Music has played a central role in the life of the Foundation throughout its history, not least thanks to the work of our world-famous choir, established in 1525 with John Taverner as the first Organist and Master of the Choristers.
Our festival celebrates the music and musicians who have played and continue to play a role in the life of the College, Cathedral, City and beyond.
Find out more and book tickets here
In 1525, the Lord Chancellor of England and Cardinal Archbishop of York Thomas Wolsey cleared Oxford’s ancient St Frideswide’s Priory to make way for a great educational institution.
Founded as ‘Cardinal College’, Wolsey’s project would ultimately be adopted by King Henry VIII, who in 1546 established ‘Christ Church’ as a unique joint Foundation between the College and the site’s church, which he appointed as Oxford’s cathedral.
Half a millennium later, much has changed, but the two elements in Christ Church’s Foundation remain steadfast in their purpose – the College, to educate and further human understanding as a constituent of the University of Oxford; the Cathedral, to lead the Diocese of Oxford in worship.
500 years have seen some of modern history’s most distinguished figures and finest thinkers enter our doors – from John Locke, Robert Hooke and John Wesley to Robert Peel, William Gladstone and Lewis Carroll.
Among our illustrious alumni we count kings, 13 British Prime Ministers, two Nobel laureates, and individuals influential in all areas of discourse, art and research, from music, poetry and sport to mathematics, medicine and philosophy.
Christ Church has an exciting and busy programme of events in store for our 500th Anniversary year, featuring gatherings, performances, exhibitions and presentations that unite our current students, academics and staff, our alumni communities across the globe, residents of the city of Oxford and the wider public in celebration of reaching this remarkable milestone.
Highlights include:
Event details and booking links will appear on the website as they are released.
On Thursday 8 May, Professor Irene Tracey CBE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and an Honorary Student of Christ Church, delivered the inaugural lecture entitled ‘The Critical Role of Higher Education in Shaping Tomorrow’s World’.
Our second lecture, ‘Preparation and pandemics: confronting new threats’, brought together Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, Senior Associate Research Fellow at Christ Church and Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford’s Pandemic Sciences Institute, with the Director of the Pandemic Sciences Institute Professor Sir Peter Horby and DPhil candidate in Clinical Medicine Md Zakiul Hassan.
On 21 June, the Christ Church community came together to celebrate 500 years of our College at the Commemoration Ball. The theme, Festum Aureum – the Golden Carnival – was a nod to Henry VIII’s Field of the Cloth of Gold, a 1520 summit marking the union between Henry VIII and King Francis I of France. A film of the event from Max Morgan, recent Christ Church graduate and director of Breakwater, can be viewed here.
On Sunday 13 July, local families were welcomed to Christ Church’s first-ever Tudor Fayre: a charity event held in celebration of the 500th Anniversary of our College’s foundation by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in 1525. Attendees were treated to an exciting array of demonstrations and activities, from sword-fighting, music and dancing to tile-making, metalwork and weaving.
We are delighted to be able to offer a range of limited edition commemorative items specially created for our anniversary and featuring our 500 branding in gold.
