Magdalen College

High Street 01865 276000
Open: 1pm to 6pm or dusk (whichever is the earlier), 12 noon to 7pm in Long Vacation (28 June to 2 Oct 2010). Closed: Thursday 23 December 2010 to Monday 3 January 2011, inclusive. Open on New Year's Day 1pm to dusk, free of charge.

Charges (inc. VAT): Adults £4.50; seniors, children, students £3.50. No charge for Bodleian card holders, residents of Oxford or holders of Oxford Alumni cards; and one guest in each case. Price includes leaflet, available in English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese.
Official Website

Whatever you do, do not pronounce this college "mag-da-lin" unless you want to blow your cover as a tourist - Magdalen College is pronounced "mawd-lin." Founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete, the bishop of Winchester, Magdalen is Oxfords wealthiest, and arguably most beautiful college, with its own deer park and beautiful cloisters, of whose gargoyles supposedly inspired CS Lewis' stone statues in The Chronicles of Narnia. On the far right of the grounds, a bright blue wrought iron gate leads to Addison's Walk, a pretty riverside path.

Notable Facts:

• Every May 1st (May Day) at 6am, the college choir sings from the top of Magdalen's bell tower. This tradition - to celebrate the coming of summer - began in the late 15th century. Nowadays, students and townspeople use it as an excuse to drink all night the night before and hurl themselves (sometimes naked) from Magdalen Bridge into the Cherwell river, which is only about 3 feet deep at best, causing all sorts of serious injuries.

Famous Attendees:
Oscar Wilde - author
Sir John Betjeman - poet laureate
Dudley Moore - actor
CS Lewis - author
J. Paul Getty - American Industrialist
T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia")
William Tyndale - Protestant reformer and Bible translator
Erwin Schrödinger - physicist
Andrew Lloyd Webber - composer
King Edward VII