Anthony Geraghty

Architectural historian Dr Anthony Geraghty explains the historical influences that shaped Christopher Wren's design of the University of Oxford's iconic 350-year-old Sheldonian Theatre today a venue for many FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival events.

Geraghty shows how the restoration of the monarchy and the university's commitment to episcopal religion both shaped Wren's design and he explains how the Sheldonian stood apart in the England of that day as a building without precedent. The building of the Sheldonian signalled a shift in university architecture in Oxford from a medieval to a classical design.