Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/4

The college coat of arms

Christ Church (sometimes known as "The House" from its Latin name, Ædes Christi, or "House of Christ") is one of the largest Oxford colleges, and is also the site of the cathedral church of the Diocese of Oxford, namely Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The college can trace its history from 1525, when Cardinal Thomas Wolsey suppressed the Abbey of St Frideswide in Oxford and founded Cardinal College; he fell from favour before it was completed. King Henry VIII refounded it as King Henry VIII's College in 1532, and then (after the break from the Roman Catholic Church) as Christ Church in 1546, making it the cathedral of the new Oxford diocese as well. The buildings also include Tom Tower designed by Sir Christopher Wren, where "Great Tom" rings 101 times every night. Christ Church has produced thirteen British prime ministers, the two most recent being Anthony Eden (1955–57) and Sir Alec Douglas-Home (1963–64). The college is the setting for parts of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, as well as Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland – Carroll was a Fellow of the college and taught mathematics. Christ Church has been used in the filming of the movies of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel Northern Lights. (Full article...)