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Sheldonian Theatre

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JayBroek
JayBroek
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4 out of 5
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Sheldonian Theatre

  • September 11, 2003
  • Rated 4 of 5 by JayBroek from Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Sheldonian Theatre

The Sheldonian is located on the corner of Broad Street and Catte Street and is in close proximity to the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodlean library and Trinity College gates. Broad Street is actually a broad street and it’s where many of the Oxford University-oriented souvenir shops are located. Get your sweatshirt and baseball cap here. The Sheldonian is the University’s ceremonial hall and is where the matriculation and graduation ceremonies are held along with other formal events. The theatre is behind a high set of railings, the pillars of which are adorned with enormous stone heads. The Greco-Roman faces are massive and they all look faintly astonished, with gaping mouths and wild eyes – not your average classical statue. My thought was that they were philosophers caught at the exact moment of realisation, or perhaps stunned by the ignorance of the students passing by. The building itself is marvellous. Built between 1664-9, it was the first major design of Sir Christopher Wren (the man behind St. Pauls). It is round in shape and designed to conjure up thoughts of Roman amphitheatres. It costs £1.50 to get in and a little extra for an A4 guide booklet (well worth getting). After paying you pass through a set of doors straight into the auditorium. Steep banks of seats almost completely surround the open centre. I must admit to a slight feeling of disappointment on entering – it has a very self-important feel to it. Thinking about it now, I think I can trace that back to the supercilious and sneering attendant who took our money. It is that attitude that gives the English their often-deserved reputation for snobbishness…I better stop there before a full rant begins. The highlight of the auditorium is directly above you – a ceiling painted by Robert Streater when the building was new, designed to give the impression of looking directly up to the heavens. The theme of the painting is Truth ganging up with the Arts and Sciences to kick Ignorance out of the University. The guide contains a 300-year-old description of the ceiling, panel-by-panel. In summary, Ignorance appears to be scoffing at all these smart gods and goddesses who are representing such disciplines as Botany and ‘Arithmetick’ while they plot his ejection from this esteemed seat of learning. Nice if you like that sort of thing. A bit too fussy for my sitting room at home. The high point for us, however, was the Cupola. You can climb to the roof of the Sheldonian and peer out across the rooftops of Oxford toward all points of the compass. The guide provides a handy panorama of what you can see. Fascinating architectural detail can be spied although you can’t really see into any quads or colleges beyond Trinity. The climb is gentle and the reward huge.

From journal Oxford - spend and be damned!

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