Christ Church visitor centre in Oxford to reopen with new cafe

There are usually one million visitors each year to the meadow, with 452,000 of them paying visitors to see inside the college where The Hall was used for Harry Potter films.

Then the pandemic hit and Christ Church was affected by a drop in visitors like so many other attractions around Oxford.

Read again: Blackbird Leys church to be demolished and rebuilt

Now, the visitor's centre's shop is reopening from Monday, as non-essential shops are allowed to reopen under the government's roadmap out of lockdown. Pubs and restaurants can serve customers outside from Monday and will be allowed to serve customers inside from May 17.

Inside the shop at Christ Church visitor centre

As the city prepares to welcome more visitors, the centre will also open a cafe for the first time, the Longhorn Cafe, from May 1.

It is expected to open from 8am to 5pm every day, serving breakfast snacks, baguettes and cakes.

The centre with a thatched roof features a shop and ticket office, with toilet facilities attached.

Read more: Former F1 title boss picks litter

A neighbouring 19th century barn has been converted, to include an interpretation space in an old bull pen for material about Christ Church, focusing initially on the meadow, civil war defence, plus facilities for academic research and conference use.

Domestic bursar Pauline Linières-Hartley said in 2019 the centre, which provides visitors with multi-media listening guides, had proved popular since it opened in October 2019.

Christ Church treasurer James Lawrie outside the visitor centre in 2019

She said at the time: “The multi-media guides are new and the visitors really love them - there is a choice of nine languages plus sign language.

“They listen very carefully to all the information as they take a tour of college including the cathedral and the hall where Harry Potter was filmed."

Read more: New app is launched for the Oxford Tube

In the visitor centre’s shop there is plenty of Harry Potter memorabilia, together with a special edition of the board game Monopoly.

Previously the shop and ticket office was in the 13th century chapter house, which can now be used again for lectures and concerts.

Treasurer James Lawrie said earlier that Christ Church was a centre for Charles I in the civil war.

A stone ramp has been built leading to the visitor centre, to help those in wheelchairs, or mums with pushchairs.

Read again: Westgate Centre ready to reopen

Oxford Preservation Trust backed the project, while council planners insisted on the thatched roofs.

Tourists gather at Christ Church before the coronavirus pandemic

Tourist visits to Oxfordshire were worth £2.2bn a year before the pandemic hit.