More misericords – for All Souls Day
Imagine my delight when just a few weeks after discovering the medieval misericords at Magdalen College I was invited by the chaplain Revd Rachel Carnegie to take a look at…
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At the Relic Chapel in The Oxford Oratory
But my eye was quickly drawn to something far from ordinary. For inside two ceiling-high, grey cabinets, internally lit and lined in red gauze, were shelves filled with an amazing array of ornately decorated receptacles; reliquaries as I later learned they are called. That is special showcases (caskets crafted from silver and gold, and made to look like churches, hollow crosses, statues and the like) designed to display the physical remains or objects used by those who have been canonised by the Catholic Church.
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Campion Hall’s black room
A couple of weeks ago I was delighted to be invited into Campion Hall. They’d recently given a fresh lick of paint to their old senior common room, what in…
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Up the tower, down the tower and for a short while locked in the tower.
I’m attempting to climb all the towers in Oxford. The body being willing. And so, as the festival of Michaelmas approaches (29 September, traditionally one of the four quarter days…
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The medieval floor tiles of the Greyfriars
It’s easy to miss them as you glide up to the top floor of the new Westgate Centre. But glance to your right and there on the wall is a…
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The Whites of Appleton
I’ve long been curious to know more about the ‘Whites of Appleton’. It’s a name that keeps cropping up when you live in Oxford and while most residents will never…
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The Destroy Keble Society
I find it hard to understand why the architecture of Keble College has aroused such animosity. I pass it regularly on my route to the University Parks, and I love…
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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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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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‘A treacle well – there’s no such thing.’
Next Thursday, October 19, is the feast day of St Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford. And so I decide to cycle with my friend, Gina, to Binsey, a tiny…
