Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy at the Bodleian Library

May 06, 2020, 09:09 AM

Oxford lockdown sound recorded by Cities and Memory.

"The Bodleian Libraries are one of the most famous libraries on the planet, and they sit at the very centre of the city of Oxford. Tonight, we went out to record the sounds around the Bodleian during the Covid-19 lockdown. 

"Broad Street is usually a busy thoroughfare, with popular pubs spilling their customers out onto the street, students and citizens walking around in large numbers and a fair amount of traffic.

"During the lockdown, almost nothing. There are so few people that you can hear couples coming from 200 metres away, and you can hear every individual conversation clearly - it's quieter than 4.00am on a normal day.

"The loudest interruption in this recording, approximately once every two minutes, is a scooter or motorbike going past. Each and every one of these is a Deliveroo rider on a trip to deliver an evening meal around Oxford, as home delivery services become one of the essential services keeping the city going."

Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds