Thinking of Inklings

Tours are quite rare at The Kilns, so I made sure to arrive nice and early.  This gave me time to walk up to the woods and pond behind his place and be a little contemplative before the tour.  Here, at least, the beginning of more rain was beautiful.

I am glad that I did this - can't imagine having come to Oxford, whatever the purpose, and not having gone to see Lewis's house.  That said, I hadn't realized how very much has changed.  When Lewis first bought The Kilns (and, yes, there were kilns here) it was on its own 9 acres.  Now the whole area is built up, and it's in the middle of a suburb.  The pond and some area surrounding it, just up the way, has been protected as a nature preserve, so that was good to see.  In general, though, things relating to Lewis were not kept up  - and that's for a number of reasons - partly because Oxford did not hold him in high esteem (and probably still doesn't) - partly because at the time of his death England didn't have money for such things anyway - and partly because they seem to be more about castles and less about individuals.  (Where is Tolkien's home, for instance?  Or Chesterton's?)  

If I remember correctly, Warnie lived there alone for 10 years after his brother died, and he let things go pretty badly.  This brings us to 1973.  It was purchased after Warnie's death and UPDATED in full '70s style - avacado green shag carpet, aluminum-framed windows, linoleum, and all.  Then I think the house sat empty for quite a while.  Thanks mostly to Americans who LOVED Lewis, money and labor was poured into the house beginning in 1993, and the restoration was completed in 2001.  

For me this was kind of a pilgrimage, and it was really awesome but kind of disappointing at the same time.  NONE of the furnishings are original.  From what I understand it is the kitchen that is best restored to original, and that was an act of pure love. For example, not only had linoleum been laid over the brick, but asphalt had been poured over the brick first in order to even it out; once the linoleum was up, all the asphalt had to be scraped off.  All of the pieces in the house are period pieces (1963ish), and Lewis's stepson Douglas Gresham gave insight into what should be where; he is also a somewhat frequent visitor.  The Kilns is now a home to visiting scholars who are living in intentional Christian community, so it is not a museum but rather a working house, which is why tours are rather rare.

Obviously the table pictured in the dining room below isn't Lewis's actual table, but I hear it is much like Lewis's was, and I hear that many games of Scrabble were played on it.  I also hear that the way Jack and Joy played Scrabble was with the allowed use of words from any language or any word that could be found in any book in the house!  It is said she could hold her own against him and sometimes won.

The room pictured below is the library, which wasn't there in Lewis's day.  When he lived here there was a shed on this spot.

Below is Lewis's study from later in life.  It had been Mrs. Moore's bedroom until she moved out for nursing care.  Lewis's bedroom is just beyond, but you had to go through her room to get to his, so he closed the door between the rooms, locked it, and built a staircase outside the house to get to his room.  Eventually the key, which was never used, was lost, so once this became Lewis's study he would go down the stairs outside - go into the house - up the stairs - into the study - get what he needed - and then back down, out, and up.  Joy took one look at this when she moved in and said, "I'm calling a locksmith today."



I learned a lot of great stories about Joy!  And that was good, as I found I knew most of the other information that the guide was sharing about Lewis's life and work and that the other visitors didn't.  I eventually had to stop answering all the questions the guide asked and just let them be rhetorical questions!  (Thanks to our great Inklings group and leader back home I'm well-informed!)

Lewis's Bedroom

Staircase Outside Lewis's Bedroom

Apparently Joy knew how to take care of all sorts of problems.  One thing she enjoyed was shooting, and apparently they had problems on occasion with poachers on their property.  One day a poacher with a bow and arrow was up near the lake shooting into one of their trees (and you know how Lewis and Tolkien both loved trees!).  When Lewis told him to leave, he turned and notched an arrow and aimed at them.  Jack protectively stepped in front of Joy and then realized his mistake as he heard the click, click.  She told him to get out of her way because he was blocking her target!

The reality may be just a bit different than as was told by the guide, but I'm sure the idea is accurate.  I believe the exact quote when Lewis chivalrously stepped in front of her was, "Damn it, Jack, get out of my line of fire!"

After the tour I spent a bit more time up at the nature preserve.  Can you see the frog?

Can you see him now?

This is a bench Lewis had built, and he and Tolkien would sit here and talk sometimes:

And then down the way a bit to Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry - about a 10-minute walk.

Sitting where Lewis sat

 Many views of the Narnia window:

Brothers - "Men Must Endure Their Going Hence."

I've already posted some pictures of the Bird and Baby, but maybe a few more could be appropriate here to round out this post.

First sighting!

And a story behind the final picture.  In 1963, Lewis's secretary, Walter Hooper, found this in the trash bin at The Eagle and Child.  He asked, since they were throwing it away anyway, if he could buy it.  They agreed - he bought it for 8 pounds - and it now hangs in the library at The Kilns.

POST SCRIPT:  I can't close out a post on Lewis without also putting up pictures of his Oxford and Cambridge Colleges.  In 1925 he was elected a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he served for 29 years.  In 1954, he was offered and accepted the newly-founded chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Magdelene College, Cambridge, where he taught until the end of his career - though he continued to live at The Kilns in Oxford.  The names of both colleges are pronounced the same, as "Maudlin."

Magdalen College, Oxford:

Magdelene College, Cambridge: