Regent's Park College

Regent's Park is technically a permanent private hall rather than a full college, and it's one of the smallest institutions in the university. Founded in London in 1810 as a Baptist theological college, it moved to its current site just off St Giles' in 1927. The buildings are pleasant Arts and Crafts-influenced structures arranged around a small garden court, but there's nothing here that would make a tourist's must-see list. It's the kind of place you might wander into while exploring St Giles' and find pleasant, but you wouldn't cross town for it.

The Baptist heritage is still present — the college has a strong theology programme and its chapel hosts regular services. The Angus Library, which holds more than 70,000 books, pamphlets and records on Baptist history in Britain and the wider world, is of genuine scholarly interest. But for a general visitor, Regent's Park is a pleasant footnote to an exploration of the far more impressive buildings nearby on St Giles' (the Eagle and Child pub, St John's College, the Ashmolean).

What makes it special

The intimacy is the thing. With fewer than 200 students, Regent's Park feels more like a large vicarage than a college, and the garden court has a domesticity that the grand colleges lack. The Angus Library is a working resource for scholars of Baptist history. The location on St Giles' — one of Oxford's widest and most tree-lined streets — is excellent, even if the college itself is modest.

Visitor info

Regent's Park is on Pusey Street, just off St Giles'. It's not set up for visitors in any formal way — you may be able to look in at the lodge, but there are no regular opening hours. Check the college website for public events. Combine with a walk along St Giles' — the street itself, with the Martyrs' Memorial and the Eagle and Child, is far more of a draw than the college.