Oxford's most beautiful colleges: Spotlight on Christ Church

The college of Christ Church in Oxford may not be the oldest college, nor the largest, nor is it the most beautiful - but it is the grandest. The college dates from 1525 when it was founded as Cardinal College by Thomas Wolsey, Lord Chancellor to King Henry VIII. Established on land formerly belonging to St Frideswide's Priory it now contains Oxford’s Cathedral. It was renamed the House of Christ in 1546. This video provides views of all the major aspects of the college together with drone footage from above.
The main entrance has a tower called Tom Tower which was designed by Christopher Wren and the beautiful Meadow Building looks out over the extensive Christ Church Meadows. It was built when Henry Liddell was Dean. He was the father of Alice and a senior colleague of Charles Dodgson, a mathematician who invented his own pen name Lewis Carroll and, of course, the strange world of Alice in Wonderland. The meadows lead down the River Thames and is bordered by the Cherwell River. The original buildings formed St Frideswide’s Priory but have been expanded via the famous Great Staircase leading to the even more famous Great Hall which was copied for the Harry Potter movies. This dining hall has many portraits including that of Henry VIII and Thomas Wolsey plus a bust of the late Queen Elizabeth and some of the 13 British prime ministers educated at Christ Church which includes: Benjamin Disraeli, William Gladstone, Robert Peel and Anthony Eden.
The cathedral is the smallest cathedral in the country yet it contains excellent stained glass windows including some by the pre-Raphaelite Oxford artist Edward Burne-Jones and the 17th century Abraham van Lingen. The South Aisle has a window featuring Alice’s sister, Edith, as Saint Catherine and the South Transept is adorned with grandiose memorials to the king’s commanders who lost their lives during the English civil war when Oxford was the Royalist capital. Many famous people are buried there including Robert Burton and Bishop Berkeley.
The cathedral gives entry to the cloister which is one of the oldest parts of the college and formerly part of Frideswide’s Priory.
The video depicts this grand college in colourful detail and is accompanied by an informative narration. It provides a brief history together with footage of all the major buildings, quads and grounds of Christ Church.