College
Visit us
Our guided tours are a great way to take in the historic treasures of Oscott and take a wander behind our walls.
Many people pass by our gates unsure of what is behind. Our tours have been running for over a decade, removing the mystery of the college and giving the general public a sense of what we do here.
Our tours take place on Wednesday afternoons throughout the year. They are open to all and you certainly do not have to be a practising Catholic to enjoy the wealth of history and the beautiful grounds that we are blessed with here.
Tours are generally two hours long and end with tea and cake in the refectory.
Our tours give you an excellent sense of the college’s history and where it fits in the story of the Catholic Church in England, particularly its return in the Victorian era.
You will also be shown what training to be a priest in a seminary looks like today. The tour encompasses the following places.
If you would like to bring a group from your Catholic parish, we recommend that you enquire about Visitors' Sundays, which are ideal for Catholic parishes.
These tours are specifically designed for Catholic parish groups and are delivered by the seminarians themselves, featuring a Q&A session with them at the end of the day. They are similar to our general tours, also taking place in the afternoon but ending with eucharistic adoration in the chapel.
If you work in a school and are interested in what we offer, take a look at our schools outreach work.
Established in 1839 by renowned, Gothic-revivalist architect Augustus Welby Pugin, our museum collection tells the story of the college and the Victorian Catholic revival.
Our rare books collection, The Library Special Collection, contains some 12,000 early printed books and pamphlets. It is available for scholarly use by academic researchers.