Exploring Oxford: Jesus & Queen's

I think it's high time I shared some more snaps of lovely Oxford!

First up: Jesus, aka Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation, was founded in 1571 and is the only Elizabethan College in Oxford.

 

 

 

I visited Jesus for free during the annual Oxford Open Doors festival (as you may have gathered from my Oxford posts, I'm a big fan of Oxford Open Doors), but you normally have to pay to visit.

 

Founded to educate future clergymen, and has a great history of being attended and run by Welshmen - though apparently there are no records of how much Welsh was spoken in college: "Official college records were mainly written in Latin; while the College statutes, effective from 1622, forbade public conversation, in class, hall and even the quadrangles, in any language but Latin, Greek or Hebrew."

 

I most associate Jesus College with the novel Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers - in which there's a subplot where a young man from Jesus becomes smitten with the main character, Harriet Vane. His name is not Jones, but another character refers to him as "Mr Jones of Jesus" which makes so much more sense now oh my goodness ("Who are you calling a bloody Welshman", snarled the young man, much exasperated "My name's Pomfret")

The college still has strong connections to Wales, and lots of Welsh students. You can find lots more info about the history of the College here, and take a virtual tour here.

Queen's, aka The Queen's College is a few centuries older than Jesus. You might think from the name that it had been renamed after Queen Elizabeth I during her reign, but in fact it was founded as Queen's in 1341, in honour of Queen Philippa (wife of King Edward III).

 

All the medieval buildings at Queen's were replaced in the 1700s, so the whole college is now Baroque in style and extremely grand. Just as Jesus was filled with Welsh students, so Queen's was filled with students from the North-West of England.

 

 

 

Apparently it's the fifth-wealthiest college in the University! Queen's is free to visit, but usually only by appointment as part of a tour group, so I was really glad to get a chance to look round during Oxford Open Doors.

 

You can learn more about the history of Queen's College and its architecture here, or take a virtual tour here (the tour even includes a typical student bedroom... though sadly an unoccupied one!).

Want to explore some more of Oxford's beautiful buildings? Click here to read all my posts about the city, or click here to browse my entire travel archive.

Exploring Oxford: Hertford College & the Sheldonian Theatre

My virtual tour of Oxford continues!

Today I'm sharing pics from my visits to the Sheldonian Theatre - which you can climb to the top of for fabulous views like these - and nearby Hertford College.

 

The Sheldonian was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, built in the 1600s and named after the very wealthy guy at the university who paid for most of it (Gilbert Sheldon). 

 

The Sheldonian Theatre is the official ceremonial hall of Oxford University, so it's the building where you receive your degree when you graduate and where a whole bunch of other University events are held throughout the year. It's also used for music recitals and other events which are open to anyone who buys a ticket.

The theatre's ceiling is pretty spectacular:

The ceiling was painted during the rein of Charles II, and apparently depicts "Truth descending upon the Arts and Sciences and expelling ignorance from the University".

The main attraction though (in my opinion, at any rate) is the fact that you can climb up to the attic then into the cupola at the very top of the building for 360 degree views of central Oxford. 

I love climbing up towers and things to get an overview of a city! There are other places in Oxford to get good birds' eye views (like Carfax Tower, which I blogged about earlier this year) but I think this one is my favourite - those ornamental rooftops are just so gorgeous.

I visited the Sheldonian for free during Oxford Open Doors one year so there was quite a long wait to get up to the cupola, but it was totally worth it for those views. There are also informational boards in the attic about the architecture and history of the building to keep you entertained on your way up.

Near the Sheldonian - and just visible from its cupola - is Hertford College. Hertford is usually closed to the general public (unlike many of the other colleges, which you can visit for free or a small fee) so it was a real treat to be able to visit it as part of the Oxford Open Doors festival.

Hertford has a complicated history! It started out life as Hart Hall in the late 1200s and expanded to become a full college (Hertford College) in the 1700s. The college was then dissolved in 1816 and the buildings were taken over by Magdalen Hall. This then became a college in 1874 but since Magdalen College already existed, they called it Hertford College instead.

 

Even if you've never heard of Hertford, you'll probably recognise its most famous bit of architecture: the Bridge of Sighs, which was built in 1913 to link the old and new quads of the College together.

 

Sadly the open day didn't include a chance to walk across the bridge, but it was still delightful to get a peek inside another of Oxford's colleges...

... particularly one with such a striking spiral staircase!

Want to explore more of Oxford and its colleges? Click here to read all my posts about the city, including Exeter college, Carfax Tower, and Magdalen College.

Click here to browse my full archive of travel posts. 

Exploring Oxford: Exeter College

Time to explore another bit of beautiful Oxford...

I've already shown you two of the University's Colleges (Magdalen and Oriel), but if you've ever been to the city you'll know there's plenty still to go!

Today I'm sharing some photos of Exeter, whose former students include J. R. R. Tolkien, Philip Pullman and William Morris. Apparently William Morris hated the college and his course but he fell in love with the architecture and history of Oxford's many medieval buildings, and Exeter was also where he met his great friend and creative collaborator Edward Burne-Jones.

Exeter is Oxford's fourth-oldest college. It was founded in 1314 by a Bishop who wanted to educate clergy for his diocese (no prizes for guessing what city he was Bishop of!). Little of the medieval college remains, however, as the small college expanded in the 16- and 1700s, and a new chapel was built in the 1850s.

I loved this stained glass (which I think was in the dining hall?)...

 

... and the chapel's little spire.

 

There are beautiful details everywhere you look in the chapel, from the ornate entrance...

... to the carving on the walls...

... to the colourful stained glass.

Isn't it a gorgeous space?

Outside I was enchanted by all the greenery climbing its way up the buildings of the college.

This window was particularly delightful - though I guess you might not think so if this was your room!

The year I visited Exeter they'd opened up the Fellows' Garden for Oxford Open Doors, an annual festival which gives you free access to lots of the historic buildings in Oxford and a peek at lots of places that aren't normally open to the public.

It's always a treat to get to explore a space you wouldn't normally have access to, but especially when it's one as lovely as this. 

The main attraction in the Fellows' Garden isn't the garden itself, though, it's the view! From the far corner of the garden you get a truly fabulous view of Oxford's famous Radcliffe Square and the Radcliffe Camera.

Whenever I return to Oxford now and walk through Radcliffe Square, I can't help looking up at the wall of Exeter's Fellows' Garden and remembering my visit.

Exeter College is free to visit on most afternoons - click here for a full list of the Colleges and their visitor info.

Want to explore more of Oxford? Click here to read all my posts!