Oxford Lockdown

OXFORD
LOCKDOWN
Stuart Bebb

Oxford Lockdown
The Victorian poet Matthew Arnold coined the term “The Dreaming Spires” because of Oxford’s
stunning architecture, it is one of the Worlds most photographed cities in part because of its stunning
and spectacular architecture, from Anglo-Saxon to modern contemporary designs.
At the beginning of 2020 the world was plunged into crisis, a global pandemic and COVID 19 came into
our vocabulary and dominated world news. The United Kingdom, like many other countries, in an effort
to stop the virus spreading and overwhelming health services, went into LOCKDOWN!
Oxford is normally a 24/7, diverse and vibrant city with thousands of students attending its worldfamous
university and colleges. A popular city for tourists from every corner of the globe, who visit to
soak up the unique history and culture of Oxford. Suddenly, the city became empty, shops, schools,
businesses, colleges and university departments all closed their doors, study and working from home
became the new norm.
This global crisis presented me with a unique opportunity to photograph Oxford like never before…….
EMPTY! I decided to photograph the city at night, when the architecture and streets take on a more of
a theatrical splendour.
My love of black and white stems from the cinema, particularly, the film classic The Third Man directed
by Carol Reed and cinematography by Robert Krasker. Set in post war Vienna, with atmospheric use of
light and shadow, with no distraction of colour, gave the film an air of mystery and suspense. It is this
air of mystery which I wanted to portray in my photography of Oxford. To capture my images, I used my
trusty Nikon D750, that and an eye for creating a photograph and a willingness to experiment!
Dedicated to:-
Tate, Chester and Meadow
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INDEX
2. Ashmolean Museum
3. Taylorian
4. Randolph Hotel
5. Martyrs Memorial
6. St. Johns College
7. Trinity College
8. Balliol College
9. Indian Institute
10. Clarendon Building
11. Broad Street
12. Brasenose College Library
Brasenose Lane East
Bodleian Library window
13. Brasenose College
Brasenose Lane West
Brasenose door (CS Lewis inspiration)
14. All Souls College Golden Gate
All Souls College Towers
15. All Souls College Codrington Library
16. Sheldonian Theatre
17. Sheldonian Theatre framed by Bridge of Sighs
18. Sheldonian Theatre Shadows
Sheldonian Theatre Emperor Head
Sheldonian Theatre
19. Bridge of Sighs, Hertford College
20. Radcliffe Camera with Narnia Lamp
21. Radcliffe Square
22. University Church of St. Mary the Virgin
23. University Church of St. Mary the Virgin
24. High Street and Magdalen College
25. Magdalen Bridge
St. Edmund Hall
26. Examination School (rear)
27. University College
Examination School (front)
Examination School, High Street
28. Queen’s College, High Street
29. Queen’s College
30. The Bear Inn, Alfred Street
Turf Tavern steps
Eagle and Child
31. Holywell Music Room
Bath Place
32. Harris Manchester College
Harris Manchester doorway
Queen’s Lane
33. Worcester College
St. Hugh’s College
Faculty of History
34. Oriel College
35. High Street
36. Carfax Tower
Carfax Clock
St. Martin’s Church Carfax
37. Waterstone’s, Broad Street
Top of St. Aldates
Town Hall
Lloyds Bank, Carfax
38. Mal Maison
39. County Hall
Oxford Castle
40. Nuffield College from Bulwarks Lane
Nuffield College from Castle Mound
Bonn Square
41. St. Peter’s College, New Inn Hall Street
St. Peter’s College
Lincoln College, Turl Street
42. Royal Oxford Hotel
Botley Road Rail Bridge
43. Said Business School
44. Cherwell College School, George Street
Kings Arms, Parks Road
Blackwell’s, Broad Street
45. Debenhams, George Street
46. Exeter College, Ship Street
St. Michael’s at the North Gate
Ship Street
47. St. Peter’s College Chapel
St. Michael's Street
Covered Market
Westgate Shopping Centre
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INDEX
48. Jesus College, Merton Street
Jesus College, Turl Street
Merton College
49. Mansfield College
New College
Pembroke College
50. Bulwarks Lane
Christ Church College, St. Aldates
Christ Church College, Peckwater Quad Gate
51. Christ Church College, Tom Tower
52. Head of the River
53. Folly House, Folly Bridge
54. Seacourt Tower, Botley
55. The Jenner Institute
Oxford Brookes University
56. Mathematical Institute
57. Blavatnik School of Government
58. Nuffield Dept. of Primary Health Care
Radcliffe Humanities
FREVD Walton Street
Oxford University Press
59. Green Templeton College, Observatory
60. The Beecroft Building
61. Denys Wilkinson Building
62. Keble College
63. Oxford University Museum of Natural History
64. St. Giles
The Plain
Woodstock Road
Magdalen Bridge
Frideswide Square
Banbury Road
Catte Street
Magdalen Street
Weston Library Steps
Bio
Stuart’s journey into photography began at Blackpool college, over
the years his passion quickly developed and has covered many
aspects of photography.
He was senior photographer in the department of Physics in Oxford
University for over 20 years, photographing many pieces of worldfamous
experimental equipment, including the DELPHI project in
Switzerland, CRESST project in Italy and ZEUS project in Germany.
His work has been reproduced in numerous scientific publications.
His love of photography extended into weddings, where his
individual style afforded him the title of “Wedding Photographer of
the Year” on no fewer than 8 occasions with various photographic
bodies.
As a keen tropical gardener, Stuart was fascinated by the
architectural form of some of his plants and his photographic
submission to the Royal Horticultural Society won a prestigious
Silver Guilt Award.
Recognised by his peers, Stuart is in demand as a lecturer and on
national and international photographic judging panels.
Always looking at ways of pushing the boundaries of photography,
Stuart has begun to explore the art in digital photography and his
original artistic interpretation of the Natural History Museum in
Oxford secured first prize in the Ruskin 200 art competition. Much
of Stuart’s work can be viewed on his web site -
www.oxfordcamera.co.uk
© Stuart Bebb retains sole copyright to all images in this book.
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