Oxford: Land of the Scholar

And so today my train journey came to an end with a visit to Oxford, which is home to the top university in the world. After dropping off my backpack at a local hostel, I headed into town. thinkers, and leaders and will continue to do so for years to come. During the English Civil War, the city was the capital for the royalists, and there are several markers commemorating the King’s cause. Despite being a center of learning, the town also has a history of violence. Like many college towns, relations between student and townie haven’t always been great, but unlike most other places citizens and students in Oxford have fought several civil wars with each other. Indeed, Cambridge University was originally formed by oxford professors who fled the town so they could teach without the threat of violence. All this combines into a city that has enough history in its walls to satisfy the requirements for a history degree.

Now Oxford University is made up of several colleges, and the first one I visited was Trinity. Each college acts as a self0contained unit and Trinity is no different. Its price of admission was lower than Christ College, which I would visit later and its atmosphere seemed more relaxed. The chapel on the college was partly designed by Christopher wren, a noted architect who designed the Wren Building in William and Mary. Yes, there’s some controversy about how actually designed it, but they called it the Wren building so I’m sticking with that.

After leaving Trinity College, I headed over to the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. The steeple of the church offers a stunning view of the city and is worth the 3 pound asking price. From there I visited the Radcliffe Camera, a reading room and one of the cities architectural marvels. From there I walked the grounds of the Boden Library complex, one of the largest libraries in the world. While the public isn’t admitted into the buildings since it’s considered “disruptive,” I still got a sense of the vast amount of information and knowledge hidden within the walls. Indeed, I had to restrain myself from storming in and demanding a library card.

Following a leisurely walk around the city, during which I passed by several other colleges (sadly, closed ot the public) and Oxford’s 1,000 year old castle, I headed over to Christ Church College, aka Hogwarts. Several filming locations are present at the site and the Great Hall here was the model for the dining hall in the films. Founded by Cardinal Wolsey during the reign of Henry VIII , the college is the biggest of the schools in Oxford and contains both magnificent grardens and, political graffiti. The “No-Peel” graffiti refers to PM Peel (an oxford grad) who worked to give English Catholics the right to vote. Apparently, a student wasn’t too fond of this idea, and the graffit stands as a reminder that a college degree doesn’t equate to tolerance. Oxford grad Christopher Wren’s handiwork can be found here as well, in its magnificent bell tower.

Also present at Christ church was the magnificent Chapel, which serves as the Cathedral for the city. Thee site actually predates the university and despite being attacked during the Reformation the Chapel remains a site to be seen. One of the oldest examples of medieval stained glass can be found in a depiction of the Murder of Beckett. Nearby, the sister of Alice Liddell, who inspired Christ Church professor Lewis Carroll to write Alice in Wonderland, can be found in a stained glass depiction of St. Alexandria. During the English Civil War Charles I prayed here, but it turns out that God was Parliamentarian so the king’s prayers went unheard. The site also boasts a beatiufl collection of Renaissance Art.

My second to last stop was Exeter College. While small this college still boosts a lot of charm (although the attempt to match medieval and modern architecture in several buildings looked weird). The Chapel contains a memorial to all those who died during WWI. A gentlemen leaving the building noted that of the 3,00 Oxford students who left to fight only 1000 came back, with the resting dying in the trenches of Europe. My final stop was the museum of the History of the Sciences. Here were the scientific instruments of the centuries, astrolabes, telescopes, microscopes all donated to the museum. One can only think of the wonderful discoveries made by the scientists using these instruments.

After leaving Oxford I headed back to Exeter, but my travels were only just beginning…