Undergraduate Accommodation

Introduction

The Knee Building (formerly New Building) is located between Hannington Quad and Chavasse Quad. As most first-year undergraduates are housed in either Matthews Building or The Knee, there is a friendly rivalry between the two blocks!

History

The Knee Building is a tall, brick building noted for its unusual glass staircase (we think it resembles a coffee pot!). The building was designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, a British firm of modernist architects best known for the the Barbican Centre and Estate in central London.

The Knee is named in honour of former Fellow and Tutor in Engineering Science, Professor John O' Connor (1934-2024), the co-inventor of the Oxford knee (the first partial knee replacement). You can read more about the naming of the building here.

Introduction

Staircase III has rooms for second, third and fourth years. It is located in the heart of the College with views overlooking Linton Quad.

History

Staircases I, II and III are the first buildings commissioned and built for St Peter's when it was founded as a Hall in the late 1920s. They were designed in 1929-31 by architect R. Fielding Dodd in a red-brick, neo-Georgian style. The block is named for Ella Rowcroft (d. 1941), philanthropist and early St Peter's benefactor.

Introduction

Chavasse Building has rooms for second and third year undergraduates and some postgraduates. Located in the heart of the College, Chavasse overlooks New Inn Hall Street and Chavasse Quad. The ground floor of the building contains meeting and lecture spaces. Video coming soon!

History

The Chavasse Building is named after the first Master of the College, Christopher Chavasse. A Grade II listed building completed at the turn of the twentieth century, it served for many years as the site of the Oxford Central Girls’ School and a Pupil Teachers' Centre. Inscriptions survive on the façade with the name of the school. The building became part of the College estate in the 1980s.

Introduction

Damazer House is a multi-year accommodation block located in Castle Bailey Quad. Along with Westfield House, Damazer makes up St Peter's College's newest accommodation quad, overlooking the historic medieval castle mound on New Road.

History

Castle Bailey Quad was completed in 2024 and has been built to meet Passivhaus standards. The quad is located across the road from Oxford's Norman castle mound. Recent archaeology conducted on our site before the building of the quad uncovered evidence of a possible earlier Saxon rampart from the late 9th and 10th centuries, possibly some of Oxford's earliest defences. Damazer House is named in honour of Mark Damazer CBE, who was Master of St Peter's College from 2010 to 2019.

Introduction

Westfield House is a multi-year accommodation block located in Castle Bailey Quad. Along with Damazer House, Westfield makes up St Peter's College's newest accommodation, overlooking the medieval castle mound on New Road. The video tour provided here shows a room in Damazer House. The rooms in both buildings have the same amenities, but please note that Westfield has only one kitchen rather than a kitchen on each floor.

History

Castle Bailey Quad was completed in 2024 and has been built to meet Passivhaus standards. The quad is located across the road from Oxford's Norman castle mound. Recent archaeology conducted on our site before the building of the quad uncovered evidence of a possible earlier Saxon rampart from the late 9th and 10th centuries, possibly some of Oxford's earliest defences. In a first for St Peter's College, the name of the building was selected by popular vote. Students and employees selected the name Westfield House in honour of the women of Westfield College, London, who relocated to St Peter's during World War II.

Introduction

The Lau Building Annexe is one of the three College annexes for second, third and fourth year undergraduate students, first-year postgraduate students and visiting students. Like Paradise St Annexe and St Thomas' Street Annexe, it is located in the historic Oxford Castle quarter, just a five-minute walk from the main College site. The building sits on Quaking Bridge, just above the remains of a medieval wall and next to the castle tower. Student room tour coming soon!

History

The Lau building is named for the generous benefactor who made this building possible, Mr William Lau. The Castle Quarter has a rich history, as it is the location of one of the first motte-and-bailey castles built in England after the Norman invasion in 1066. You can still see the Norman castle mound and remnants of later iterations of the castle when walking from your room at Lau to the main site of St Peter's College.

Introduction

Paradise Street is one of the three College annexes for second, third and fourth year undergraduate students, first-year postgraduate students and visiting students. Like St Thomas' St Annexe and Lau Building Annexe, it is located in the historic Oxford Castle quarter, just a five-minute walk from the main College site.

History

Paradise Street is named after the street itself. The Castle Quarter has a rich history, as it is the location of one of the first motte-and-bailey castles built in England after the Norman invasion in 1066. You can still see the Norman castle mound and remnants of later iterations of the castle when walking from your room at Paradise St to the main site of St Peter's College.

Introduction

The St Thomas' Street Annexe is one of the three College annexes for second, third and fourth year undergraduate students, first-year postgraduate students and visiting students. Like Paradise St Annexe and Lau Building Annexe, it is located in the historic Oxford Castle quarter, just a five-minute walk from the main College site.

History

St Thomas' Street is named after the street itself (it's not a typo, the street and building do indeed contain a mysterious plural possessive apostrophe)! The Castle Quarter has a rich history, as it is the location of one of the first motte-and-bailey castles built in England after the Norman invasion in 1066. You can still see the Norman castle mound and remnants of later iterations of the castle when walking from your room at St Thomas' Street to the main site of St Peter's College.

Introduction

Emily Morris (Staircase IV) is a four-storey building located in the heart of college on Mulberry Quad. It has rooms for all undergraduate years, with first-years sometimes occupying rooms on the top floor. It also has staff offices including the College Nurse and Dean for Welfare.

History

The Emily Morris Building opened in 1934 and is named for the mother of car manufacturer, philanthropist and College benefactor, William Morris, Lord Nuffield (1877-1963). A bust of Emily Morris is displayed on the ground floor of the building, and a portrait of Lord Nuffield hangs in the Dining Hall.