Oxford

Oxford University was honey-colored buildings scattered all through the town, around the market, shops and churches. The tour guide gave us a short tour around the area by St. Giles’, through the crossroads, past the Oxford Shop where you sit in desks for a multimedia tour, the Oxford Campus Store, to the Museum of the History of Science, Sheldonian Theatre, the Bridge of Sighs, Radcliffe Camera, The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, and Brasenose College gardens/dining hall/chapel. If you are interested in some more history, I have put information at the bottom of this post.

She then directed us to the Christ Church Cathedral, the market and pubs to spend our free time. My friends and I decided to first go to Christ Church Cathedral, primarily because it is Hogwarts from Harry Potter. Unfortunately, that area of the Cathedral was closed today, so we decided to see the rest of the church anyway. It was beautiful, and they gave us a map of key artifacts throughout the chapel. These included the Jonah Window, St. Frideswide Window, the Shrine, the Bell Altar, the Chancel Vault, St. Catherine Window, and the Becket Window. At this end of this post I put more information on each, these blurbs were given to us on a map of the interior.

After walking around, we went to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Shop, The Old Sheep Shop “…full of all manner of curious things…”, across the street. It was really cute and I bought a few gifts. Then, we ate at the Eagle and Child pub (aka Bird and Baby) where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien frequently met to discuss their respective books, Alice in Wonderland and Lord of the Rings. It was my first time trying sausage and mash (or bangers and mash), and it was really good.

After lunch, we tried to go to the Sheldonian Theatre so we could walk to the top for a view of the city, but it was closed. We decided to go to the Oxford Campus Store to buy some Oxford gear, so I got a khaki and blue hat and a blue and white shirt. After this adventure, we were off to another at Blenheim Palace, the home of the Churchill family for 300 years.

More Oxford Information
a.) On St. Giles’, “at the south end lies the recently restored Martyrs' Memorial which commemorates Archbishop Cranmer and Protestant Bishops Latimer and Ridley who were burnt at the stake in Tudor times by the Roman Catholic Queen Mary. A cross in the road outside Balliol college marks the actual spot of the execution.”

b.) Sheldonian Theatre was built from 1664 to 1668 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the university at the time and the project's main financial backer. The theatre is used for music recitals, lectures (such as the annual Romanes Lecture), conferences, and for various ceremonies held by the University (such as graduation and matriculation). Handel performed here, including the first performance of his third oratorio Athalia in 1733. The building seats 800–1,000 people and is situated in the grounds of part of the Bodleian Library adjacent to Broad Street. To the left at the front is the Clarendon Building and to the right is the Old Ashmolean Building. Behind the Sheldonian is the Divinity School.

c.) Hertford Bridge in New College Lane, Oxford, England is often referred to as the "Bridge of Sighs" because of its supposed similarity to the famous bridge of the same name in Venice. However, Hertford Bridge was never intended to be a replica of the Venetian bridge and many believe it looks more similar to the Rialto Bridge in the same city. The bridge links together the Old and New Quadrangles of Hertford College. (The bridge does not link Hertford College to New College, as is stated by some inaccurate city tourguides.) The bridge, and much of its current architecture, was designed by Sir Thomas Jackson. It was completed in 1914, despite its construction being opposed by New College.

d.) The Radcliffe Camera (often abbreviated to "the Rad Cam" in Oxford), is a building in Oxford, England, designed by James Gibbs in the English Baroque style and built in 1737–1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library. The building was funded by a £40,000 bequest from John Radcliffe, who died in 1714. Nicholas Hawksmoor proposed making the building round. After the Radcliffe Science Library moved into another building, the Radcliffe Camera became home to additional reading rooms of the Bodleian Library. It now holds books from the English, History and Theology collections, mostly secondary sources found on undergraduate reading lists. There is space for around 600,000 books in rooms beneath Radcliffe Square. The term "camera" translates from Latin as "room" or "chamber."

e.) The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is the largest of Oxford's parish churches and the centre from which the University of Oxford grew. It is situated on the north side of the High Street, and is surrounded by university and college buildings. St Mary's has one of the most beautiful spires in England and an eccentric baroque porch, designed by Nicholas Stone, facing High Street.[1] Radcliffe Square lies to the north and to the east is Catte Street, pedestrianised since 1973. The 13th century tower is open to the public for a fee and provides good views across the heart of the historic university city, especially Radcliffe Square, the Radcliffe Camera, Brasenose College and All Souls College.

f.) Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, which includes the City of Oxford, England, and the surrounding countryside as far north as Banbury. It is also, unusually, the chapel of Christ Church, the largest college of the University of Oxford. Some artifacts within the Christ Church Cathedral are:

1. The Jonah Window by Abraham van Linge 1630s. This window is of great interest because only the figure of Jonah is made of stained glass. The rest of the window consists of small panels of painted glass, showing the city of Nineveh in minute detail.

2. The Shrine, built 1289, destroyed 1538, rebuilt 1889, 2002. The oldest monument in this cathedral, the shrine is covered in fine carvings of plants and faces. It once held the relics of St. Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, but was destroyed at the Reformation. Firdeswide was then buried beneath a nearby gravestone.

3. St Frideswide Window, by Edward Burne-Jones 1858. If you look at the very top center circular panel, it shows a ship of souls carrying St. Frideswide to heaven. The brilliantly coloured lower window panels tell the earthly story of this 8th century local saint.

4. The Bell Altar (look closely at the center bottom), by Jim Partridge, 2000. This altar was made to mark the millennium and is dedicated in memory of Bishop George Bell, who courageously opposed the bombing of the German cities in WW2. A cross which stands near it, was cut from the underside of the alter.

5. The Chancel Vault, by William Orchard, c.1500. This remarkable stone vault is made up of intricate star-shaped patterns to create an image of heaven. Twelve beautiful pendants hang gracefully from it.

6. St. Catherine Window, by Edward Burne-Jones, 1878. The face of the central figure, St. Catherine of Alexandria, is a picture of Edith Liddell. her sister Alice was the inspiration for the bool 'Alice in Wonderland', and a portrait of Alice may be seen in a window in the Great Hall at Christ Church.

7. The Becket Window, c. 1320. This beautiful medieval window is the oldest in the cathedral, and contains a rare panel (a diamond in the middle - see next photo for closeup) showing the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket, who died at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. Beck is kneeling between a monk and the four knights who murdered him. The panel was defaced in the sixteenth century, and the original face of Becket is now missing.