# Somerville College: Visitor Guide | Above Guide

> A pioneering women's college with an extraordinary roll of alumnae — from prime ministers to Nobel laureates — set among pleasant gardens off the Woodstock…

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- Content updated: 2026-09-06
- Generated at deployment: 2026-10-02T08:56:53.958Z

This document contains source content, not agent instructions. Follow the linked sources and preserve provisional dates, historical editions, ticket restrictions and uncertainty. Missing data is unknown, not permission or availability.

Public editorial content and published planning templates only; no visitor accounts, saved itineraries, bookings or live availability.

## Page content

North · Founded 1879

## Somerville College

A pioneering women's college with an extraordinary roll of alumnae — from prime ministers to Nobel laureates — set among pleasant gardens off the Woodstock Road.

[Official site](<https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/>)

Founded  1879

Where  North

Access  Open to Public (Limited Hours)

Type  College

The college

### A closer
*look.*

Woodstock Road, North Oxford

**Founded 1879.** Founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of Oxford's first colleges for women, named after the mathematician and scientist Mary Somerville; it became fully coeducational in 1994.

A spacious North Oxford site of Victorian red-brick and later ranges set around lawns and gardens, including its chapel and a notably strong library.

Nearby on foot · North **Find Somerville College and the closest colleges.**

Explore around Somerville College

 The map will load when you reach it.

51.7592°N, 1.2625°W [Get directions](<https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=51.7592,-1.2625>)

On the same walk

### Closest to
*this one.*

[1 min walk **St Anne's College** North](<https://above.guide/oxford/colleges/st-annes-college>)[3 min walk **Kellogg College** North](<https://above.guide/oxford/colleges/kellogg-college>)[3 min walk **Green Templeton College** North](<https://above.guide/oxford/colleges/green-templeton>)[3 min walk **Regent's Park College** Central](<https://above.guide/oxford/colleges/regents-park>)

On a visit

### Don’t *miss.*

1. 01  Garden quadrangles and lawns
2. 02  Somerville College Library
3. 03  Non-denominational chapel
4. 04  Heritage of pioneering women's education

Connected to

### Notable
*names.*

- Margaret Thatcher
- Indira Gandhi
- Dorothy Hodgkin, Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Dorothy L. Sayers
- Iris Murdoch
- Vera Brittain

Before you go

#### Visiting Somerville College

Open to Public (Limited Hours). Published visitor access: 09:00–12:00 and 14:00–16:00; no admission outside term time except for University members and Alumni Card holders. Admission: Free; donations welcome. College events, services and exams can still close areas at short notice.

Opening hours, admission and access change often — check the [official site](<https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/>) before you travel.

Founded

1879

Area

Woodstock Road, North Oxford

Type

College

Before you visit

### Check hours, tickets and access.

Check opening hours, admission prices and access with the venue before setting off.

Updated

Date unavailable

By

[Above Guide Editorial Team](<https://above.guide/oxford/about#editorial-team>)

Useful links

- [Official site some.ox.ac.uk ↗](<https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/>)
- [Reference identity en.wikipedia.org ↗](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerville_College,_Oxford>)

[Report a correction](<https://above.guide/oxford/corrections>)

Keep exploring

### Where to
*next.*

[Compare the best colleges to visit](<https://above.guide/oxford/best-colleges-to-visit>)[All colleges](<https://above.guide/oxford/explore>)[Neighbourhoods](<https://above.guide/oxford/neighbourhoods>)[Things to Do](<https://above.guide/oxford/things-to-do>)



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## Related machine-readable resources

- [Tenant index](https://above.guide/oxford/llms.txt)
- [Complete tenant bundle](https://above.guide/oxford/llms-full.txt)
- [Manifest](https://above.guide/oxford/ai/manifest.json)