Balliol Historic Collections Centre at Cross Church

"Will the Nasties come tonight?" : From this child's question overheard in 1940s Oxford to kids jokes from the era of Jane Austen, in this year's exhibition young voices talk to us from the past through the surprising range of material created by children preserved in Balliol's collection.

First built in 890, St Cross Church houses Balliol College’s historic collections of books and manuscripts.

Arguably the oldest of all the Oxford colleges, Balliol has one of the longest continuous histories of any educational institution in the English-speaking world; the archives holding over 10,000 items from the College's history.

Balliol holds many collections of modern personal papers, with notable strengths in 19th- and 20th-century politics, diplomacy and education, including Balliol alumni T.H. Green, Harold Nicolson, Benjamin Jowett (Master of Balliol (1870-1893), and the papers of the Mallet and Morier families; and an extensive holding of literary manuscripts including material by alumni Matthew Arnold, Arthur Hugh Clough, and Graham Greene, and Robert Browning.

Balliol’s early libraries include 20,000 early printed books dating back to the 15th century and 400 early manuscripts including part of the Domesday Book (1160-1170), Richard Hill’s memorandum book (the source of many English carols) and the library of William Gray, Bishop of Ely, which has been called ‘by far the finest, as well as the largest, private collection to survive in England from the Middle Ages.'

Timings

Saturday 12 September:

1100-1600

Sunday 13 September:

1100-1600

Location & directions

St Cross Church, St Cross Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3UH

Contact on day:

Anna Clark

Telephone number:

+441865242918

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking not required

Accessibility details

There is ramped access via portable ramps to all areas of the building. Please ask staff to make these available at the door.

Additional information

Families are welcome and there will be activities on offer for visitors of all ages.

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