Cordelia and her hyacinth vases
This is the time of year that I set off on my bicycle to enjoy the beauty of Cordelia Hall’s display of hyacinth vases. Her home is situated on one…
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John Towle and his paper house
Take one look at the faded photograph of the charming villa above and you might think this a story about Oxford house prices. Far from it. It’s the tale of…
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Accident, suicide or murder: A Tudor Oxford mystery
The Oxford University Church of St Mary the Virgin is sometimes overlooked as a place to visit, standing as it does in competition with its more flamboyant neighbours in Radcliffe…
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John Pusey, Captain of the Tower
On a cold Thursday evening I find myself climbing the vertical ladder that leads up into the belfry of St Giles Church, a tower that has stood sentry over those…
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The Oxford Sausage, a book of poetry
I was delighted to receive a small package from a reader of this blog. It was a copy of a book first published in 1764. They thought I’d be interested…
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The vacant chair
The photograph above shows the latest cohort of undergraduates coming to study at Hertford College, Oxford. It is taken on the west side of the Old Buildings Quadrangle – you…
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Annora, anchoress.
It is easy to miss Annora’s grave. For she is buried under a moss covered stone slab lying flat on the ground, close up against the south wall of the…
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The Stone Saints Retirement Home
Antonia Hockton has been coming to New College in Oxford twice a year for the past 26 years. She arrives as the students leave, during the longer vacations. For this…
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Jeff Clarke, Artist
Under a Cretan blue sky last week, I cycled over Folly Bridge to South Oxford to meet Jeff Clarke, who at eighty eight, is about to open a new show…
