The Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford

Back in June, thankfully before the first of our heatwaves, I spent a long weekend in Oxford. I’ve actually been to the city a number of times, but always to meet up with friends as its a convenient half way point to where we were all living, but I’d never gone into any of the museums or libraries that Oxford is famous for and decided it was time to rectify that. The first place I visited after checking into my hotel was The Sheldonian Theatre. In fact I visited here twice, the first time to go inside the cupola and the second to attend a violin concerto.

The Sheldonian is the official assembly room of the University of Oxford which means it is the building where students sign up for their courses and where they receive their degree after graduating. There are also other events that take place like the honorary degree ceremonies and of course musical concerts.

Access depends on what is happening in terms of ceremonies and events – I knew I wouldn’t be able to see the interior on my first visit because the orchestra I’d be watching the next day was rehearsing so I settled for heading up to the cupola for views across the city. For this you climb up 114 steps which are very easy to manage.

The building gets its name from Gilbert Sheldon, the Archbishop of Canterbury and later Warden of All Souls College who, when the building was erected in 1669, paid the entire cost of the construction himself. The architect was Christopher Wren who at the time had very few works to his name as well as being Professor of Astronomy at Oxford. Supposedly he was inspired by drawings of open air Roman theatres – something that rarely works in a typical British climate.

The evening after my first visit up to the cupola I attended a concert at the theatre which gave me a good look at the ceiling as well as some excellent music. All sorts of music events in all sorts of price ranges are available throughout the year but there were just two to to choose from when I was visiting and I decided to go with the Oxford Millennium Orchestra who were performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor with soloist Violetta Suvini, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. This orchestra is made up of university undergraduates, postgraduates and staff as well as other members of the Oxford community and they were very good – Suvini in particular was excellent. A ticket for the event cost me £23.60 with a £2 donation.

The venue itself is gorgeous. There are two tiers of bench like seats with backs on the top tiers and nearer the orchestra where I was leather bench like seats without backs – I won’t lie by the end my back was starting to ache a little and there isn’t a huge amount of leg space but the seats did have a great view. There were also folded up chairs near the front which may or not be present depending on the event. There are also seats up in the upper gallery.

The impressive ceiling was painted by the painter to Charles II, Robert Streater in London between 1668-1669. Incredibly the ceiling is 32 individual panels with each component its own self-contained painting forming part of a whole. The theme is of Truth descending upon the Arts and Sciences to expel ignorance from the university (!). I think possibly the bigger story is that they actually restored the work in 2004, taking down each individual piece and moving it off site for conservation before returning it.

It really is a lovely building and I’d recommend attending an event here if you can.

The Practicalities:

Unlike other universities Oxford holds graduation ceremonies throughout the year, not to mention the concerts and other events held in the Sheldonian (which will be practiced in the space during the days before) so it is really important to check their website for any potential closures.

If everything is open you can do the whole building for £8.25. My cupola view visit only cost £5.25. There are guided tours available for £14.50 but only on certain dates.