 The 18th century , in contrast to the disruption of the 17th century , was a comparatively quiet time for the college . A historian of the college , J. N. L. Baker , wrote that the college records for this time " tell of little but routine entries and departures of fellows and scholars " . The Napoleonic Wars saw a reduction in the numbers of students and entries in the records for the purchase of muskets and other items for college members serving in the university corps . After the war , numbers rose , to an average of twenty new students per year between 1821 and 1830 . However , debts owed to the college had increased , perhaps due to the economic effects of the war – by 1832 , the college was owed £ 986 10s 5d ( approximately £ 82700 in present day terms ) . During the first half of the 19th century , the academic strength of the college diminished : scholarships were sometimes not awarded because of a lack of suitable candidates , and numbers fell : there were only seven new entrants in 1842 . Ernest Hardy wrote in his history of the college in 1899 that it had been becoming " increasingly evident for years ... that the exclusive connection with Wales was ruining the college as a place of education . " 
