Brasenose College

Brasenose College stands on the west side of Radcliffe Square in central Oxford, facing the Radcliffe Camera. Its main entrance opens onto the square, while the High Street and Brasenose Lane mark the southern and northern boundaries. The college occupies three quads: the oldest is the two-storey Old Quad, built around the remains of Brasenose Hall. The 17th-century chapel and library enclose the small Deer Park quad, once the college burial ground. A third, larger New Quad was added between 1886 and 1911, completing the main site. The college’s academic reputation has grown in recent decades. In 2023 it placed second in Oxford’s Norrington Table, and its undergraduates reported 98% overall satisfaction in the Oxford Barometer Survey. About 80% of UK undergraduates come from state schools, reflecting a shift from its historic Lancashire and Cheshire ties. Brasenose’s rowing club is among the world’s oldest, and its alumni include two British prime ministers, two Australians, and three Nobel laureates. Visitors enter through the Radcliffe Square gate into the Old Quad, where the dining hall’s 17th-century renovations remain visible. The chapel, built in 1656, holds the original brass knocker that gave the college its name. The cloister once buried 59 people before becoming student rooms and now serves as a library annexe. Beyond the quads, the college’s Frewin and St Cross sites house undergraduates, while the graduate common room occupies the restored Old Cloisters.