The Bod – Duke Humfrey’s medieval hall, the Radcliffe Camera’s dome, and an oath readers have sworn since 1602 not to kindle flame therein.
At a glance
- Type
- University library system
- Period
- Duke Humfrey’s 1488; Bodley’s refounding 1602; Camera 1749
- Style
- Gothic, Jacobean, English Palladian (Camera)
- Location
- Oxford, United Kingdom
- Coordinates
- 51.7544, -1.2540
- Holdings
- 13+ million items; legal deposit since 1610
Overview
The Bodleian gathers Oxford’s reading centuries: Duke Humfrey’s painted-ceiling medieval hall (Hogwarts’ library to film pilgrims), the Schools Quadrangle’s Jacobean tower of the five orders, and Gibbs’ Radcliffe Camera – England’s first round library – domed over the square scholars cross like a stage. Bodley’s 1602 refounding and the 1610 Stationers’ agreement (every English book deposited) built the empire of 13 million items.
History
Readers still swear the oath – no fire, no removal; Charles I was refused a loan (precedent prized). Shelley’s notebooks, Tolkien’s drafts, four Magna Cartas, and a Gutenberg sit the vaults; the Weston building’s 2015 renewal opened treasures to display. The Camera’s underground bookstore tunnels join the quadrangles beneath tourists’ feet.
Architecture and Design
Duke Humfrey’s 15th-century roof bosses spell benefaction; the Divinity School’s fan vault beneath – England’s finest room of its century – served exams and Harry Potter’s infirmary alike. Gibbs’ Camera drum taught the round-library type worldwide.
Cultural significance
The Bod is anglophone scholarship’s memory palace – legal deposit’s eldest line, fiction’s favourite library – and Oxford’s architectural heart with the Camera its icon.
Visiting today
Tours enter Duke Humfrey’s and the Divinity School daily (book ahead); the Camera admits readers only – its exterior is the photograph. Weston’s exhibitions are free.
Getting there
Oxford station walks in fifteen minutes through the colleges; the square hides between Broad and High streets.
Sources and resources
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →📷 Become a Cultural Heritage Online photographer
Share your photos of places: they stay published under your name as the author. The more they're seen, the more you get noticed — and soon a contest will reward the most appreciated photos.
Log in or sign up free to add a photoIs this page about you?
This page is read by travellers and heritage enthusiasts who find it on Google. Tell us how you are connected to this place and we will take it from there.