Major refurbishment project begins at Nuffield
Work has begun on much-needed improvements to ground floor areas of Nuffield. The College has appointed Beard Construction to carry out a major refurbishment, and all is taking place under the watchful eye of archaeologists to ensure that nothing of historical significance is inadvertently disturbed. Our sculptures, Hubert Dalwood’s ‘Flower Fountain’ (1962) and Peter Randall-Page’s ‘Flayed Stone IV’ (1999), have been removed by a specialist company so that they can be stored safely for the duration of the project.
A key priority in this refurbishment is to deliver far greater accessibility across the College, allowing all members and visitors the same easy access to our ground floor spaces. The paving in the upper and lower quads is being raised, providing step-free entrance to all staircases, and we are altering the steps between the quads to incorporate a wheelchair- and pushchair-friendly slope. In addition, we are building a new, fully accessible WC next to the Butler Room on D staircase, as well as additional accessible WCs next to a new accessible lecture theatre.
This large lecture space will be a wonderful addition to the College. It will be the result of combining the existing Clay Room and Large Lecture Room, and will be able to seat over 100 people.
The first change most visitors will notice will be the Lodge’s new location, which will be at the Worcester Street entrance. The current Lodge site on New Road will be converted into a series of accessible meeting rooms, making the most of its ground floor position. While the Lodge will have a new home, the warm welcome offered by the team there will remain the same! We expect the new Lodge to be in place by the end of this year.
Another greatly anticipated change will be the creation of a timber decking area just outside the Cox Room, allowing those meeting there to make the most of the beautiful Fellows’ Garden.
We are delighted that the work has now started, and look forward to its completion in late summer 2024. We hope you will come and see the finished result.