21 Iconic Buildings to Explore in Oxfordshire

Checkout places to visit in Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a landlocked county in the far west of the government statistical region of South East England. The ceremonial county borders Warwickshire to the north-west, Northamptonshire to the north-east, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, Wiltshire to the south-west and Gloucestershire to the west.

Popular Activities And Trips in Oxfordshire

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Iconic Buildings to Explore in Oxfordshire

The Alice's Shop in Oxford is the authentic Alice in Wonderland Shop because it is part of the original story. It was Alice's sweet shop 150 years ago. It is now a gift shop selling gifts, souvenirs and memorabilia, all based on Alice.

Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace a World Heritage Site with over 300 years of History and home to the 12th Duke of Marlborough and his Family. Explore over 2000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown Parkland and 90 acres of award-winning Formal Gardens. Ride the miniature train to The Pleasure Gardens, a dedicated family area that offers a giant hedge maze, butterfly house and adventure playground.

Broughton Castle

Broughton Castle is a moated and fortified manor house near Banbury in North Oxfordshire. Set in parkland and built of the rich local Hornton ironstone. The castle sits on an artificial island in pastureland and is surrounded by a wide moat. Across the small bridge lies the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, surrounded by its historic cemetery. A Grade I listed building, it opens to the public over the summer.

The tower was built in 1818 as part of a reconstruction of the church, which was demolished in 1896 due to increasing traffic problems in the city centre. Today the tower is the tallest point in central Oxford and so by climbing its 99 steps you can experience a unique bird’s eye view of the city’s famous “dreaming spires” skyline.

Faringdon Folly Tower

Faringdon Folly was the last folly to be built in England. It stands 100 feet high and dominates the landscape above the historic market town of Faringdon. The folly was built by Lord Berners of Faringdon House in 1935 and offers superb views over 5 counties on a clear day. It was Hailed as 'Britain's finest 20th century Folly Tower' and 'One of the most important follies in Britain'

Great Coxwell Barn

Great Coxwell Barn is a Mediæval tithe barn at Great Coxwell, Oxfordshire, England. It is on the northern edge of the village of Great Coxwell, which is about 9 miles northeast of Swindon in neighbouring Wiltshire. The barn was built about 1292 for the Cistercian Beaulieu Abbey in Hampshire, which had held the manor of Great Coxwell since 1205. Since 1956 it has been in the care of the National Trust.

Kelmscott Manor

Kelmscott Manor is a limestone manor house in the Cotswolds village of Kelmscott, in West Oxfordshire. Visitors today can still experience the beauty and seclusion that inspired many of William Morris’s most important designs and writings as well as influencing his ideas on conservation for both the built and natural environments. It includes furniture, original textiles, pictures and paintings, carpets, ceramics and metalwork. The estate also boasts a beautiful garden.

National Trust - Buscot Park

Buscot Park is a country house at Buscot near the town of Faringdon in Oxfordshire within the historic boundaries of Berkshire. It was built in an austere neoclassical style between 1780 and 1783 for Edward Loveden Loveden. It remained in the family until sold in 1859 to Robert Tertius Campbell, an Australian. Campbell's daughter Florence would later be famous as Mrs Charles Bravo, the central character in a Victorian murder case that remains unsolved to this day.

National Trust - Chastleton House

Chastleton House is a Jacobean country house at Chastleton, Oxfordshire, England, close to Moreton-in-Marsh. It has been owned by the National Trust since 1991 and is a Grade I listed building. One of England’s finest and most complete Jacobean houses, filled with a mixture of rare and everyday objects collected since 1612. The gardens have a typical Elizabethan and Jacobean layout with a ring of fascinating topiary at their heart. One of the filming locations for Wolf Hall.

Oxford Castle & Prison

Oxford Castle is a large, partly ruined Norman medieval castle on the western side of central Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Most of the original moated, wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced in stone in the late 12th or early 13th century and the castle played an important role in the conflict of the Anarchy. In the 14th century the military value of the castle diminished and the site became used primarily for county administration and as a prison.

Oxford Town Hall

The Oxford Town Hall was built in 1931 and is a significant presence in the centre of Oxford. The main hall features a stage and a large open polished wooden floor area, including a sizeable mezzanine floor with tiered seating. The main hall has a full digital cinema system and can accommodate up to 230 theatre style, with a further 70 seats in the mezzanine floor.

Radcliffe Camera

The Radcliffe Camera is an iconic Oxford landmark and a working library, part of the central Bodleian Library complex. It is linked to the Old Bodleian Library by the underground Gladstone Link. The Radcliffe Camera's circularity, its position in the heart of Oxford, and its separation from other buildings make it the focal point of the University of Oxford, and as such it is almost always included in shorthand visual representations of the university.

Rousham House & Gardens

Rousham House is a country house at Rousham in Oxfordshire, England. It is the purest example of an Augustan landscape garden, designed by William Kent on a framework made by Charles Bridgeman in the 1720s. One's first Roman encounter is with statues recalling the Imperial games: a lion mauls a horse and a gladiator dies with restrained agony. The house has been owned by the Dormer family since it was built.

Shotover Country Park

Shotover Park is an 18th-century country house and park near Wheatley, Oxfordshire, England. The house, garden and parkland are Grade I-listed with English Heritage, and 18 additional structures on the property are also listed.Covering 117 hectares on the southern slopes of Shotover Hill there are spectacular views from the top across south Oxfordshire. The woodland itself has well-maintained paths, and is accessible for a rugged off-road pram, and a few paths are suitable for wheelchairs or pus

St Michael at the North Gate

St Michael at the North Gate is a church in Cornmarket Street, at the junction with Ship Street, in central Oxford, England. The name derives from the church's location on the site of the north gate of Oxford when it was surrounded by a city wall. Originally built around 1000–1050, with the tower from 1040 still in existence, the church is Oxford's oldest building.It was constructed of Coral Rag.[3] The church tower is Saxon. The architect John Plowman rebuilt the north aisle and transept in 18

The Divinity School

The Divinity School is a medieval building and room in the Perpendicular style in Oxford, England. Inside this stunning room, you’ll notice a number of points of interest. The spectacular ceiling is one of the country’s finest examples of gothic fan-vaulted architecture, and boasts 455 crests of the various families and institutions who made donations for the project. The building is physically attached to the Bodleian Library, and is opposite the Sheldonian Theatre where students matriculate a

The Sheldonian Theatre

The Sheldonian Theatre is one of the popular Oxford tourist attractions. This small yet exquisite Grade I listed building was built between 1664 and 1668 by Sir Christopher Wren. The building’s primary function is as the University of Oxford’s ceremonial hall but is also available as a venue for a range of dinners, receptions, talks, and music events.

Tom Tower is a bell tower in Oxford, England, named after its bell, Great Tom. It is over Tom Gate, on St Aldates, the main entrance of Christ Church, Oxford, which leads into Tom Quad. This square tower with an octagonal lantern and facetted ogee dome was designed by Christopher Wren and built 1681–82.

Map of Iconic Buildings to Explore in Oxfordshire