A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to secure a place on an evening tour of the Radcliffe Camera in Oxford. Just off the High Street, it is one of the iconic buildings that form part of the University of Oxford.
Built in 1737–49 to a design by James Gibb, it was originally intended to house the Radcliffe Science Library but in 1861 the science collections were moved to a separate building and the Radcliffe Camera became part of the Bodleian Library.
The tour started in the Old Schools Quadrangle where we were taken via the Proscholium up to Duke Humfrey’s Library, the oldest reading room in the Bodleian Library. It is named after Humphrey, 1st Duke of Gloucester, a younger son of Henry IV.
On his death, Humphrey bequeathed his collection of 281 books to the university. Sadly, during the Reformation, most of the Library’s books were destroyed in an effort to stamp out anything to do with Catholicism and only three of Humphrey’s original books remain.
On a personal note, it was a nostalgic visit for me because Duke Humfrey’s Library was where my small study was situated when I first started work at the Bodleian.
One of the photos shows the study and, if you look closely, you will see the bell rope attached to the large bell hung above the desk. This is rung a few minutes before closing time to alert readers that they must pack up and leave before the library is locked for the night. Other photos show the bays that house the books and desks for readers, and you can also see part of the elaborately painted ceiling.
If Duke Humfrey’s seems familiar to some of you, it is because it was the the location of Hogwarts Library in the Harry Potter films.
From Duke Humfrey’s we were taken downstairs and into the underground tunnel, known as the Gladstone Link, that connects the Bodleian to the Radcliffe Camera.
The Camera has a quite different feel, with its underground reading rooms and iron grilles, leading via an amazing staircase up to the main reading room.
The Radcliffe Camera is very rarely open to the public, so if you get the chance to join a tour grab it if you can.