Chapel – Brasenose College

The chapel is a space for all members of college, their families, and friends. We are a friendly community, and we invite you to step inside and be at home in chapel.

The College Chapel

The chapel is a sacred and welcoming space set aside for contemplation, reflection, prayer, and worship. A place to find peace or simply be and enjoy some quiet and beauty. It is also a place for music making and practice.

The chapel entrance is on Deer Park, and the chapel is always open for members of college. Collective worship in chapel is Christian and Anglican, conducted according to the rites of the Church of England. However, the chapel is home to Christians of many traditions, as well as those who are not Christian but wish to participate in our worship and common life. It is also the natural location for college gatherings at times of celebration and for memorials, as well as concerts and other events.

Whatever your religious background, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexuality, you are welcome!

Our Services

Services take place in chapel every day except Saturday during University term time, and are open to all members of college, families, and friends. Attendance at services is of course entirely optional.

Morning Prayer: 8.10–8.30am, Tuesday to Friday
Silent Stillness: 12.30–1pm, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
Holy Communion: 12.30–12.50pm on Thursdays in odd weeks of term (this term: 30th April, & 11th June)
Organ Recital: 12.30-1pm on Thursdays in even weeks of term (7 May, 21 May, 9 June, 18 June)

Morning Prayer: 9.15–9.30am
Evening Prayer/Choral Evensong: 6pm (see Choral Evensong below)

Choral Evensong takes place on Sundays at 6pm during term time. The service is sung by the Chapel Choir with organ music, congregational hymns, and includes a sermon.
On Tuesdays from week one to six of Trinity term (26 April, 3 May, 17 May, 24 May, 31 May), a shorter Choral Evensong takes place from 6–6.30pm.

Term Card Trinity 2026

A warm welcome awaits all members of college

regardless of denomination, faith, or no faith.

All are welcome to attend services and events in chapel.

Regular Midweek Services

in chapel weeks 1-8 unless otherwise stated

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

8.10am-8.30am

Morning Prayer

8.10am-8.30am

Morning Prayer

8.10am-8.30am

Morning Prayer

8.10am-8.30am

Morning Prayer

12.30pm-1.00pm

Silent Stillness is a time when the chapel is completely quiet so any member of college can come and enjoy the space to be still, meditate, pray, read, or just sit quietly and enjoy the silence.

12.30pm-1.00pm

Silent Stillness

12.30pm-1.00pm

Silent Stillness

12.30pm -12.50pm

Holy Communion, in chapel on the odd weeks, in 1st 5th and 7th weeks.

12.30pm-1.00pm Organ Recital

in chapel, on even weeks, beginning in 2nd week.

12.30pm-1.00pm

Silent Stillness

6.00pm – 6.30pm

Choral Evensong

Evening Prayer sung by the choir with organ music. Followed by drinks & nibbles in the antechapel. Weeks 1 to 6

In week 7 we host the RC College Mass at 6.00pm, served by the Catholic Chaplaincy:

www.catholic-chaplaincy.org.uk/

6.00pm – 6.45pm Music Concert

in the antechapel.

From 3rd week to 7th week inclusive. See BNC Music intranet page for details.

7.00pm

Choir Rehearsal

The Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, or Mass) is celebrated on a Thursday lunchtime in 1st, 5th, and 7th weeks (the odd weeks), 12.30-12.50 in chapel.

The Holy Eucharist is also celebrated in the University Church, 12.15-12.45pm, Monday to Friday.

Special Services & Events during Term

Wk 3 Thurs 14th May Ascension Day Sung Eucharist, 6.00pm-7.00pm, A joint service with Lincoln College, this year in Lincoln College chapel. All welcome.

Wk 3 Fri 15th May Platnauer Concert 6.00pm-7.00pm in the antechapel, followed by

a drinks reception in Amersi at 7.00pm. Free admission.

Wk 7 Tues 9th June Roman Catholic College Mass, 6.00pm-6.30pm, served by the Catholic Chaplaincy. Drinks & nibbles served following the service.

The chaplain is available to discuss any matters concerning faith & spirituality,

including preparation for baptism & confirmation.

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Sunday Mornings

9.15am – 9.30am Morning Prayer

A short said service in chapel open to all.

9.45am – 11.00am Chaplain’s Breakfast

Meeting in Heberden 1 (above the JCR) for community & conversation,

with tea & filter coffee, fresh fruit, & fresh pastries.

All members of college are welcome at the breakfast

regardless of whether or not you come to chapel.

3.45pm – 4.15pm Choir Tea

Open to members of the choir & chapel community. Hosted by the Bible Clerk.

Sunday Evenings

6.00pm College Prayers

College Prayers is usually a service of Choral Evensong (6.00pm – 6.55pm), it is sung by

the chapel choir, with organ music, congregational hymns, and a talk by the chaplain or a visiting speaker, followed by drinks in the Amersi room at 7.00pm before dinner at 7.30pm.

Week 1 Easter 4

26th April The Chaplain

Week 2 Easter 5

3rd May The Chaplain

Week 3 Easter 6

10th May Dr Sarah Apetrei, Senior Tutor and Fellow in Early Modern Christian Thought and Spirituality, Campion Hall, Oxford.

Week 4 Easter 7/after Ascension

17th May The Right Revd Dr Nicholas Chamberlain, The Bishop of Grantham.

Week 5 Pentecost

24th May The Revd Dr Justin Thacker, Academic Dean, St Hild College.

Week 6 Trinity Sunday

31st May The Reverend Richard Springer, Rector of St George in the East, London.

Week 7 Trinity 1/ Oxford Pride Weekend

7th June The Revd Dr Chris Dingwall-Jones, LGBTQI+ chaplain for the diocese of Oxford, and sometime chaplain of Jesus College, Oxford.

Week 8 Trinity 2 / Leavers’ Service

14th June The Chaplain

The Chapel Team

Revd David Sheen, College Chaplain

Our College Chaplain provides pastoral support to all members of Brasenose. Contact: chaplain@bnc.ox.ac.uk

Other members of the team

David is supported by Taona Makunganya, Bible Clerk, and Peter Chen, Assistant Bible Clerk.

The Director of Music is Dr Alexander Flood, who holds an interim appointment as maternity cover until summer 2026, supported by Senior Organ Scholar Jaylen Cheng and Junior Organ Scholar Simeon Wren.

The Organ

The first organ was installed in the Chapel in 1892, paid for by the then Principal, Charles Heberden. The organ case, designed by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, was restored in 2024 to house a new instrument built by Orgues de Facto. The new organ follows the English Romantic design of the original and has restored the 1892 façade pipes to speaking voice.

Organ recitals regularly take place during term time.

Music at Brasenose

The ornately painted ceiling in the Chapel as viewed from directly below

About the Chapel

The Chapel at Brasenose, dedicated to St Hugh and St Chad, was built between 1656 and 1666, replacing an earlier chapel that stood where the Senior Common Room is now.

The building incorporates materials salvaged from St Mary’s College (now the site of Frewin Hall), including a 15th-century hammerbeam roof. The result is a distinctive mix of Gothic, baroque and neoclassical styles – a blend that reflects the competing architectural traditions of its time.

The Chapel was consecrated in 1666.