Oxford – Sunday 7th May 2023

Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, and is the county’s only city.  It is home to the oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a rich heritage which is reflected in many beautiful buildings.  The rivers Thames and Cherwell pass either side of the city and join to the south of it, and the Oxford canal starts in the city and ends at the Hawkesbury junction of the Coventry canal.  Due to the beauty of Oxford, it is the location of many films and TV shows, including the Harry Potter franchise and the excellent adaption of Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse series starring the late John Thaw. We were visiting to celebrate our coral wedding anniversary.   The Waterstones is set over five floors and is located in a stunning building called William Baker House, which  was completed in 1915.  Baker was a furniture maker and the company occupied the premises until 1987, when it was taken over by bookshop chain Dillons, becoming Waterstones in 1998.

Carfax Tower

Carfax Tower – or, to give it its proper name, St Martin’s Tower, is all that’s left of the 12^th century St Martin’s church.  The church was demolished in 1820, leaving this tower, due to it being unsafe, and the replacement church of the same name was later demolished in 1896 as part of a scheme of road improvements in the area, but again the tower survived.  It is now owned by Oxford City Council.  There are 99 steps to the top of the tower, and the climb is worth it for the views from the top!

Oxford Canal

The photos below of the faun and the lion door at Brasenose College are said to have inspired CS Lewis’s writing of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.  There’s even a lamppost nearby!

Below.  Top row – Oxford Castle.  Bottom row – The Bridge of Sighs.

Below.  Top row -The Shedonian Theatre (left), The Radcliffe Camera (right).  Bottom row – The Bodleian Library, including a statue of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke.

The Headington Shark

No trip to the area would be complete without a visit to the Headington Shark (official name Untitled 1986), just a couple of miles out of the city. It’s a 25-foot fibre glass sculpture which was erected in 1986 without planning permission as a protest against war.   After a six-year fight, the owners were permitted to keep the sculpture.  It’s certainly very striking!

Happy anniversary to us!

Currently reading:  The Forgetting by Hannah Beckerman