Oxford

You have your Auburn-Alabama, your Ole Miss-Mississipi State....in England, you're either Oxford or you're Cambridge!  (Except this rivalry is about 900 years old!)  We chose to go to Oxford, as Wade was educated in the OTHER Oxford, he felt a connection there.  Oxford is brimming with breath-taking architecture and literary and religious history--the lives it has touched are astounding.

The city and the university of Oxford are completely intertwined.  Oxford University is made up of 38 colleges, each with its own campus, chapel, dining hall, and personality.  When one applies to Oxford, you apply to a particular college--each teaches most all subjects, so your choice may depend on the tradition of your family or the region from which you hail.  Students lives mostly revolve around their own college--academics, sports, social life, etc...  Most of the colleges were not open to the public, you could only peer in through the gates!

We first headed to Christ Church College, the largest and most prestigious of the Oxford colleges.  Its graduates include William Penn (founder of the University of Pennsylvania), Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll who wrote Alice in Wonderland), 13 prime ministers of Great Britain,  and our own John and Charles Wesley!  In the above picture, Wade and the kids are in Tom Quad, named for Tom Tower in the background which is a bell tower designed by Christopher Wren.  "Tom" is the seven ton bell inside.

The Christ Church Cathedral dates back to the 12th century.  It was a site of controversy during the reign of Henry VIII, when he created the Church of England.  It is the only college chapel in the world designated as a cathedral.

It was in this cathedral that John and Charles Wesley were ordained!

We took a walking tour of Oxford, which allowed us to enter some of the campuses that are closed to the public.  The first college we visited was Wadham College.  We were allowed to go into the beautiful chapel there.

Trinity College

Part of the Bodleian Library--each set of columns going up this tower represents a different period of architecture--now, don't ask me to repeat them!  This library houses a copy of every single book that is printed in the UK.  It is enormous, and even includes acres of underground stacks!

Radcliffe Camera, part of the library.

All Soul's College (founded 1438)

Our tour took us into Oriel College (founded 1326).  Its graduates include Cecil Rhodes, who founded the Rhodes Scholars, and Sir Walter Raleigh.  Oriel was the last hold-out in going co-ed, finally accepting women in 1984!  It was a beautiful quad, and we were allowed the rare privilege of visiting its dining hall.

The dining halls are only for the students, dean, and faculty of each college.  If you distinguish yourself by making a significant contribution to society in your career, you may have the honor of your portrait being hung on the wall of the dining hall in your college.  This is an honor very few achieve!

The final stop on our tour was Lincoln college (1427).  The tour guide originally brought us here to admire the "greenest grass in Oxford", but for us it was meaningful as this was the college where John Wesley taught as a fellow for many years.  Our family was allowed to enter the college and view Wesley's room, which has been left as a memorial.

Wesley's Room at Lincoln College

Wade channeling some Wesley vibes!

Ok, nothing to do with history, but I am a big fan of the Harry Potter books, and many of the scenes in the HP movies were filmed in Oxford.  During our first stop at Christ Church College, the dining hall was closed for the students to eat lunch, so we ran back over to see it that afternoon--otherwise known as the dining hall of Hogwart's!

They had to use some special effects for the movie, as Christ Church dining hall has three tables, but there are four houses at Hogwart's!  Oh yes, and for making the candles float and pictures move as well.

For some other literary history, Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) was a tutor at Christ Church for many years--he was great friends with Alice, the Dean's daughter, and used to make up stories for her which became the basis for the Alice in Wonderland books.  Many of the places and people in books are based on those from Christ Church.  The "Rabbit" was the dean, Alice's father, Carroll himself was the DoDo, the Meadow of the campus was where "Alice" played croquet, etc...

Wade with John Wesley's portrait in the Christ Church dining hall.

Oxford is very a bustling college town, vibrant and full of young people.  We ate dinner at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant.  Davis and I were big fans of Jamie's Food Revolution, so it was a treat!

The children's menu was in a view master!

Other literary giants who were Oxford men were C S Lewis and JRR Tolkien.  They were long time friends and spent many hours at this pub, The Eagle and Child, discussing their writings--oh, to be a fly on the wall!

Wade in the "Rabbit Room", where the "Inklings" group of writers met weekly.

Amazing!  We are fortunate to enjoy the fruits of those meetings in the writings of these great men!

As with many of our visits, we could have spent days here soaking up the beauty and history.  An incredible day!