Radcliffe Camera

A Quick Introduction• Radcliffe Camera completed

in 1748 and inaugurated in 1749

• Its architecture features– Corinthian columns– Gothic towers of St. Mary’s

and All Souls and– Slender dome and lantern

• The room inside the dome has been decorated with white stucco

• The “dome gathers the surrounding spires and towers together like a hen with her chicks”

– Sir John Betjeman

A Quick Introduction• A gallery runs all round the

massive arcades, and the bookcases fill the walls of the covered walk

• The attic storey contains balustrades and buttresses and the floor has a rusticated look

• Sir John Radcliffe was the main benefactor, and he made his fortune in London as a physician treating high-society hypochondriacs

• He is remembered for his philanthropy rather than his medical achievements

The Architecture

Architecture Past and Present• The architect James Gibbs wanted

to build three rectangular buildings • The circular form was chosen to

save space in Radcliffe Square• Gibbs directed and supervised by

visiting the site four times per year• The foundation-stone was laid for

the new library in 1737 in the presence of the Vice-Chancellor and senior members of the university

• It no longer exists today but there is a tablet in the north wall where the present steps and doorway were constructed in 1863

Dome diagram with stonework

Construction History• The construction had several

delays including:– The deaths of the appointed

masons Francis Smith of Warwick in 1738 and William Townesend of Oxford in 1739

– An outbreak of small-pox in 1740– A substitution of materials for the

dome in 1741 that changed from stonework to timber because the masons felt confident the they could complete the building more satisfactorily with that material

– The trustees were very upset by this and ordered the masons to tell them who made theses decisions

Dome diagram with timber

The Interior

The Interior

• The floor originally supposed to have black and white marble but this proposal was rejected because it would produce condensation and make the library damp, particularly because there is no heating in the building

• The bookcases are made with mahogany wood, curved to fit the shape of the building, and were constructed with moveable shelves

The Floor Plans

A ground plan from 1736 Cat Street library site from 1675

Patrons in Radcliffe Camera

• A reader would interact with the space by selecting a seat and writing down the number of they books he wants on his call-slip

• Then the book is brought to the reader’s desk and is left there, even if the reader leaves his seat temporarily

• Rare and valuable books provide the exception to this practice – they remain at the counter until readers apply for them

The Benefactors

(not literal historical figures)

The Benefactors• In 1714, Dr John Radcliffe’s will

provided a donation of 40 000 pounds for library between Church of the St. Mary Virgin and schools (now Bodleian)

• 150 pounds set aside for librarian and 100 pounds for collections per annum

• four trustees funded Radcliffe including Sir William Bromley, Sir George Beaumont, Bt., M.P. for Leicester, Anthony Keck (banker), Thomas Sclater-Bacon of Gray's Inn

• 23 years passed before construction for foundation

Dr John Radcliffe 1652–1714

Construction Politics• Sale of the college property

needed for building Radcliffe required a private act of parliament

• no demolition took place until 1733

• north most house adjoining Schools Quadrangle was pulled down for fear of a chimneys setting fire to the schools; and to open a passage to the schools

• trustees not authorized to make money available until decease of Radcliffe's two sisters (the last one died in 1736)

Dr John Radcliffe 1652–1714

References

Gillam, S. (1992). Radcliffe camera. Oxford: Bodleian Library.

Kock, T. W. (1914, January). The Bodleian Library at Oxford. Library Journal, 39, 739-745.

Ross, D. (n.d.). Radcliffe Camera. In Britain Express. Retrieved May 18, 2011, from http://www.britainexpress.com/cities/oxford/radcliffe.htm

Sager, P. (2005). Oxford & Cambridge : an uncommon history. New York: Thames & Hudson.