We are both a bit foot weary at present. As part of the national Heritage weekend; various places in Oxford opened their doors to admit the public free of charge.
We had decided to look at a few of them.
First was the church of St Mary Magdalen; the north aisle and chancel were rebuilt on the Saxon foundations by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1841-2. A lovely building and even with busy roads on both sides, a very peaceful place.
Then to Rhodes House, the headquarters of the Rhodes Trust, which administers the scholarships which were set up under the will of Cecil Rhodes, settled in 1907 and which was valued at £3,345,000. The current value is in excess of £130,000,000.
Rhodes House was finished in 1928 as his memorial, the site having been purchased from Wadham College.
Next was St John's college, which had beautiful grounds and quadrangles, we had expected the Chapel to be larger, however it was sufficiently pleasant.
It was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White, a merchant; it is reputed currently to be the wealthiest college in Oxford. The original building was formerly the monastery of St Bernard which had been subjected to the Dissolution: later additions were made in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Our next visit was to St Barnabas Church, Jericho in the village like part of Oxford.
It was built to the Italianate basilica form in 1868-9 funded by Thomas Coombe, printer to the University with the strong support of his wife Martha. They were supporters of the Oxford movement or Tractarianism which opposed the liberalism and laxity in the early 19th century Church of England. Thomas's instructions to the Architect, Arthur Bloomfield, was that he should 'design a church to hold a thousand persons for a small sum as possible'. Most of the University press employees lived in the surrounding area.
Oxford Oratory, or the church of St Aloysius Gonzaga was built in 1875 to a design by Joseph Hansom in the Gothic revival style for the Jesuit parish of central Oxford.
They left the building in 1980 and the Archdiocese of Birmingham took over. In 1990, the members of the Oxford Oratory replaced them and now, it is an independent congregation.
Blackfriars Hall was established in 1921 by the English order of Dominican friars after an absence from Oxford of 400 years, having been suppressed by the reformation. The site became a permanent private hall in 1994.
Our final visit was to the Town Hall for a guided tour of the Gothic revival building which, in 1893 replaced two earlier ones; the 1292 Guildhall and the 1752 Town Hall. The courtroom is in regular used as a setting for film and television programs thus providing an income for the city council; as do weddings and this afternoon, the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. The council would have additional income from this as the scrumptious cakes advertised on the flyer were priced at £2.00 per slice; a bit heavy for parents with more than one child.
Back to Martlet and gallons of tea, feet up and relax: for tomorrow, we will do it all again!
