Christ Church

Performance Spaces

Overview

History

Bibliographic Sources

Events
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17th c. view
Gatehouse
Hall exterior
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Venue Type & Location

College

Site Name: Christ Church
Location: Oxford
County: Oxfordshire
Location Type: Town - in town at determined location
http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/

Performance Spaces

Hall

Overview

Christ Church, Oxford's largest college, is situated on the E side of St Aldate's Street, just S of the High Street intersection, bounded by Christ Church Meadow and the Rivers Cherwell and Isis. The buildings are made from local Oxfordshire limestone.

The upper storey 16th c. hall occupies the S side of Tom Quad. The kitchen is immediately S of the hall and also dates from Wolsey's original building period.

Performance History

Only a handful of performances by professional entertainers are recorded at Christ Church in the 16th c.

Current Status

The buildings continue in use as Christ Church.

History of the Venue

1525 Cardinal Wolsey founded Cardinal College on the site of the suppressed priory of St Frideswide.

1529 Fall of Wolsey. The college became the property of Henry VIII. S side of the quad, the hall, half the W and E sides and the lower gate tower were complete, built by the royal master masons, John Lubbyns and Henry Redmayne.

1532 Refounded by Henry VIII as King Henry VIII College. The church of St Frideswide became the college chapel and the monastic buildings were converted for college use.

1546 Christ Church founded by Henry VIII, incorporating Cardinal and Canterbury Colleges. The chapel and former priory church became the cathedral church of the diocese of Oxford, newly created in 1542.

ca. 1640 Smith (under direction of Dr Fell) built the beautiful vaulted approach of the great staircase to the hall.

1642--6 Charles I occupied the college.

1660--8 Tom Quad completed with the addition of the N range.

late 17th c. Chaplain's Quadrangle restored after 1 range destroyed by fire.

1681--2 Christopher Wren rebuilt and completed the gate tower, also known as Tom Tower.

1706--11 Peckwater Quadrangle built.

1717--72 Christ Church Library, designed by Dr. George Clark of All Souls, completed.

1720 Tudor louvre and part of the hall roof destroyed by fire; only the roof was restored. The rooms beneath the hall were remodelled at the same time.

1766 Anatomy School (now the Chemical Laboratory) built, from Henry Keene's design.

1773--8 Canterbury Quadrangle built, replacing the old medieval Canterbury College buildings.

1805 New 2-flight staircase leading up to the hall designed by Wyatt.

1809 S side of Canterbury Quad gutted by fire.

1862--5 Meadow Building erected; S and part of the E ranges of Chaplain's Quad demolished.

1876--8 Great Quad restored.

1910--12 W front of college refaced.

Record Source

REED Oxford 1.70, 168, 211

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • Alton, R.E. 'The Academic Drama in Oxford: extracts from the Records of four Colleges.' Malone Society Collections 5 (1959): 29–95.
  • Ayliffe, John. The Ancient and Present State of the University of Oxford. 2 vols. London: Printed for W. Mears & J. Hooke, 1723.
  • Batey, Mavis, and Catherine Cole. 'The Great Staircase Tower at Christ Church.' Oxoniensia 53 (1988): 211–20.
  • Boas, F.S., and W.W. Greg. 'James I at Oxford in 1605. Property Lists from the University Archives.' Malone Society Collections 1 pt 3 (1909): 247–59.
  • Boase, Charles W. Oxford. Historic Towns. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1890.
  • Colvin, Howard. Unbuilt Oxford. New Haven: Yale UP, 1983.
  • Crotchet, Dotted. 'A Visit to Christ Church, Oxford.' The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular 43 (1 Aug. 1902): 513–22.
  • Elliott, John R., Jr., and Alan H. Nelson (University); Alexandra F. Johnston and Diana Wyatt (City), eds. Oxford. Records of Early English Drama (REED). 2 vols. London; Toronto: The British Library; U of Toronto P, 2004.
  • Hibbert, Christopher and Edward, eds. The Encyclopaedia of Oxford. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan London Ltd., 1988.
  • Hiscock, W.G. A Christ Church Miscellany. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1946.
  • Loggan, David. Oxonia illustrata, sive, omnium celeberrimae istius universitatis, collegiorum, aularum, bibliothecae Bodleianae, scholarum publicarum, theatri Sheldoniani, nec non urbis totius scenographia. Oxford: e Theatro Sheldoniano, 1675.
  • Lyte, H.C. Maxwell. A History of the University of Oxford from the Earliest Times to the year 1530. London: MacMillan & Co., 1886.
  • McConica, James, ed. The Collegiate University. The History of the University of Oxford. vol 3. Oxford: Clarendon P, 1986.
  • McMillin, Scott, and Sally-Beth MacLean. The Queen's Men and their Plays. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998.
  • New, Edmund H., E.G. Withycombe and Gilbert Murray. The New Loggan Guide to Oxford Colleges. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1932.
  • Orrell, John. The Theatres of Inigo Jones and John Webb. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1985.
  • Orrell, John. 'The Theatre at Christ Church, Oxford, in 1605.' Shakespeare Survey 35 (2002): 129–40.
  • Orrell, John. The Human Stage: English Theatre Design, 1567–1640. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1988.
  • Pechell, John. The History of the University of Oxford, from the death of William the Conqueror, to the demise of Queen Elizabeth. Oxford: Printed by W. Jackson & J. Lister, for J. & F. Rivington, 1773.
  • Petter, Helen M. The Oxford Almanack. New York: Oxford UP, 1946.
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, and Jennifer Sherwood. Oxfordshire. 1974. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1999.
  • Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of Oxford. London: HMSO, 1939.
  • Salter, H.E., and Mary D. Lobel. A History of the County of Oxford: The University of Oxford. The Victoria History of the Counties of England. vol 3. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1954.
  • Speed, John. Map of Oxford. 10/27/2008 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:John_Speed%27s_map_of_Oxford,_1605.jpg)
  • Sturdy, David. Historic Oxford. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus, 2004.
  • Thompson, Henry L. Christ Church. University of Oxford College Histories. London: F.E. Robinson & Co., 1900.
  • Woolley, A.R. Oxford University and City. London: Art and Technics Ltd, 1951.