Radcliffe Camera

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Radcliffe Camera, viewed from the University Church

Radcliffe Camera from ground level in Radcliffe Square

The Radcliffe Camera in Oxford (England) was built by James Gibbs between 1737 and 1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library. The building was funded by a £40,000 bequest from John Radcliffe, who died in 1714, and it was Nicholas Hawksmoor who came up with the idea of making the building round.

After the Radcliffe Science Library eventually moved into another building, the Radcliffe Camera became a reading room of the Bodleian Library. It now holds books from the English and History collection.