Nice and Tidy Libraries

I felt like I should have worn a jacket and tie today because the libraries were so elegant. They are the sort of places one sees in films about Victorian students when they have their clandestine meeting at the library study tables to plot their revenge against the malevolent upperclassmen. Tall tall tall shelves stretching up to plastered ceilings. Busts of noteworthy deans scowling down from the cornices. Acres of leather-bound volumes stretching into the distance.

Our first stop was the 18th century Oriel College library, which houses the personal collection of Lord Leigh of Stoneleigh. Oriel's original library was a single 900 square foot room housing approximately 98 books, but James Wyatt designed the current building to accommodate Leigh's books.



The collection is still organized as it was originally in Leigh's country house, by general subject but with no formal classification system. The shelflist helps the librarian find volumes, but the books are still not in the Oxford online catalog. An electrical fire started in the roof in 1949, which destroyed over 300 books, but the roof was repaired within a year, and the ironic announcement proclaimed that the library was once again open for smoking.

Not far away, the Codrington library at All Souls College contains books dating from the college's medieval foundation up through the present day. While the college retains fellows and lecturers visit from elsewhere, there are no students other than visitors who come to hear lectures, which makes the library unique in that it is a research resource for the entire university. Inside the library building, constructed in the early 18th century, is allegedly the longest room in Europe.



The library recently underwent a complete renovation, which meant that the librarians had to remove all 185 thousand books, carefully note where they belonged on the shelves, properly store them, and return them each to their places. The amazing part is that this was all done in the space of a year. There aren't many pictures to go with this post because Photography is prohibited inside Codrington, which is just as well since my battery is almost dead.

After such a posh morning, it was time to get medieval--well, early modern if you want to be technical.

We toured Christ Church college and Cathedral, taking in spectacular architecture, stained glass, a collection of oil paintings and sketches from significant European artists, and the school's dining hall. "What's so special about the dining hall?" you may ask. If you have seen any of the Harry Potter films, you've seen the Christ Church dining hall.



However, it's barely recognizable in the films because it has been digitally altered to appear larger, and of course it has an enchanted ceiling that looks very different from the hammerbeam construction in the real hall.

Some of the school's other famous connections are to its founder King Henry VIII, and Charles Dodgson--better known as Lewis Carroll--who taught mathematics at the college. Traces of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland can be found around the college.