Clarendon Building

The Clarendon Building, in Oxford

The Clarendon Building is an elegant neoclassical building of Oxford, the former seat of the university press. The Oxford audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this eighteenth-century building, a witness of the history of printing and publishing at the university.

The former seat of the university press

The Clarendon Building is a fine building of neoclassical style built at the beginning of the eighteenth century, near the Sheldonian Theatre and the Bodleian Library. Designed by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, pupil and collaborator of Christopher Wren, it was built to shelter the Oxford University Press, the famous publishing house of the university, one of the oldest and most prestigious of the world. It is here that were long printed and published innumerable academic works, dictionaries and scholarly texts that made the intellectual renown of Oxford. The building owes its name to Edward Hyde, earl of Clarendon, whose historical work partly financed its construction. With its majestic façade, its columns and its statues, it illustrates the English classical architecture of the eighteenth century and the importance of the written word in university life. Become an administrative building, it remains a witness of the intellectual heritage. A witness of the history of publishing, the Clarendon Building is an interesting stop of Oxford.

What to see

You admire the fine neoclassical building of the beginning of the eighteenth century designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, pupil of Wren, built to shelter the Oxford University Press, one of the oldest publishing houses of the world, with a majestic façade adorned with columns and statues, a witness of the history of printing and the intellectual renown of Oxford. The Clarendon Building is a witness of the heritage of Oxford. It is a stop to be discovered, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Clarendon Building lies in the heart of Oxford, near the Sheldonian Theatre and the Bodleian Library, reachable on foot. You admire its façade from outside; it is a university building whose access follows its own conditions. You discover it during a walk in the centre.

What was the Clarendon Building of Oxford used for?

It was built at the beginning of the eighteenth century to shelter the Oxford University Press, the famous publishing house of the university, one of the oldest of the world; designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, pupil of Wren, it owes its name to the earl of Clarendon.

Where is the Clarendon Building of Oxford?

In the heart of Oxford, near the Sheldonian Theatre, in England.