Rhodes>Saint Mary

The Hall with spirit and soul

Welcome to St Mary Hall - where the surroundings encourage academic endeavour;  and our young students strive to achieve our Hall's philosophy of togetherness and caring.

St Mary Hall Coat of Arms

Four residences and two annexes make up St Mary Hall. When you look at the layout of our grounds the dining hall is the hub of the hall with pathways leading to its four cornerstones: John Kotze House, Phelps House, Olive Schreiner House and Lilian Britten House.

The residences varies in size and number of rooms with John Kotze House having 72 single rooms and an annexe. Olive Schreiner has 81 single rooms and 6 double rooms, and is situated opposite John Kotze with a beautiful garden with garden benches between the two residences, where students can be seen studying in the warm summer afternoons. Phelps House has 50 single rooms and Lilian Britten, which is located opposite Phelps House and Olive Schreiner consists of 31 rooms of which 11 are double rooms. Some years Founders' Lodge, which houses 11 beds and consists of 5 double rooms, is allocated to Lilian Britten House.  The last two residences are connected by a well kept, soft, green lawn where garden benches are strategically placed in the shade of the trees surrounding the lawns. During the summer days of Orientation week students can be seen playing volleyball here and during Hall functions this area is often used for garden parties and picnics. During the term students often choose this area to have their study groups, enjoying the warm weather while they catch up with important academic work.


Each residence has a Warden who is responsible for the general running of her own residence and who reports to the Hall Warden.  Each Warden is assisted by her Sub-Wardens and a House Committee.

The Hall Warden is responsible for the general running of the Hall. She is assisted by a Hall Administrator and a Hall Committee consisting of the Fellows of the hall, Wardens, Sub-Wardens, Head Students from every residence, the Hall Senior Student and the Hall SRC representative.  The Hall Committee formulates the Rules of the Hall to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all its residents.

Contact our Hall Administrator Brenda Meyer at b.meyer@ru.ac.za if you require any additional information regarding the hall.

Enquiries regarding allocation to St Mary Hall should be directed to Desiree Wicks, Student Bureau at d.wicks@ru.ac.za

Last Modified: Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:27:48 SAST