
The Restricted Section
Duke Humfrey’s Library, the Bodleian — Oxford
In the Oxford guidePlan a day here
On screen
On Christmas night Harry is given an Invisibility Cloak. He sneaks into the library’s Restricted Section, a book he opens starts screaming, and he flees before the caretaker can catch him.
The place today
A working 15th-century reading room, the oldest in the Bodleian Library. You can only enter on a paid guided tour, best booked ahead, and photography is restricted.
Did you know? According to the Bodleian, the flame in Harry’s lantern was added by computer: fire is forbidden in the library, and new readers still swear an oath never to kindle one.
Sources: Bodleian Libraries · Experience Oxfordshire · movie-locations
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