Through these doors have passed many generations of Oxford scholars, on their way to exams.
Just when I thought I'd seen everything there was to see in Oxford, I discover more secret locations. Yesterday I visited Oxford again, this time for Oxford Open Door Days. That's when certain rooms and gardens normally closed to the public or only open for a fee are open, for free.
First we went to the Examination Rooms, where students take their first year and third year exams. These were no utilitarian classrooms; instead, there were marble staircases, fine wood paneled chambers, embossed ceilings, and doorways fit for a king. And speaking of kings, there was George IV, in his larger than life splendor, keeping an eye on generations of Oxford test takers.
The building was necessary after the university decided to switch to modern written exams rather than oral exams in the early nineteenth century. Finally, after Thomas Jackson won a design competition, the Examination Schools building was completed in 1882, and now almost 2500 exams are given to 12,000 students in its splendid rooms. (Can't make it to Open Door Days? Take a virtual tour of the Examination Rooms instead.)
Strange beasts about on Merton Street.
After that, we walked through Oxford's lovely back streets to the Town Hall, where several civil ceremonies were taking place today. But we weren't there to celebrate anyone's nuptials, so we peeked at the main hall and the courtroom, where we pretended we were on trial. "Have mercy, Oh Wigged One!" I especially loved the wooden desks where participants sit, still with a sliding brass inkwell and carved pencil dips.
Next, the Museum of Oxford had a special exhibit on, featuring the bicycle. Since I'd written a paper recently on how the bicycle changed Victorian society, I was anxious to see that. But with a lunch reservation at noon, we only had thirty minutes to first see the exhibit and then take a backwards look through the museum, which deserves more time and the proper respect for chronology. Fortunately, the museum is open year round, except on Monday, and the exhibit is on until October 17.
After lunch we peeked into the Divinity School, which normally charges a small fee for entrance. This time, however, the rope preventing entrance into the further half of the room and the entrance into the Convocation House and Court was absent. We crowded into the small room where Charles I held his Parliament during the Civil War and admired the 17th century rooms, left in their original condition. (Oxford temporarily became the seat of government during the time Cromwell held London and Charles I was clinging to power.)
An implacable reminder of just why that power is worth clinging to: In Broad Street, I finally found the marker where the three martyrs were burned, Latimar, Ridley, and Cranmer, for refusing to recant their Protestantism during Queen Mary's reign.
Canterbury Quad in St. John's College, with the loggia supporting the Laudian Library as its focal point.
We turned off Broad and slipped past the road construction on St Giles, finally turning in at St John's College, one of the wealthiest of the 39 colleges. Its Quadrangle and gardens were hushed and formal. The College Gardens, laid out in 1722, consist of the Great Lawn and a section of trees and shrubs, including a pretty rock garden. Before leaving, we visited the imposing Victorian gothic chapel, dedicated to St John in 1557. St John's was started as a school to rebut the Reformation, so perhaps it is appropriate that the near-Catholic Tony Blair was a graduate of St John's.
From St John's we walked across town, through the Covered Market, to Merton College. Merton is much older than St John's—it was founded in 1264, making it one of the oldest Oxford colleges. The chapel dates from 1290, with the magnificent tower added in 1450. It has, of course, been refurbished over the centuries, most recently by Christopher Wren and, in the nineteenth century, by Sir Gilbert Scott and his Victorian contemporaries.
It was also during this time that the interesting wooden ceiling was painted, a vision that I immediately declared more awesome than the Sistene Chapel ceiling. (That probably had something to do with the fact that our quiet voices weren't competing with hundreds of noisy visitors and recorded instructions.) The acoustics at Merton Chapel are said to be the best at Oxford; you can check them out by listening to a podcast of the Merton College Choir on iTunes. (Search the store for Merton College.)
Merton College, from the sunny lawn of the Fellows' Garden.
The Fellows Gardens at Merton were also open to visitors, a rare treat we took full advantage of. Lots of people were sprawled out on the beautiful lawn, barefoot and relaxed. Though we are well into September, the Fellows' flowers were stoic, standing tall despite the cool nights we've had. Maybe it was the presence of the stern statues and stone carvings; I'd have looked smart under their watchful gaze, too.
Oxford Open Door Days is on through today, and will be held again next September. But the good news is that, although many of the places are only open to the public during Open Days, it is possible to tour the colleges throughout the year, although they may be closed certain times for student exams. Go here for more information. The Divinity School and the Bodlian Library are also open for tours throughout the year.
I am constantly amazed at how many American expats I meet who live here and have never visited Oxford. It's one of the loveliest cities in Europe, and has so much to offer—museums, colleges, libraries, a fun river, gardens...and even a few quirky bits: it's here you can see the world's only remains of a dodo bird. If you don't live here, but are planning a visit, it's pretty easy to get to Oxford—study, study, study! No, seriously, you can visit even if you have no intention of ever studying or attending the university. It's located about an hour west of London, by car or by the easy Oxford Tube (which is actually a bus).
So even if all the doors aren't open, there's still plenty to see in Oxford.
For more photos, you can check out my photo album.
