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Very nice place, Oxford, I should think, for people that like that sort of place.
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George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
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At the centre of the Old University area lies Radcliffe
Square, one of the most beautiful and famous squares in
Europe.
Standing with your back to Brasenose College on the west
side of the square, you will be able to contemplate
architectural
masterpieces in every direction. To the right, the
University Church of St Mary the Virgin. To the left, the
Old Schools Quadrangle, housing the Divinity Schools and the
old Bodleian library. Ahead the spires and towers of the
exclusive All Souls College. And at the centre, the jewel in
the crown. Nicholas Hawksmoor's magnificent Radcliffe
Camera, completed in 1748 and now forming part of the
Bodleian Library.
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Old Schools Quad, Broad Street.
Open: Monday to Friday, 9am - 6pm; Saturday, 9am - 12.30pm.
Web site: www.bodley.ox.ac.uk
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Great Tower,
Old Schools Quad
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The Bodleian Library is the main research
library of the University of Oxford. In the UK, its collection
is second in size only to the British Library and comprises
more than 6.5 million books, manuscripts, periodicals and
newspapers. These occupy 169km (105 miles) of shelving space
in 10 library buildings in central Oxford and in a network
of tunnels running under Broad Street. As a Copyright
Library, the Bodleian is entitled to a copy of every book,
periodical and newspaper published in Britain. The collection
is growing at the rate of 300,000 items per year.
The first University library was founded in
1310 in rooms next to the University Church of St. Mary the
Virgin. During the 15th century, a great number of manuscripts
were donated to the University by Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester
and brother of King Henry V. Eventually, the collection grew
to such a size that the University decided to relocate it to a
new building above the Divinity Schools. Sadly, the collection
was almost completely dispersed by 1556 due to lack of
funding, but the spectacular reading room itself, known as
Duke Humfrey's Library, still exists today and is the only
part of the Bodleian that is open to the general public
(details above).
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 The
modern library is named after the distinguished academic and
diplomat, Sir Thomas Bodley. Upon his retirement in 1598,
Thomas Bodley decided to devote himself to the restoration of
the University library. The library was formally opened in
1602 and has struggled to find room for its rapidly expanding
collection ever since. The most notable, recent addition to
the library was the rather ugly New Bodleian building on the
corner of Broad Street and Parks Road, opened in 1945.
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Broad Street
Open: Monday to Saturday, 10am - 12.30pm and 2pm - 4.30pm.
Entry: Adults £1.50; Children £1.00
Website: www.sheldon.ox.ac.uk
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The Sheldonian Theatre was
commissioned in 1662 by the University Chancellor, Gilbert
Sheldon, and completed in 1669. It was built specifically as a
venue for University ceremonial occasions and is still used
for that purpose today, but it is also used these days for
concerts and public lectures.
Sheldon chose as his architect the young Christopher Wren,
then a Professor of Astronomy at Oxford. The building is
modelled on the open air amphitheatre of Marcellus in Rome,
but the English climate made it necessary to cover the theatre
space
with a roof. The ceiling is gloriously decorated with a
depiction of The Triumph of Religion, Arts and Science over
Envy, Hate and Malice by Robert Streeter.
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area to the front of the theatre is marked out by a set of
railings topped by twelve, curious looking stone heads (or terms).
Often referred to as the twelve Caesars or even the Apostles,
the bearded heads are actually anonymous.
Visitors to
the building can climb up to the white 'cupola' on top of the
roof where they will be rewarded with some of the finest views
of Oxford's famous spires and domes!
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Entrance in Radcliffe Square
Open: Monday to Saturday, 9am - 5pm (7pm Summer)
Sunday 12 noon - 5pm (7pm Summer)
Entry: Church free; Tower £1.60 adults, 80p children
Website: associnst.ox.ac.uk/st-marys
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Dating back to the 13th century, the University Church is one
of the oldest University buildings and housed the University
library until the 15th century. It was also a centre for
University ceremonials until this role was taken over by the
Sheldonian Theatre in 1669. The Church played a central part
in one of the less glorious episodes in Oxford's long history.
For it was here that Bishops Cramner, Latimer and Ridley were
put on trial during the persecution of protestants by Queen
Mary (aka 'Bloody Mary') before they were burned at the stake
in Broad Street in 1555 and 1556.
The tower is accessible via around 120 steps and affords
spectacular views of the city, in particular of Radcliffe
Square itself.
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Carfax
Open: 10am - 5.30pm (5pm in winter)
Entry £1.20 (Adults). 60p (Children)
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The centre of Oxford, where the four main entry roads into
Oxford meet, is called Carfax. Derived from the Latin
quadrifurcus meaning 'four forked', Carfax has been at the
centre of the city since its foundation in Saxon
times.
The tower dates from the 14th century and is all that
remains of St Martin's Church, which was demolished as part
of a road widening scheme in the 1890s. Two mechanical
quarterjacks dressed in military uniform strike each quarter
hour, but the tower is most famous for the splendid views of
Oxford afforded from the top, especially looking down the
High Street to Magdalen College tower and the countryside
beyond.
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Cornmarket Street.
Open: 10am - 4pm (5pm April - October)
Entry: £1.20 Adults, 60p Children.
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In Saxon times (c. 1040), Oxford was a walled
settlement. Protected by the River Thames to the south, entry
to the town was controlled by three gates at the remaining
points of the compass. Apart from the names (remembered in the
names of shopping centres, pubs and hotels), nothing today
remains of the West Gate and the East Gate. However, the Saxon
Tower of St. Michael in the North Gate is a survivor from this
period and claims to be Oxford's oldest building.
The tower was originally connected to
Bocardo Prison, situated above the old Northgate and once used
to imprison Oxford's martyred bishop's Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer. The
prison and the Northgate were demolished in 1771, but their
cell door can still be seen in the tower. Today, the tower
houses a treasury, a set of churchwarden's accounts from 1437
and a charter of 1612 bearing the seal of King James I. The
church itself boasts such illustrious visitors as William
Shakespeare, King Charles I, John Wesley and William Morris.
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