Verandah Views, Sneak Peeks, Town
I’ve begun Verandah Views 6 which Cheryl released yesterday.
Verandah Views 4 is complete.
Verandah Views 5 finished last night.
Sneak peek for a pincushion swap I’m taking part in.
Sneak peek of a birthday present.
Sneak peek of a Christmas present.
Sneak peek of a Christmas in July swap.
And a little more
And a little more.
Ok grab your sun hats I’ll whizz you round the North and West parts of town. (Oxford City)
Oxford University Museum Natural History It was built in the Victorian neo-Gothic style much favoured by Ruskin. If you look carefully at the arch in the main doorway, you will see that it is only partially carved due to a dispute with the masons. In another post I will show you how masons often got their own back on miserly college bursars. 🙂 The Pitt Rivers Museum is also here.
St Cross Church, Holywell, Oxford. The link has a photo of the inside. Kenneth Grahame the author of my fav book “Wind in the Willows” is buried there. There has been a church on this site since 890A.D. founded by St Grimwald. It is next to Holywell Manor a C16th manor house now part of Balliol College.
Longwall Street called that because of the city wall down one side of it. This one is Medieval. The buildings are all modern. The original city wall is on the right of the photo and can’t be seen. There are other photos in the link including one of the original Morris Motor Works before they moved to Cowley Oxford, in 1913.
The Radcliffe Infirmary 1770 A.D. There are a lot of links from that link to neighbouring roads and the Jericho area of the city for those who want to see more. I was born here as the new hospital the John Radcliffe wasn’t yet built. The place has stared in episodes of Morse.
This area is called St Giles after the church. It is where the Woodstock and Banbury Roads meet before entering what would’ve been the north gate of Oxford. If I remember rightly all St Giles churches are situated outside of the original city gates.
The Eagle and Child pub (bird and bone) where the Inklings (Tolkien and C.S. Lewis etc.) met. Better pic and an inside shot in the link. Big article too.
Straight across the road is the Lamb and Flag pub- can you see the arch to the side where coaches went through? Next to it is St John’s College.
Martyrs Memorial loads of detail in the link-this is a Victorian monument. It isn’t on the site of the actual burning in 1555 and 1556 of the 3 men (that is marked in the middle of the road round the corner in Broad Street close to “Boswells” shop. There are a lot of details in this link about Bishops Latimer and Ridley and Archbishop Cranmer’s martyrdom for the Catholic faith.
View of St Giles looking East at some more colleges. There are 39 of them which go up to make Oxford University. Many are open to the public during the Summer when students are on holiday. Few things are as nice as watching an open air Shakespeare production in a college garden sipping mulled wine made with real mulling rods.
On this side of the road is another star of Morse- the Randolph Hotel and a corner of the Ashmolean Museum. Virtual tour in link as the place is shut until November. You need to click on the small display when you have chosen a view to get it to go big.
Side entrance of the Ashmolean Museum.
Front view including builder’s screens.
We’ll now pop down George Street. It is now mainly restaurants with easy walks to the theatre and cinema. This though is the top of what was once Oxford High School for Boys 1881 A.D.
It is now part of the Uni. It used to be the Classics Department but is now Sociology. Former old boys are Laurence of Arabia and Ronnie Barker– one of the 2 Ronnies.
Now into New Inn Hall Street It is called that because of the C13th inns built here.
This though is the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church from the Victorian period. Link is an article explaining more about John Wesley and the foundation of Methodism.
View of New Inn Hall Street.
Nuffield College down by the castle/prison site. The mound faces the college I have found you a wonderful pic here. 🙂
Now we come back to the centre of Oxford. This is Carfax. There was once St Martins church at this main cross roads of the city but it was demolished as carts were having trouble getting by. There are pics of Carfax tower in the link.
This is one of the few remaining pieces other than Carfax Tower which remain- now an entrance to a cafe.
Compare the pics of the old view with the view of the cross roads now. View of the High Street.
View down the Abingdon Road showing the Town Hall down the road. Better pics and history in link.
Cornmarket -the main shopping road in Oxford. Behind these shops is the Covered Market.
I was here on a cheese mission trying to find “Gob Burner Cheese” but sadly the owner can’t get hold of it anymore.
I settled for the strongest one they had “Poinard” but was disappointed. Does anyone know where I can find Gob Burner from?
Cornmarket has a lot of timbered buildings.
This used to be Laura Ashley. The wooden floors upstairs were very uneven and part of the charm.
Oxford is full of little lanes leading to other little lanes. Most people prefer to get about by bicycle so there are a lot of cycle lanes. The centre is pedestrianised so cars have a long way around.
Boswells on the corner near the Martyr’s Memorial.
I asked hubby for this pic specifically It is St Michael at the North Gate It is one of the oldest buildings in Oxford being late Anglo Saxon- 900s A.D. The higher part carries bells, and the church is behind the tower in this picture. Half way up you will notice a narrow arched doorway. This once led into the prison above the road called the Bocardo. Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned here after one of the many “town verses gown” (townies verses the students) fights. It was also the place where the Martyrs were held before being burned just outside the North Gate. William Morris married Jane Burden here. She was his model but her father was only an ostler and Morris was middle class.
Next time I will take you along the High Street and the Camera. Sorry this is so long with lots of links. I must admit I am looking foward to doing some craft only little posts. 🙂
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