St Cross College, Oxford

The creation of a Porters' Lodge on the ground floor has fulfilled a long-standing aspiration of the Governing Body of St Cross College.

Situated by the main front entrance door, in a room which was previously occupied by the Principal of Pusey House, the Lodge has an outer office with a hatch opening to the entrance hall and a separate Mail Room which is entered from a door on the corridor leading to the Chapel.

Work began on the project at the end of June 2005 and the Lodge was ready for occupation by the start of Michaelmas term, albeit with snagging details remaining. At the same time, the entrance hall was refurbished with a new suspended ceiling and lighting system and the stonework was professionally cleaned to reveal beautiful, pale flagstones. The door to the Lange corridor was removed and an arched pair of glazed doors was installed to open up and add light to the area.

View of the porter's hatch from the entrance hall

The Mail Room provides a locker for each Fellow as before and a pigeon hole for each student, which is a new feature. A member of the Bursary team is based in the Lodge with a computer that is electronically networked to the Finance system so that all payments to college may be made at the Lodge.

The Mail Room behind the Lodge

Maureen Doherty
Bursar