The Radcliffe Camera in Oxford, England, was designed by James Gibbs, who was appointed in 1736 after the death of Nicholas Hawksmoor. John Radcliffe left £40,000 for a library when he died in 1714. The foundation stone was laid on May 17, 1737, the building was completed in 1748, and it was inaugurated on April 13, 1749.
It has a circular plan and is described as the earliest example in England of a circular library. It has a lead-covered dome and cupola. The ground stage is heavily rusticated, the central stage has coupled Corinthian columns, and the top stage is a lanterned dome on an octagonal drum.
Inside, a six-foot marble statue of Radcliffe by John Michael Rysbrack stands in the upper reading room. Since 1861 it has been a reading room of the Bodleian Library. A tunnel links it to underground storage with space for about 600,000 books. It is not open to the public.
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