’The Night Climbers of Oxford’
A documentary photographic series capturing the traditional scene of Oxford's Nocturnal Climbing culture
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For nearly a century, an unseen, undocumented, and unspoken tradition has unfolded under the cover of darkness within the walls of Oxford’s colleges and gothic architecture. One of risk, elite athleticism, and quiet rebellion. The Night Climbers of Oxford are a secretive society from the University of Oxford, who awake when the city sleeps, scaling its historic buildings and traversing routes along college walls, spires, and rooftops. Their climbs are both a challenge and a statement, sometimes used as a platform for acts of political defiance. (Not related to the recent political overtake of the Radcliffe Camera).
This photographic series documents Oxford’s nocturnal climbing and roof culture, shot in the visual language of 1930s film noir, the project is as much about telling the stories of these individuals as it is about the ascents themselves. Through these images, I aim to preserve a tradition that remains largely undocumented, to be transformed into photo-book form with anecdotal stories from the climbers themselves from over the years.
While I have been privileged to document the society and their climbs, I cannot endorse or encourage others to attempt them. Many of the climbers are seasoned professionals with rich experience or even careers in parkour and mountaineering.
These are no ordinary soloing feats, attending a nocturnal ascent requires weeks of training, preparation, and ground practice before being invited to join on a very basic route. Even the most skilled climbers have, on occasion, planned a climb for weeks only to walk away at the last minute. Night climbing is legally controversial, dangerous, technical, and potentially fatal, and this advice should not be underestimated.
While some of the images included in this series focus on lesser known routes and locations, some of Oxford’s more iconic and widely recognized buildings are intentionally excluded from the below image series at this stage. This decision has been made for both production and privacy reasons. These iconic locations will be added in the future once reviewed and approved by myself and the society members/climbers involved, ensuring that the anonymity of the climbers and the tradition remains preserved.
Explore more about the history of our night climbing culture on Wikipedia.
