Catherine Hughes
The latest, greatest addition to Somerville, the Catherine Hughes Building, or CHB, was completed in 2019, and added 68 new en-suite rooms to the Somerville roster for second-, third- and fourth-year students. There are 5 floors, including the basement laundry room, with a lift for accessibility and at least one kitchen on every floor. It also contains the lovely MCR Reading Room. The building is named after Catherine Hughes, who, as Principal from 1989-96, oversaw the arrival of the first male students at Somerville.
Chapel
Built in 1935, the Chapel was designed as a neutral, non-denominational space, embodying the college’s commitment to religious freedom. Following in this vein, we do not hold traditional evensong services, but instead have a weekly Choral Contemplation where the choir sings a range of beautiful music and people are invited from all faiths and none to speak about various religious and spiritual topics in lieu of a sermon. The Chapel plays an important role in student wellbeing and the musical life of the college; as well as being available for meditation, prayer, quiet reflection and a rehearsal space, it is used for weekly Yoga, Mindfulness and Tai Chi Qigong classes during term time.
Darbishire
Built in the 1930s and named after Helen Darbishire (Principal 1930-45), Darbishire is an elegant quadrangle with accommodation spaced over three storeys around some of the prettiest gardens in Oxford. Darbishire contains around fifty student rooms, as well as a smattering of tutors’ rooms, and is connected to Hostel, which contains a further 10 rooms in what were once the stables (it’s much nicer these days, with less hay).
Dorothy Hodgkin Quad
The Dorothy Hodgkin Quarter is named after Nobel Prize-winning Somerville alumna Dorothy Hodgkin. Together with the Margaret Thatcher Centre, it is one of the newest parts of College. It has sixteen self-contained flats, which accommodate two to four students and is generally reserved for Finalists, as it’s a little bit quieter than some areas.
Gym
Crunch those abs! Or don’t! Either way, if you want to stay on top of your fitness, the Somerville gym is the place for you. Equipped with all the kit you need to stay on top of your cardio and strength training, from free weights to running machines, it’s a brilliantly affordable, convenient and safe option. All members of College are eligible for gym membership, and can apply at the Lodge once they have paid for and attended an induction session. Once approved, gym access will be added to your College access card.
Dining Hall
There are few better places on a summer’s evening than our Hall, when the conversation ranges back and forth across the table and the aroma of flowers in the gardens below mingles with the smell of delicious food. It’s just as cosy on a winter’s night, when the warm glow of candlelight falls softly on the wood-panelled walls and portraits of women Principals that make our Hall unique among Oxford colleges.
Of course, the other reason our students love Hall is the food. Serving three affordable meals a day during the week and twice daily at weekends (including the legendary Somerville brunch), the Somerville kitchens are highly regarded for their excellence as well as their focus on providing locally-sourced, sustainable and plant-based options wherever possible. What’s more, great food means great company, because the quality plus affordability of Somerville food means everyone regularly uses Hall, so it’s a great place for a catch-up morning, noon or night.
To find out more about meal arrangements, visit our Food and Drink page.
Holtby
Attached to Park, and sitting over the library extension, is Holtby. Named after Winifred Holtby, the novelist, former English student and great friend of Vera Brittain, Holtby contains a further 10 student rooms for first and second years, with a bathroom and kitchenette on each floor.
House
As well as being where the college Principal and Senior Tutor work, House contains administrative rooms that make up the Academic Office. Watch this linked video to meet the various support staff who work here and find out more about what support is available for you during your studies.
Barbara Craig House (PG)
Barbara Craig House is located next to Somerville and is some of our newest graduate accommodation, opening in September 2016. It features a combination of two and three bedroom flats spread over three floors. Each fully furnished flat contains a shared bathroom, kitchen with dining area, and either two or three single bedrooms.
Margery Fry (postgraduate accommodation)
Margery Fry and Elizabeth Nuffield House – generally referred to simply as Margery Fry – is the heart of the graduate community at Somerville. It was created to offer accommodation and study/living space specifically for graduates and is, in its design and execution, effectively a smaller version of Vaughan with bigger rooms. It contains 24 graduate bedrooms, a TV room, kitchen, dining room, and computer room. The building is named after Margery Fry, Principal 1927-30 and Elizabeth Nuffield, the wife of Lord Nuffield who provided the funds to enable the completion of the building.
Park
One of the older buildings in Somerville, Park contains over sixty undergraduate rooms for first and second years with a large kitchen on the ground floor as well as a music room, the Palmer computer room and a wide selection of vending machines for midnight snacks. Rooms vary in size, with many possessing lovely views of College Quad. Park is named in honour of Daphne Park, Baroness Park of Monmouth, Principal 1980-89, and has a fascinating history stretching back to its use during both world wars as an extension of the Radcliffe Hospital next to Somerville.
Student kitchens (Park and ROQ)
All students have access to shared kitchens for self-catering, like this kitchen in ROQ West. These include a fridge, microwave, kettle, hob/oven and toaster.
Music practice rooms in Park
Our music practice room in Park houses one of our 7 on-site pianos (the others are available to use in spaces as varied as our beautiful Chapel – which also has an organ and harpsichord – and the New Council Room). There’s also a drumkit and some amplifiers so whether you’re working on Mozart or Metallica, we’ve got you covered. The space has room aplenty for a full band, or even a small drama rehearsal.
Penrose
With wooden floors, fireplaces (non-functioning!), high ceilings, and wooden doors, Penrose is a grand building with around 30 student rooms for first-years. Each floor has a kitchen of a reasonable size, with full cooking and storage facilities. Built in the 1920s, Penrose is named after Dame Emily Penrose, Somerville’s third Principal (1906-26) and the woman who played a crucial role in securing the rights of women to gain an Oxford degree.
Porters’ Lodge
Open day and night, rain or shine, the Lodge is part of the essential fabric of Somerville life. During your time here, our Porters will become part of your extended Somerville family, helping you out with a multitude of tasks, from sorting the post, giving you a spare key if you accidentally lock yourself out of your room to giving you expert local advice. Lodge staff are also here to monitor security, ensuring you feel safe and at home in College as well as welcoming visitors and presenting a friendly face to the outside world. You can contact the Lodge on 01865 270600 or email them.
ROQ East
The two spectacular wings of the ROQ (short for Radcliffe Observatory Quarter) occupy the north edge of the Somerville site and provide accommodation for second, third and fourth years. They overlook the Observatory development, which is soon to house the Humanities building (scheduled to open in 2024). ROQ East and West accommodate a total of 68 students, all in en-suite rooms with a dedicated laundry room and a kitchen on nearly every floor. ROQ East has accommodation spread over three floors, while ROQ West has four floors, a lift and a number of accessible rooms, with adjoining carer rooms.
Main Quad and College Gardens
Our beautiful, expansive main quad offers a tranquil space to study or relax. Some tutors use it for outdoor tutorials in the summer when weather allows, because unlike most other Oxford colleges, you can walk on the grass! For generations of Somerville students, the college gardens are a place indelibly associated with their happiest memories of Oxford. From throwing snowballs in the depths of winter to basking on the lawns at the height of summer, the Somerville gardens provide a rolling pageantry of colour, beauty and inspiration in every season.
At the heart of the Somerville gardens’ charm is the tireless work of our Head Gardener, Alaistair Mallick and his colleague Anna Hart. Their joint commitment to sustainable planting and ethical horticulture have guaranteed that our gardens are both a beautiful place to get away from your studies and a thriving home for wildlife.
Catch up with the latest developments in the college gardens with our Gardener’s Blog: https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/news-events/news/?_sft_category=gardeners-blog
ROQ West
The two spectacular wings of the ROQ (short for Radcliffe Observatory Quarter) occupy the north edge of the Somerville site and provide accommodation for second, third and fourth years. They overlook the Observatory development, which is soon to house the Humanities building (scheduled to open in 2024). ROQ East and West accommodate a total of 68 students, all in en-suite rooms with a dedicated laundry room and a kitchen on nearly every floor. ROQ East has accommodation spread over three floors, while ROQ West has four floors, a lift and a number of accessible rooms, with adjoining carer rooms.
College Bar and Terrace
A laid-back, conservatory style space, the Terrace is a favourite hang-out for sandwiches, study sessions and damn fine coffee in the daytime. The outdoor area overlooking Little Clarendon Street is a lovely sun-trap, where you’re free to enjoy at picnic tables or on our lovely up-cycled seating, while indoors you can avail yourself of snacks, treats and games of pool.
By night, the Terrace takes on a different guise as our College bar – the perfect spot for a drink after a long day in labs or as the designated hangout post-formal or before hitting the town. For opening hours and details of how alumni can access the bar, please visit our Food and Drink page.
Wolfson
Another architectural masterpiece of the 1960s (for which it received a Grade II listing), Wolfson looks out onto College Quad, making its occupants the owners of one of the best views in Oxford. Rooms are mostly allocated to Fellows and second-, third- or fourth-year students, with the addition of small, well-equipped kitchens between each floor. Bedrooms also have beautiful, big windows with window seats. On the ground floor is Flora Anderson Hall (FAH), where lectures, bops (college discos/parties), and other events take place. Wolfson is named after Sir Isaac Wolfson, who provided the funds for the building (and for Wolfson College).
The Junior Common Room (JCR)
Both the body of undergraduate students and their committee of representatives and a physical space, our recently renovated Junior Common Room is a cosy, relaxed room with sofas, computers, a TV and games consoles, dining table, bean bags and a football table.
Vaughan
Our students all agree that, while Vaughan may not be the most attractive building in Somerville (unless you’re a brutalism fan), it’s certainly the friendliest. Accommodating first years, Vaughan possesses around 60 student rooms, a gym, meeting rooms, the college bar and terrace, and, on the ground floor, the newly renovated Junior Common Room. Each floor has two small, shared kitchens. The building is named after Dame Janet Vaughan, Principal of Somerville from 1945-67.
Entrance
From Shirley Williams to Dorothy Hodgkin, all Somerville journeys start here. We hope you’ll walk through these doors yourself soon!
Nurse’s Office
If you need help with your physcial or mental health at any time during your studies, our college nurse Rachel available every day during term time to help.
Tutor Room
Each Fellow and Tutor at Somerville has their own office for teaching and research, which they are free to decorate in their own individual style. This office belongs to our Tutor in English Literature, Professor Fiona Stafford.
Student Bedroom
We know how it looks, but this fancy room in the ROQ East building really could be yours during your undergraduate studies (although you wouldn’t have to make it look like this).
Here are a few more pictures of rooms available in ROQ and elsewhere (captioned accordingly).
Flora Anderson Hall
Whether it’s seminars and lectures from guest speakers; bops (fancy dress parties for undergraduates) with your friends; or collections (mock exams): the FAH – as we like to call it round here – is the go-to place for communal college activities.
Student Kitchen
You will have access to kitchens throughout your time in college so you can whip up delicious meals with your friends.
Chapel Interior
The Chapel has been home to concerts of everything from Bach to Indian classical music and its excellent acoustics mean it is in high demand as a music practice space. It also provides a beautiful spot for yoga classes, drama rehearsals, and private prayer and reflection for those of all religions and none.
Margaret Thatcher Centre gardens
Quiet, calm and tucked away, the bench in the MTC garden is a perfect spot for some reading on a sunny day.
Hostel
Based around Somerville’s former stables (it’s much nicer these days, with less hay), Hostel offers ten undergraduate rooms. It’s also home to our Housekeeping team, who live on the bottom floor.
St Paul’s Nursery
Somerville College was one of the first Oxford colleges to offer onsite child-care facilities, thanks to the foresight and originality of the Nobel prize-winning Chemist Dorothy Hodgkin. During her years at Somerville, Hodgkin saw for herself the clear need for women to have childcare provision in order to work unimpeded when she became the first academic in Oxford University history to take paid maternity leave and the first Somerville fellow to start a family while in post. Today, Somerville remains one of the few colleges to offer childcare to its academics and postgraduates.
Originally established as a work-place nursery for Somerville students and staff, the St. Paul’s Nursery today offers childcare provision for 16 children between the ages of 3 months and 5 years. Priority is given to members of Somerville – however, we are also open to families who are not connected to the College.
The aim of the Nursery is to promote a positive environment for learning through experimenting, investigating and by example. Children are encouraged to develop at their own pace and we try to build up each child’s confidence and self-esteem. As it is quite a small Nursery, we pride ourselves on our family environment.
MCR
The MCR, which stands for Middle Common Room, refers both to this handsomely chesterfield-ed space for graduates to enjoy a break, a comfy sofa to work on and karaoke nights alike; and to our population of postgrad students. The MCR elects a committee each year which organises events, welfare support, and works with our staff to ensure the needs of the MCR are being met and your voice is heard.
Terrace Seating (Outdoor)
The Terrace’s outdoor seating is a favourite place for our students to sit and study by day, to sit and talk by night.
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