Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Ashmolean
MUSEUM This oft-overlooked history museum contains
some real gems, not least the
Alfred Jewel,
a rare Anglo-Saxon gold ornament, dating
from the late 9th century, adorned with the words “Alfred ordered me made” (in Old
English). There's also some high-quality paintings from the Italian Renaissance
(Raphael and Michelangelo among them), a large ancient-Egypt section, and some
rare Asian ceramics and sculptures. An extensive renovation was completed in 2009,
providing five floors and 39 new galleries. The museum was formally created in 1908,
but traces its roots back to a collection that was started in the 1620s. The rooftop
restaurant, the Ashmolean Dining Room, is a great place for a bite after a visit.
Beaumont St. at St. Giles.
&
01865/278002.
www.ashmolean.org. Free admission. Tues-Sun 10am-
6pm. Closed Dec 24-26.
Bodleian Library
LIBRARY This famed library was established in 1602,
initially funded by Sir Thomas Bodley, and today is a complex of several buildings in
the heart of Oxford. Over the years, it has expanded from the Old Library on Catte
Street and now includes the iconic Radcliffe Camera next door. The Bodleian is
home to an astonishing 50,000 manuscripts and more than 11 million topics (includ-
ing a rare Gutenberg Bible). You can enter the Exhibition Room and wander the
quadrangles of these handsome structures for free, but to get a better understanding
of their history take a tour of the interior. Standard tours (1 hr.) start with the Univer-
sity's oldest teaching and examination room, the Divinity School (completed in 1488),
and include Duke Humfrey's medieval library. Purchase tickets in the lodge on the
right-hand side of the Great Gate on Catte Street. The highly recommended
extended tours also include the Old Library and Radcliffe Camera (90 min.). These
tours normally run every Sunday at 11:15am and 1:15pm, most Saturdays at 10am,
and most Wednesdays at 9:30am.
Catte St.
&
01865/277182.
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Admission £1 Divinity School only; £6.50 (standard
tour) or £4.50 for mini-tour (30 min.); £13 (extended tour). Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; Sat 9am-4:30pm; Sun
11am-5pm. Closed Dec 24-Jan 3. Call to confirm specific tour times.
Carfax Tower
CHURCH For a bird's-eye view of the city and colleges, climb
the 99 steps up this 23-m (75-ft.) Gothic church tower in the center of town. This
structure is distinguished by its clock and figures that strike on the quarter-hour.
Carfax Tower is all that remains of St. Martin's Church, which stood on this site from
1032 until 1896, when most of it was demolished to accommodate a wider road. The
tower used to be higher, but after 1340 it was lowered, following complaints from the
university to Edward III that townspeople threw stones and fired arrows at students
during town-and-gown disputes. Look for the church clock, adorned by two “quarter
boys” who hit the bells at every quarter of the hour.
Carfax, Queen St., at the end of High St.
&
01865/790522.
www.citysightseeingoxford.com. Admis-
sion £2.20 adults, £1.10 children 15 and under. Children 4 and under are not admitted. Daily 10am-
5:30pm. Closed Dec 24-Jan 1.
Christ Church
CHURCH Nothing quite matches the beauty and grandeur
of Christ Church, one of the most prestigious and the largest of Oxford colleges.
Christ Church has a well-deserved reputation for exclusivity, wealth, and power: It
has produced 13 British prime ministers, including William Gladstone, with other
alumni including John Locke, John Wesley, William Penn, W. H. Auden, and Lewis
Carroll. Even today it's unofficially known by the rather supercilious nickname “the
House”; the college chapel, which dates from the 12th century, also serves as Oxford
5
