetings, social events and sporting activities during term time and vacations.

Alumni include; John Radcliffe (renowned physician after whom the Radcliffe Camera, Radcliffe Infirmary, Radcliffe Observatory and John Radcliffe Hospital are named), Howard Florey (who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 for his role in large scale production of penicillin), Edward Abraham and Norman Heatley (biochemists also instrumental in the development of penicillin), Philip May (husband of former Prime Minister Theresa May), Steph Cook (Olympic gold medalist), William Davenant (poet), John Hobson (economist and influential theorist of imperialism), John le Carré (author), Rachel Maddow (political commentator and author), Dr. Seuss (author and illustrator), Nevil Sidgwick (chemist), Rishi Sunak (British Prime Minister), Adebayo Ogunlesi (lawyer and investment banker), Deborah Bowman (medical ethicist), Edward Thomas (poet) and John Wesley (theologian).

The academic Mark Pattison, elected as Rector of the college in 1861, is thought to have been the inspiration for the character of Dr. Casaubon in George Eliot's novel Middlemarch.

Lincoln was the first college in Oxford (or Cambridge) to admit a Jewish Fellow, the Australian-born philosopher Samuel Alexander (appointed 1882).

At least one other recent Lincoln Rector, Sir Maurice Shock, enjoyed a prior career in British intelligence, although there is little evidence to substantiate the college's reputation as a recruiting ground for spies.

[46][47] Between 1998 and 2002, five future Parliamentarians studied at Lincoln at overlapping times: Rishi Sunak, Lee Rowley, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Shabana Mahmood and Charles Banner.

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, heir apparent to King Philippe, started to read history and politics in 2021.