Come rain and shine people came, out in all weathers to enjoy Oxford Preservation Trust’s Oxford Open Doors weekend. There was more to enjoy than ever with the Painted Room attracting 2,000 visitors who queued along Cornmarket to see the place where Shakespeare stayed and John Betjeman made his office.
The Botanic Gardens welcomed the weekend in with the bells of Magdalen College and with music as the theme, with concerts at Merton and Christ Church and the Sheldonian attracting record numbers over nearly 5,000. Music and activity spilled out onto the streets at the Bodleian and the Castle, from classical to Silver Band. The Colleges were as popular as ever with University and Balliol Colleges opening for the first time, and the splendour of the newly restored Trinity Chapel on show.
Debbie Dance says ‘ It is our favourite event, not just for the buildings, but for the people, the Porters, the volunteers and the visitors all sharing in a generosity of spirit and a love of Oxford’
‘Places old and new opened up, and there was something for everyone. Thanks go to Christ Church, the Blavatnik, and everyone involved from the University, Colleges and the Town – it is a mammoth feat of organisation and good will so thanks to one and all - what a great place we live in.’
Oxford Preservation Trust has, so far, counted 60,000 visits and the figures keep coming. Social media has been buzzing all weekend and there were 70,000 hits on the website.
Oxford Preservation Trust
Public Engagement with Research
