Clarendon Building is an early 18th-century neoclassical building of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

. 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 Un ...

, England, next to the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

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' ...

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 Ire ...

History

Until the early 18th century the printing presses of the

Oxford 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 book ...

(OUP) were in the basement of the

. 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 princip ...

produced a neoclassical design, construction started in 1711 and it was completed in 1715. The builder and sculptor was William Townesend of

. 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 in Oxford as well. In the 1820s, the OUP moved to new premises in

Walton Street Walton Street may refer to: * Walton Street, Oxford * Walton Street, London Walton Street is a street within central London's Chelsea district, bordering Knightsbridge. It runs south-west to north-east from Draycott Avenue to Walton Place, paral ...

, after which the University used the Clarendon Building for administrative purposes. In 1975, the building was transferred to the

, 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 at

Balliol 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 th ...

inaugurated by

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

. The protestors ended their protest after an agreement with the Senior Proctor.

References

Oxford - Bodleian Library - entrance building

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

History

Student occupation

References

Further reading

External links