Somerville College

You can run a conference of up to 190 people theatre style in central Oxford and take the same group on to a candlelit dinner for up to 192 in a wood-panelled Hall, without moving them to a second venue. Wi-Fi, bottled water and flip charts come at no extra cost, and the college says its rooms can be hired by the half day, so a short board meeting does not carry a full-day fee. Somerville College sits on Woodstock Road at the north end of St Giles’, beside the University Parks, and its conference team handles meetings, dinners and residential events.

Event spaces and capacities

You get six conference and meeting rooms plus five dining and reception spaces, so plenaries, breakouts, dinner and drinks can all stay on one site. The largest room is the Flora Anderson Hall, which seats 190 theatre style and has a full-length stage and built-in AV; the Brittain Williams Room next to it takes 100 for a reception, or 250 when the two rooms are used together. The Margaret Thatcher Centre lecture theatre seats 60 theatre style, 36 cabaret or 25 boardroom. Three boardrooms take 14 to 20. The college does not publish floor areas, and it gives no exhibition space.

Boardroom figures: Margaret Thatcher Centre 25, New Council Room 20 (18 with AV), New Powell Room 18, Eleanor Rathbone Room 14. Capacities as published by the college on its conferences page and its dining page, checked 9 November 2026.

Prices and availability

You can budget room hire before you enquire, because the college publishes its fees. The Flora Anderson Hall with the Brittain Williams Room costs £575 plus VAT for a full day or £325 for a half day; the Margaret Thatcher Centre is £375 or £200. Each of the three boardrooms is £190 a day, £115 a half day or £30 an hour with a two-hour minimum, all plus VAT. The Hall and Reading Room carry no hire charge for dinners of 20 or more (£125 plus VAT below that), drinks receptions are £125 plus VAT per use, and private hire of the Terrace bar is £275 plus VAT. The Hall and Reading Room open to events from 19:45, the Mary Somerville Room from 18:30, and the Terrace is for hire in vacations only (pricing page).

Getting there and parking

Your delegates can walk from Oxford railway station in 10 to 15 minutes, or take a bus that the college says runs almost door to door in under ten minutes. Gloucester Green bus station is closer still. There is no parking for guests at the college; the nearest pay and display is on St Giles’, and the college points drivers to the Peartree and Redbridge Park and Ride sites, both served by the 300 bus from a stop about 100 yards north outside the Maths Institute. Coaches can drop off at the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter by the Maths Institute. One minibus can park on site if booked ahead, provided it is no more than 2.5m high, 2.4m wide and 6.3m long. Drivers should check Oxford’s traffic filters before planning a route.

Catering, AV and accommodation

You deal with one in-house team for rooms and food. The college says it sources food locally where it can and caters for vegan, vegetarian and other diets, with banquets, buffets, afternoon tea and canapé menus on request. The Hall has adjustable lighting, a built-in audio system with handheld microphones and a hearing loop, and the college says it has induction loops in the Porters’ Lodge and several other buildings. For residential conferences, which run in university vacations only, delegates stay in en suite rooms in the ROQ buildings designed by Niall McLaughlin Architects or in single rooms with shared bathrooms in Darbishire Quad, with breakfast served in the Hall. The college does not publish a bedroom count. It says it buys all its energy from 100% renewable suppliers.

What to ask before you book

• Your dates: the college closes for residential events in term time and over Christmas and New Year, so confirm vacation availability before you plan an overnight programme.
• The deposit timetable: the July 2024 terms ask for 25% of the fees as a non-refundable deposit, and cancellation less than two months out can bring the total charge to 75%, rising to 100% inside a month.
• Your finish time: the terms set the end of any event no later than midnight, with bars closing 30 minutes earlier and music stopping 15 minutes before the end.
• Step-free routes: the High Table stage is reached by three steps, and the college refers you to the University of Oxford access guide for its buildings, so ask which rooms suit wheelchair users.
• Insurance: the college strongly recommends £5 million public liability cover and asks outside suppliers for proof of theirs.
• Menu prices: the published menus date from 2021 and 2022, so ask for current catering rates with your room quote.

Related on Events Review

• Conference venues in Oxford
• Keble College, Oxford
• Oxford Town Hall
• Academic conference venues
• Conference and exhibition venues
• Historic event venues
• Robinson College, Cambridge
• Churchill College, Cambridge
• Choose the venue around the event, not the headline capacity
• Turn venue accessibility claims into a usable event plan

Sources: conferences, dining, pricing, contact, visit us, guest FAQs, bed and breakfast, accessibility, sustainability and venue hire terms (July 2024), all on some.ox.ac.uk, checked 9 November 2026.