Our rooms and facilities

Our Rooms at Blackfriars

Blackfriars currently provides a total of 19 rooms for students across three buildings, which include:

• four en-suite rooms in our 33 St Giles’ Annexe flat
• twelve non-en-suite single study bedrooms in our shared houses at 16-17 St John St, and
• three twin rooms reserved for Visiting Students in 16 St John St.

We are currently unable to provide accommodation for couples, families, or self-contained studio accommodation.

Rooms and facilities in 16-17 St John Street

Our adjoining houses at 16 and 17 St John St provide a sense of shared Blackfriars community in two adjacent 18^th-century terraced houses, which each have a garden to relax and share time in.  The houses are located in a quiet residential area, just two minutes’ walk away from Blackfriars Priory.

16 St John St (post code OX1 2LQ)

16 St John St offers seven fully furnished rooms over four floors.  Three of these rooms are twin rooms designed to be shared by two people (which we allocated to Visiting Students only) and four rooms are single study bedrooms which can be allocated either to Visiting Students or graduates; up to 10 people can live in 16 St John St at the same time.

Our facilities in 16 St John St include:

• two shared kitchens that come fully furnished with self-catering equipment, refrigeration, freezers, and appliances;
• two shared bathrooms (basement and 2^nd floors), plus a shower room (1^st floor) and an additional toilet (3^rd floor);
• a rear garden furnished with tables and chairs;
• all student accommodation agreements at Blackfriars are inclusive of utilities and wi-fi (please see below for further details on our internet provision);
• cleaning services in common areas twice per week;
• access to two Junior Deans who live on site in our accommodation, in addition to 24 hour welfare support from staff at the nearby Blackfriars Priory;
• laundry facilities, including a washing machine and tumble dryer provided at no added cost, with mutual access to the laundry machines in 17 St John St;
• access to a student common room located in 17 St John St

17 St John St (post code OX1 2LQ)

17 St John St also offers shared accommodation over four floors, plus common facilities in the basement.  The house includes eight fully furnished single study bedrooms that include sinks within the room.  There are two shared bathrooms, and one shared kitchen that is fully furnished with self-catering equipment.

Facilities in 17 St John St include:

• a shared kitchen that comes fully furnished with self-catering equipment and appliances;
• two shared bathrooms (1^st and 2^nd floors);
• a rear garden furnished with tables and chairs;
• all student accommodation agreements at Blackfriars are inclusive of utilities and wi-fi (please see below for further details on our internet provision);
• cleaning services in common areas twice per week;
• access to two Junior Deans who live on site in our accommodation, in addition to 24 hour welfare support from staff at the nearby Blackfriars Priory;
• laundry facilities that include a washing machine and tumble dryer located in the basement kitchen, with mutual access to the laundry room in 16 St John St;
• A student common room located in the basement.

Photo gallery:  St John St

33 St Giles’ Annexe (post code OX1 3LD)

Our Annexe building at 33 St Giles, at two minutes’ walk from Blackfriars Priory, includes a student accommodation flat on its 3^rd floor provisioned with four en-suite bedrooms.  This is a modern construction completed in 2019 and includes a shared kitchen and living space, and an outdoor terrace with a wonderful view of North Oxford and Radcliffe Observatory.

Facilities in the 33 St Giles’ Annexe flat include:

• a modern standard of accommodation with en-suite washrooms (including a toilet and shower);
• one of the bedrooms in 33 St Giles is provisioned with facilities that are appropriate for some (but not all), disabilities;
• all bedrooms are fitted with soundproofed window glazing, making this a quite place to study despite proximity to St Giles;
• the accommodation includes a rooftop terrace with views of North Oxford and the Radcliffe Observatory quarter;
• all student accommodation agreements at Blackfriars are inclusive of utilities and wi-fi (please see below for further details on our internet provision);
• laundry facilities, including one washing machine and one tumble dryer shared among four people and provided at no added cost;
• cleaning services in common areas twice per week, and in the room en-suits once a week;
• access to two Junior Deans who live on site in our accommodation, in addition to 24 hour welfare support from staff at the nearby Blackfriars Priory;
• the flat is served by a lift.

Photo gallery:  33 St Giles’

Nomination agreements

From time to time, we enter into nomination agreements for University of Oxford housing, details of which will be advertised as they become available.

Meals and catering

While all of our accommodation is intended to support self-catering, we have a catered meals by arrangement with another nearby college within 1-2 minutes’ walk of our accommodation.  During 2025-26, Blackfriars Hall is also working to open its own weekly formal hall facility for students in Full Term, details of which will be announced as soon as this is available.

Accessibility of our housing

Detailed access information about Blackfriars’ accommodation and other facilities can be found in our entry on the Oxford Colleges Access Guide.

Location of our accommodation

We are extremely fortunate that all of our accommodation is located within the centre of Oxford.  Our sites are within just minutes’ walk of the Blackfriars main site on St Giles’ and the Radcliffe Humanities quarter, with its facilities up the same street, where many of our students study.  Our sites are within easy reach of libraries, the local medical practice, shops, gyms, city centre restaurants and markets, and many other colleges.  Gloucester Green bus station is just minutes away from 16-17 St John St; and the railway station can be reached on foot within 10-15 minutes.

Parking

Blackfriars does not have any parking for students on site, and we advise any students with parking needs linked to your course to explore whether parking may be available to you through your departments.  Further details on parking availability in Oxford are available from the Oxford City Council website.

Sustainable local transport

As part of our sustainability strategy, Blackfriars is committed to encouraging the use of sustainable travel options.  While most students walk or cycle while in Oxford, you can take advantage of a range of discounted bus services providing quick travel around the city as well as regular connections to London and major airports.  Find out more here.

As part of its provision for students, Blackfriars also offers our accommodation residents a cycle safety grant.

Getting around Oxford with a disability

Oxford is the amongst the world’s most beautiful cities, and all visitors, regardless of age or ability, should be able to enjoy what the city has to offer.  You can find resources from Oxford City Council and County Council including venue and transport access guides, the Blue Badge parking scheme, support services, and more on Oxford City Council’s disability and accessibility pages.

Find out more about accessing disability support at Oxford from the Disability Advisory Service.

internet services details

Internet access is provisioned by Blackfriars at no added costs to students.  Details of our network access in our accommodation are given below; please note that all users of our internet and ICT services must adhere to the Blackfriars’ IT Acceptable Use Policy and the IT Regulations of the University of Oxford.

Please note that our internet provision in both 16-17 St John St and 33 St Giles is considered suitable for most study purposes, but services in 16-17 St John St may not be adequate for gaming and other leisure activities.

Wi-fi in 16-17 St John St is provisioned on a fibreoptic network through a commercial supplier arranged by Blackfriars, but at no added charge or agreements that students are responsible for.  Download speeds in each house are up to 400 Mbps and upload speeds up to 40 Mbps, with an average of 200 Mbps achievable speed at peak times when there is network congestion from other users.  Access points are installed on every floor of each property, with strong wi-fi signal available throughout the accommodation.  We do not provide wired connections.

We advise residents to test their service speed using the following tool:  https://www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/help-and-advice/products-and-services/performing-a-broadband-speed-test/

Wi-fi in the 33 St Giles’ Annexe is provisioned through Eduroam on the University of Oxford network, which boasts a central internet link of 100Gbps.  Eduroam wi-fi at Blackfriars will normally support high speeds of several hundred Mbps.  The Eduroam service has no speed restrictions and is designed to meet high levels of demand.