Photos: Andrew Gray, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Diliff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Julian Herzog (Website), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo credits
Photos: Andrew Gray, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Diliff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Julian Herzog (Website), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Inside the Bodleian's Old Schools Quadrangle
Your local guide
Helen Barrow
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Highlights
- A gate tower's stacked classical orders
- Old subject doorways around a courtyard
- A mediaeval hall's fan vaulting
- How the university actually worked
- Thirty years of insider detail
About this tour
This session walks the Old Schools Quadrangle, the working heart of the university before the more famous reading room next door was even built. It covers the tower's stacked classical orders, the old subject doorways around the courtyard and the Divinity School at its edge. Thirty years working inside these buildings shapes every stop along the way.
We start at the gate tower with a look at its architecture, then move around the quadrangle stopping at doorways that catch the light well on camera. Questions about specific faculties or old teaching practices come up steadily, and I answer with detail most visitors do not expect. I finish outside the Divinity School with a note on its surviving mediaeval features.
It suits anyone with a genuine interest in how the university actually functioned centuries ago. It also suits repeat visitors who have already seen the famous reading room and want the fuller story around it.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
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Welcome and sound check 7 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Oxford before heading out.
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Tower of the Five Orders 21 min
The camera holds on the gate tower's stacked columns, and I explain how each level was built in a different classical style to show off the full range architects of the time knew.
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Schools' doorways 21 min
Walking the quadrangle's edge, you see the painted doorways once labelled for individual subjects taught there, and I point out which faculties have long since moved elsewhere.
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Divinity School exterior 21 min
The route ends outside the Divinity School's fan-vaulted hall, and I explain why it is considered one of the finest surviving mediaeval university rooms in England.
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Your questions 14 min
Time to ask anything about Oxford: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
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A short list to keep 6 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Oxford marmalade and Jericho, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in London time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 8 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Oxford, showing you Tower of the Five Orders and Schools' doorways live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
Do I need to know the history already?
No background needed. The guide explains everything as it comes up.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We connect on a video call in the quadrangle itself, and I keep the phone steady on each doorway as I explain what it once housed.
Times shown in London time (GMT)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
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Next: Mon 2 Nov · 8 seats left From 31,00 €
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