Editing Cosmo Gordon Lang (section)

===Oxford===

[[File:Front Quad, Balliol College 2004-01-21.jpg|thumb|left|alt= Stone buildings showing multiple windows, chimneys, towers and decorative features. Sunlight strikes the uppermost reaches, the rest is in shadow| [[Balliol College]], Oxford, where Lang was an undergraduate between 1882 and 1886]]
Lang started at Balliol in October 1882. In his first term he successfully sat for the [[Brackenbury Scholarship]], described by his biographer John Gilbert Lockhart as "the Blue Ribbon of history scholarship at any University of the British Isles".<ref name= L28>Lockhart, pp. 28–29</ref> In February 1883 his first speech at the [[Oxford Union]], against the [[disestablishmentarianism|disestablishment]] of the Church of Scotland, was warmly received; the chairman likened his oratory to that of the Ancient Greek statesman, [[Demosthenes]].<ref name= L33>Lockhart, pp. 33–35</ref> He became [[President of the Oxford Union|the Union's president]] in the [[Trinity term]] of 1883,<ref name= Wilk1/> and the following year was a co-founder of the [[Oxford University Dramatic Society]] (OUDS).<ref name= L33/>

Although Lang considered himself forward-thinking, he joined and became secretary of the Canning Club, the university's principal [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] society. His contemporary [[Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood|Robert Cecil]] recorded that Lang's "progressive" opinions were somewhat frowned upon by traditional [[Conservative Party (UK)|Tories]], who nevertheless respected his ability.<ref name= L33/> Lang later assisted in the founding of the University settlement of [[Toynbee Hall]], a mission to help the poor in the [[East End of London]].<ref name= L39>Lockhart, pp. 39–41</ref> He had been first drawn to this work in 1883, after listening to a sermon in St Mary's Church, Oxford, by [[Samuel Augustus Barnett]], Vicar of St Jude's, Whitechapel.<ref name= L39/> Barnett became the settlement's first leader,<ref>{{cite web|title=Our History|url= http://www.toynbeehall.org.uk/our-history|publisher= Toynbee Hall|access-date= 6 December 2015}}</ref> while Lang became one of its first undergraduate secretaries. He spent so much time on these duties that he was chided by the Master of Balliol, [[Benjamin Jowett]], for neglecting his studies.<ref name= L39/> In 1886 Lang graduated with [[British undergraduate degree classification|first-class honours]] in History;<ref name= Wilk1/> in October he failed to secure a Fellowship of [[All Souls College]], blaming his poor early scholastic training in Glasgow.<ref name= L39/>