Passed this wonderful Dark Side of the Moon house while walking up Fairfield brew in Bury, Lancashire recently.
Shortly before, I'd passed my old Junior School from the 1970s, St. Joseph's, Chesham:
At St. Joseph's, we'd gone on nature walks to Chesham Woods, nearby. This is one of my abiding memories, anyway.
While my friend left Oxford to fly back to Ireland, I made my way up to my home town, Bury, Lancashire, where I stayed for 2-3 days before going up to the Lake District.
One evening in Bury, I caught Chesham Woods at sundown:
Can still recall playing on swings as a teenager in Chesham Woods, back in the late 70s/early 80s, so the place holds a bit of nostalgia for me.
Having said that, the place did look a bit creepy at sundown:
And it was a bit of a relief to get back on the road that runs through the Woods, with a house being lit up:
Think that in years gone by, this place may've been some kind of animal sanctuary, but I could be wrong (the mind plays tricks as you get older, of course).
Finally, our icing on the cake experience in Oxford was visiting the Oratory church:
Think that the side altar below may be devoted to St. Philip Neri (1515-1595), the founder of the Congregation of the Oratory:
Have just read that the Oxford Oratory Church of St. Aloysius Gonzaga was completed in 1875 as a Jesuit church, as a significant part of an ongoing return of a (Roman) Catholic presence in Oxford.
Have also just read that in the 1990s, the church was handed over to Birmingham Oratory, with the Jesuits having left in the 1980s.
As the opportunity came about, we attended Low Mass at the Oratory in the evening. I was expecting a Tridentine/Old Latin (Low) Mass, but as things turned out, it was a kind of hybrid (Tridentine/Novus Ordo) Mass, with the priest facing east towards the altar, while the prayers were said out loud in English. In Traditionalist Catholic circles, such a liturgy is often referred to as a 'Unicorn Mass' as it can be incredibly difficult to find, especially in Western Europe.
On one hand, I was disappointed to have not attended a Tridentine/Old Latin Mass, which I have attended for most of my life (up to four years old, and then from 17 to 58), but on the other hand, I had attended a hybrid (Tridentine/Novus Ordo) Mass, probably for the first time in my life. Moreover, my friend, a non-Catholic, said that he found the Oratory Mass "very peaceful".
After the Oratory Mass, the priest recited prayers at (what I think was) the St. Philip Neri side-chapel:
All in all, the Oratory Mass seemed a fitting end to our short but fruitful visit (kind of informal pilgrimage) to Oxford.
From every angle, Oxford Oratory church was incredibly beautiful:
On both occasions that I've visited Oxford, St. Mary Magdalene's church has caught my eye:
Amidst the hustle and bustle of a modern city, the church just seems to point back in time, to a more God-fearing era, before secularism took hold of Western society.
In the picture below, the church seems to stand tall and proud (in a positive sense of meaning):
Being of the Anglo-Catholic (High Church) tradition inside Anglicanism, St. Mary Magdalene's church has Mass said throughout the week:
Have just read that the church dates back to at least the 11th century.
Churches like St. Mary Magdalene's deserve massive credit for having stood the test of time, they offer something aesthetic (and beyond, of course) to a frenetic, modern city environment, with this being the impression I was left with, anyway.
In the picture below, St. Mary Magdalene's looks almost hidden by the leafy boughs in front of it:
Not long after passing the Lamb & Flag pub, we came across the impressive, old-looking St. Giles' church in Oxford:
Have just read that St. Giles' church is famous for its choir and bell-ringing, and dates back to the late 11th/early 12th century, although it was not consecrated until the year 1200 by St. Hugh, the Bishop of Lincoln.
From the year 1139, St. Giles' church was the property of the newly created, (Benedictine) Godstow Abbey, and remained as such until 1539 when Godstow Abbey surrendered it and all its land to the English Crown during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-1541).
Have just read that the modern-day St. Giles' church reaches out to the fringes of society (have also seen Anglican churches in Canterbury, Kent and Keswick, the Lake District allowing homeless people to camp on their ground):
We passed St. Giles' church hall a short distance away, which looked like another building worthy of investigation:
While on St. Giles' Street in Oxford, we passed the Lamb & Flag pub:
We were aware of the Lamb & Flag's link to the Inklings literary group, and I've just read that in 1962, the Inklings started meeting in the pub due to the Eagle and Child being modernised on the other side of St. Giles' Street. However, the Inklings meetings ended in 1963 after the death of C.S. Lewis.
Interestingly, since seeing the Lamb & Flag, I've read that Thomas Hardy is said to have written much of Jude the Obscure, where Oxford is referred to as Christminster, inside the pub, with it also being thought that a pub which appears in parts of the novel is based on the Lamb & Flag.
While trekking round Oxford, the houses below reminded me of the boarding places where Jude Fawley stays in Oxford:
This is almost how my mind's eye has pictured them throughout the years.
Earlier in the day, we'd visited John Henry Newman sites at Littlemore, so it was important to find the St. Mary the Virgin church, as this is where Newman served as an Anglican clergyman in the heart of Oxford between 1828 and 1843.
Inside, the church certainly was impressive:
And we, unexpectedly, found a portrait of Newman:
Somewhere near the pulpit if I remember correctly:
Have just read that shortly after Newman became vicar at St. Mary the Virgin, his sermons became popular with undergraduates in the city, and that from the pulpit above, John Keble preached the Assize Sermon of 14 July 1833, commonly viewed as the ignition point of the Oxford Movement which attempted to revive Catholic religiosity inside the Church of England.
However, in 1843, Newman resigned from St. Mary's as he became increasingly disillusioned with Anglicanism, and in 1845, he became a (Roman) Catholic, of course.
I'm currently halfway through Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865), not far from reaching the point where Newman crosses over from Anglicanism to (Roman) Catholicism.
In Oxford city centre, we found ourselves passing the History of Science Museum on Broad Street:
Have just read that this museum houses a big collection of scientific instruments dating back to the Middle Ages and up to the 19th century.
Built in 1683, the Museum is also known as the Old Ashmolean Building to distinguish it from the newer Ashmolean Museum built in 1894, and is the world's oldest, surviving, purpose-built museum.
Next to the History of Science Museum, we saw the equally impressive Clarendon Building:
A University of Oxford place built between 1711 and 1715.
In Oxford city centre, we felt spoilt as highly impressive buildings seemed to be jumping out at us from everywhere.
While coming into Oxford from our suburban Travel Lodge on the bus, we saw the Radcliffe Observatory building and decided that we had to visit it later in the day.
Have just read that the Radcliffe Observatory was the astronomical observatory of the University of Oxford from 1773 to 1934, until it was sold and a new observatory was built by the Radcliffe Trustees in Pretoria, South Africa.
As a Grade I listed building, the Radcliffe Observatory is now a part of the Green Templeton College of the University of Oxford.
While looking at the Radcliffe Observatory, we also came across the Radcliffe Infirmary building, with it having a wonderful fountain in the foreground:
Have just read that the Infirmary closed as a hospital in 2007, and after being refurbished, was reopened in 2012 for use by the Faculty of Philosophy and the Philosophy and Theology libraries of the University of Oxford.
While looking at the Radcliffe Observatory and Infirmary buildings, we came across the incredible-looking flower below:
Not far from the Oratory in Oxford, we came across the Blackfriars Dominican church:
Inside the church, things looked well-polished and quite modern.
Interestingly, the High Altar seemed to be set up for a Tridentine or Traditional Dominican Rite of Mass (I certainly hope so):
Have just read that the Dominicans at Blackfriars play an active role in teaching Theology in Oxford.
Having visited John Henry Newman sites at Littlemore and C.S. Lewis sites at The Kilns, Risinghurst and Headington Quarry, it was time to pay our respects to J.R.R. Tolkien at his grave in Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford:
After first getting off at a wrong bus stop, we were soon back on track finding Wolvercote Cemetery:
And Tolkien's grave in the Catholic section of the resting ground:
A few years ago, in 2018 I think, I finally got round to reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy and loved the Catholic symbolism that runs throughout the three books (Gandalf = a God the Father and Christ figure; Aragorn = a Christ the King figure; the Elves = the realms of Angels; Galadriel and Eowyn = Our Lady figures etc.).
Have recently been reading about Tolkien's incredible life from his mother converting to Catholicism; him and his brother being brought up Catholic by Father Morgan of Birmingham Oratory; fighting in the trenches at the Battle of the Somme (First World War); studying and teaching at Oxford University; writing his great books etc.
Like with John Henry Newman and C.S. Lewis, it was only right to pay our respects to J.R.R. Tolkien, with all three having been great writers and Christian men.
While at Wolvercote Cemetery, we also saw the grave of the celebrated British athlete, Sir Roger Bannister:
Our time in Oxford was winding down but we still had a few more places to see.
