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01 Jul 2009 (archived)

Bodleian Library: signed tours for deaf and hearing impaired

The Bodleian Library is offering signed tours on Friday 24 July at 3pm and Tuesday 27 October 2009 at 3pm.

This tour shows you the interior of the buildings that form the historic heart of the University. Your guide will describe the wonderful architecture, explaining how the University and Library came into being in the Middle Ages and how the buildings and collections have developed over the centuries.

Explore the Divinity School, built in 1488 for the teaching of theology. With its elaborately vaulted ceiling and its 455 carved bosses, it is a masterpiece of English Gothic architecture. Take a look in the 17^th century Convocation House and Court, where Parliament was held in the Civil War.

Visit Duke Humfrey's medieval library, still in use today, where generations of famous scholars have studied through the ages. These former readers, or users of the Library, include five kings, 40 Nobel Prize winners, 25 British Prime Ministers and writers such as Oscar Wilde, C S Lewis and J R R Tolkien.

The tour lasts approximately one hour. Please note that guided tours include a number of stairs and a substantial amount of walking. Tickets cost £3 per person and £3 for carers. Booking is essential.

For further information and booking, please contact the Historic Venues Team on 01865 277224 or email tours@bodley.ox.ac.uk

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