Hertford college’s resident Lego enthusiast, Dr Andrew Beaumont, has built a special Lego model of the college, which was displayed at Oxford University’s open days this week.
The six foot wide replica of the 700 year old college façade, which faces the Radcliffe Camera, was displayed prominently at Hertford’s open days on Wednesday and Thursday. Although Dr Beaumont is yet to have entirely completed the model, he has already used over 30,000 Lego bricks. The project has so far taken six months and the model has been built from memory, without any sort of plan.
Aside from specialising in constructing replicas of Hertford’s most famous features, Dr Beaumont is a lecturer in History and the college’s Home Bursar. He has previously admitted that his construction of the models is purely an extracurricular activity.
Matthew Hiscock, Director of Admissions at Hertford, told Cherwell, “Hertford [is] fortunate enough to have a Home Bursar who is also a Lego enthusiast! Two years ago he built a Lego model of the Bridge of Sighs. We thought it was pretty great and so this year he has created a model of the side of Hertford that faces out to the RadCam.
“It’s a great thing to display at open days because it is something that distinguishes Hertford from other colleges. It helps potential applicants remember the college and sends out an important message; that we don’t take ourselves too seriously. It reflects the fact that we are a college full of academics, staff and students with distinctive and celebrated talents that extend well beyond their academic excellence.
“When Dr Beaumont’s model is complete, it will include intricate replicas of the rooms in that part of the college. Some quirky additions include a batmobile for the Principal and a science lab for aliens, that unfortunately do not exist in reality.”
Alongside these fantasy elements, the model also features figures who attend or work at the college, including Principle Will Hutton. The Lego model also contains two special QR codes printed on to the bricks of the walls, which prospective students can scan to then access the college prospectus.
Cherwell recently reported on the representations of the candidates for Oxford West and Abingdon created out of LEGO by Dr Beaumont in the build up to the General Election. Some of his other projects include homages to Harry Potter and “the life of Vladimir Putin”.
Dr Andrew Beaumont is yet to comment and Oxford University declined to comment.
