Though my focus is on mathematicians, a goal on this trip was to spend at least a bit of time visiting places related to writers who have been influential in my life: J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. I put it off to the last day because both of these locations were too far to walk to, and I am not a fan of buses, but the last day arrived, and it was time to do it or not. Tolkien is buried in Wolvercote Cemetery, north of town. It's nice that they have markers like the one above to help people find his grave. I've been in a lot of cemeteries over the last 6 years since I started my journeys, and sometimes I can find what I'm looking for, and sometimes I can't. To find a single stone in acres of ground can be pretty tough.
Beren and Luthien
I can very specifically remember my brother reading Tolkien's work when he was in elementary school and I was in junior high. I have to credit him for turning me on to Tolkien. I still remember hearing him talk about the Hobbit and mentioning "Smaug," and I, not having read it, thought he was saying, "smog." I was wondering what air-pollution had to do with it. I think that the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was the first purchase I made in an actual bookstore (as opposed to school book orders through Scholastic). All these years later, here I am paying homage at Tolkien's grave.
Obviously I'm not the only one who's been here recently paying homage. Mementos of flowers and currency have been left - including not just British coins but also Euros and currency from Viet Nam.
Many cemeteries I visit in my travels are closed to additional burial because they are so old that they are full. Those cemeteries feel like historic sites. Wolvercote is very definitely an active cemetery, so there was a very different feeling here than at a place like Old Calton Burial Ground in Edinburgh, which goes back hundreds of years, or Highgate Cemetery in London, which is from the Victorian Era. I spent some time here at Wolvercote reading memorials on other graves - spent quite a bit of time in the children's section and shed more than a few tears. I saw a number of graves that were newly filled. As I walked over to one of these to pay my respects, I noticed that it was that of Tolkien's youngest daughter and that she had passed away earlier this spring. It's about 30 yards from her parent's grave. Normally I post a LOT of pictures from cemeteries because they feel historic. At this one the grief felt too fresh in much of what I was seeing, so I'm holding back a bit.Having paid my respects here, it was time to head back into town and then catch a but out of town in a different direction to get to Lewis's home and grave. As you can see below, I have a very sophisticated system for figuring out bus routes!
I stopped back in town for a bit of lunch (lasagna at Pizza Express again) and then grabbed a bus on the High Street to make my way out to Lewis's home and grave in Headington Quarry, to the east of Oxford.
This is The Kilns, the home where C. S. Lewis and his brother lived for more than 30 years.
Here is the blue plaque near a side door of The Kilns honoring C. S. Lewis.
Just beyond The Kilns, on what was also Lewis's property, is what is now the C. S. Lewis Nature Preserve, which consists of a lake (filled in clay pit) and the land surrounding it. If you enter the path and turn to the right you will come across a brick bench that Lewis built and on which he and Tolkien sat and talked at times. What I wouldn't give to have been part of one of those conversations!
I sat here for a while, but, as usual, I didn't leave myself enough time to really savor it, and that was too bad in this particular situation. I think that this spot was the most peaceful, restful, calming sites I encountered throughout the entire trip, and I would have loved to have sat here for a couple of hours just relaxing and enjoying the natural world, and maybe doing just a bit of journaling as well.
As well as taking the still shots, I did take a short video (under a minute) as well, mostly to capture the sounds as well as the sight. Hearing the birdsong and the wind in the leaves was really wonderful, and I had the place all to myself.
Next it was a 10-minute walk or so to Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry, which is the church Lewis and his brother attended and is also where their grave is.
It was raining a bit at this point, and I'd hoped to rest inside the church for a few moments, but it was locked. I have been inside before, six years ago, and there is a lovely Narnia window that I would liked to have seen again as well.
Given that I'd been here before, and given that the church yard isn't that big, I was surprised at how long it took me to find the grave, but finally I did.
"Men must endure their going hence."
I took the picture below so that if I am able to come aback again someday I will know the location!
It was time to head back to town, but, apparently, the bus drivers didn't have the same idea I did. There is supposed to be a bus (more than one bus) heading to the town center here every fifteen minutes. I stood here by myself for 35 minutes with no bus showing up, and I was getting a little worried that I'd have to sleep by the side of the road in the rain or something. Finally a couple that looked like locals showed up, and that gave me hope. If locals were heading to this bus stop, there must be a bus coming eventually! I think I scared them a little bit with how enthusiastically I greeted them and how frantic I must have come across. I explained myself a bit and pointed at the sign that gave the bus times. The guy (an older gentleman) said very calmly, "Well, I'm not sure if it's term-time, but if it isn't, the U1 buses don't run as frequently." I'm guessing "U" stands for "University," but still, the sign gave bus times; my phone gave bus times, and it wasn't just the "U1" that was supposed to be showing up. Am I the only out-of-town visitor in Oxford? Why is an accurate time-table for buses not available? This is one of the reasons I do not like relying on buses!! (Oh, and on this excursion I had to cross this four-lane road with no crosswalk 3 times. Can you see the bus stop on the other side of the road just beyond the round red sign in the middle? That's where I got off the bus on the way here and had to cross the street like the guy in the median is doing. Then to get from Lewis's house to his church, I had to cross this road in a different area about a half a mile away, and then I had to cross is back in order to get back here - just FYI if you're ever thinking of making a Lewis pilgrimage. Unless you have a tour guide with a car or take a taxi or something it probably isn't going to be the easiest excursion.)
The visits above were actually the last two items of my day. I had started my day in the History of Science Museum, but I figure I put mathy-sciency stuff up here in nearly every post, so it was time to start with something different today. The blackboard below has been preserved by the History of Science Museum and contains notes by Albert Einstein from a lecture he gave in Oxford on May 16, 1931.
I also found items relating to "my" mathematicians. One item The Holy Table of John Dee (given to him by the angels). It's actually a marble copy of the wooden original.
Napier's Bones (rods), which I'm finding in every science museum - which is AWESOME! They really were in very widespread use for hundreds of years, so, many of them still survive. The next two pictures are of Napier's Bones.
And there was a mathematical models case that I would love to have for my classroom or office!
And there were cool sundials with multiple faces for use in different parts of the world.
And, as at Greenwich, there was a nice display of historic hour glasses.
Here too I'm holding back on posting. I took pictures of SO many things, and I didn't even really look at all that was available here. The museum has a small feel to it, but it does contain three floors, and there's really quite a lot here. If I'm ever back in Oxford I want to spend more time in this museum, really taking it in.
Below is a closer view of the display case above, showing the pocket sundials. They had these in the gift store as well, and I decided to buy one as a souvenir.
I don't normally buy souvenirs because I'm always traveling as light as possible, and because my memories act as my souvenirs, but I went all out on this trip and bought three things. The sundial is on the left, bought here at the Oxford History of Science Museum. The item in the middle is a perpetual calendar, that I bought (appropriately enough) in Greenwich earlier in the trip. The item on the right is from the gift shop of the Bodleian Library. The token on the key chain is exactly the same size and shape of a one-pound coin, which is what is needed to use a locker in the Bodleian Library. Normally you put in a one-pound coin, and it is refunded when you put the key back in and open the locker. Of course if you've spent all your one-pound coins, you're out of luck! So I spent two pounds to get a replica of a one-pound coin, but since it's not a real coin I'm in no danger of spending it, and it says "Bibliotecha Bodleiana" on it. I just couldn't resist. I actually used this token for my locker on my last visit to the Bodleian, and I hope it might work as a "good luck charm" to bring me back there some day! Well, I can hope, can't I?
This building has always caught my eye. I used to think it was the Ashmolean Museum, but I know now that it is the Sheldonian Theatre. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in the 1660s. As shown in a previous post, it is used for Oxford graduation ceremonies. It is also used for concerts, lectures, and other university ceremonies. I've walked past this every single day that I've been here, and it always catches my eye, so I though, "Why not take a look inside?"
After many days of seeing this from the outside (and a previous trip seeing it only from the outside) - finally, a view from the inside!
I've seen so many pipe organs in so many places on this trip, even places like this where I wasn't expecting one. My soul is happy.
I wasn't expecting the ceiling to be so colorful!
The theatre is full of symbolism, though I don't know what all of it means!
Below is the motto of Oxford University: Dominus Illuminatio Mea ("The Lord is my light") from the opening words of Psalm 27.
Graduations were happening during various days when I was here (by college or by degree or by major, I'm not sure which, but relatively small groups at a time - one after the other), so the stage was set up.
After exploring the theatre pretty thoroughly, I made my way up to the cupola to see the view. The walk up was MUCH easer than that of the University Church tower climb!
The warping in the windows was a reminder of how old the building is.
The cupola has great views, though it does not have the full view of the Radcliffe Camera as the University Church tower does. On the other hand, this area here is quite spacious rather than cramped, and it is enclosed, which would be especially desirable on a rainy day. I hadn't realized until I went in and bought a ticket for a tour that you could climb up here, so for anyone else coming to Oxford, consider this a travel tip. :-)
Can you see the Bridge of Sigh's below?
A view of Blackwell's Bookstore and a bit of the Weston Library from above.
And a couple of pictures of the view to the south, including the dome of the Radcliffe Camera.
If you'd like to see how all of this goes together, I have a minute-and-a-half-long video clip below. Beyond that we move to the next destination, which is the Merton College Campus - visited immediately after a (free) mid-day organ concert there.
Back to Merton College, which I covered in part in my post about Sunday (Divinity and Worship) - although with different pictures! My week had been so very full, so I thought about skipping this, despite how much I adore the organ and despite this having been on my calendar since before I left on this trip. Even in this glorious place, sometimes going from place-to-place-to-place, event-to-event-to-event, day-after-day-after-day gets wearing. Also, I normally appreciate the organ more as part of worship than in the context of a recital, but I'm so glad I didn't skip it. It was positively a taste of Heaven!
Merton holds free organ recitals every Thursday at 1:15pm. There were only about 18 people in the audience, yet the organist, Benjamin Sheen, was absolutely world class. He holds degrees in organ performance from Oxford and from Julliard. He's currently sub-organist at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. He regularly plays at international locations from Sweden to Australia to the US to Hong Kong and so on. It's just nuts that this unbelievable event was going on and that there were only about 18 people there to enjoy it!
Since I already posted a full complement of pictures from inside the chapel, the rest of the Merton pictures will be of the grounds. The picture above is the view as you leave the chapel, and below is the view looking back (chapel door on the left).
A view over Merton Field (where I saw cricket being played the previous day).
The gardens of Merton are just delightful!
This is definitely the most labyrinthine college I've visited - a new surprise around every corner. It is one of the oldest colleges at Oxford and may be the very oldest of the Oxford colleges, dating back to 1264. (Three Oxford colleges lay claim to being the oldest: Merton, Balliol and University College.)
I completely lost track of how many quads this place has!!
Aside from some tiny anachronisms I could almost feel like I'd time-traveled back to the 1200s.
Not only can I absolutely not get enough of this place (as you can tell!), but a 16th-century mathematician that I'm interested in, Henry Briggs, lived and taught here, so I'm trying to get a sense of his surroundings. When the time comes to write my novel, I will need to sort out what actually was here in his time and what was not, but since I took pictures of EVERYTHING I know I have what I need, no matter what! (Believe it or not, I'm being very selective about what I post here, which is a mere fraction of the number of pictures I took.) Oh, and as long as I'm mentioning Merton profs, I should include non-mathematicians as well and also share that J. R. R. Tolkien was a Fellow of Merton. He was Professor of English Language and Literature here.
Above is a picture of the east end of the chapel. I think I've posted the picture below already, but I want to post it with the picture below it for the ability to compare and contrast the inside and outside of the easternmost stained glass window, which seems unique to those I've seen - especially how the stonework and stained glass are integrated.
To the right of the east window is a carving in the wall that may have been devised by Henry Briggs (or the Savillian Professor of Astronomy at his time, John Bainbridge). I initially thought this was a sundial, but it may be an instrument to measure the declination of the sun; I'm not sure. I was just happy to find it - had kept my eyes open for a carving on the chapel wall by Briggs that I had heard about, and this certainly fits one of the categories! It may have been by him, or it may have been by his colleague, but it goes back to his time.
Here it is in context as you look down the north side of the chapel:
And a look down Merton Street (to the east), as I exit the college:
Onward to the third major item of today, the famous, the historic: Turf Tavern. When I was here in 2016 I had no idea this place existed, and even up until just days before I left for the UK I had no idea this place existed. I became aware of it through watching travel vlogs on YouTube. It's become like yet another little treasure hunt - though not related to my mathematicians (as far as I am aware, given that it does date back to the 1100s, so it's possible they imbibed here at some point once upon a time).
Can you see the entrance to the passage-way in the picture above? Look on the right. At the end of the red brick building there is a narrow opening between it and the building next to it. I took video, just over a minute long) of the path to get from here to the tavern. (In the video I am coming at it from the opposite side of the bridge.)
Here is some information relating to this historic tavern - possibly the oldest on Oxford - originally built outside the city wall:
As well as posting here and keeping a written journal I was posting daily to facebook, and a friend who followed me there and saw the pictures I put up each time I peeked into this secret little spot kept asking, "Have you eaten there yet?" My answer was always "no." She said, "Well, at least sit down and get a glass of wine or something." This conversation went on for a few days, and though I didn't think I was going to, I finally did head over to actually sit down rather than just wander the cool hidden corridors. The best part was, believe it or not, standing in line. There I met a family from the US whose daughter was graduating from Oxford. We had a really great talk. It's always fun to connect with someone from "home" when you're far away.
Here's to you, Andrea! Cheers!! ;-)
This gave me a chance to relax and journal a bit. I was going to get dinner here as well, but the line was crazy-long, especially if you were ordering food rather than just getting a drink.
After this I continued to wander and explore. I'll just put up a very small selection of pictures from the rest of the day - including a C. S. Lewis/Narnia connection.
I had spent so much time in the town "center" (near the Bodleian and such) that I decided to wander to the east of the Bridge of Sighs rather than heading back west. I'd never been in this area before. And, yet again, I found myself feeling that I could have been transported backwards in time. Unless you look very, very closely at this picture, you'd think that this scene could have been entirely unchanged for the last 400 years.
Continuing to wind around, I found what I recognized as the back of Queen's College Library, a library in which I had read back in 2016.
After a few more twists and turns I made my want back onto the High Street and over near University Church. Just beyond the west end of University Church, in St. Mary's Passage, is this doorway. (I feel like I've written about it already, but I THINK that was on facebook and not on this blog, so, hopefully this isn't a repeat.) Recently I read somewhere or maybe I heard somewhere - perhaps from a guide talking to a group of people near here that this was an inspiration to C. S. Lewis for his Narnia book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
What immediately caught my attention was the image in the center of the door that does remind me of Aslan. It wasn't until I'd been standing there for a while that I noticed the fauns on either side above the door.
Also, just a bit to the north is a lamppost (center of picture).
Here too I took a video clip (less than a minute long) to put it in context:
I did do more wanderings this night - Brasenose Lane, Lincoln College, Covered Market, etc. - but I'm going to end with a photo of a place nearby the above - one of my favorite views in all Oxford.
Having paid my respects here, it was time to head back into town and then catch a but out of town in a different direction to get to Lewis's home and grave. As you can see below, I have a very sophisticated system for figuring out bus routes!
