Keble College

Keble is the college that starts arguments. William Butterfield's polychrome brick buildings — stripes and patterns of red, cream, and blue brick — were designed in the 1870s as a deliberate provocation against the prevailing Cotswold stone. Oxford's establishment hated it then and some still do. But Keble has outlasted the sneering: the buildings are now Grade I listed, and architectural opinion has swung firmly in Butterfield's favour. Love it or hate it, Keble is unforgettable, and it contains one of the most important paintings in Oxford, tucked away in a side chapel that most visitors overlook.

What to look for

• The Chapel — Keble's chapel is enormous, far larger than most college chapels, and the interior is a riot of coloured brick, mosaic, and patterned tilework. It was designed to overwhelm, and it does. The scale is closer to a parish church than a college chapel.
• Holman Hunt's The Light of the World — In a side chapel off the main chapel sits the original version of this iconic Pre-Raphaelite painting (the more famous copy is in St Paul's Cathedral, London). It shows Christ knocking at a door with no handle, and whatever you think of Pre-Raphaelite art, seeing the original up close — the detail, the luminosity — is striking.
• The Butterfield brickwork — Stand back and look at the patterns. Butterfield used different coloured bricks like a weaver uses thread. The Liddon Quad is the most elaborate, but the whole complex rewards close attention. The modern ABK building (the 1970s addition) is a jarring but interesting contrast.

Visiting

Keble is on Parks Road, a short walk north of the city centre, opposite the Natural History Museum (combine the two). The college is usually open during the day, and there's no charge. The chapel and the Holman Hunt painting are the main draws — ask at the porter's lodge for directions to the side chapel. Check the college website for any restrictions during exam periods.