Endeavour Filming Locations in Oxford
Endeavour is filmed on location in Oxford, treating viewers to a setting with remarkable history, stunning architectural landmarks—and plenty of dark corners for crime. Fans of the detective drama will know that the original TV series based on Colin Dexter’s books, Inspector Morse, as well as its spin-off, Inspector Lewis, also filmed around the university city’s center. Some would argue this “city of dreaming spires” has become as notable as the fictional sleuths themselves.
Here are some favorite Oxford locations seen in Endeavour, along with a slice of history, surprising facts, and reminders of when these iconic places were featured.
- 1.
Radcliffe Square | Radcliffe Camera
A scene from Endeavour: The Final Season A very memorable location seen over nine seasons of Endeavour is Radcliffe Square, dominated by the baroque Radcliffe “Camera” (Latin for room). The Camera is said to be the earliest example of a circular library in England and features a spectacular dome rising above Oxford’s skyline. When built in the mid-1700s, its unusual circular shape was believed to represent the universe’s mathematical perfection. Today its main function is to provide reading rooms for Oxford University’s Bodleian Library.
Endeavour’s final season provides glimpses of the square and the Camera in all three episodes—including this scene with Morse driving by in his trademark Jaguar. Series star Shaun Evans tells MASTERPIECE that every time he thinks of Oxford, he thinks of the Radcliffe Camera.
- 2.
Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library and a scene from Endeavour's "Fugue" Known as “the Bod” to Oxford scholars, the University’s main research library opened in 1602, making it one of Europe’s oldest. Today, the Bodleian Library is actually a set of separate buildings holding over 13 million printed items. Its special collections contain extremely rare items including 2nd century AD fragments of the Greek poet Sappho’s love lyrics and a Shakespeare’s First Folio. The Bodleian is not a lending library; material is only read on the premises and only after patrons take an oath swearing they won’t light any fires inside!
In “Fugue,” Season 1 Episode 2 of Endeavour, young Morse visits the library to follow a lead and winds up chasing a suspect through its subterranean floors.
- 3.
Bridge of Sighs (or Hertford Bridge)
Bride of Sighs (left) and Roger Allam (as DCI Fred Thursday) filming a scene for Endeavour Sitting opposite the entrance to Bodleian Library, Hertford Bridge—commonly called the Bridge of Sighs—is a landmark for Oxford sightseers. The covered skyway was finished in 1914 to link two Hertford College buildings. Despite being nicknamed for its likeness to the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, it actually bears a closer resemblance to the Rialto Bridge (also in Venice).
The striking skyway has occasionally appeared in Endeavour including in “Degüello” Season 6 Episode 4, when the appearance of a group of school children touring Oxford saves Police Chief Superintendent Reginald Bright from a deadly ambush.
- 4.
Christ Church College | Christ Church Meadow
View of Christ Church College, Oxford, from its meadow Christ Church College, its formal quads, medieval cathedral, and adjacent park have all been featured in Endeavour, including in “Prelude” Season 9 Episode 1 as Morse and Thursday sit in Christ Church Meadow discussing the Bleinham Vale investigation. (The college is a popular film location in general; its Great Dining Hall and Bodley Staircase were famously featured in the Harry Potter films.)
Christ Church College was founded almost 500 years ago and to this day, its iconic “Tom Tower” chimes 101 times every night to honor the college’s original 101 students. Famous alumni include 13 British prime ministers to date, author Lewis Carroll, philosopher John Locke, and international royalty like Prince Paul of Yugoslavia and Jordan’s Princess Badiya bint Hassan.
- 5.
Turl Street
Turl Street with Oxfam Bookshop second from right and the store fashioned as a pet shop in Endeavour's "Icarus" Turl Street or “The Turl” is a quirky, narrow thoroughfare in central Oxford with plenty of character. It’s been closed to traffic since 1985 and those who enter on foot find small specialty shops offering men’s clothing and “university attire,” antiques, whisky, and more. And then there’s the treasure trove of secondhand books that is Oxfam Bookshop. This Turl Street bookshop has been refashioned by Endeavour’s set crew numerous times, including in Season 5 Episode 6 “Icarus” when it stood in for a pet store.
- 6.
Exeter College
The Front Quadrangle of Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College has been situated on Turl Street since 1315. It’s the fourth oldest college at Oxford University and one of the smallest, with a famously close-knit community. Graduates of note include author J.R.R. Tolkien, Roger Bannister who ran the first recorded sub-4-minute mile, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan, and BBC journalist Reeta Chakrabarti.
In “The Remorseful Day,” the final episode of Inspector Morse, the detective’s heart attack occurs in the college’s Front Quadrangle. The school has also been a filming location for Endeavour through the years, including in “Striker,” Season 8 Episode 1 when a mail bomb explodes inside a faculty office there.
- 7.
Sheldonian Theatre
Sheldonian Theatre's main hall (left) and a scene from Endeavour's "Cartouche" Sheldonian Theatre is the main place for the wider university to assemble. It was the first major commission for architect Christopher Wren in 1669, and seats over 1000 on narrow benches set around a large stage. Sheldonian Theatre is not a theater in the usual sense; it has hosted prestigious public lectures and concerts as well as ceremonial occasions like matriculations and graduations. In 1733, Handel first debuted his third oratorio Athalia in Sheldonian Theatre. More recently, viral TikTok violinist Esther Abrami took part in a special concert there.
Endeavour fans have seen the building’s exquisite interior in the opening scenes of “Game,” Season 4 Episode 1 as Morse attends a concert inside the main hall. Its exterior has been filmed numerous times including in “Cartouche,” Season 5 Episode 2 when Morse gives a brief tour of Oxford to Thursday’s niece Carol.
- 8.
Magdalen College
Magdalen College with its Great Tower Magdalen College (pronounced mawd-lin) is known for its imposing Great Tower and extensive grounds including five quads, a park for three dozen deer known as The Grove, and a picturesque footpath called Addison’s Walk, favored by alumnus C.S. Lewis who penned a poem about it. A 500-year tradition holds that the college choir sings hymns from the top of Magdalen’s bell tower at 6 A.M. on “May Morning,” (May 1st).
The school and its grounds have often been filmed for Endeavour, including a few of “The Debonairs” student club scenes in “Uniform,” Season 9 Episode 2.
