Oxford is one of the great universities of the world. It has been in existence for the better part of 800 years. Its history is to be found in the colleges, in the faculties and in the departments, in the magnificent collections held in its libraries and museums, in its time-honoured traditions and ceremonies, and in the magnificent architecture of its buildings set in and around the centre of the city. A diverse selection of images offer an understanding of how the university works: the people, the staff, the students and academics, a view of the university from the inside. The photographs selected here catch something of its double identity; something too of the daily life of the place so many lectures, so much laughter lived out routinely, oblivious very often of all the history.