Mind the Gap: Day in Oxford

Today, Tuesday, we set out for Oxford on a bus for about a 2 hour trip to Oxford. We first stopped at Sheldonian Theatre where Oxford University holds its formal gatherings such as graduation. Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world with its first college being founded in 1249. It now has 39 colleges and 7 Halls founded by religious denominations. There are about 18,000 students of which 11,000 are undergrads and about one quarter of the student body come from overseas. It was a fascinating campus consisting of buildings so old you cannot comprehend the age.

We also went to Christ Church College which was the original site of an 8th century monestary. Its founder is Cardinal Wolsey, who was also Chancellor to King Henry VIII and founder of Hampton Court Palace. If you remember in my entry on Hampton Court, Wolsey fell out of favor with the king thereby losing Hampton Court AND Christ Church College. For all you Harry Potter fans, this, along with Oxford University is the site for many scenes of the movies including the "Great Hall". Also there is a portrait of Charles Dodgson, who was a Math professor in the nineteenth century. He is more well know as Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland. There are renderings of Alice and the white rabbit in the stained glass windows of the great hall.

We also had lunch at a little (and I mean tiny) pub called "The Bear" which dates back to 1242 and is the oldest pub in Oxford. Excellent food, by the way! Our tallest student, David, who is 6'5" could not stand up straight inside. The ceilings were barely 6'. You will notice in the pics there are things displayed: they are ties. Since the 1950's if a man came into the pub with a tie on indicating membership in a club, athletic team, college, etc. the bartender would cut off the end of the tie to display and in exchange the man would receive a pint.
The first picture is of a statue of King James in honor of the translation of the King James version of the Bible that occurred at Christ Church University. The next few pics are of an academic building, Sheldonian Theatre ceiling and the view from the roof of the city spiers.