Insight 2017

The Queen’s College Library 

Insight 

Issue 7, Michaelmas Term 2017 

New Library Special Issue: 

Introduction from Amanda Saville...p.1 

‘Queen’s Before Queen’s’ - John Blair...p.2 

‘The New Library Project’ - Paul Renton- 

Rose...p.6 

‘A (Near) Impossible Building’ - Stuart Cade...p.9 

‘Reflections on the New Library Project’ - David 

Goddard...p. 13

1 

elcome to Issue 7 

W of Insight. The front 

cover of this issue is a 

somewhat surreal yet 

beautiful image of the roof 

light to the New Library 

appearing to float between 

the terrace and lawn of the 

Provost’s Garden. It was 

taken in May just as the 

garden was being replanted 

and shows the 

copper beech tree in full 

leaf, healthy and happy 

after two years of adjacent 

construction. 

THE QUEEN'S COLLEGE LIBRARY INSIGHT 

The cover gives it away; 

this year’s issue, is, as 

promised, a “new library 

special” and contains 

articles that range from an 

account of the preconstruction 

archaeological dig to an 

assessment of all the work 

that has been carried out 

on the library buildings 

over the last four years. 

The first article is by John 

Blair, Fellow in Modern History, Anglo-Saxon archaeologist, 

former Fellow Librarian and one of the earliest supporters in 

College for an underground extension to the Library. John 

describes in detail the archaeological dig that took place in 

early 2015 in the Provost’s Garden, just before the 

construction work began. The results of the dig have cast new 

light on the expansion of Oxford eastwards from the original 

Saxon Burgh and John’s article brings it all to life. Next time 

you come to the Library, if you would like to see some of the 

finds unearthed during the dig you will find a cross section of 

excavated material on display in the new exhibition case in the 

Lower Library. 

The second article is by Paul Renton-Rose, Project Manager 

for Beard Construction, main contractor for the new library. 

Paul was in charge of all aspects of the new library build on 

site. His article reveals some of the many complexities 

involved in constructing such a bespoke building in a site in 

the centre of Oxford, surrounded by Grade I listed structures 

and with extremely difficult access. Some of the images in 

Paul’s article have reminded me just how challenging a 

building this was to construct. This can easily be forgotten as I 

sit under the roof light in our beautiful new library enjoying 

the fruits of the hard work of Paul and so many of his 

dedicated and specialist colleagues, who brought the 

Architects’ vision to reality so ably. 

Paul’s article is followed by a piece by Stuart Cade, one of the 

founding partners of MICA Architects, the company which 

earlier this year evolved from Rick Mather Architects, the firm 

Rowan Atkinson CBE unveiling the commemorative plaque to declare the New Library officially open. 

who designed the Library. I have known Stuart for eleven 

years and it is a delight to both of us that the building on 

which we have worked together for so long, has now come so 

spectacularly to life. Stuart’s article describes the design 

concepts behind the building and highlights the expertise of 

many of the consultants who worked on the project to design 

what he describes as “a (near) impossible building”. I would 

like to record my thanks both to Stuart and his colleague 

Mandy Franz, who, as Project Architect, made the “near 

impossible” into a reality. 

The final article is a retrospective by David Goddard, Clerk of 

Works and College Project Manager for the new library who 

looks back at the last four years of intensive work on the 

library buildings starting with the refurbishment project of 

2013-14 and culminating in the recent opening of our new 

library by old member Rowan Atkinson CBE. 

I am very grateful to all the contributors who willingly wrote 

for me, many of whom had already moved on to manage other 

building challenges whilst writing their articles. I am 

particularly grateful to my colleague, Sarah Arkle, whose first 

issue of Insight this is, who has done such a brilliant job in 

producing this issue. 

If you have ideas for future articles or indeed would like to 

contribute, please contact me at 

amanda.saville@queens.ox.ac.uk 

Amanda Saville, Librarian, November 2017

Michaelmas 2017 2 

Q U E E N ’ S B E F O R E Q U E E N ’ S : T H E 

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE NEW LIBRARY AND 

OXFORD’S ‘EASTERN EXTENSION’ 

John Blair, The Queen’s College 

he new underground library extends deep into the gravel 

T subsoil, and its creation involved the removal of all 

human deposits. An archaeological excavation – the largest 

ever conducted in modern times in the eastern part of the 

walled city of Oxford – was therefore required. The layout 

and development of this area between the late Anglo-Saxon 

period and the twelfth century have been almost completely 

obscure, so the exercise promised a glimpse into the unknown. 

That promise was fulfilled: what was uncovered was in one 

way predictable, in another very surprising. 

The excavation was carried out during 2015 by Oxford 

Archaeology under the direction of Richard Brown, and is 

described in a preliminary report. 1 Post-excavation work 

remains to be completed for the final publication, and some 

conclusions will probably be modified, but meanwhile Mr 

Brown and O.A. have kindly allowed me to set their findings 

in context for the benefit of members of Queen’s. Everything 

said here is, however, subject to revision in the light of the 

final conclusions. 

It is generally agreed that Oxford began as a rectilinear 

earthwork fort defending an important Thames crossing, and 

also enclosing the minster of St Frideswide (now the 

Cathedral) established there around the year 700. 2 The placename 

first appears on pennies of King Alfred, minted at 

Ohsnaforda in the 890s, but it remains unclear whether the first 

fort was built by Alfred, by his immediate successors, or even 

conceivably by one of his predecessors. The basic topography 

of the core area and its rectilinear defences, enclosing a main 

crossroads centred on Carfax, is reasonably clear. 

There has been considerable debate, however, about the 

eastern half of the walled area between Radcliffe Square and 

the East Gate, including the site of Queen’s. The northwards 

kink in the line of the late medieval city wall between Broad 

Street and Holywell has long encouraged the hypothesis that 

the eastern zone was an extension, probably added in the late 

tenth or eleventh century. That idea appeared to be confirmed 

by an excavation between the Old Bodleian and the Clarendon 

Building in 1899, which found a sharp southwards curve in the 

revetment of the Anglo-Saxon bank: it is difficult to 

understand this except as the north-east corner of the primary 

fort. 3 

On the other hand, a trench against the inner face of the New 

College section of the wall in 1993 disclosed an earlier clay 

bank, seemingly identical to the primary northern bank that 

had been recognised in 1985 behind St Michael’s Street. 4 That 

encouraged some re-thinking: could the whole circuit have 

been of a single, Alfredian, build after all? 5 In any case, there 

were already enough finds and small-scale observations from 

the eastern zone to show that late Anglo-Saxon settlement of 

some kind existed there, whether intramural or suburban. 6 

There were also the more recent excavations within Queen’s 

itself, in the Back Quad (2008) and the Nun’s Garden (2010), 

each of which had encountered fragmentary late Anglo-Saxon 

pits, including in one case a cut halfpenny of Æthelred II 

circulating during 997-1003. 7 It was therefore anticipated that 

at least some activity from around the year 1000 would be 

identified in the Provost’s Garden. 

That proved indeed to be the case (Figure 1). The earliest 

occupation (Phase 1) comprised three cellars, measuring 

respectively 4 x 2.5 m., 2.5 x 2.5 m., and 1.75 x 1 m. To their 

south-west were remains of a metalled lane surfaced with 

pebbles, marked by wheel-ruts, and a row of post-holes 

suggesting some frontage structure between the largest cellar 

and the lane. South and west of the cellars were scattered 

rubbish-pits, as usual on such sites. Pottery from the pits and 

cellars indicated a late Anglo-Saxon date (though the fill of one 

of the cellars contained two sherds of Kennet Valley Ware, 

introduced c.1050), and there was another Æthelred II coin, of 

c.1009-16. 

Subsequent developments (Phase 2a), up to the foundation of 

Queen’s in 1342, are at present only dated very broadly. A 

system of rectilinear boundary ditches cut some of the Phase 1 

features, but is also broadly compatible with the settlement 

layout of that date, and may have respected the lane. The 

abandonment of the lane is indicated by a rubbish-pit cut 

through its surface, containing pottery in the range c.1075- 

1150. There are apparently no grounds for thinking that the 

topographical configuration represented by the cellars and lane 

survived beyond the early to mid twelfth century. 

Phase 1 is exactly what we would expect of urban or suburban 

activity in the range c.980-1050. Cellars (probably contained 

within ground-level timber buildings) are the classic buildingform 

found in such contexts. Those from the Provost’s 

Garden are at the smaller end of the Oxford range, 8 

resembling more closely some examples from proto-towns and 

monastic centres like Stafford, Northampton and – more 

locally – Bampton. 9 To that extent this looks a less `urban’ 

environment than, for instance, the frontages of Cornmarket 

or Queen Street. 

The impression that the late Anglo-Saxon activity was 

suburban rather than urban in character is strongly reinforced 

by the unexpected alignment of the features. Although the lane 

survived in a fragmentary state, it unmistakably ran from westnorth-west 

to east-south-east; the wheel-ruts in its surface 

show that it was a through-route rather than a purely local 

feature. The cellars, and the line of stakes on the frontage, 

were broadly aligned on the lane. While one should be cautious 

about extrapolating from small observations, it is hard to resist 

the obvious conclusion that this lane ran from somewhere in 

the region of the Clarendon Building and Hertford College 

towards the later medieval East Gate on the High Street 

(Figure 2). 

This looks like a non-urban settlement layout, which at some 

stage was scrapped and overlain by the conventionally 

rectilinear topography of the eastern walled area. It does not 

tell us when the wall around that area was built, but it does

3 


Figure 1 

show that the internal layout did not come to resemble the 

rectilinearity of the late Anglo-Saxon core to the west until 

after the Norman Conquest. The discovery therefore casts 

serious doubt on the hypothesis that the eastern half of the city 

was part of the original Alfredian plan, and (setting aside for 

the moment the problem of the New College bank) it supports 

the earlier view that this was a relatively late extension, 

enclosing organic suburban settlement. 

The newly-found lane should be seen in relation to Catte Street 

(the eastern side of Radcliffe Square), where pre-Conquest 

road-metalling of similar appearance was observed in 1980. 10 

Together, these lanes now look like a ‘bypass system’, to 

channel north-to-south and north-to-east flows of traffic from 

the Banbury road down Parks Road, and then around the 

outside of the Alfred-period fortress. Whereas Catte Street 

presumably led on southwards to a Thames ford, the lane now 

discovered under Queen’s would have passed the north-east 

corner of the fort and then made for Magdalen Bridge. 

When the eastern defences were built (or remodelled as a 

continuous circuit), the two lanes would have assumed a new 

character as components of the intramural street-plan. Their 

northern ends diverged just inside a new gate – Smith Gate – 

giving access to the city from Parks Road. Whereas Catte 

Street lost its function as a through-route (it was cut short at 

Merton Street and then the city wall to the south), the lane 

across the Queen’s site would have remained the most direct 

route from Smith Gate to the new East Gate. In other words, 

it was an earlier incarnation of Queen’s Lane: the present 

configuration of sharp-angled bends – so familiar (and at 

times so tiresome) to all members of the College – must have 

been planned to accommodate blocks of tenements in broad 

conformity with the rectilinear layout of the original nucleus 

and the extended walls. 

When did that happen? Queen’s Lane had assumed its present 

configuration by c.1240, when it was known as ‘Thorald the 

Tawyer’s Lane’. 11 The replanning must, however, have


occurred by c.1210 at the latest, since some individual 

tenements in the blocks facing the High Street (under the main 

front of Queen’s and the shops east of the Lane entrance), 12 

and the block facing Catte Street (under Hertford College), 

have sets of deeds starting around or just after that date: 13 the 

lane must have been diverted before those tenements were laid 

out. Oxford has a great wealth of medieval deeds, but 

documentation at the level of individual tenements is 

essentially post-1200: the fact that the documented properties 

were evidently well-established when their deeds start pushes 

the replanning episode back into the twelfth century. That is 

of course consistent with the excavated evidence that the 

original lane was disused, and being cut by pits, no later than 

c.1150. 

There is a likely connection, though not a necessary one, 

between the building of the eastern walls (in their developed 

form of a continuous circuit) and the tenemental replanning. It 

is in theory quite possible that after the walls were built, the 

diagonal lane inside them – now entered at its two ends from 

Smith Gate and East Gate – remained in use for decades or 

even generations. Alternatively, the walls and the tenementseries 

that they enclosed could have been created in a single, 

comprehensive town planning exercise. It is normally assumed 

that the walls existed at least by the 1080s, but even that is far 

from clear. Both in Domesday Book, and in the next 

document that mentions it (a charter of 1153-4), the 

topographical status of St Peter’s-in-the-East church is left 

frustratingly ambiguous : ‘St Peter’s church of Oxford’, rather 

than ‘in Oxford’. 14 Even the charter’s description of it as ‘near 

the East Gate’ (ecclesia Sancti Petri de Oxenefordia que sita est iuxta 

portam de est) is not conclusive, since that might refer either to 

the second East Gate (150 metres south-eastwards) or to the 

putative original one (250 metres south-westwards). 

A different approach to this problem concerns the so-called 

‘mural mansions’: the special group of tenements that, 

according to Domesday Book, ‘were free in King Edward [the 

Confessor]’s time of all customary obligations except armyservice 

and repairing the wall’. 15 While the pre-Conquest 

origins of the system are thus certain, Hilary Turner’s 

topographical analysis in 1990 showed that the ‘mural 

mansions’ capable of being located on the ground 

concentrated heavily in the north-east part of the developed 

city, east of Radcliffe Square and north of High Street. 16 That 

cannot reflect late Anglo-Saxon arrangements in any simple or 

Figure 2

5 


direct way, since several of the tenements whose proprietors 

were charged with wall-duty in a writ of 1227 must have taken 

shape after Queen’s Lane assumed its present dog-legged form. 

A more straightforward explanation would be that these 

tenements do not relate to the Anglo-Saxon system of wallmaintenance 

at all, but rather to a twelfth-century extension of 

it. On that view, one might envisage an agreement whereby the 

Crown allowed the extended walls to be built, on condition 

that the burden of maintaining them was apportioned between 

the tenants of the new house-plots that were thus enclosed and 

protected. 

Perhaps, then, there is something to be said for a new 

hypothesis: that the eastern walled circuit in its developed 

form, and the planned tenements inside it, were laid out 

together at a date not long before the abandonment of the 

settlement on the Provost’s Garden site by the 1150s. In Henry 

I’s reign Oxford was already recovering from its post-Conquest 

depression, and growing fast. 17 Another obvious possibility is 

that the Anarchy years of 1139-53 (which despite the political 

chaos were an era of strong economic growth. 18 ) created a 

compelling incentive to defend the valuable church of St Peter, 

and the now densely-settled zone between it and the city wall. 

It would have helped that the two powerful magnates with a 

direct interest in this part of eastern Oxford and Holywell 

manor were Angevin supporters, well-placed at court: Henry 

d’Oilly, the heir of Robert d’Oilly who had held St Peter’s 

church and Holywell in 1086, and Henry of Oxford, Matilda’s 

local henchman, who built a massive Romanesque house in the 

west of the city. 19 The 1153-4 charter mentioned above is an 

(ultimately ineffectual) grant by Henry d’Oilly to Oseney Abbey 

of St Peter’s church, which at that point was firmly in the 

clutches of John of Oxford, Henry of Oxford’s son and future 

bishop of Norwich. 20 John may well have been responsible for 

the sumptuous Romanesque rebuilding of the church that still 

largely survives (now St Edmund Hall library), and he certainly 

enjoyed a large and apparently complex residence west of St 

Peter’s churchyard, occupying what is now the eastern half of 

the Back Quad at Queen’s. 21 If the extension of the walls and 

the replanning of the area inside them happened in, say, the 

1140s, it is almost certain that the two Henrys were involved in 

one way or another. 

At this point we need to take a step back, and consider the 

status and fortunes of St Peter’s church: it may have been the 

single most important influence on the urban developments to 

its west. Although the early ecclesiastical heart of Oxford was 

certainly St Frideswide’s, there is persuasive circumstantial 

evidence that St Peter’s-in-the-East was also an Anglo-Saxon 

monastic complex, possibly one of a series established on the 

peripheries of Mercian centres by King Alfred’s daughter 

Æthelflaed. 22 During the tenth to twelfth centuries, it was often 

the fate of formerly independent minsters to be annexed as 

essentially the private property of secular and ecclesiastical 

magnates. Domesday Book (which unfortunately says nothing 

here about pre-Conquest arrangements) makes it clear that this 

had happened to St Peter’s by 1086: both the church and its 

manor of Holywell were controlled by the Norman baron 

Robert d’Oilly. 23 Its later twelfth-century status, as the personal 

church and residence of a great curial ecclesiastic, looks equally 

typical. The absence of early sources should not disguise from 

us the former wealth and status of this church, which would 

certainly have been surrounded by a substantial precinct and 

associated buildings. 

We have no evidence for what that complex was like (the 

broken circle shown on Figure 2 is purely schematic), but it 

could have included a significant part of what would become 

the walled extension north of High Street. There are hints of it 

in thirteenth-century deeds describing the tenements on the 

easternmost part of the Queen’s site: Bishop John’s house 

comprising a ‘messuage with houses, orchard(?) and the whole 

courtyard … in the churchyard of St Peter’s’ (mesuagium cum 

domibus et uirgulto et tota curia … in atrio Beati Petri), and the 

tenement to its south ‘in St Peter’s churchyard’. 24 An odd 

feature of these descriptions is that they ignore the intervening 

Queen’s Lane, which certainly existed when they were written. 

The explanation is presumably that they were carried over 

from earlier documentation, dating from a time before the 

replanning, when St Peter’s and its peripheral structures 

dominated the local landscape. 

If we take another step backwards, that perspective helps to 

set the early eleventh-century occupation in context. If the 

Queen’s site was suburban in the sense that it was outside the 

eastern rampart of the city, it was also suburban in the sense 

that it developed on the periphery of an Anglo-Saxon minster: 

many eleventh-century towns began as what an Alfred-period 

translator (rendering Bede’s phrase urbana loca into Old 

English) called ‘minster-places’. 25 This was therefore a place of 

a rather special and unusual kind, arising from the original 

placement of St Peter’s some way outside the fort: a suburb, as 

it were, twice over. And indeed it offers a classic illustration of 

the kind of small-scale cultivation for urban consumption that 

underlies so many places of this kind. The Domesday account 

of Holywell manor in 1086 mentions 23 men ‘having little 

gardens’ (hortulos habentes). 26 Smallholders of this kind, who may 

have combined obligations to their lords with marketgardening 

and craft production, were very common of the 

edges of eleventh-century towns. 27 Maybe some of their wares 

were sold from the roadside buildings now identified under the 

Provost’s Garden. 

Having said all that, there remains the problem – a big and 

important one – of the New College bank. The feature 

observed in 1993 is scarcely diagnostic physically: a city 

defence constructed in the twelfth century would probably still 

have been earthen, 28 and it is not obvious that the bank 

material of a rampart built in, say, 1150 would look different 

from one built in, say, 1000. However, Optically Stimulated 

Luminescence (OSL) results just released point to the startling 

conclusion that this feature, or parts of it, was constructed in 

the eighth century. 29 This remarkable new evidence (for 

immediate access to which I am deeply grateful to Ben Ford of 

Oxford Archaeology) raises implications that cannot be 

considered properly here, let alone answered. Possibly the 

eighth-century earthwork was a linear bank – or even a 

monastic enclosure around St Peter’s – that survived as a 

relict landscape feature to be incorporated into the twelfthcentury 

defences. It is hard to see it as an integral part of the


Alfred-period fort; rather, that must have been built 

immediately west of some structure surviving from the period 

of Mercian control. At all events, the suburban character of 

the occupation around the year 1000 can scarcely be 

reconciled with the earthwork being a coherent barrier 

between town and countryside at that stage. For the moment 

this question must remain unresolved, but debate will certainly 

continue. 

The Anglo-Saxon landscape of the Queen’s site is very deeply 

buried: under the twelfth-century urban replanning, under the 

late medieval College buildings, and finally under their 

Baroque successors. There is no possibility of exploring it 

except by deep excavation, which is why it has remained so 

mysterious hitherto. Over the past decade, Queen’s has had 

the confidence and courage to augment its facilities with a new 

kitchen, lecture-room and library. That has been at the cost of 

considerable disruption, now happily behind us. An 

unexpected bonus along the way has been a significant 

contribution to understanding the origins and early growth of 

Oxford. 

Notes and references 

1. R. Brown, Provost’s Garden, The Queen’s College, Oxford: Post- 

Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design (unpublished client 

report, Oxford Archaeology, September 2016). 

2. J. Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire (Stroud, 1994), 52-4, 61-3, 87-92, 

146-52; A. Dodd (ed.), Oxford Before the University (Oxford, 2003). 

3. Julian Munby in Dodd (ed.), Oxford Before the University, 172-83. 

4. Paul Booth in Dodd (ed.), Oxford Before the University, 183-6. 

5. Julian Munby in Dodd (ed.), Oxford Before the University, 24-5, 

concluding that `the proposed eastern extension remains really 

quite difficult to reconcile with the archaeological evidence’. 

6. J. Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, 161. 

7. A. Norton and J. Mumford, `Anglo-Saxon Pits and a Medieval 

Kitchen at The Queen’s College, Oxford’, Oxoniensia, 75 (2010), 

165-217, at pp.177-9; S. Teague, A. Norton and A. Dodd, `Late 

Saxon, Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeology at the Nun’s 

Garden, The Queen’s College, Oxford’, Oxoniensia, 80 (2015), 143 

-85, at pp.147-8. 

8. J. Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, 162-4; Dodd, Oxford Before the 

University, 35-41. 

9. J. Blair, Building Anglo-Saxon England (Princeton, 2018), Fig. 131. 

10. Dodd, Oxford Before the University, 260, 397. 

11. H.E. Salter, Survey of Oxford, I (Oxford Historical Soc. n.s.14, 

1960), 160 (tenement NE 230); Cartulary of Oseney Abbey, ed. H.E. 

Salter, I (Oxford Historical Soc. 89, 1929), 269-71 

12. Salter, Survey, I, 135-47 (tenements NE 173-95, especially 175, 

177, 183, 190 with starting deeds no later than 1210). 

13. Salter, Survey, I, 92-8 (tenements NE 131-6, especially 131 with a 

starting deed of c.1220). 

14. Great Domesday Book fo. 158v; H.E. Salter, Facsimiles of Early 

Charters in Oxford Muniment Rooms (Oxford, 1929), No.73. 

15. Great Domesday Book fo.154. 

16. H.L. Turner, `The Mural Mansions of Oxford: Attempted 

Identifications’, Oxoniensia, 55 (1990), 73-9; cf. O. Creighton and 

R. Higham, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud, 2005), 39-40, 81, etc. 

17. Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, 177. 

18. Here I cannot resist recalling that my predecessor, John 

Prestwich, made this point very powerfully in a lecture that I 

heard as an undergraduate, in about 1974. I hope he would have 

relished the thought that urban replanning from the Anarchy 

period lies directly under Queen’s. 

19. J. Blair, `Frewin Hall, Oxford; a Norman Mansion and a 

Monastic College’, Oxoniensia, 43 (1978), 48-99, at pp.49-64. 

20. Salter, Facsimiles of Early Charters, No. 73. 

21. Salter, Survey, I, 152-3 (tenement NE 208); Cartulary of Oseney, I, 

276-9. 

22. Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, 112-13. 

23. Great Domesday Book fo. 158v. 

24. Salter, Survey, I, 152-3 (tenements NE 208-9); Cartulary of Oseney, 

I, 276; Cartulary of the Hospital of St John the Baptist, ed. H.E. Salter, 

I (Oxford Hist. Soc. 66, 1914), 344. 

25. J. Blair, The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society (Oxford, 2005), 330-41. 

26. Great Domesday Book fo.158v. 

27. C. Dyer ,`Towns and Cottages in Eleventh-Century England’, in 

H. Mayr-Harting and R.I. Moore (eds.), Studies in Medieval History 

Presented to R.H.C. Davis (London, 1985), 91-106; Blair, Church in 

Anglo-Saxon Society, 340-1. 

28. Cf. Creighton and Higham, Medieval Town Walls, 178-84. 

29. Results communicated by Jean-Luc Schwenninger in July 2017. 

Thanks also to David Radford for his help with this and other 

sites. 

John Blair is a Fellow in History here at The Queen’s College and 

Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology. He was appointed to his 

present position at Queen’s in 1981. Outside his academic duties, he 

maintains a long-standing involvement in practical archaeology, and in the 

worlds of building and landscape conservation. 

The New Library Project 

Paul Renton-Rose, Beard Construction 

For Amanda 

une 2015 saw the start of the work on site for the new 

J 

library project, it had taken years of preparations by the 

various architects & design teams and now, with the 

archaeology complete, it was time to start the excavation. This 

transformed the Provost’s Garden into a construction site and 

started the engineering process of the New Library. The 

design team had set the bar very high with a wall to wall 

excavation that had to be executed with great care & precision 

to fit the library into the garden area without disturbing the 

surrounding 1690’s library building, listed walls, not forgetting 

the reportedly 200-year-old wisteria and copper beech tree. 

Protection to the west side of the library facade was formed 

with a 5.5-metre-high screen made from steel supports, ply 

and Monoflex sheeting. The protection of the historic wall on 

the south elevation was completed and agreed with all parties 

so piling could commence. 

A temporary support for the 38-tonne piling machine required 

a designed reinforced piling mat of approximately 1000 tonne 

of stone, this was imported, constructed and plate tested 

before we allowed the piling to proceed. A strong and stable 

platform is essential to keeping the rig flat on the ground and 

not allow excessive movement in the mast. 

Supporting the ground and historic parts of the Grade I listed

7 


building and associated 

Grade II listed walls, 

took great skill and 

ingenuity on behalf of 

the construction team. 

The designed secant 

piling was located 

around the excavation 

up against the lines of 

the existing structures, 

and in one case within 

100mm of the library 

facade. 

Weekly monitoring of 

Piling machine 

t h e s u r r o u n d i n g 

buildings made sure that the ground support measures that had 

been put in place were working and could be constantly 

adjusted if required. 

Monitoring concrete before and after casting 

Whilst the New Library piling and excavation were being 

executed, the dismantling of the joinery in the Lower Library 

took place: labelling, scheduling, photographing all the parts, 

careful removal and transferring off site for 15 months into 

storage for later inclusion. Trying to keep a low profile in the 

back of the College garden with the only access via Queens & 

New College Lane was not easy. Trying to ship out soil; 

approximately 8861 tonnes of excavated materials and at the 

same time bring in 3000 tonnes of concrete and new materials 

through the tight 

restrictions of the 

Lane, was challenging 

to say the least. We 

restricted the sizes 

and width of the 

delivery vehicles and 

in some cases the 

m a t erials b eing 

delivered. As a result, 

daily monitoring and 

cleaning of the lane 

by our staff, and 

weekly cleaning with 

the road sweeper, was 

necessary. 

The pump used during the build to place concrete 

Contractors worked hard over the 18 months to keep 

members of the public and tourists safe whilst escorting the 

delivery trucks and materials safely to the site, sometimes, with 

agreement of all parties and Oxford City Council, in the early 

hours of the mornings to reduce the risk to the public and 

students. 

After extensive archaeology for approximately 3 months by 

Oxford Archaeology the site was passed over to us to progress 

with the works, during the bulk excavation one of the ground 

work team spotted and unearthed an earwax and tooth pick 

which was returned to the College for display (approximate 

length 10cm). 

The finds liaison officer dated this to 13th-15th (medieval) 

which would correspond to the early arrangement for The 

Queens College (before the wholesale rebuilding of the 

17th/18th) when this area seems likely to have been used as a 

quarry for building materials; pits for toilets; and the dumping 

of rubbish. The artefact, an expensive item for the time, was a 

personal grooming item likely to have been accidentally 

dropped down the toilet by a student or scholar. 

Toothpick/earwax implement found during the excavation 

With the type of reinforced concrete structure proposed, most 

buildings are built to a B.S. or E.N. (British or European 

standards) for location and verticality, in all instances the 

structures have exceeded this quality standard allowing the 

design team certainty in their design. 

Every reinforcement bar was engineered, designed, drawn, 

scheduled, delivered to site, cut, bent and then positioned by 

hand. Each was measured to fit its correct location to carry out 

the job it is required to do. 138 tonnes of steel reinforcement 

has been placed by hand (as shown in the photo below) by 

experienced skilled workers. 

Escorted deliveries along Queen’s lane to the 

construction site 

Our great band of 

banksmen from Curtis


Interesting Statistics for the Project 

299 concrete piles were used to support the ground & 

structure of the new building. They also anchor the library 

in place; pile length of 3000 metres (3km) if positioned end 

to end. 

There are 10 ground source piles which extend 50 metres 

below the building basement level. 

8861 tonnes of excavated soil was removed. 

2000 cubic metres of concrete was delivered and pumped 

into the ground (approximately 5000 tonnes). 

138 tonnes of reinforcement strengthens the concrete 

which supports the library structure. 

94,338.5 hours have been employed on site by the various 

trades (this excludes the production time of offsite 

manufacture and work by office or design staff). 

9km of electrical wiring was used. 

60 separate contractors have had an input to the works on 

site, many of them have a specialist knowledge for a 

particular part of the build. 

737 site personnel & visitors have been inducted and 

managed on site. 

The location of the site mid way along Queens Lane required a 

smaller than normal concrete truck which could deliver the 

concrete directly to the site along the very narrow road and 

around the tight corners in the lane. Our happy band of lads 

on the logistics team escorted the concrete trucks to and from 

the site daily ensuring the safety of the public and monitoring 

the vehicles passing safely through the historic lane. This 

amounted to over 2000 vehicle movements. 

Small concrete lorry escorted to and from the site 

Creating the ground-level main entrance to the New Library 

brought many challenges: working inside the historic Grade I 

listed building in a working library; making sure the vital 

services of the library were not disturbed, and, ensuring all of 

the designed construction fitted into the space required; lift, 

staircase and final finishes. It was one area of the build that 

had all the makings of a big problem, and could have all gone 

terribly wrong. However, it had been planned and designed 

well, the design fitted like a glove, millimetre precision in fact, 

no second chances. 

Positioning the 7-tonne piling rig into the building through the 

listed structure onto the timber floors was a concern to 

Contractors Design Services, our temporary works engineer, 

but with an engineered solution to strengthen the floors we 

quickly overcame the issue, and the piling rig operated easily to 

form the temporary piles and the permanent piles. The 

entrance in the Lower Library was hand excavated (about 450 

cubic metres) around the piles and support structure, with the 

new structure in place the temporary works were removed and 

temporary piles disposed of. Great care was taken throughout 

not to create too much disruption or disturbance to the 

College by the groundwork team. 

The Lower Library panelling was removed in order to install the new 

sliding glass door 

Reinstatement of the lower 

library panelling and 

bookcases, which arrived 

back from the Botley Road 

storage depot piece by 

piece, was carried out 

lovingly by the Cliveden 

conservation team of 

carpenters. The Lower 

Library panelling was 

refurbished, refinished and 

polished to match the 

existing panelling. Finally, 

the new glass sliding door 

was installed behind the 

panelling. 

The design for this project 

aimed to limit the visual Work by Cliveden Conservation to 

aspect of a complex reinstall the Lower Library Panelling 

mechanical and electrical design by concealing as much of the 

ventilation and electrical systems within the structure of the 

building. Under the raised flooring is the supply air ducting 

and the majority of the electrical services which are supported 

on hand crafted cable trays and baskets. 

What lies beneath: example of the cable tray and basket used underneath 

the flooring to conceal complex systems used in the build

9 


The new library has 10 

bore holes for the 

ground source heat 

pump (GSHP) which 

extends down under 

the building by 50 

metres. It uses the 

stable underground 

temperature of the 

earth to heat and cool 

the building. They 

Ground source pipework 

achieve this by connecting the building and the earth via a 

network of underground pipes. These pipes use water to 

transfer heat from the earth to the building heat pumps to heat 

it and from the building to the earth to cool it. 

Ground source heat pumps are a lot more energy efficient and 

cost effective than traditional heating systems found in most 

homes and buildings. This is because although they only need a 

small amount of electricity to run, heat pump systems don’t 

burn any kind of fuel on site to produce their heat and use only 

the natural temperature of the earth as an energy generating 

method. This offers significant reductions in energy bills and 

CO2. 

Although not visible to the students, the plant room is very 

compact; hiding most of the mechanical & electrical services 

required to run the complex ventilation and power systems for 

the building. Having been very carefully designed and 

engineered by the design team the professional team of skilled 

craftsmen had to ensure all items fitted into their correct spaces 

and the systems all worked together. 

both men & women, who have put their heart and soul into 

their work every day for the last 20 months ensuring the 

project is finished to the highest quality which you can see 

today – it has been more than just another job; real people 

make things happen. 

I would like to list all the men and women on site who played 

their part in making this scheme a success but the list would be 

very long; 60 contractors have had an input to the works on 

site and some of them have had a very specialist input. 

There have been lighter moments in the project, New College 

Lane was closed for a week during the filming of ‘The 

Mummy’ 2017 (Tom Cruise). Careful planning on site and 

good liaison with the film location crew meant this did not 

stop the works or prevent materials reaching the site. 

Images from the set of The Mummy in New College Lane 

All projects rely on a team effort which, when working 

correctly, provides for a better product. I believe we have had 

a brilliant team of people working on the project, both on site 

& off site supporting the various functions of the build 

process. I would like to thank everyone involved for a job well 

done. 

I trust the College and students will value and enjoy the space 

created for many years to come. 

Paul Renton-Rose is a Project Manager for Beard Construction. His job 

role is to manage the construction process and liaise with clients, 

stakeholders, suppliers and to ensure Beard have the resources in place to 

complete the project safely and to a good standard. He says of his career, 

after 44 years in industry “I still find construction amazing… how did 

they build those pyramids?” 

Pipework in the Plant Room 

The safety systems installed are ready to be used should the 

need arise; these include an aspirating fire detection system, 

water misting fire suppression system, gas suppression to the 

Historic Collections Archive Store and plant room, emergency 

lighting and battery backup. 

This plant room has been the most compact and complex 

system I have been involved with, as most of the services are 

inter-linked and connect to the internet, they are also linked 

and monitored by the College Building Management System 

(CBMS). 

People make buildings, not machines. It is easy to forget about 

the many talented, professional, skilled workers and craftsmen, 

“A Near Impossible building” - 

designing and building the new 

library at Queen’s College 

Stuart Cade, Rick Mather Architects and MICA 

Prologue 

he team at Rick Mather Architects (RMA) are delighted 

T to see the opening of the New Library, which was 

completed earlier this year in time for a busy Trinity Term. As 

we often find, the transition from building site to occupied 

building has been rapid and it is great to see the new spaces 

immediately popular with the hardworking students of 

Queen’s.


We last wrote for Insight in 2015 at the outset of the 

archaeological and enabling works prior to the 

commencement of the main building contract. The subsequent 

two years have seen the completion of this preliminary work, 

the completion of the new building and, lastly, the reworking 

of the existing Lower Library. At time of writing the remainder 

of the collections were being moved into the new spaces and 

the entire build is now fully operational. 

Looking back, RMA commenced work on a scheme for The 

Queen’s College Library project in 2006 following a two-stage 

design competition. Our work has included detailed designs 

f o r b o t h t h e 

refurbishment of the 

Upper and Lower 

Library (completed in 

2013); designs for the 

large subterranean 

extension that is the 

New Library and 

alterations to the 

Lower Library. The 

latter has allowed us to 

create a generous new 

entrance space, and 

install a bespoke lift, 

which connects the An early design concept montage 

new and old buildings. 

In the 40-year history of Rick Mather Architects, the project, 

one of the last that Rick worked on, is one of our most 

significant. For the office it is significant in terms of the 

challenge posed by the site: its rich and ancient history; the 

precious medieval walls; the Grade 1 listed Library it adjoins 

and the magnificent buildings that it extends. 

The project is also significant in terms of what it achieves; 

extending a landlocked Library where all possible contiguous 

(and otherwise) extensions had been considered and found 

unfeasible. Furthermore, realizing a scheme that works on 

paper is a further challenge in practice. Given the logistical, 

planning, archaeological, heritage and physical parameters the 

large team feel that the project has built a (near) impossible 

building. 

The design 

The new building and its connection to the existing 1692 

Library is a bespoke building in all regards. 

The construction has employed 21st Century technologies 

allied with traditional trades and crafts to create a crisp and 

simple contemporary design and the conservation of historic 

spaces; equally marrying large-format, frameless glass with rich 

tailor-made oak carpentry. 

The designs include a new ground floor entrance; a reworked 

Lower Library and a new 8000sq/ft. below-ground extension 

containing vital new facilities. The Library extension contains 

extensive storage and plant facilities in the western half and a 

new reading room and office in the eastern half where all 

spaces are bathed in natural light. The effective use of every 

millimetre was carefully considered and the building was 

planned to maximize use of all walls and corners. In total the 

design creates 18 new distinct ‘spaces’ for the Library and 

associated Archive. In summary, the project has provided: 

A new Reading Room 

The reading room is the major new addition to the library. The 

r o o m 

provides a 

light and open 

space for 36 

users. It is top 

lit by a large 

new roof 

light, which 

emits natural 

light into the 

new building 

w h i l s t 

a f f o r d i n g 

The new reading room 

views to the west elevation of the existing Library. Space is 

maximized with shelving fitted against all walls. The Reading 

Room also gives access to two extensive areas of open book 

storage. Firstly, the open shelves; these flank the Reading 

Room and entrance and house half of the main circulating 

collection. They are configured to guide visitors through the 

new spaces; the shelves tapering to open the vista to the 

Reading Room. Secondly, and adjoining the Reading Room on 

the north and east side, are two linear spaces of roller racking 

to maximize storage and house the library’s reserve collections. 

Historic Collections and Archive Store 

Deep within 

t h e n e w 

building is the 

H i s t o r i c 

C o l l e c t i o n s 

and Archive 

Store, which 

provides space 

f o r t h e 

c o l l e g e ’ s 

s i g n i f i c a n t 

a n t i q u a r i a n 

collection in a 

secure and 

temperature 

c o n t r o l l e d 

environment. 

The design of 

the space 

c o m b i n e s 

Some of the historic collections in the new HCAS 

p r a c t i c a l i t y 

and aesthetics; 

maximizing storage but with a clean, simple look in deliberate 

contrast to the rich material it houses. The HCAS is provided 

with its own secure Reading Room; the Feinberg Room which 

borrows light from the large main roof light and has space for 

up to 4 Special Collections Readers to use simultaneously.

11 


A new Peet Library of Egyptology 

A separate study room for the College’s Egyptology collection 

is located in front of the entry gates to the new reading room 

so as to be accessible to non-Queen’s members. The Peet has 4 

central reader spaces and a large study table. The walls are lined 

entirely with bookshelves to maximize space for this important 

collection. At the entrance, a glass screen is provided by a 

double-sided display case allowing Egyptian artefacts to be 

displayed in the round; visible to all Library visitors. 

A new multi-purpose space 

In the southwest corner a new space is provided for up to 15 

students for group study; small seminars and teaching for the 

wider College. The space has a sophisticated AV fit-out to 

enable it to support a variety of uses. 

Lower Library 

The Lower Library 

h a s b e e n 

sensitively returned 

to its original 

arrangement, as 

conceived by C. R. 

Cockerell in 1845, 

through careful 

e d i t i n g a n d 

removal of a series 

of later additions. 

The extra space in 

the new building 

Newly reconfigured Lower Library 

has allowed the 

aisles to be cleared of added shelves. Removing the 

overcrowded office and other late additions has returned the 

entrance space to its intended grandeur. East and West aisles 

are opened and provided with new seats and lockers and the 

cross aisle is open providing a view from the new Provost’s 

Garden to Back Quad. The Lower Library now has 22 high 

quality individual reader spaces and 8 new standing desks. 

A new entrance 

The Lower Library works also include a new entrance where 

the existing rehung oak doors have been paired with a new 

frameless glass sliding door. This new door provides both an 

environmental and 

security barrier for the 

Library, whilst also 

giving a spectacular view 

from the north end of 

the library to the 

southern end of 

Hawksmoor’s Front 

Quad. 

The new entrance to the library 

The entrance vestibule 

also provides a new lift 

linking both existing and 

new buildings and 

ensuring accessibility to 

t h e u n d e r g r o u n d 

extension. 

A responsible design 

The building employs advanced environmental design. 50m 

piles transfer thermal energy from deep below the building to 

the new air handling and heating/cooling coils in the plant 

room. This technology works both to pre-heat the building’s 

heating systems in the winter and vice-versa in summer using 

the known thermal stability of deep ground temperatures. The 

low energy strategy provides for both the new underground 

building and now also provides heating and cooling for both 

levels of the existing Library. 

The building further minimizes energy consumption by use of 

its physical location in the ground and maximizes the heat-sink 

qualities of its concrete structure – the space was exceptionally 

cool even in the June and July heatwave. 

The new building uses a single, efficient Menerga air handling 

unit which uses adiabatic technology (water) as a cooling 

medium and in-turn requires less energy to heat or cool. The 

unit similarly recycles and exchanges waste energy at a higher 

rate than conventional systems. Electrical energy consumption 

is minimized with responsive systems and LED lighting 

controlled by a new Building Management System. 

Finally, consideration of embodied energy was central to our 

material selection with 92% materials (stone, timber, soil and 

concrete) sourced within 50 miles of the site. In the case of the 

new garden, reused and recycled stone from the existing 

garden could be used again for the new terraces and paths. 

A new garden 

The underground library is topped with a new Provost’s 

Garden, bounded by two listed mediaeval stone walls, the 

existing library and the Provost’s Lodgings. The new design 

for the garden responds to the needs of the Provost (and their 

family) and the College - balancing privacy and flexibility – 

whilst recreating a serene and verdant garden. 

Aerial view of the new Provost’s garden 

We worked closely with Landscape Architect Jeremy Rye to 

devise a scheme that worked for all and could work effectively 

as a ‘roof garden’. The garden is a complex geometry of subtle 

slopes and gradients to provide the appearance and utility of a 

‘flat’ lawn whilst mediating between many different levels. The 

geometry also disguises the new roof light from the east end of


the garden and the new private lodgings from the west 

(Library) end. Most importantly, the new roof light and all 

interventions are invisible in the long view to the west 

elevation and statues of the existing Library. 

Queen’s with a number of opportunities to reconfigure and 

extend for future use. 

The build 

Construction of the new building commenced in spring 2015 

and ran for 89 weeks through two kind winters completing in 

spring 2017. 

The main contractor, Beard, are a very experienced and skilled 

local company with a great deal of experience working in 

collegiate Oxford – and specifically at Queen’s, having 

completed the kitchen project in 2009. Their expertise and 

familiarity assisted in the two major challenges of the build: 

getting material to and from the site and digging a large hole 

that was both very close to and beneath existing historic listed 

structures. 

View of the new garden from the Provost’s Lodgings—looking toward the 

library 

The garden provides two terraces, a circuit of paths and a 

variety of new beds and space for a vegetable garden and new 

garden store. The paths and ramps make all areas of the 

garden accessible to wheelchair users. The below ground 

structure and overall garden design has been carefully 

configured to safeguard the existing magnificent copper beech 

tree which has been carefully protected throughout and we are 

pleased to say is prospering in its new setting. 

The challenge of building close to existing structures involved 

much careful design 

work, as well as 

buildability studies 

being carried out by 

the design team 

before the project got 

to site. Regular 

movement checking 

was completed in 

advance of going on 

site to ensure no 

damaging movement 

of the existing walls, 

Library or Lodgings 

was taking place. 

The forming of the 

piles and internal 

concrete box was a 

careful and steady 

process of piling, The new basement level in its early stages 

digging, supporting, 

backfilling, bracing and finally - with the lid - forming a rigid 

waterproof concrete box. The careful iterative process of 

building in-the-ground was particularly acute in forming the 

link between the new building and Lower Library, where a 

bespoke design was used to tunnel beneath the existing 

Library footings forming a new basement 5m below the 

functioning Library. 

Aerial view of the construction site where the garden was replanted 

Fitting out the building 

Choosing fixtures and fittings for a building is always an added 

pleasure for architects and we have greatly enjoyed being 

involved in designing the tables, insignias, manifestations, and 

fixed furniture together with selecting the new reading chairs, 

and other details. 

Elsewhere 

Benefitting the wider College, the project frees-up 4500sqft for 

reuse. Liberated spaces include an extensive basement and 

above ground spaces on Front and Back Quad providing 

The waterproof box was completed with the installation of 4 

super-sized frameless glass roof lights along the eastern edge. 

These enormous pieces were carefully manoeuvered into place 

by a number of cranes and small lifting machines in early 2017 

to finally seal the new building. 

The fit-out of the building was no less complex than the 

structural works with extensive special fittings to be concealed 

and accommodated. The invisibility of air-conditioning, 

heating and other services is the result of careful coordination 

between joinery and environmental design where the new 

shelving often straddles low-level ducts, and grilles. At the top 

of shelves, extract ventilation occurs together with much of

13 


the lighting for the building. 

Bespoke shelving lines the walls of every space and is tailored 

to provide everything from shelf space, displays, signage and 

space for oversized parts of the collection. 

Architect, we worked with on the designs for the new 

Provost’s Garden. 

The new carpentry was also carefully coordinated with a large 

number of glazed screens, which are a major feature of the 

interior; dividing rooms and enclosing the new lift. Careful 

detailing and handling of glass ensured that large panels could 

be used and the overall effect of a reflective internal glass ‘face’ 

in the entrance was able to be maintained. 

The finer finishing touches include acoustic ceilings; fabric 

wrapped panels; the installation of display cases and exquisite 

timber paneling in the Lower Library by Cliveden 

Conservation. 

In statistics: 

The project sank 299 concrete bearing and retaining piles 

each 30m long. 

We augured 10 special thermal piles each extending 50m 

into Oxford clay. 

On completion of the piled perimeter 8900 cubic metres of 

soil and gravel was excavated for reuse elsewhere. 

There are 5km of electrical, AV and data cabling, and 800 

linear metres of new shelving. 

Epilogue 

Having now seen the project realised, we are pleased that many 

key aspects of the original concept and design have worked as 

intended. Creating a bright day lit new library space was central 

to the aims of the design project, and many studies were carried 

out at all stages to test this. The roof light aperture, roof slope 

and height were all iteratively adjusted to ensure that light 

penetrated the new space(s) in the most effective way possible. 

The ultimate objective being to provide a comfortable space 

that belied its below-ground position. Similarly, we are pleased 

that the new Library is invisible from many views – an unusual 

objective for architects. The invisibility has been aided by the 

planting of the garden which has been established and was in 

use this summer. 

We are conscious that the project was disruptive for both 

College and its neighbours. Whilst a great deal was done to 

mitigate this, major projects are always noisy. Considering the 

scale of the project, many have remarked that Beard’s excellent 

management minimized disruption in a significant way. 

We would like to thank the design team of specialist 

consultants that we have employed to complete the project. 

Eckersley O’Callaghan, our structural and civil engineers, 

engineered a complex invisible ‘box’. Atelier Ten, our service 

engineers, who devised a sophisticated and effective low energy 

strategy (in addition to designing a most beautiful and compact 

plant room!) 

The full team also included a skilled Acoustician (Sandy Brown 

Associates); Fire Consultant (Simon Ham); Planning 

Consultant (Nik Lyzba); Health and Safety Consultant 

(Gardiner and Theobald) and Jeremy Rye who, as Landscape 

The ‘beautiful and compact’ plant room designed by Atelier Ten 

Working for Queen’s has been both professional, and a 

pleasure in all aspects. The College is an experienced ‘building’ 

College and its representatives understand the complexities 

and nuances of construction and its processes. We would like 

to thank Becky Beasley and Angus Bowie for their pivotal role 

in the project happening and for leading the internal 

consultation process; particularly over the last 4 years. This 

project is Amanda Saville’s third new library (her best so far) 

and the project has been very fortunate to have her experience 

and expertise. Collectively, the College and client team led by 

David Goddard have provided experience and fostered 

collaboration with all parties, providing a constant presence 

while the project was on site; all with calmness and good 

humour. 

Finally, and particularly at this point, we recognise the privilege 

as architects of completing a new building for Queen’s, adding 

to a magnificent range of historic buildings and gardens. It is 

equally a privilege to add to the College’s much-loved and well 

used Library and to see it well prepared for the future. 

Stuart Cade is a founding partner of MICA Architects and a 

longstanding partner at RMA. Stuart has worked in Oxford for 20 

years and has led the practice’s 14 completed projects in Oxford including 

work on Oxford’s own Ashmolean Museum. Stuart is currently leading 

MICA’s major new commission at Jesus College, in central Oxford. 

Reflections on the new library 

project 

David Goddard, Project Manager 

The completion of the New Library marks the end of a four 

year programme of intensive redevelopment of our library 

facilities. The new underground library construction was the 

final phase of work which included the complete overhaul and


refurbishment of both the existing Upper and Lower Library 

spaces. The culmination of this period of work has also aptly 

coincided with the 675 th Anniversary of the Foundation of The 

Queen’s College. 

reader spaces were occupied, along with those in the existing 

Upper and Lower libraries. To me this clearly demonstrated 

that not only were the additional spaces necessary, but that the 

effort, time and energy the College invested in this project had 

been entirely worthwhile. 

From this: the construction site in early stages... 

The work undertaken was comprehensive, and provided the 

opportunity to explore, review and develop each and every 

aspect of this facility to ensure that the maximum potential 

could be achieved from such a valuable College asset. I am 

confident that, following completion of this extended and 

complex period of work, Queen’s can rightfully be proud of 

having one of the finest library buildings within the University. 

It is rare that the opportunity arises to become involved in 

such a prestigious project and all the more so when it involves 

working within, and alongside, such important Grade I listed 

buildings. In addition, the area of works was located in the 

footprint of a space that was previously occupied by a very 

precious garden. I consider myself fortunate that the College 

had the faith to entrust me with the responsibility of being The 

Project Client Manager. This role not only enabled me to have 

influence over the decision making processes, regarding design 

changes but also allowed me to ensure satisfactory 

coordination between all stakeholders and for overseeing an 

appropriate standard of quality control. 

The responsibility was particularly testing as in addition to 

such a complex project brief, careful thought had to be 

afforded to the site logistics. These included very complex and 

challenging access constraints and the need to minimise the 

detrimental impact on academic life both within Queen’s and 

the four neighbouring colleges. 

These challenges were eased considerably by the 

understanding, cooperation and sacrifice shown by everyone in 

College, and in particular the current Junior Members who 

gave such selfless support to the cause even though many 

would not get to enjoy the benefits of the completed library. I 

feel it only right to take this opportunity to sincerely thank 

everyone who played a part, no matter how small. 

As you are aware the New Library was completed for the 

beginning of Trinity Term 2017 and it was very rewarding to 

observe that within a short time of it’s opening, all the new 

To this: A view into the underground extension to the library 

In conclusion, despite the significant challenge that the library 

refurbishment programme and new building project have 

posed to the College for a number of years, it is reassuring to 

witness the successful completion, and we can now look 

forward to addressing some of the other areas in College that 

require investment and development. 

David Goddard is the Clerk of Works here at Queen’s College. He is 

responsible for all aspects of building maintenance. He leads a team that 

ensures the College is kept in working order whilst being sensitive to the 

nature and appearance of the Grade I and Grade II listed buildings 

The Queen’s College Library Insight 

Published by The Library, The Queen’s College, 

Oxford, OX1 4AW 

Copyright The Queen’s College, Oxford, 2017 

All rights reserved 

ISSN 2049-8349

15 


Liquid Legacies 

Beer and Brewing at 

The Queen’s College 

June 

to 

Winter 

2017 

This small exhibition 

is located in the 

display cases in the 

Queen’s College 

Upper Library. 

Non-members of the 

College, please 

contact us in advance 

to arrange an 

appointment. 

01865 279130 

library@queens.ox.ac.uk 

The Queen’s College Chancellor Ale 

‘Some may question its flavour, but none its potency’ 

J.M. Kaye, The Queen’s College Record, 1936

Insight 2017

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