St John's College, St Giles, Oxford. Open daily. Free admission.

Details

Accessibility:

Parking is extremely limited near to the college but there are car parks within Oxford city centre. Detailed information on all of these car parks and their current Blue Badge concessions can be found here: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/directory/8/car_parks_in_oxford/category/53/categoryInfo/10

The following public toilets have disability facilities: Market Street Public Toilets (SP513063); Gloucester Green Public Toilets (SP510063); Oxpens Public Toilets (SP507058). There are also other public toilets in the town centre, but they do not have disability facilities.

The entrance to the Front Quad is via a small door within a large double door on St Giles’. There is a 6” step at the threshold. The entrance to the Kendrew Quadrangle is 200 yards/metres north on St Giles’.

The outside areas within the site are generally flat and level, with level access between the different quads. The chapel is also flat and level with a wide nave.

Oxford city has a Shopmobility service which is accessed from within the car park for the Westgate shopping centre (OX1 1TR). The car park itself has 50 disability parking spaces, which are located close to the lobby area. Scooters and wheelchairs can be hired free of charge from the Shopmobility office, which can be booked over the telephone on 01865 263600 (Mon-Fri: 8am-5pm). Further information can be requested via email: westgate.oxford@landsec.com.

Brief Description:

Founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White who bought the buildings - originally St Bernard’s Cistercian college - from Henry VIII’s Christ Church following The Dissolution. The buildings around the site cover every era from the 16^th century to the present day.

Further Information:

Address:

St John's College, St Giles', Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3JP

Telephone:

01865 277300

Email:

N/A

Website:

https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/

Opening Hours:

Areas open to the public - Front Quad, Canterbury Quad, the Chapel and Kendrew Quad

13.00-17.00 or dusk, whichever is earliest.

Free admission.

On rare occasions parts of the college may be closed off. Please call in advance to avoid disappointment.

Directions:

The college is in the centre of Oxford and can be tricky to get to by car. From the M40 J8a take the A40 west towards Oxford for 5 miles. At the roundabout continue straight to take the London Road/A420 for a further 2.5 miles. At the roundabout, take the 4th exit (past the pillared monument in the middle of the road) onto The Plain/A420 for around 400 yards/metres then turn right onto Longwall Street. Longwall Street turns slightly right and becomes St Cross Road. Turn left onto South Parks Road then, at the T-junction, turn right onto Parks Road. Continue to the end (around 500 yards/metres) and turn left onto Banbury Road. This turns into St Giles’ after 200 yards/metres and the entrance to Kendrew Quad can be seen on the left.  Continue south for another 200 yards/metres and you will see the entrance to Front Quad on the left.

OS SP 51244 06636

Transport

Oxford is a very old city and travelling by car can be a problem. However, there is an excellent pubic transport system, which you can find further details of here: http://www.oxfordcityguide.com/oxford-tourist-information/getting-around-oxford

There are six Park & Ride sites located around Oxford's ring road; Bicester, Oxford Parkway and Pear Tree to the North, Thornhill to the East, Redbridge to the South and Seacourt to the West. The parking and bus into town are charged separately and there are no concessions for Blue Badge drivers. Each Park & Ride also has EV charge points for electric car drivers. Further details of the locations and charges can be found here: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/directory/8/car_parks_in_oxford/category/56/categoryInfo/13

The main bus services in Oxford are run by the Oxford Bus Company, Stagecoach Oxfordshire and Thames Travel. The services run throughout the city as well as the surrounding villages. Further details can be found on the following websites: https://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/, https://www.stagecoachbus.com/about/oxfordshire and https://www.thames-travel.co.uk/.

Oxford’s main railway station is located on the west side of the city centre with bus stops and taxi ranks just outside. There are frequent services to/from London Paddington, London Marylebone and Birmingham New Street. Details of the station can be found here: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/OXF/details.html. For ticket information you can telephone National Rail on 03457 484 950.

Amenities:

There are no amenities on site, but there are cafes, coffee shops, public houses, restaurants and shops to cater for any taste within Oxford town centre.