Welcome to Wikipedia

,
6,493,954 articles in English
Sheldonian Theatre

The Sheldonian Theatre is a theatre in Oxford, England, designed by Christopher Wren and built from 1664 to 1669 for the University of Oxford. Used for music concerts, lectures and university ceremonies, the building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, the chancellor of the university at the time, and the project's main financial backer. According to Wren's son, the design was inspired by Sebastiano Serlio's 16th-century engraving of the D-shaped Theatre of Marcellus erected in Rome in the 1st century BC. The ceiling, partly depicted in this photograph of the theatre's interior, consists of thirty-two oil-on-canvas panels originally painted by Robert Streater, King Charles II's court painter, and depicts an allegory of Truth descending upon the Arts and Sciences and expelling ignorance from the university.

Photograph credit: David Iliff

Other areas of Wikipedia

  • Community portal – The central hub for editors, with resources, links, tasks, and announcements.
  • Village pump – Forum for discussions about Wikipedia itself, including policies and technical issues.
  • Site news – Sources of news about Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia movement.
  • Teahouse – Ask basic questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
  • Help desk – Ask questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
  • Reference desk – Ask research questions about encyclopedic topics.
  • Content portals – A unique way to navigate the encyclopedia.

Wikipedia's sister projects

Wikipedia is written by volunteer editors and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other volunteer projects:

Wikipedia languages