Jesus College

3	10
4	2

Turl Street. Tel. (01865) 279700

Jesus College Website

Overview: Jesus College is on Turl Street in the centre of Oxford and two minutes away from the main University libraries, in walking distance of the Science Area and the main cinemas and theatres. The College has had a wheelchair-using student, and students with other mobility, visual or hearing impairments.

College Sites: The main entrance is from Turl Street and is +1 stair through a wicket gate width 700mm (however, the larger main gate can be opened on request). It is worth noting that the stacking of bicycles against college walls on Turl Street makes the pavement very narrow. The Porters' Lodge is to the left of the main entrance, and has a counter height of 112mm. The pigeonholes are next to the lodge at heights of between 140 and 650mm.

There are two alternative entrances. The Market Street entrance provides flat access to Second and Third Quads through two doors 900mm. It is possible to park by this entrance but after 6pm you will need keys to open both the gate to the parking space and the doors leading into the Quads. The other alternative entrance is off Ship Street and is through a narrow wicket gate with a very heavy door that is always locked. The wicket gate is set within a much larger gate that is used for deliveries, and when this latter gate is open it provides flat access to Second and Third Quads.

The Hall separates the two main Quads, which is +4 stairs from each of them. It has double doors and moveable benches. The Junior Common Room is in the terrace above Third Quad, which is itself accessible from Second Quad and the Market Street entrance. The terrace is +18 stairs in three flights from Third Quad; each flight is fitted with wheelchair lifts. The Junior Common Room has an accessible toilet. The library is found off Third Quad through double doors. It is on three floors that are on ground level, and +13, +13 stairs respectively. Each room is accessed through a door 800mm, which is heavy and always locked; the keyhole is at height 1300mm. The computer room is off the Third Quad in a basement that is +1, -15 stairs. Laundry facilities are also found off Third Quad, through a door 900mm and +1, -15 stairs, which are narrow and winding (a handrail on the left). Likewise the Bar is –15 stairs from inside the Ship Street entrance and has a door 800mm; it tends to get very crowded. Access and egress for wheelchairs is via the Bar fire escape using the College’s stairclimber.

Staircase 14 also has flat access to the Harper Room, one of the College's main function rooms. The other function rooms are the Habakkuk Room, which is +8, +8, +2, +15, +11 stairs (spiralling) from the Third Quad terrace. This is accessible by the same wheelchair lifts as serve the Junior Common Room and the Mansell Room, which is +15, +3 stairs (spiralling) from First Quad. A telephone can be found, in a phone box, by the Ship Street entrance (door 800mm).

Induction loops are fitted in the College Chapel, Hall and the Memorial Room.

Accommodation: Accommodation is available to all students who want to live in college for the full duration of their course. Most students move out to College-owned flats on Woodstock Road (about a mile from the city centre) or to Cowley (about two miles away) after their first year. The flats are self-contained units of three or four bedrooms around a kitchen, sitting room, and bathroom; their facilities and cost make them extremely popular. All undergraduate rooms have Ethernet access. A ground-floor flat in the Woodstock Road site can be made available for a student with mobility problems, but it is not suitable for wheelchair users. A further flat at the site has been adapted for students with impaired hearing or sight.

On staircase 19 two bedrooms, each with a shared en suite facility, have been equipped for the hearing impaired or visually impaired. A fully accessible bed sitting room, with an en suite shower and toilet, has been developed on Staircase 8; this would be accessed from the Market Street entrance.

In the College's married graduate accommodations at Herbert Close (approximately 1 mile from the College main site,) one of the 12 ground floor flats has been fully fitted for wheelchair use. The new Sports Pavilion at Herbert Close incorporates a lift for disabled access.

Catering: Meals are provided in the original Jacobean dining hall of the College. Breakfast, lunch and the first sitting of dinner operate on an informal, self-service system, while the more formal atmosphere, preferred by some, is retained for the second sitting of dinner and for guest-nights and special occasions. Vegetarians and others with special dietary requirements are catered for. The University card is used as a credit card in College and the cost of meals is charged to their account (which has to be settled every term!).