We understand that due to the pandemic this year students might not get to visit Teddy Hall. We created this virtual tour, so you can see everything we would normally show you on a college tour in pictures and videos!
FRONT QUAD
First up on our virtual tour is our front quad! The front quad is one of the most beautiful and striking quads of any of the Oxford colleges - it’s very unique in style. It looks beautiful in all seasons; in summer we have our gorgeous wisteria, and in winter our well is used to hold our college Christmas tree.
There are sometimes events in the quad, such as Carols in the Quad (7th image, and the only day of the year you can walk on the grass!), the Teddy Hall Ball, or impromptu bagpipe concerts.
Some important features of the quad include the Well, which has St Edmund’s last words engraved on it, as well as the chapel, the college bar and the old dining hall and old library, all of which will be featured later on! Most of the rooms in the quad are tutors offices, where students have tutorials (small group teaching which involves a lot of discussion with experts in your field), or student rooms for third years.
OLD LIBRARY
Teddy Hall’s old library is above the Chapel, in the front quad. It contains volumes of beautiful old books that are sometimes put on show by our college librarian! Students may also have tutorials in here. It occasionally is a venue for drinks or dinner events too.
CHAPEL
The Teddy Hall Chapel is one of the main features of the front quad. There’s no need to be religious at Teddy at all, but for those who wish to attend, the Chaplain holds a service of evensong every Sunday. The Chapel is incredibly beautiful, and even has a stained glass window designed by William Morris. It also has a harpsichord!
Lots of events can be held in the chapel throughout the year, including concerts and research talks. The Teddy Hall Chapel Choir also rehearses in the Chapel and sings at evensong. Our choir is a non-auditioning, welcoming group which is supported by choral scholars and an organ scholar.
COLLEGE BAR
The Teddy Hall Bar entrance is tucked away under the wisteria in the front quad. It’s split into two halves, the Buttery Bar on the left, and the Well Bar on the right. Our bar’s small size and wood panelled walls gives it country pub vibes, so it’s a lovely place to go for a chilled out drink with mates in the evenings.
The walls of the bar are decorated with old photos of Teddy students, as well as our rowing blades which celebrate the past successes of our boat club. Many events are held regularly in the bar, such as sports drinks, LGBTQ+ soc drinks on Tuesdays, and mulled wine after carol services in the winter!
Teddy Hall actually has three college drinks. We serve our own ‘Teddy Beer’, as well as having two cocktails, one in Maroon and one in Gold, our college colours.
OLD DINING HALL
The Old Dining Hall, or ODH, used to be Teddy Hall’s dining hall when we didn’t have as many students. Now, it’s used for events such as plays by the Teddy Hall Drama Society, weekly lunchtime concerts from the Music Society, and access talks for schools. There are also often lectures and poetry readings in the ODH. Most subject groups at Teddy have an annual subject dinner held in the ODH, which is a great opportunity to get to know tutors and other students in your subject outside of academia!
GRAVEYARD
Although it may seem a bit weird that we have our own graveyard, it’s one of our favourite parts of college! Our graveyard is outside our library, just on the left of the front quad. In spring and summer it’s filled with gorgeous snowdrops and buttercups, as well as being home to lots of squirrels and birds. It’s a really beautiful place to relax outside or to study in, and it’s unusual for an Oxford college to have somewhere where you can sit on the grass! Sometimes events are also held in the graveyard, such as yoga classes and plays.
Some interesting features of the graveyard include the statue of St Edmund, by Rodney Munday, and some unusual gravestone inscriptions which you should try and spot next time you visit.
LIBRARY
The Teddy Hall library is a deconsecrated 12th century Church, the Church of St Peter-in-the-East. This makes it one of the most unique libraries at any of the colleges! It has beautiful stained glass windows and vaulted ceilings, as well as a tower lined with books, at the top of which is a tutor’s office with incredible views of Oxford.
The Library is open 24/7, making it easy to access books whenever you need them. That's not to say you're expected to be in there all the time! The 24/7 opening times are simply so that they suit everyone's favourite time to work. The librarians will also get hold of any books you could ever need, so you don’t need to worry about buying any! Not only this, our library boasts its own collection of board games and puzzles which students can also loan.
VIDEO:
CRYPT
The crypt is underneath the Library. It is home to a lot of interesting artefacts and architecture! The Teddy Hall choir sings Compline services in the crypt, as well as other music events occurring there throughout the year. Teddy Hall admits the largest number of Fine Art students of all the colleges at Oxford, and as a result there are also often exhibitions in the Crypt!
WOLFSON (DINING) HALL
Wolfson Hall is our dining hall. It is home to the best college food in Oxford, which, although affectionately nicknamed Ming, is delicious and is prepared for us by a chef who used to work in a Michelin starred restaurant! As well as regularly serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, three course formal meals are served on Tuesday and Friday which students can choose to go to. We also sometimes have special formals, such as Thanksgiving, and the Oxmas (our version of Christmas!) formal.
As well as acting as a dining hall, the Wolfson can also be repurposed into a huge dance floor, where we hold our BOPs (Big Organised Parties, which are themed costume parties put on by the JCR), as well as the biannual Teddy Hall Ball and the annual Teddy Hall Ceilidh.
Not only this, the hall is also a concert venue! We often put on chamber music performances and open mic nights, as well as Teddy’s Got Talent (no talent required). The Wolfson also has a Steinway piano which students who have achieved a high skill level are allowed to play!
JUNIOR COMMON ROOM (JCR)
JCR stands for Junior Common Room. It’s a common space open to all undergraduates where we can relax, get coffee from the free coffee machine, play games, and watch TV! Our JCR also has a games room, which has a pool table, quiz machine and table football.
Welfare events also often take place in the JCR, such as puppy visits, and JCR Tea, an event where we get a huge Tesco order full of snacks and all share them in the afternoon. The free food is a great treat to look forwards to after a day in lectures!
While the JCR is a room in college, it is also the term for the whole undergraduate body. We have a JCR committee, which communicates with college so that we always have our say in what goes on! The committee also organises events and funding throughout the year, such as paying for student's sports fees on university teams, providing snacks and drinks for movie nights, or funding Teddy Hall student productions both at the college and university level.
FIRST YEAR ACCOMMODATION
All first years at Teddy live on site at Queens Lane, which is perfectly placed on the high street so you’ll be close to everything! First years have sinks in their rooms, and share bathrooms and kitchenettes (equipped with a hob, kettle and microwave) with others on their floor. Despite this, there are enough bathrooms that you’ll never have to queue!
Covered below are our three first year buildings:
KELLY - The Kelly building has rooms above the dining hall, so is the tallest building in college! It boasts incredible views that tourists would normally pay for, as well as being home to our gorgeous green wall. Each Kelly floor also has two spacious social areas with seating, something which is rare in Oxford college accommodation.
EMDEN - The Emden building is behind the JCR, so it’s only a short walk from the free coffee machine! Emden rooms are similar to Kelly rooms, and are just as close to the dining hall too. They also have easy access to the roof of the JCR, which is a terrace with chairs and tables students can use to study/relax at in the summer.
WHITEHALL - Whitehall rooms overlook the high street of Oxford, with beautiful views of the Ruskin School of Art and Examination Schools! Whitehall kitchens are the best of the first year accommodation, as they have ovens, but it is possible to use them even if you don’t live in the building.
MUSIC ROOM
Despite not offering music as a degree, Teddy Hall has a really well stocked music room, with a piano, electric keyboard and drum kit to name a few! It also has amps and microphones. The music room is open to all students to use within college music hours, and can even be used for drama and larger group rehearsals because it’s very spacious!