Conference Oxford Newsletter Summer 2009

Welcome to our Summer Corpus Christi College 2009 Major new auditorium now complete newsletter beautiful views across Christ Church Meadow to the river, blending into the The Colleges and University surroundings of the ‘wild’ garden for of Oxford are committed to which the College is noted. The lower ongoing investment in their first floor terrace will quickly become buildings. Our newsletter gives a popular venue for receptions and a you the latest updates and space to mingle during the intervals of developments. New state- performances and meetings. of-the-art lecture theatres Although Corpus runs a bustling add to the rich variety of programme of lectures and academic venues available for meetings conferences, it has never been well and conferences, and the equipped to do so within the College upgrading of bedrooms he MBI Al Jaber Building at itself. With a maximum capacity of 135 ensures that Oxford continues Corpus Christi College – the most in theatre style, and modular seating to provide excellent facilities at Tsignificant addition to the main allowing for various smaller events, great value for money. site of the College since the 1700s – is the new lecture theatre’s versatility now complete. This new auditorium, Regular readers of our will enable Corpus to bring its current situated in the southwest corner of the newsletter will know of our programme of lectures in-house. The College and built into the bastion of the monthly Familiarisation Trips: design includes large picture windows that ancient City wall, replaces a smaller we take you to see three bring natural light into the auditorium and construction of the 1980s and affords venues interspersed with incorporates two small seminar rooms (a twice as much space and opportunity as champagne and lunch – so you great addition to a College where teaching its predecessor. can sample for yourselves the space is at a premium) that will also excellent standard of food. The brief was a challenging one: to serve as breakout rooms for conferences Our new developments will construct a modern building sympathetic and meetings. The conference facilities feature in our forthcoming to the architecture and feel of a 16th- are enhanced by modern AV facilities. programme of trips so do keep century Oxford college. Without flinching an eye on our website – see from modernity, Rick Mather Architects, Corpus students are greatly looking www.conference-oxford.co.uk who won the College’s RIBA competition, forward to putting the building to for details. provided a design that represents a extracurricular use. Until now, talented synthesis of the traditional and the new, student musicians and actors have not Do call us if we can help with compromising neither. The building is had a proper venue for concerts and your enquiries – whether it is incorporated into the ancient City wall recitals or dramatic productions. The for a day meeting, residential and both preserves and accentuates lack of a theatre has not diminished their conference or celebratory original features such as the arrow-slots achievements, but it has meant students dinner. and embrasures of the bastion. It has have had to use outside facilities. We wish you a very happy marvellous views of the Cathedral and As a home for drama and music, the summer. College gardens; the sliding glass screens auditorium will offer an unprecedented to the foyer give access to a new paved performance space within the College, as Sally Dunsmore quad, linking it with the facilities of the well as providing space for student events Director Old President’s Lodgings. and parties. The rooftop Handa Terrace features a For further information please contact: garden space for quiet study, and affords email: [email protected] 2 Conference Oxford Newsletter The Old Bodleian Newly refurbished Proscholium reopens

he entrance to the Old Bodleian, known as the The Proscholium refurbishment was made possible thanks Proscholium, reopened to staff, readers and to a grant from the Wolfson Foundation CURL Libraries Tvisitors on 16 February, after a six-week closure for Programme. refurbishment. The Proscholium was constructed in 1610–12 to create a The newly renovated Proscholium provides a welcoming new entrance for the 15th-century Divinity School. At the space for all readers and visitors. There have been a same time, a new room, Arts End, was built above it to number of improvements which enhance both the area’s provide more space for the Bodleian Library. For 300 years functionality and its architecture. New bespoke desks the Proscholium served as an ante-room to the Divinity designed by Donald Insall Associates have replaced the School, until 1968 when it became the main entrance hall 1960s furniture, while book detection devices have been for the Old Library. For a short period, it was also the site installed. The glass entrance doors were also replaced with of the Bodleian Shop, which relocated to a more spacious powered doors to improve access. The ceiling has been room across the Old Bodleian quadrangle in 2007. cleaned and the architecture can now be fully appreciated. For further information about using the Divinity School for Much of the complicated ‘behind the scenes’ work of this an event please contact: project has concentrated on upgrading and improving the electrical, data and security infrastructure. Anna Staszewska: [email protected] 3 Conference Oxford Newsletter Egrove Park A warm welcome awaits you

grove Park is Saïd Business School’s purpose- built Executive Education Centre, located just off E Oxford’s southern bypass, only two miles from Oxford city centre and easily accessible by road and rail with ample parking. To meet the increasing demand for high quality accommodation for senior executives, Egrove Park has added an additional 12 stylish and comfortable bedrooms to its extensive range of rooms available for delegates. We now have 63 study-bedrooms – 36 are split-level – with generous desk and seating provision. All rooms have en-suite facilities and are equipped with a telephone, networked Internet access, television and other essentials to make your stay as comfortable as possible. An choice are the essentials of our cuisine. For those important additional meeting room, two syndicate rooms and a new ‘chill-out’ times, guests may use the fully equipped gym, coffee lounge were also added in December 2008. This squash courts, sauna, all-weather tennis court, croquet lawn enables us to offer a wide range of fully equipped meeting or snooker room. rooms, from the Clifford Barclay Lecture Theatre (seating So if you are looking for all the attractions of Oxford, without 112) to syndicate rooms suitable for breakout sessions, any of the city centre distractions and bustle, in an easily to meet our expanding diversity of conference bookings accessible location, whether for a single day or longer, then and the increasing number of Executive Education please contact our Conference Manager, Jill Grieveson, who programmes. will be delighted to help you plan your next event: The Grade II listed building is situated in 37 acres of peaceful tel: (01865) 422757 wooded parkland. Head Chef Darren Lomas and his multi- award winning team believe that excellent food and drink are email: [email protected] essential to the success of any event. Quality, variety and or visit: www.sbs.oxford.edu/conferencing

Harris Manchester College Warrington House renovation

t Harris Manchester College we are always striving of Warrington House were preserved, while providing all to improve facilities for our students and conference modern facilities, including Internet facilities, and en- Aguests. It was, therefore, with great pleasure that suites or private bathrooms to each bedroom. in January this year we were able to reopen our completely Warrington now houses the upgraded Peter Cruddas IT refurbished Warrington House. Warrington House is an Centre, and the college was delighted that Peter Cruddas extremely interesting 16th-century Grade II listed building, officially opened the IT Centre himself on 4 February providing accommodation on the main site of Harris 2009. Manchester College, located in Mansfield Road. For further information and to make a booking please The college, along with the architects and builders, worked contact Patricia Edwards: extremely hard during the 18 months of building work to email: [email protected] ensure that the beautiful and interesting Tudor features 4 Conference Oxford Newsletter Keble College Hall floor and bedroom refurbishment

aid edge to edge, the floor tiles stretch across the The logistical challenges were considerable: weighing in at longest dining hall in Oxford – and span 150 years. over three tonnes, only a few tiles could be carried up in the LOver the Christmas 2008 vacation, Keble College Goods Lift at a time. The oak tables and benches, and the called in craftsmen to repair the wear and tear of countless portraits (many larger than life) of successive generations mealtimes since the College’s foundation in 1870. The tiling of College Wardens, founders and benefactors, had all to makes up an intricate geometric pattern, so exact replicas be protectively draped and wrapped. A strict ‘no-entry zone’ of several thousand individual tiles had to be custom-made, was established – mandated by contemporary building site to replace the worn-out segment. health and safety regulations, but also out of anxiety for the temporary and uncharacteristic fragility of the huge unset (and hugely costly) tiles. Though working to the music of local radio, today’s workmen had to labour on hands and knees as painstakingly as their forerunners, laying the tiles one by one, the modern indistinguishable from the original. After 17 days (and some nights) of effort, with only Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year day for respite, the floor was restored to its full glory. With diners – of whatever era – being more hunger- than history-aware, daily attention swiftly shifted from what lay underfoot to what lay on each plate. No longer is the floor trod exclusively by academics; today’s diners include conference delegates, independent travellers staying in its bed and breakfast accommodation, and guests at formal banquets. But whoever dines in Keble Hall – at meals past, present or future – the magnificence of the floor below is balanced by the vaulted ceiling soaring high above. It seems the Wardens – released from their dustsheets – gaze down in dignified approval, and under the newly laid tiles lies a time capsule, placed by the current Domestic Bursar for her successor to find when the next makeover is required, a century and a half hence. Step through the inner doorway, and you are surprised to feel your feet sinking into soft carpet – so precisely does the new floor covering match the original patterned hallway tiles. These carpeted corridors lead to Keble’s newly refurbished bedrooms - bedrooms beyond collegiate expectations. In common with most Keble bedrooms, these are en-suite, and the usual amenities are supplemented, in these upgraded bedrooms, with a fridge. Here, too, there is thick carpeting, its blue tone picked up in the room’s stylish décor and comfortable furnishings. Keble College is available for residential conferences, year- round day meetings, bed and breakfast accommodation and formal banquets. email: [email protected] tel: (01865) 282505 website: www.keble.ox.ac.uk 5 Conference Oxford Newsletter Merton College State-of-the-art lecture theatre in 2010

erton College is investing in the future of Sustainability is a key driver, and the building is to have conferencing in Oxford with the building of a new excellent environmental credentials, with the fabric and Mlecture theatre, due to be completed by July 2010, plant installations being as low energy as practicable. on its beautiful 13th-century central Oxford site. Landscape planning has been paramount and the new Easily accessible from Oxford High Street via Rose Lane, as building will have minimum impact on the skyline, as well as well as from Merton Street via the College Lodge, this state- feature existing stone walls from the adjoining Rose Lane of the-art facility will seat up to 135 delegates and will offer Building. the most hi-tech equipment and the highest quality fixtures To support the new lecture theatre, accommodation is being and fittings throughout. refurbished on an ongoing basis, with increasing numbers of The acoustic design of the auditorium will enable the venue to en-suite facilities. be used principally as a traditional lecture theatre, but also as a Merton is delighted to be strengthening its conference naturally lit conference and debating space, as well as for music provision. If you would like further information please recitals, films and satellite television. Three seminar rooms, contact Caroline Massey, Conference Manager: each of them hosting up to 20 delegates, will support the email: [email protected] main lecture theatre, and the new building will have an elegant tel: (01865) 276327 reception foyer with a capacity for more than 100 delegates and a servery for tea/coffee breaks and light lunches. website: www.merton.ox.ac.uk

Oriel College Elegant music room

riel College has refurbished its Music Room. Overlooking up to 15 guests boardroom style (including Wifi access and a third quad, it is an elegant and beautiful room bookable data projector and projection screen) and it is perfect Osympathetically restored to its traditional appearance for elegant evening drinks receptions. including high ceilings, a chandelier and grand piano. Please contact Sarah Brown in the Stewards Office for booking The room is an ideal platform for small recitals and music details: evenings. It is also an ideal light space for day meetings of email: [email protected] 6 Conference Oxford Newsletter The Somerville Queen’s College Margaret Thatcher College Centre New kitchen facilities in 2010

he Queen’s College new kitchen project is not for the faint-hearted! Being constrained at ground-floor T level by an envelope of space that could not be extended, Queen’s have excavated under their Grade 1 listed building for their new kitchen. Why take on such a daunting challenge? Well, Queen’s will not compromise on the level of food service they wish to offer their members and conference guests. Rather than bring in readymade items, they prefer to create meals from scratch, using fresh local ingredients – so more space is re you looking for a small, perfectly formed, Conference needed for food storage, preparation and cooking. Centre? The Margaret Thatcher Centre is a hidden gem Work on the kitchen began during Easter 2008 and will Ain the heart of Somerville College, only a five-minute be complete at the beginning of 2010. Inspiration was walk from Oxford city centre. The Centre is ideal for meetings, gained from visits to some of London’s top kitchens, lectures, presentations, receptions and private parties. It and to Switzerland to see the renowned and ecologically comprises a spacious lobby, lecture room and ante-room, all advanced Elro induction cooking systems. The final result with excellent disabled access. All three areas are interlinked; will be a state-of-the-art below ground kitchen and an they can be used independently or on an open-plan basis – elegant ground level expanded servery built around the ideal for meetings requiring breakout sessions. The lecture newly exposed Hawksmoor arches. A Fellows’ dining room room is air conditioned with state-of-the-art audiovisual facilities is also being created at first floor level, which will, in and Internet access, and can accommodate 60 seated theatre turn, release a large room on the back quad that will be style or 30 boardroom style. The ante-room leads out onto a used for conferences. sunny patio and private garden and can accommodate up to 45 delegates seated theatre style. The Centre as a whole can For further information contact: accommodate up to 150 for a standing reception. [email protected] For group bookings, the Centre can offer a self-contained residential unit during the vacation periods; overhead is the Dorothy Hodgkin Quad, offering 14 suites comprising two single bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen, and two further suites comprising four single rooms, bathroom and kitchen. Availability: All year round (accommodation during vacation only). For more information, please contact the Somerville Conference and Events office: email: [email protected] tel: (01865) 270677 website: www.some.ox.ac.uk 7 Conference Oxford Newsletter St Edmund Hall Introducing the Jarvis Doctorow Hall

he Jarvis Doctorow Hall is located on the upper quad, This new facility is designed to offer complete flexibility; it can above the Wolfson Dining Hall. Completed in June 2008, be subdivided into three smaller rooms, which can be used for Tit offers a modern purpose-built conference facility, breakout sessions or smaller meetings. seating up to 115 people lecture style, 70 people for a dinner To receive more information, contact the Conference & Events and 150 people for a drinks reception. Manager, Sue McCarthy: Other attributes include: email: [email protected] • built-in audiovisual equipment tel: (01865) 279222 • air conditioning • natural daylight • disabled access • wireless/cable Internet access • an attractive foyer area with views across the city wall

Wadham College New accommodation and meeting rooms

adham College is currently undergoing a major There will also be a new Seminar Room holding a maximum refurbishment which will be completed for Summer of 75, which can also be divided to provide two breakout W2009 providing 14 single en-suite (including one rooms, and a Panelled Room suitable for meetings for up disabled en-suite) and six twin en-suite rooms. The rooms are all to 40, which has in the past been much used as a film set located within the original 1610 building so are full of character for episodes of Morse and Lewis. Both meeting rooms will but with modern facilities. Most rooms will have windows facing be fully equipped with audiovisual equipment and will have either the Front or Back Quads providing peaceful views. disabled access. 8 Conference Oxford Newsletter Did you Eights Week

ompetition and teamwork are never far from the know...? day-to-day activities of University life – be it research, Cpublication of erudite articles or on the sports pitches. College feuds So it is no surprise that Eights Week, the main intercollegiate event, has a prominent place in the University diary. Balliol v. Trinity This regatta takes place in May every year in the fifth week of the summer (Trinity) term. Both men’s and women’s teams compete, and colleges can enter a number of boats in different divisions, which can lead to around 160 boats entering. The races themselves take place on (the part of the that flows through Oxford). As the river in Oxford is narrow, the 13 boats are lined up downstream, with each cox holding onto a rope between the boats. The aim of the race is to ‘bump’ the boat in front and thereby climb up the division, with the strongest boat being crowned ‘Head of the River’ (top of the first division). This year saw Christ Church wrestle the men’s title from Balliol College, who had broken Magdalen College’s four-year reign. St Howard and Rosemary in the Front Quad,Trinity College Edmund Hall’s team has held the women’s title since 2006.

ompetition between the colleges was always Next year Eights Week is 26–29 May, so if you are in the Oxford inevitable but certain rivalries have been heightened area any afternoon that week, do go down to the river and see Cand maintained by a ‘traditional’ label. Thus it is the teams do battle for this coveted trophy. between Balliol and Trinity. Neighbours on Broad Street, the rivalry seems to have emerged in the late nineteenth century, whether from animated snowballing fights or for more sinister reasons seems unclear. Differences in admissions policies (with Balliol pioneering the extension of an Oxford education to poorer students and pioneering the acceptance of non-white students) and rowing rivalries certainly added fuel to the feud. The twentieth century saw some spectacular practical jokes, including releasing rabbits and whippets into Balliol Front Quad in 1909 and greased pigs into Trinity Dining Hall. A debate in 1912 held in Trinity Hall to consider the motion that ‘Balliol exists solely for the innocent amusement of Trinity’, and in the early 1960s a group from Balliol managed to turf the whole of Trinity Junior Common Room (JCR) – complete with daffodils. Neighbourly rivalry? Territorial battles? Political differences? Christ Church Men’s 1st 8 rowing past Christ Church boathouse to Or just high-spirits? All part of the colourful history of the victory this summer. Photo Ralph Williamson colleges. Luckily for conference delegates today, the Balliol and Trinity Conference Managers are more likely to work For enquiries, a brochure, and further details of together and the competition is based only on culinary conference and event facilities at the University of prowess and conference facilities. Oxford and the Colleges, contact: For more information please contact: Conference Oxford, The Painted Room Howard Chirgwin, Balliol College: 118 High Street, Oxford OX1 4BX email: [email protected] Telephone/fax: +44 (0)1865 276190 e-mail: [email protected] Rosemary Strawson, Trinity College: website: www.conference-oxford.co.uk email: [email protected] Stay, study and enjoy... A new programme at one of Christ Church Oxford’s leading conference colleges OXFORD

CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD CONFLICT CONFERENCE 2009 The Making of the Modern Middle East Sunday 6 September – Friday 11 September 2009 Christ Church, Oxford is home to the autumn series of conferences on the theme of conflict. This, the seventh event in this well established series, is run in collaboration with the ’s renowned Middle East Centre, and takes as its theme the enduring and apparently intractable confrontations of this region.

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For a full programme and booking information please contact: The Steward’s Office, Christ Church, Oxford OX1 1DP Tel: +44 (0)1865 286848 or 286877 | www.chch.ox.ac.uk