St Cross Celebrates Historic Headship with Ceremonial Boat Burning

St Cross College marked an extraordinary achievement as the Wolfson/St Cross Boat Club celebrated their first-ever Head of the River victory at Summer Eights 2025.

Cox Adam Ferris was carried back to the College in style, perched atop an old rowing boat and flanked by the victorious O1 crew, who had earlier collected the Headship trophy from Oriel College. While the trophy—of great historical value—remained at Oriel, the symbolic return to St Cross drew crowds of supporters for a celebration steeped in Oxford rowing tradition.

At the centre of the festivities was a ceremonial boat-burning—a custom dating back several decades at Oxford, in which an old, retired wooden shell is ceremonially destroyed to honour a crew’s success. In this case, the boat burned was not the one used to win the Headship but a decommissioned shell from the boathouse. The flames lit up the College quad as the crew gathered for speeches, photos, and well-earned congratulations

Master of St Cross, Kate Mavour addressed the crowd, praising the dedication and teamwork that brought about this historic result. Before the fire was lit, the crew preserved the boat’s wooden hull—named Helen—to be signed and displayed in the College as a lasting symbol of their Headship victory.

Please look through the photos of the fantastic event below: