Oxford - Christ Church 
Christ Church dispenses with the nomenclature of "college" and is known as "the House". It is one of the largest colleges and was founded in 1525 by Cardinal Wolsey and re-founded after Wolsey's fall by Henry VIII. Tom Tower, which was added by Wren in 1681-82, contains the huge bell weighing over 7 tons known as the Great Tom. Every evening at five minutes past nine it peals 101 times (once for each member of the original college). In earlier times the last peal of the bell was the signal for all college gates to be closed.
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Picture Gallery
The new Picture Gallery beyond Peckwater Quad has an outstanding collection of paintings and drawings by old masters, mainly 15th to 17th century and from Italy, Flanders and France.
Christ Church Picture Gallery
Christ Church
St Aldates OX1 1DP
England
Christ Church
St Aldates OX1 1DP
England
Hours
May 1 to September 30
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 14:00 |
| Close | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 |
October 1 to March 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 14:00 |
| Close | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 |
| Open | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 |
| Close | 16:30 | 16:30 | 16:30 | 16:30 | 16:30 | 16:30 | 16:30 |
Disabled
No facilities for persons with disabilities.
Canterbury Quad
Canterbury Quad (by James Wyatt, 1773-78) occupies the site of Canterbury Hall, where Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), the statesman and humanist, was a student. From here Canterbury Gate leads out into Merton Street.
Kill-Canon
At the northeast corner of Tom Quad, beyond the Deanery (in which Charles I lived between 1642 and 1646), is a passage known as Kill-Canon, so chilly it was feared that the canons would catch their death of cold. Here stands a statue of Dean Fell (d. 1686), the subject of the famous lines (originally by Tom Brown): "I do not like thee, Doctor Fell, The reason why I cannot tell".
Peckwater Quad
Kill-Canon passage leads into Peckwater Quad, a Palladian structure designed by Dean Aldrich (1705-13), which has subsequently been completely restored. The Library contains a collection of drawings and mementos of Cardinal Wolsey.
