Oxford University Museum of Natural History

The Oxford University Museum of Natural History is defined by its soaring, cathedral-like central court, where a massive glass roof is supported by cast-iron pillars ornamented with wrought-iron leaves and branches. Opened in eighteen sixty, the building was designed by architects Thomas Newenham Deane and Benjamin Woodward to consolidate the university’s scattered science collections under one roof. Its construction was largely funded by the sale of Bibles to the American Midwest, a fact reflected in the decorative carvings of Adam and Eve at the main entrance.