Radcliffe Observatory Quarter
Encyclopedia
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
development project in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in the estate of the old Radcliffe Infirmary
Radcliffe Infirmary
The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. The Radcliffe Infirmary, named after physician John Radcliffe, opened in 1770 and was Oxford's first hospital...
hospital.
The site, covering 10 acres (3.7 hectares) is in central north Oxford. It is bounded by Observatory Street
Observatory Street
Observatory Street links at the eastern end Woodstock Road in central North Oxford and at the western end Walton Street and the Jericho area of Oxford, England....
and Green Templeton College
Green Templeton College, Oxford
Green Templeton College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is the university's newest college having come into existence on 1 October 2008 from the merger of Green College and Templeton College...
to the north, the Woodstock Road to the east, Somerville College
Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there...
to the south, and Walton Street
Walton Street
Walton Street is on the eastern edge of the Jericho district of central Oxford, England.- Overview :The street runs north from the western end of Beaumont Street and northern end of Worcester Street by the main entrance of Worcester College. Somerville College, one of the former women's colleges,...
to the west. The project and the new university area is named after the grade I listed Radcliffe Observatory
Radcliffe Observatory
Radcliffe Observatory was the astronomical observatory of Oxford University from 1773 until 1934, when the Radcliffe Trustees sold it and erected a new observatory in Pretoria, South Africa. It is a grade I listed building.- History :...
to the north east of the site, now the centrepiece of Green Templeton College, which is intended to form the visual centrepiece of the project.
In 2009 planning permission
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
was granted by Oxford City Council
Oxford City Council
The Oxford City Council provides local government for the city of Oxford in England.- Overview :Between the 2004 local elections, and 2010 the council was in minority administration, first by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition...
for the refurbishment of the grade II* listed Radcliffe Infirmary (the oldest wing of the hospital) and the grade II listed St Luke's Chapel and Outpatients Building, which flank the entrace courtyard.
New accommodation at Somerville College opened in September 2011. By the summer of 2012 the Radcliffe Infirmary will be refurbished. The building will be occupied by the Humanities Divisional Office, the Faculty of Philosophy and the Philosophy and Theology Libraries. In the summer of 2012 a new health centre will be completed. A Mathematical Institute is being built, due for completion in September 2013. The site will also include a Humanities Building and Library and the Blavatnik School of Government.