Friday, June 30, 2017:
Off to Check out Oxford’s Dreaming Spires:
In a past life, well over thirty years ago, Shahnaz
used to be a stewardess with Air-India. Her travels have taken her around the
world many times and Oxford had been on her agenda—in the hoary past. Not
remembering anything of the city, she was delighted to have me for a guide in one
of my favorite cities in the whole world—my sometime home, the seat of much of
my intellectual activity.
We had booked tickets by Megabus from London and, awaking
again at the crack of dawn, we boarded one at 7. 30 am from London Victoria to
arrive on The High at about 9.00 am. From this time on, our exploration would
begin. We resolved to stop for a rest every one hour—and often we did (but not
necessarily after each hour).
Here
is the walking tour route through which I took her:
1.
From High Street
into Queens Lane, passing by St. Edmund Hall College and New College. This
affords the first glimpses of what Mathew Arnold so memorably called “the
dreaming spires” of Oxford.
2.
Detour into Turf
Tavern Alleyway to see the home of Jane Burden, Muse to the Pre-Raphaelites and
wife of artist William Morris.
3.
A peep into the
Turf Tavern, well associated with the fictional Inspector Morse, a creation of
the novelist Colin Dexter, and Bill Clinton (both of whom downed countless
pints here).
4.
Under the Bridge
of Sighs that joins two parts of Hereford College to bring us out on Catte
Street.
5.
A glimpse of the
Indian Institute with its Indian motifs on the walls—cows, lions, an elephant.
6.
Walk down
Holywell Lane to see Holywell House where music recitals are often held. Also
the site of the pilot episode in the TV series Lewis which was a spin off from Inspector
Morse.
7.
A return to Catte
Street and a walk down Parks Road to get to Rhodes House to see the base of all
Rhodes Scholars in Oxford in a building with a spectacular rotunda designed by
Herbert Baker (who, together with Edwin Lutyens), designed the city of New
Delhi.
8.
A visit to the
Natural History Museum to see Charles Ludwig Dodgson (Lewis Carol) memorabilia
in the special vitrine dedicated to the extinct Dodo bird. We also saw the
dinosaur skeletons and wonderful stone sculpted scientists like Darwin and
Linneaus.
9.
A visit to the
Pitt Rivers Collection in the back of the Museum to see thousands of items
collected by Oxford naturalist Pitt Rivers—the Shrunken Heads are the biggest
attraction and we saw them (they also feature in an episode of Lewis). We also saw the New Zealand
knife that featured in an episode of Inspector
Morse (“The Daughters of Cain”). On the advice of a guide, we actually took
the elevator to the second floor (a first time for me) for wonderful views of the
collection from on high. This enabled us to admire the brilliant architecture
of Victorian designers—a feature with which we are familiar as Crawford Market
in Bombay looks very similar to this building (as does Empress Market in Karachi).
Upstairs, we took in the endless collection of just one man that includes
everything you could possibly imagine from terracotta pots of native American
Indians to Canadian totem poles, from pointed spears and arrowheads to
shell-studded dolls and other toys. It is truly a stupendous collection.
10.
Crossing the
street, we entered Keble College—sadly it was not open to visitors at this
hour, but we did get a peep into its sunken Quad and had the opportunity to
admire its red brick façade which is different from the Gothic exterior of other
Oxbridge colleges.
11.
Brisk walk
brought us back to The Broad (Broad Street) where we took a much-needed rest in
the cafeteria of the new Weston Library. I had a milky Americano and Shanaz had
a cappuccino as we rested our feet and took in the grand interiors of Oxford’s
newest library and main administrative building. When we felt more relaxed, we
nipped into the gallery next door to see a special exhibition called ‘Which Jane
Austen?’--a special show to commemorate the author’s second death centenary
which falls this year. We saw first editions of her books, much of her
correspondence with family members and friends, her portable writing desk and a
lot of other wonderful memorabilia. In the adjoining theater, we watched a
short film entitled “Jane Austen and the BBC” which showed us clips from many
of the BBC versions of Austen’s novels from the 1950s onwards.
12.
Back on The
Broad, we entered Blackwell’s,
Oxford’s famed bookstore, to see the underground Norrington Rooms—the only
underground bookstore in the world.
13.
Quick entry into
The White Horse Tavern—also a frequent drinking hole of Inspector Morse and
Lewis.
14.
Across The Broad,
we entered the Museum of Science to see its biggest attraction—the blackboard
used by Albert Einstein when he gave an invited lecture at Oxford. The theory
he presented there is still on the board in his own handwriting!
15.
Stroll through
Clarendon Court to arrive at the Sheldonian Theater, Christopher Wren’s
cupola-ed masterpiece in Oxford. Its horse-shoe shaped amphitheater is used for
graduation ceremonies and concert recitals.
16.
Entry into
Bodleian Square to see the main building of the Bodleian Library. We went
through the main entrance but did not pay the fee to see the Divinity School
whose carved pendant stone ceiling and fan vaulting are two of Oxford’s
highlights. Instead we nipped into the library’s shop to buy a few souvenirs.
We took in the tall main wall of the quadrangle with its classical columns that
rise in tiers to present a sculpture of James I in whose time the library was
built (with inherited money from his wife by Thomas Bodley—which we had learned
on our walking tour of Totnes!).
17.
Through to
Radcliff Square where we took in the splendor of one of Oxford’s most
sensational buildings—the Radcliff Camera (or Rad Cam as it is known
colloquially). Built by James Gibbs in the mid 1700s in neo-classical style, I
have had the immense privilege of carrying out research in his member-only
reading rooms with their magnificent interior ornamentation. We also took in
the twin spires of lovely All Souls College—the scholar’s college--for it only
admits scholars who already have a doctorate!
18.
Visit to the
Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin which fronts the High Street. Took in the
beautiful choir area with its painting of Madonna and Child by Simon Vouet and
its chancel sculptures. Saw the pillar
at which three of Oxford’s martyrs, Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley, were tried as
heathens.
19.
As it was almost
1.00 pm and we had a lunch appointment with my friends Susan and Tony, we
hurried off to meet them. We crossed The Broad and arrived at the spot where
the three martyrs were actually burned at the stake in the reign of Bloody Mary
Tudor, first-born daughter of Henry VIII. Also saw the Martyrs Memorial at St.
Giles and then crossed the street towards The Randolf Hotel to hurry towards
the Eagle and Child pub (once a haunt of the Inklings—C.S. Lewis of Narnia fame
and J.R.R. Tolkien of Hobbit fame). The place was much too tiny and too crowded
for us to enjoy lunch there. After a
lovely reunion with my friends (in whose home in Grandpont I have often
stayed), we walked towards Little Clarendon Street to Carlucci’s—for a taste of authentic Italian cuisine.
20.
Lunch at Carlucci’s gave us a chance to catch up
with my friends and to rest our weary feet. I had the two-course set lunch which
came with liver pate, onion marmalade and toast points and the linguine with
beef ragu for my second course. Other members of our party had risotto verde,
spinach and goat cheese ravioli and spaghetti vongole with cappuccinos to
follow. It made for a very nice mid-exploration
rest as we chatted nineteen to the dozen. What a great thing it is to be able
to see my friends at each of these venues and to be able to spend quality time
with them even when my schedule is so tight.
21.
After lunch, I
escorted Shahnaz to the Ashmolean Museum (one of the world’s greatest museums)
to take its self-guided highlights tour—entitled 10 Highlights in an Hour. As I had visited the Ashmolean only six
months ago, I thought I could make better use of my time, but I did not want
Shahnaz to miss its brilliant offerings. We decided to meet 90 minutes later at
a café on The Broad by the very spot of the martyr’s execution. Shahnaz loved
the tour, saw most of the highlights and then some, while I raced off to the
Oxfam shop to look for vintage treasures and then to the shoe section in Marks and Spencer on George Street as we
had left almost no time for any kind of shopping in our crowded itinerary and I
needed to find a pair of wide-toed black shoes (which I always buy from Marks). Sadly, I did not find anything I
liked.
22.
Ninety minutes
later at the appointed spot, Shahnaz and I reunited. It was time to take her
into one of the colleges which opens to visitors between 2 and 5 pm daily. Into
Turl Street we went as I took her, naturally, into Exeter College that I know
best from my own student and teaching days there. We entered through the
Porter’s Lodge and saw the lovely Quad as we made our way into the chapel that
was designed by George Gilbert Scott (who also designed the Library at the
University of Bombay that I have also used). The library connection I share in
both India and Oxford with this architect is a very special matter of interest
to me. We took in the gorgeous Byzantine altar with its gold mosaics, the
tapestry by Edward Burne-Jones, one of the college’s Pre-Raphaelite alumni,
entitled The Adoration of the Magi
for which Jane Burden (whose home we had seen in Turf Tavern passage) had
posed. We also took in the beautifully painted organ and the Irish Celtic floor
tiles around the altar. The stained glass windows, however, are a highlight of
the chapel for they are based on the royaume
style of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and feature tiny pieces of glass held
together by lead through which the sun shines with jeweled colors. In fact, the
outside of the chapel also features the distinctive spire that is also inspired
by Paris’ Sainte-Chapelle.
23.
Off to the
Margary Quadrangle we went so that I could point out to Shahnaz the room I had
occupied in Oxford We also took in the underground lecture rooms in which, in
recent years, I have taught at the college’s summer school (which I had once
attended as a student myself). We also nipped into the Junior Common Room which
led to the Fellows’ Garden at the back. Crossing the Fellows’ Garden (on what
appeared to be Open House Day), we climbed steps leading to the ramparts and
walls of the college. Perched up here, one receives some of the best views of
Radcliffe Square from a height. We rested again, took a few pictures, and then
continued with our tour as there was still so much to see. Poor Shahnaz would have begun to feel
seriously fatigued by this point but she wished to press on to take everything
in.
24.
We returned to
Turl Street and made a detour into the Covered Market so that she could see the
stalls and shops, some of which date from a few hundred years. There are
butchers, bakers and candle-stick makers in these precincts and it is always a
pleasure to get a glimpse into the vendors’ wares.
25.
Back on The High,
we walked towards Carfax to see the confluence of the four main crossroads that
have stood on this site from ancient times: Cornmarket Street (its name says
everything), High Street, George Street and St. Aldgate’s.
26.
Walking down St.
Aldgates, we nipped into Oxford’s Town Hall where Shahnaz learned a bit about
the Town Versus Gown controversy that has long persisted in these parts.
Although it is normally closed to visitors and can be seen only on an official
conducted tour that occurs just once a month, the guard permitted us to climb
the steps and enter the spectacular Main Assembly Room with its incredibly
detailed and very lavish interior decoration that consists of rich plaster work
on ceiling and walls with the added attraction of embossed cherubs that jut out
in the most appealing way.
27.
Leaving the Town
Hall, we walked down St. Aldgates and made a detour down Bear Lane so that I
could take Shahnaz to a pub called The Bear which has a distinctive collections
of thousands of ties in glass cases on its ceiling and walls. There was a time
when the publican would take a tie from patrons in lieu of money for a drink.
Thus, he amassed a vast collection, each of which is lovingly labelled and
dated! Needless to say, it is no longer possible to pay for a drink in that
fashion! Probably the fact that there is no more room anywhere to display the
ties accounts for the discontinuation of the practice!
28.
We then entered
the precincts of Christ Church College which was built by Cardinal Wolsey and
then taken over by Henry VIII—it boasts the largest Quad in Oxford and
unfinished cloisters. Since Evensong would begin in half an hour, we decided to
attend it. So off we walked to Christ Church’s Perennial Gardens which offers a
lovey backdrop for clicking pictures. We had no time or energy to walk across
the Meadows towards the river, but we did cross the street to inspect Alice’s Shop (which was closed) as Lewis
Carol was a mathematics don at Christ Church and his novel Alice in Wonderland was motivated by a cruise down the river Thames
to which he had treated 10-year old Alice Liddel, daughter of the Dean of
Christ Church.
29.
We re-entered
Christ Church and made our way towards its Cathedral to attend Evensong which
began at 6.00 pm. It was the second Evensong service we would attend on this
trip (having attended also at Exeter Cathedral). This one was far better as it
included child choristers who brought a decidedly angelic sound to the singing.
We left at 6.30 as we had a coach back to London at 7. 15 and did not want to
be late.
30.
We nipped into
M&S to pick up some food that we could eat on the coach back to London. We
arrived at our bus stop on The High at 7.05 and were actually able to catch the
earlier coach to arrive in London at about 8.45 pm.
Of
course, it was a whirlwind tour. But I have to say that Shahnaz loved every
second of it—for so she told me! There was simply no way she could have
squeezed so much into her day had it not been for her willing spirit. By the
time we arrived at Marble Arch, we had rested a great deal. We had also spied en route the darkened skeleton of the
Grenfell Tower building that had succumbed to a very tragic fire only a couple
of weeks ago.
From
Marble Arch, we jumped into a bus that took us directly to Battersea where we
dressed for bed and gratefully sank down to sleep.
Until tomorrow, Cheerio.
