Oxford - Tom Quad

The main quadrangle of Christ Church, Tom Quad, with its charming fountain is the largest courtyard in Oxford. The lower tower has a very fine staircase of 1630 with fan vaulting. It leads up to the Hall, a spacious and elegant dining-hall with a magnificent wooden ceiling, which was completed in 1529. It contains portraits of Henry VIII and distinguished members of the college, including the philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), who was sent down (expelled) for sedition, and William Penn (1644-1718), founder of Pennsylvania, who was also sent down as a Nonconformist, having defended the persecuted Quakers. There are also portraits of many prime ministers and of Lewis Carroll (1832-98), author of "Alice in Wonderland", who under his real name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was professor of mathematics in Oxford.