I recently had the opportunity to take the extended tour of the Bodleian Library. My husband and I met the other tour members and our guide in the lovely Divinity School. The guide quickly whisked us out of the room (we would return later), and led us upstairs to begin the tour. At first I was unsure about our guide - an older woman who took a few minutes to hit her stride. I had a feeling it was going to be a very long afternoon. But then something clicked, and this tour guide began to tell anecdote after anecdote, and knew every date of the library's very long history, which she relayed without missing a beat - and somehow kept it from being even remotely dull. Suddenly I was engrossed and hung on her every word, following as close to her as a little duckling would its mother, so as to not miss a word uttered by this soft spoken wonder.
The guide walked us around the various rooms upstairs - rooms which are not often seen by the public and which are extraordinarily beautiful. One of the rooms was the Duke Humfrey's Library (see photo), which we learned didn't have electric light until fairly recently.
Once the upstairs was exhausted, we were led to the Divinity School once again, then onto Convocation House, where we learned about the architecture and history of those rooms. After that, it was out onto the quad, then across the cobble stones to the Radcliffe Camera - a building I have always wanted to see the inside of. We were led around the Radcliffe Camera, which is smaller inside than I expected, or so I thought until we were led underground. There are miles and miles of shelves underground which stretch underneath the Bodleian and across to the far side of Broad Street. It was a Sunday, so the conveyors which ferry the books around were turned off. I counted that as a blessing because I feared they would be quite loud and it would be even harder to hear my guide.
The tour lasted about 1.5 hours, but it felt very quick. In fact, I lingered around the Bodleian shop for quite a while afterwards, soaking in the ambiance and the information I had just learned. I felt very privileged and special to have seen the inside of the Bodleian Library, and I felt a bit foolish for not knowing these tours existed and that I could have done this years ago.
I highly recommend the tours for both locals who don't get the opportunity to see the inside of the Bod, and for tourists looking to see beautiful Oxford architecture and learn a bit of history.
Tour Information:
Visit the Bodleian Library: Experience and Enjoy, Explore and Discover
Welcome! Enter through the Great Gate, into the Old Schools Quadrangle with its monumental Tower of the Five Orders of Architecture. Come and see the Divinity School, a masterpiece of English Gothic architecture and the University’s oldest teaching room. Whether you opt for a self timed visit to the Divinity School or you choose to see the room as part of a multi language audio tour, there’s plenty of time to marvel at the School’s beautiful carved stone ceiling, and to explore the ancient architecture of the external quadrangles.
Behind the Scenes: If you would like to see more, why not take a guided tour, led by one of our professional guides?
• Mini tours
Mini tours allow you to view the most beautiful parts of the library, the Divinity School and Duke Humfrey’s Library, in just 30 minutes.
• Standard tours
60 Minute tours include a visit to Duke Humfrey’s library, still in use today, where generations of famous scholars have studied through the ages, amongst them 5 kings, 40 Nobel Prize winners, 25 British Prime Ministers and writers including Oscar Wilde, C S Lewis and JRR Tolkien. You will also see the Divinity School and 17th century Convocation House and Court, where Parliament was held in the Civil War.
• Extended tours
If you select a 90 minute extended tour you will see all areas mentioned above plus reading rooms in the architectural icon of Oxford, the Radcliffe Camera, the first rotunda library built in Britain. You will also be shown the hidden tunnels and passages leading to the book stacks, where millions of volumes are shelved.
Children
Thomas Bodley’s History Trail will appeal to younger visitors exploring the ground floor rooms and quadrangles. Children over the age of 11 are welcome to join the guided tours.
Visitor information and booking information
Daily admission to the Divinity School.
Daily multi language audio tours.
(Note: Audio tours do not include visits to the reading rooms, but do include access to the Divinity School.)
Daily 30 minute and 60 minute walk in tours are available on a first come first served basis. (Advance group bookings taken.)
Extended 90 minute walk in tours at most weekends. (Advance booking strongly recommended for individuals. Advance group bookings taken.)
During 2010 the extended tour will include the underground tunnels and passages leading to the book stacks, where millions of volumes are shelved. This is a limited opportunity, available until the tunnels close for the refurbishment of the New Bodleian Library at the end of the year.
Brief description
• Divinity School visit (No guide. Duration: self timed)
• Audio tours (Self guided. Duration 40 minutes)
• Mini tours (Led by a guide. Duration 30 minutes) - Divinity School and Duke Humfrey’s Library
• Standard tours (Led by a guide. Duration 60 minutes) - Divinity School, Convocation House, Chancellor’s Court, Duke Humfrey’s Library, Old Schools Quadrangle.
• Extended tours (Led by a guide. Duration 90 minutes) - All of the above standard tour plus additional working areas of the library, including the Radcliffe Camera, the tunnels and passages leading to the book stacks.
30 minute and 60 minute walk in tours are offered daily, 90 minute walk in tours at most weekends. Group visits require a prior reservation.
Please note that because the Bodleian is a working library, the content of tours may alter and certain of the areas listed may be omitted.
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Contact details: Bodleian Library, Broad Street, OX1 3BG Oxford
• For opening times, ticket prices, contact details and directions, see http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk or call the Historic Venues Team at 01235 277224
For further reference see:
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/visitors
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/exhibitions/forthcoming_events
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/docs/historybodleian.pdf
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/buildings/new_bodleian