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University buildings and colleges
The Bodleian Library is the university's main research library and occupies a complex of historic buildings that includes one of the great masterpieces of English gothic architecture, the Divinity School, completed in 1488 for the teaching of theology, as well as the Duke Humfrey Library, a medieval treasure house of rare books and manuscripts. The Bodleian houses over 7 million volumes, stored on over 180km (110 miles) of shelving. The Sheldonian Theatre, the first major work by Sir Christopher Wren, is used as the university's ceremonial hall and for concerts and public lectures. The University Church of St Mary the Virgin, built in 1280, is believed to be the oldest university building in the world.
In 1555-6 it was the scene of the heresy trials of the bishops Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer who were burnt at the stake in Broad Street (only to be commemorated with a Victorian memorial in St Giles later). Not all of the university colleges are available to the public (e.g. University College), but most are very welcoming. Most of them are open in the afternoons, often free of charge.
Christ Church is Oxford's largest college and home to England's smallest cathedral. The college's Memorial Gardens lead into Christ Church Meadow, which runs down to the rivers Thames to the South and Cherwell to the East. Magdalen College (pronounced ‘Maudlin') has a reputation as one of Oxford's most beautiful colleges, and rightly so. The famous Great Tower stands next to Magdalen Bridge (from where students jump into the river on May Day), and inside the college there are peaceful cloister gardens, riverside walks and a deer park where a herd of fallow deer has been kept for over 300 years. Merton College is one of the oldest colleges (possibly the very oldest) in Oxford. It has the oldest library in the country. It is situated on the picturesque Merton Street, which boasts some of Oxford's most beautiful architecture, including the colleges Merton and Corpus Christi and the grand Canterbury Gate entrance to Christ Church.
The Bodleian Library
Broad Street
Tel: (01865) 277 224.
Website: www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/history
The Sheldonian Theatre
Broad Street
Tel: (01865) 277 299.
Website: www.sheldon.ox.ac.uk
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin
High Street
Tel: (01865) 243 806.
Christ Church College
St Aldates
Tel: (01865) 276 150.
Website: www.chch.ox.ac.uk
Magdalen College
High Street
Tel: (01865) 276 000.
Website: www.magd.ox.ac.uk
Merton College
Merton Street
Tel: (01865) 276310.
Website: www.merton.ox.ac.uk
The University Museums
The Ashmolean Museum was established in 1683 and is the oldest public museum in the world. It houses the university's highly impressive collections of art, archeology and antiquities, which pretty much span human history from across the world. The History of Science Museum has a wide-ranging collection of historic scientific instruments (over 10,000 objects), and it is housed in the world's oldest surviving purpose-built museum building, the Old Ashmolean on Broad Street. The Natural History Museum has been called a ‘cathedral to nature', and it does have a vast collection of items from the natural world, with exhibits ranging from rocks and stones to dinosaurs and the remains of the extinct Mauritius dodo. With over one million objects in its possession, the Pitt Rivers Museum, founded in 1884 by General Pitt Rivers, covers the field of human anthropology comprehensively. The displays of amulets, masks, beads, pots, tools and weapons are housed in a splendid Victorian building. For anyone interested in music, the Bate Collection is a treasure trove. It is England's most comprehensive collection of European woodwind, brass and percussion instruments and has 1,500 exhibits.
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology
Beaumont Street
Tel: (01865) 278 000.
Website: www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk
The Museum of the History of Science
Broad Street
Tel: (01865) 277 280.
Website: www.mhs.ox.ac.uk
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Parks Road
Tel: (01865) 272 950.
Website: www.oum.ox.ac.uk
Pitt Rivers Museum
Parks Road
Tel: (01865) 270 927.
Website: www.prm.ox.ac.uk
The Bate Collection of Musical Instruments
Faculty of Music, St Aldate's
Tel: (01865) 270 944.
Website: www.bate.ox.ac.uk
The University of Oxford Botanic Garden
Founded in 1621, this is the oldest botanic garden in Britain. It is located by the River Cherwell near Magdalen Bridge and contains a national reference collection of 7,000 different types of plant. These are concentrated in a space of two hectares, which makes this botanic garden the most compact and diverse collection of plants in the world. There are three sections: the Glasshouses containing climate sensitive plants, the Walled Garden and the area outside the Walled Garden, which contains classic garden features such as a Water Garden and Rock.
Rose Lane
Tel: (01865) 286 690.
Website: www.botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk
Oxford Castle
Oxford's ‘hidden' castle is the city's oldest new quarter. Built in the 11th century, the walled site was a place of incarceration from 1071 until the closure of HM Prison in 1996. It is now open to the public for the first time, and it offers a dramatic visitor centre sharing secrets of the preaching, teaching, violence, executions and even romantic episodes played out here from Norman times to the grim days of the 18th-century prison established on the site. A new, attractive urban environment with a hotel, restaurants and bars has also been created.
44-46 Oxford Castle
Tel: (01865) 260 666.
Website: www.oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk
The Bodleian Library is the university's main research library and occupies a complex of historic buildings that includes one of the great masterpieces of English gothic architecture, the Divinity School, completed in 1488 for the teaching of theology, as well as the Duke Humfrey Library, a medieval treasure house of rare books and manuscripts. The Bodleian houses over 7 million volumes, stored on over 180km (110 miles) of shelving. The Sheldonian Theatre, the first major work by Sir Christopher Wren, is used as the university's ceremonial hall and for concerts and public lectures. The University Church of St Mary the Virgin, built in 1280, is believed to be the oldest university building in the world.
In 1555-6 it was the scene of the heresy trials of the bishops Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer who were burnt at the stake in Broad Street (only to be commemorated with a Victorian memorial in St Giles later). Not all of the university colleges are available to the public (e.g. University College), but most are very welcoming. Most of them are open in the afternoons, often free of charge.
Christ Church is Oxford's largest college and home to England's smallest cathedral. The college's Memorial Gardens lead into Christ Church Meadow, which runs down to the rivers Thames to the South and Cherwell to the East. Magdalen College (pronounced ‘Maudlin') has a reputation as one of Oxford's most beautiful colleges, and rightly so. The famous Great Tower stands next to Magdalen Bridge (from where students jump into the river on May Day), and inside the college there are peaceful cloister gardens, riverside walks and a deer park where a herd of fallow deer has been kept for over 300 years. Merton College is one of the oldest colleges (possibly the very oldest) in Oxford. It has the oldest library in the country. It is situated on the picturesque Merton Street, which boasts some of Oxford's most beautiful architecture, including the colleges Merton and Corpus Christi and the grand Canterbury Gate entrance to Christ Church.
The Bodleian Library
Broad Street
Tel: (01865) 277 224.
Website: www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/history
The Sheldonian Theatre
Broad Street
Tel: (01865) 277 299.
Website: www.sheldon.ox.ac.uk
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin
High Street
Tel: (01865) 243 806.
Christ Church College
St Aldates
Tel: (01865) 276 150.
Website: www.chch.ox.ac.uk
Magdalen College
High Street
Tel: (01865) 276 000.
Website: www.magd.ox.ac.uk
Merton College
Merton Street
Tel: (01865) 276310.
Website: www.merton.ox.ac.uk
The University Museums
The Ashmolean Museum was established in 1683 and is the oldest public museum in the world. It houses the university's highly impressive collections of art, archeology and antiquities, which pretty much span human history from across the world. The History of Science Museum has a wide-ranging collection of historic scientific instruments (over 10,000 objects), and it is housed in the world's oldest surviving purpose-built museum building, the Old Ashmolean on Broad Street. The Natural History Museum has been called a ‘cathedral to nature', and it does have a vast collection of items from the natural world, with exhibits ranging from rocks and stones to dinosaurs and the remains of the extinct Mauritius dodo. With over one million objects in its possession, the Pitt Rivers Museum, founded in 1884 by General Pitt Rivers, covers the field of human anthropology comprehensively. The displays of amulets, masks, beads, pots, tools and weapons are housed in a splendid Victorian building. For anyone interested in music, the Bate Collection is a treasure trove. It is England's most comprehensive collection of European woodwind, brass and percussion instruments and has 1,500 exhibits.
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology
Beaumont Street
Tel: (01865) 278 000.
Website: www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk
The Museum of the History of Science
Broad Street
Tel: (01865) 277 280.
Website: www.mhs.ox.ac.uk
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Parks Road
Tel: (01865) 272 950.
Website: www.oum.ox.ac.uk
Pitt Rivers Museum
Parks Road
Tel: (01865) 270 927.
Website: www.prm.ox.ac.uk
The Bate Collection of Musical Instruments
Faculty of Music, St Aldate's
Tel: (01865) 270 944.
Website: www.bate.ox.ac.uk
The University of Oxford Botanic Garden
Founded in 1621, this is the oldest botanic garden in Britain. It is located by the River Cherwell near Magdalen Bridge and contains a national reference collection of 7,000 different types of plant. These are concentrated in a space of two hectares, which makes this botanic garden the most compact and diverse collection of plants in the world. There are three sections: the Glasshouses containing climate sensitive plants, the Walled Garden and the area outside the Walled Garden, which contains classic garden features such as a Water Garden and Rock.
Rose Lane
Tel: (01865) 286 690.
Website: www.botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk
Oxford Castle
Oxford's ‘hidden' castle is the city's oldest new quarter. Built in the 11th century, the walled site was a place of incarceration from 1071 until the closure of HM Prison in 1996. It is now open to the public for the first time, and it offers a dramatic visitor centre sharing secrets of the preaching, teaching, violence, executions and even romantic episodes played out here from Norman times to the grim days of the 18th-century prison established on the site. A new, attractive urban environment with a hotel, restaurants and bars has also been created.
44-46 Oxford Castle
Tel: (01865) 260 666.
Website: www.oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk
