Balliol College has a strong academic reputation and has a legitimate claim to being the oldest college at Oxford University, founded in 1263. Balliol is a college in high demand, receiving the most applications by undergraduate and graduate students alike, as well as a higher than average mix of international students. Traditionally, the undergraduates are the most politically active of all the colleges. Perhaps the most endearing aspect of the Balliol was its devotion to the college tortoise, called Rosa, after the German Marxist Rosa Luxembourg. Sadly Rosa has not been seen for about 2 years, and it looks like her long life may have come to a peaceful end.

Interesting Facts
The lawn in the front quadrangle is a perfect elipse.

Opening Times
Open all year except for Mondays and between Christmas and New Year. Daily 2pm-5pm. Maximum 12 people in a group.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 277777

Address
Balliol College, Oxford, OX1 3BJ

Cost
£1

Website
Balliol College

Corpus Christi was founded in 1517 by Richard Fox, the Bishop of Winchester. Although intended as a traditional training college for secular clergy, under the influence of Hugh Oldham it became the foremost humanist enterprise in Oxford, the model for many subsequent foundations. Its 16th and 18th century buildings are some of the most beautiful in Oxford, and it enjoys an unrivalled position, overlooking gardens and meadows yet within five minutes walk of the city centre and the Bodleian Library. ' - @ &

Interesting Facts
Corpus Christi was used in TV adaptations of Inspector Morse, it was used to represent the fictional Beaumont College. Author Colin Dexter created the fictional college in the The Last Enemy and The Infernal Serpent.

Opening Times
1.30pm-4.30pm. Maximum 20 people in a group.

Contact Details
Merton Street, OX1 4JF

Address


Cost
None

Website
Corpus Christi

Still situated in its original location on Turl Street, Exeter College was founded in 1314 by Walter de Stapeldon of Devon, Bishop of Exeter and later treasurer to Edward III, who intended it as a school to educate clergy. During its first century, it was known as Stapeldon Hall and was significantly smaller, with just twelve to fourteen students. The college grew significantly from the 15th century onward, and began offering rooms to its students. It was at this time that the Chapel – a small-scale replica of the Sainte Chappelle in Paris – was built. The present Hall was built in the year 1618 with the rest of the college completed by 1710.

Opening Times
Daily 2pm-5pm. Maximum 20 people in a group

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 279600

Address
Turl Street, OX1 3DP

Cost
None

Website
Exeter College

Jesus College was founded in 1571, occupying in part the site of the earlier White Hall, which had existed for several hundred years from the 13th century up until 1570, just before Jesus began. Jesus was founded by eight commissioners, of whom Hugh Price is often credited as the main force, and received its Royal Charter from Elizabeth I. Jesus has a particular association with Wales and is often referred to as the Welsh college. The college is also home to the university's Professor of Celtic, and a specialist Celtic library in addition to the college's normal library. To reflect this connection, the college's undergraduate gossip sheet is entitled The Sheepshagger in allusion to a racist joke about Welsh people's penchant for sheep. Furthermore, the Welshness of the College is self-perpetuating, as Welsh students will often apply to Jesus because it is seen as the Welsh college. To this day there is a larger proportion of Welsh undergraduates than in other colleges.

Opening Times
2pm-4.30pm daily. Maximum 20 people in a group.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 279700

Address
Turl Street, OX1 3DW

Cost
None

Website
Jesus College

Keble College was founded in 1870 by Edward Pusey and named after his colleague John Keble, who actually died 4 years before the foundation of the college. The buildings were designed by architect, William Butterfield, who produced a masterpiece in Victorian gothic with quite distinctive design - red, blue and white bricks. Keble houses the original William Hunt painting, The Light of the World, in a side room off the chapel. The version of this painting in St. Pauls Cathedral in London is, in fact, a copy.

Opening Times
2pm-5pm daily. Guided tours and groups of 10 or more must book in advance.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 272727

Address
Parks Road, OX1 3PG

Cost
None

Website
Keble College

Lady Margaret Hall admitted its first seven students in October 1879 as the first college only for women. They pioneered women's higher education in Oxford, entering a world of learning that had for centuries been a male monopoly. When the college celebrated its centenary, the foundation seven had increased to four hundred, including postgraduate as well as undergraduate students. The college was named after Lady Margaret Beaufort, a medaevil noblewoman and mother of King Henry VII, known for her exceptional learning. The original house of the college, The Old Hall, is still in use. Lady Margaret Hall decided to admit male students for the first time in 1979.

Opening Times
10am-5pm

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 274300

Address
Norham Gardens, OX2 6QA

Cost
None

Website
Lady Margaret Hall

Lincoln is one of the oldest academic institutions in the world, founded in 1427 by the Bishop of Lincoln, Richard Fleming. As one would expect, it has a rich architectural heritage as a result. Its Front Quadrangle is one of the least altered of all such structures and remains for many of the college’s sons and daughters the most evocative of images, with its fifteenth-century facade, its unvaryingly verdant lawn and its rich shroud of Virginia creeper turning from green to scarlet every autumn. Its medieval hall, its seventeenth-century chapel, and its baroque library are all buildings of exceptional importance and visual appeal.

Opening Times
Mon-Sat 2pm-5pm, Sun 11am-5pm. Groups admitted by appointment only, maximum 20 people in a group.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 279800

Address
Turl Street, OX1 3DR

Cost
£1

Website
Lincoln College

Merton College was founded in 1264. It is one of three ancient Oxford colleges founded in the thirteenth century. The College buildings, set in extensive gardens and grounds, are of exceptional historical and aesthetic interest. The Library is probably the oldest surviving working library in the United Kingdom, and the Hall, Chapel, Lodge and Mob Quadrangle also date from the Colleges early years.

Opening Times
Mon-Fri 2pm-4pm, Sat-Sun 10am-4pm. Groups of ten or more must be accompanied by a Blue Badge Guide and be booked in advance.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 276310

Address
Merton Street, OX1 4JD

Cost
None for college grounds. Tours of the Old Library may be available at £2 per person.

Website
Merton College

New College was founded in 1379, about 200 years after the University came into existence. It is one of the largest and best-known colleges, and undeniably one of the most beautiful. Interestingly, the true name of the college is College of St. Mary. New College was founded by the Bishop of Winchester, William of Wykeham, in conjunction with the equally famous school for boys, Winchester College. The college benefits from some of the most stunning grounds and buildings, with the Cloisters and Chapel of particular beauty. However, New College is also known internationally for its chapel choir.

Opening Times
Easter-Oct 11am-5pm ( via New College Lane Gate); Oct-Easter 2pm-4pm ( via Holywell Street Gate). Maximum 10 people in a group.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 279555

Address
New College Lane, OX1 3BN

Cost
Easter-Oct £2 adults, £1 children, unwaged, no charge at other times. Entry is free to Oxford residents.

Website
New College

Fifth oldest of the Oxford colleges, Oriel can at least claim to be the oldest royal foundation in Oxford, a title formerly claimed by University College. The full name of the college is The House of Blessed Mary the Virgin in Oxford, but most would consider this a bit of a mouthful. Oriel was founded in 1324, but the name Oriel was not used until 1349, probably referring to a balcony windown, known as an oriel window. Nothing survives of the original buildings, but what has been built in its place deserves to be seen, particularly the three quadrangles.

Opening Times
Daily 1pm-4pm. Groups to be accompanied by a Blue Badge Guide booked though the tourist information office.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 276555

Address
Oriel Square, OX1 4EW

Cost
None

Website
Oriel College

Founded in 1624, Pembroke College is concentrated in its traditional site in the centre of Oxford but it has a fine new building on the Thames, as well as its own renovated graduate facilities close by the College. The main site is particularly attractive, being primarily built between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries with Cotswold stone.

Opening Times
By appointment only. Groups (maximum 20) only; must be accompanied by an official guide.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 276444

Address
Pembroke Square, St Aldates, OX1 1DW

Cost
None

Website
Pembroke College

Somerville was one of the first colleges for women to be founded, but started to admit male students in 1994. The college started in 1878 as The Association for the Higher Education of Women, but the society broke into two factions that founded Somerville and Lady Margaret Hall. The college was named after Mary Somerville, one of the greatest mathematicians in the 19th century.

Opening Times
2pm-5.30pm. Large groups must book in advance.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 270600

Address
Woodstock Road, OX2 6HD

Cost
none

Website
Somerville College

Commonly known as St Catz, St Catherines College is one of the largest university colleges in Oxford. Founded in 1962, the college exhibits a innovative and modern architecture, designed by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen. The combination of glass and concrete form a striking, if not unconventional vision.

Opening Times
9am-5pm. Groups of more than ten must book in advance.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 271700

Address
Manor Road, OX1 3UJ

Cost
None

Website
St. Catherines College

Better known to the locals as Teddy Hall, St. Edmund Hall is estimated to have been founded in 1225 and was named after St Edmund of Abingdon, the first known Oxford Master of Arts and the first Oxford educated Archbishop of Canterbury. St Edmund Hall began life as one of the ancient Aularian houses, the mediaeval halls that laid the foundation of the University, preceding the creation of the first colleges. As the only surviving mediaeval hall, its members are known as Aularians. St. Edmund Hall took on the status of a college in 1957, though retaining the historical moniker of Hall. The student body has long been known for prowess in sport, especially rugby. More recently, it has also demonstrated strengths in journalism, drama, and student politics. If there is one thing for certain, you are likely to find more Oxford Blues in Teddy Hall than in other colleges of Oxford!

Opening Times
Daylight hours. Maximum 12 people in a group.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 279000

Address
Queens Lane, OX1 4AR

Cost
None

Website
St. Edmund Hall

St. Hildas was founded as an Oxford hall for women in 1893 by Dorothea Beale, Principal of the Cheltenham Ladies' College. It is the only remaining college today that admits only female students, although proposals have been made to admit male students in 2009. St. Hildas students were the subject of a Channel 4 documentary, College Girls.

Opening Times
Daily 2pm-5pm

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 276884

Address
Cowley Place, OX4 1DY

Cost
None

Website
St. Hilda's College

St. Johns was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555 and is now the wealthiest of Oxford colleges with an estimated fortune of £220 million. As a measure of his devotion to the college, his heart is buried in the chapel! The college comprises seven quadrangles, including the former St. Bernards monastery that is now the Front Quad, adn the Dolphin Quad that was built on the site of the Dolphin Inn. Interestingly, St. Johns owns a number of properties outside its walls, including The Eagle and Child pub that was the frequent watering hole for authors J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.

Opening Times
1pm-5pm (or dusk, if earlier). Maximum 20 people in a group, accompanied by a guide. Larger groups will be split.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 277300

Address
St Giles, OX1 3JP

Cost
None

Website
St. Johns College

Worcester College was founded in 1714, but it was preceded by a learning institution in the late thirteenth century that was a college for Benedictine monks. The college buildings are a clever mixture of modern and old, and in fact there is a row of mediaevil cottages that are amongsth the oldest residential buildings in Oxford today. While Worcester is in the centre of Oxford today, it used to be on the edge of the city in tghe eighteenth century. As a result the college has been able to retain 26 acres of gardens, boasting a lovely duck pond and playing fields for all sports within college grounds - certainly a rarity in Oxford today.

Interesting Facts
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch was educated at Worcester College. His enterprising spirit and his aspirations in advertising showed through in his studnt role of selling advertising for the student newspaper, Cherwell.

Opening Times
2pm-5pm daily. Maximum eight people in a group.

Contact Details
Tel: 01865 278300

Address
Worcester College Oxford OX1 2HB

Cost
None

Website
Worcester College