The first Barrovian was published in 1879 (although it was proceeded with the College’s Literary Miscellany which was first published in 1843) and has seen a number of changes in its lifetime so far. The first editor Arthur Pilkington explained the reasoning behind the magazine’s name in his first editorial –
“We thought the good Bishop Barrow, the founder of our School would not be unwilling to have his name perpetuated…So the magazine was christened The Barrovian, and the editors will consider that no small service has been done, if by its means the Isle of Man and King William’s College lose that sort of ultima thule character that has hitherto characterised them.”
Originally the magazine was printed three times a year and provided an update of the term’s School news, sports results and society reports, as well as OKW news and letters.
The cover was redesigned in 1915 to feature the College crest, designed by F S Graves.
The magazine continued to be printed during the war years, and the Editor in 1942 thanked the publishers Norris Press “for their help and guidance in drastically cutting down material to meet war-time conditions”.
A further redesign by Mr Glover in 1954 produced a mixed reaction and only lasted 3 editions before being replaced in 1955.
In 1976 it was agreed that in the interests of economy the Barrovian would be published once a year in the winter and cover the full proceeding academic year.
1982 was the start of the 150th Anniversary year of King William’s College and also saw the introduction of a new format for the magazine, moving from is smaller A5 format to A4.
2016 saw the publication of the 323rd edition of the magazine, and the first version to be published online as well as being available in a hard copy. By producing an online edition we hope to reduce the number of magazines that are printed (bringing both environmental and economic benefits) as well as creating a magazine that is more interactive, with links to extra content such as videos of musical performances. Readers can of course still request a hard copy by contacting the External Relations office.
