Radcliffe Camera
Radcliffe Camera is an 18th century building in Oxford , England . The rotunda on Radcliffe Square near the city center originally housed a library and is now used as a reading room .
history
The idea for the rotunda goes back to Nicholas Hawksmoor , who died in 1736 before work on the library began. Based on his plans, the building was then built by James Gibbs between 1737 and 1749.
The building bears the name of its founder, Dr. John Radcliffe (1650–1714), Queen Anne's personal physician . He made £ 40,000 available for the construction of the library. John Radcliffe was also the founder of Oxford's first hospital, the Radcliffe Infirmary .
Camera comes from Latin and means space, vault.
The Radcliffe Camera has been part of the Bodleian Library since 1860 . In 1927 the two-story building was given to the university for use. It houses two reading rooms in which books on English literature and history can be viewed.
An underground corridor to the north has connected the Radcliffe Camera with another library at the university since 1912 and also serves as a storage and reading room for books and magazines on political science.
Todays use
Access to the reading room is restricted to Oxford University students. The lower of the two floors is called the Lower Camera , the upper floor with its remarkable arched gallery Upper Camera . The building, framed by the Bodleian Library and University Church St. Mary , is one of Oxford's main attractions and most photographed structures .
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 45 ′ 12.2 " N , 1 ° 15 ′ 14" W.