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Clarendon Building is an early 18th-century neoclassical building of the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
. It is in Broad Street, Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, England, next to the Bodleian Library and the Sheldonian Theatre
Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the University at the time and the project's ...
and near the centre of the city. It was built between 1711 and 1715 and is now a Grade I listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
History
Until the early 18th century the printing presses of theOxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
(OUP) were in the basement of the Sheldonian Theatre
Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the University at the time and the project's ...
. This meant that the compositors could not work when the Theatre was in use for ceremonies. The University therefore commissioned a new building to house the OUP.
Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principa ...
produced a neoclassical design, construction started in 1711 and it was completed in 1715. The builder and sculptor was William Townesend
William Townesend of Oxford (1669–1739) was a 17th/ 18th century British sculptor, architect and builder associated with several important British buildings.
His masterpiece is the Radcliffe Library in Oxford, completed by his son.
Life
...
of Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
.
The building was funded largely from the proceeds of the commercially successful '' History of the Great Rebellion'' by the 1st Earl of Clarendon, whose legacy later paid for the building of the Clarendon Laboratory
The Clarendon Laboratory, located on Parks Road within the Science Area in Oxford, England (not to be confused with the Clarendon Building, also in Oxford), is part of the Department of Physics at Oxford University. It houses the atomic and ...
in Oxford as well.
In the 1820s, the OUP moved to new premises in Walton Street, after which the University used the Clarendon Building for administrative purposes. In 1975, the building was transferred to the Bodleian Library, for which it now provides office and meeting space for senior members of staff.
Student occupation
On 22 January 2009 student demonstrators occupied part of the Clarendon Building for seven hours, following similar protests at other UK universities. The demonstrators called for the University to condemn Israel's role in the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict and to cancel a lecture series atBalliol College
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...
inaugurated by Shimon Peres. The protestors ended their protest after an agreement with the Senior Proctor
Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another.
The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts:
* In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...
.
References
Further reading
* *External links
* {{Authority control Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford Grade I listed buildings in Oxford Grade I listed industrial buildings Grade I listed library buildings Industrial buildings completed in 1715 Nicholas Hawksmoor buildings Oxford University Press 1715 establishments in Great Britain Bodleian Library