Christ Church
Oxford's Unique Foundation of College and Cathedral
The collegiate University of Oxford contains within it almost 40 independent educational institutions, or colleges. Christ Church is the largest. It is also, uniquely, the Cathedral seat of Oxford.
Christ Church was founded in a turbulent period of English history by King Henry VIII. But the most ambitious plans, which led to the grandest buildings, were those of the king's Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Wolsey laid out the Great Quadrangle and built the Kitchen and Hall for his Cardinal College, founded in 1525. But in 1529 Henry took over the foundation. Seventeen years later he renamed it Christ Church.
Today, Christ Church is home to about 550 undergraduate and postgraduate students, men and women, reading a wide variety of subjects in the arts and sciences. Nearly five hundred years after Wolsey, Christ Church remains a community of learning.
Tom Tower
Tom Tower was designed by Sir Christopher Wren as the gateway to the Great Quadrangle, the largest in Oxford. It houses Tom, a seven-ton bell. Every night at five-past-nine, Tom tolls 101 times. The original 101 students of the college had to be within the walls by the last toll.
Fan Vaulted Ceiling
Students go up this grand staircase
to dine together each evening. The fine fan-vault over the stairs dates from 1640. There are several fan-vaults in other parts of the college - in a window of the dining hall, in the main gateway, in the cathedral - but the staircase stonework is especially delicate.
The Cathedral
This has been a site of Christian worship since the eighth century. The present Cathedral was built in the thirteenth century, replacing an earlier Saxon church. Also the college's chapel, it includes fine stained glass from most centuries since the thirteenth, and Royalist memorials from the English Civil War. The shrine and tomb of Oxford's patron saint St Frideswide, may be seen. The Cathedral is home to the world-famous Christ Church Cathedral Choir. Services are held daily.
The Cloister
Oxford's patron saint, Frideswide, built her priory on this site in the eighth century. Human remains from Frideswide's time were recently found in the centre plot of the cloister. The priory church later became the cathedral. The cloister was restored in 1499.
The Dining Hall
The Hall was complete by 1529. The unusual ceiling has a 'hammerbeam' construction, with richly carved and gilded ceiling bosses. On the panelled walls hang portraits of distinguished members of the college, including John Wesley, William Penn, and some of the thirteen Prime Ministers educated
at Christ Church.
Christ Church Picture Gallery
The picture gallery contains over 200 fine Old Master paintings, including some by Titian, Frans Hals, Tintoretto and Van Dyke. The drawings include cartoons by Leonardo da Vinci. The gallery also houses temporary exhibitions.
Christ Church Meadow
The Meadow, part of Christ Church's 150 acre site since the foundation, is open every day except Christmas Day. Please note the closing times, posted nearby, and follow the advice of college staff responsible for security and good order. At the end of the Long Walk, lined with poplar trees, you will come to the Thames (called the 'Isis' in Oxford) where rowing can often be seen during term time. On its eastern side the Meadow is bounded by the river Cherwell. You may have entered through the college's War Memorial Garden, with its inscription from Pilgrim's Progress. The Meadow provides a popular circular walk lasting about 30 minutes: proceed down the Long Walk in front of you, turning left at the bottom. (The bridge to the right marks the original ford after which the city is named).
Turn left again where the Cherwell joins the Isis. Alternatively, walk along the Broad Walk, on your left, and circle the Meadow in the opposite direction. The college's Old English Longhorn cattle, a rare breed, are usually to be seen grazing in the Meadow during
the summier months. This breed was established in England in the eighteenth century. The present Christ Church herd was created in 1986 with 26 longhorn cows and calves and 1 bull, and now stands around 60. The cattle spend the winter indoors at a local farm and are fed the hay cut from the Meadow. This-ancient rural aspect, successfully saved from a road proposal in the 1960s, has been preserved for centuries.
( photo caption )
The famous Alice books were written by a Christ Church maths lecturer, Charles Dodgson, whose pen-name was Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass, were originally tales told to Alice Liddell, daughter of the Dean of Christ Church. Many locations in Alice's adventures are based on parts of the college.
Comments 0 comments