Radcliffe Camera

With its striking neoclassical dome looming over the neighboring Bodleian Library, the Radcliffe Camera (or Radcliffe Room in Latin) is one of Oxford’s most iconic sights and one of the most photographed of all the university buildings. Funded by Royal physician John Radcliffe and designed by architect James Gibbs, the "Rad Cam" was completed in 1749 and was originally used as the university’s principal science library.
Today the Radcliffe Camera is part of the Bodleian Library complex and houses two reading rooms and an underground library, where about 600,000 English and history books are available for browsing. The interior of building is closed to the public except with guided tours, but the dramatic circular façade still draws crowds of daily visitors with its three tiers of Headington and Burford stone elaborately decorated and encircled with Corinthian columns.

Practical Info

The Radcliffe Camera is located in central Oxford, next door to the Bodleian Library, and is open to the public by guided tour only. The reading room is open for university students and tour visitors on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.