She Said:
Well, for a winding down day the day before we fly back to the States, we kind of did it up!
Took the train to Oxford!
What was supposed to be a partly rainy day ended up being absolutely beautiful.
Since we didn't plan on staying in Oxford all day, and since we didn't feel like searching for the high points, we took an excellent Oxford Walking Tour, led by an Oxford student (or alumnus, can't remember which).
So, in no particular order (unfortunately), here are some Oxford city and University facts:
*Oxford is a Saxon city, not Norman like every other major city in England, mainly because it is built on boggy, soggy land and the Normans saw no use for that land so passed it by.
*The University was started in 1167.
*Oxford is the model for Cambridge, started in 1209.
*Oxford has 38 Colleges and 22,000 students.
*In the beginning, the townspeople really hated the students, who were often very rowdy. There were actually several riots/rebellions and students were killed. Yikes. In one riot, 63 students were killed.
*The Sheldonia Theater is a fantastic, round building where all the students graduate. It was built in the 1660's and designed by Christopher Wren (of Saint Paul's in London fame) when he was just a science student. He wasn't a trained architect at the time. He also designed the Bodleian Library on the Oxford campus.
*"The Lord is My Life" is the inscription above the Bodleian Library entrance because it also used to house the Oxford Divinity School.
*The difference between "gargoyles" and "grotesques" - grotesques just sit there; gargoyles have spouts in their mouths to drain water. Most people call grotesques, gargoyles. Whatever. I'm pretty sure I will continue to call any weird sculpture/statue high up on an old building a gargoyle, even if it is a grotesque. But, I am also pretty sure that I will share that little tidbit about the difference when it suits me.
*The Clarendon Building houses the Oxford University Press.
*It also houses, in its basement, the Oxford Bulldogs, the Oxford University Police, who have all the same authorities as any regular police. But, they wear Bowler Hats. Really.
*The Hereford (not sure if I heard this college name correctly) College Bridge, 1913, was built to aid students in getting back to their specific houses before curfew.
*Edmond Halley lived and studied at Oxford and we saw his rooms and the quirky little observatory that he used, tiny and perched precariously on the roof of his building. Halley never actually saw the comet that is named for him; he worked out its appearance with science and math.
*we came upon some students, in a small alley, Trashing. Trashing is a custom whereby the student who has just completed his/her finals is "rewarded" and "acknowledged" by fellow students by being sprayed with champagne, then covered in flour, string, confetti and glitter. We saw one guy also wearing a tiara. You can't blame them, though. They worked their butts off and deserve to go through that ritual. And, it is all done with respect for the achievement and love of the custom.
*So, after all the riots and killing of students by the locals, the "New College" was established in 1355. This plan is the classic plan, started in Oxford, and adopted by Cambridge and most other old institutions of higher learning. It, in effect, walls in the students so they don't have any contact with the locals at all. It is the "Quad" model, that includes a gate into a square green space, bounded by students rooms, a dining hall, a chapel, and a cloister all around. This was to insure that the students remained safe and had all they needed within secure walls.
*In the New College that we toured, was a 700 year old tower with gargoyles (grotesques?) all around. The college fellows posed for the gargoyles (grotesques?). Halfway down the tower side, with hands covering his face, is a fallen angel, on his way to Hell. Bummer.
*Every college includes a chapel, as the university was very tied to the church when it was started. Most of the schools of the time were built on monastic lands, so including a chapel was a given. 37 of Oxford's 38 colleges have their own chapel.
*The original intent of the University was two-fold: it was founded to train more priests after the Black Death (as the priests' numbers greatly decreased during the plague years since they were often in close contact with the dying), and, originally, there were only two institutions of higher learning (or, any learning? Students often started their studies at age 12 and kept them up for 6-8 years) - the University of Bologna, in Italy, and the Sorbonne, in Paris. Most English students went to the Sorbonne. Well, England was often at war with France, and this one particular time (The whole Lion in Winter thing - Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, wars, intrigue, deception, etc.) was the last straw, academically, and since Oxford had a critical mass of somewhat learned men, well, Oxford popped up as the place to start a University.
*The Winchester School (in Winchester) became the feeder into Oxford.
*In the chapel, the pews face each other, rather than facing the alter. This may be in homage to the "call and response" prayer custom of the monks of the day.
*The Dining Hall is very grand, and again, served as the prototype after which all formal school dining halls were/are patterned. Students are offered three meals a day. The rules are that they cannot discuss religion, politics,or the portraits hanging on the walls. 3x a month, formal dinners are held in the Dining Hall - tuxedoes for the men and black dresses/gowns for the ladies.
*Every college at Oxford is a charity, meaning that it relies on handouts from alumnae. The government also gives Oxford $, so it doesn't cost anymore to attend Oxford than to attend any other State/Government-funded University. Entrance is purely on merit.
*The catch is, you have to be crazy smart to get in. The person who does your entrance interview, remains, if you are admitted, your "moral tutor". There is a one-on-one relationship between this interviewer and the student for the duration of the student's stay at Oxford. Every week, the student is required to submit a 15,000 word essay, describing in detail, all that the student is learning. This rigor contributes to the high standards of the school.
*In Oxford's All Souls College, the wine cellar is second only to Buckingham Palace's. It is the only college in Oxford where you must be "invited" to attend. It is the creme de la creme of academics in their fields. They do research. They are the big brains.
*C.S.Lewis, on his way home from a local pub, found the inspiration for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe all on one 10' stretch of lane next to Radcliffe Square. A lamppost, and a door with spooky carvings on it and even spookier grotesques on either side of that door.
*The Bodleian Library contains a copy of every book published in the UK.
*When the King James Version of the bible was translated, its big claim to fame was that it was the very first book to offer a uniform spelling of the words in the English language.
*The most frequent crime committed in Oxford is bicycle stealing.
Needless to say, we were pooped after that, caught the next train back to London, strolled back through Hyde Park, stopped at our favorite Waitrose, and are now happily ensconced in our room, with wine and beer and a big salad for supper.
Tomorrow, we leave. Our flight is at a civilized hour (2:00 pm) so no rushing around.
It has been a terrific trip.
Total Mileage:
7.46 miles (London, Kensington to Paddington and back; Oxford)
Total Flights Climbed:
5
He said:
We had a great day out in Oxford, a 1-1/2 hour train ride from London. Why go to Oxford? Well, it is another historic city which we briefly visited many years ago when we walked the Thames Path. At that time, we wished we could have seen more of the place, we had merely taken the hop on hop off bus tour at that time. This time we wanted to learn more by walking through the city. Of course, one day is not enough for that, but we did have a free train trip to take somewhere....
We went on a guided walking tour to see many interesting things and places, see Eileen's descriptions. It was supposed to rain in Oxford today... Ha! We even brought rain pants. But, Yippee, the sun was out, and many people too, most young, many students, it was a vibrant day on this bank holiday Saturday.
We learned that Oxford defined it's own time before GMT was defined, it turns out that Oxford time is 5 minutes behind GMT and was kept that way, eg. the sundial by Christopher Wren (see photos).
All this changes tomorrow as we will fly back home and completely change gears and time zones.
We have walked about 165 miles in the past 3 weeks, assuming that the App she has is correct.
Yay!
Edmund Halley's home and observatory
Rewards for finishing their final exams
Our guide Tom making a point
Christopher Wren's sundial
Inspiration for the Chronicles of Narnia
Back in London
Hyde Park
