✿ Heritage ✿ Oxford ✿ Harry Potter ✿

27th October 2009 

Yea, I know, my apologies for the 10-days-long overdue post. :) 

Backpacked around Oxford on 17th October 2009 with my housemates. :) It was a self-planned trip.. :D fun, it was. :)

Our journey began as early as 6.30am. :D the train journey took us about 1 and 1/2 hour each.. The trip ended bout 9pm and we reached home bout 11pm.. :) tiring, but fun!! :D

Our train journey.. my 1st long distance train journey in UK.

We started our journey really early.. :) Everyone was kinda tired. :)

Recharge yourself before the long day ahead!! :D

The view along the journey to Oxford!

Those white dots far up in this picture are sheeps!! *heart*

Road signs were on the wall, unique as it seems !!

This is the biggest shopping mall in Oxford:Clarendon Centre, High Street

Lloyds Bank: I took this picture because of the dome roof. I noticed many buildings here have a roof like that.. with the weathervane on top ;) unique.

Carfax Tower: The name Carfax, derives from the French "carrefour", or "crossroads", and the tower's location makes it a good central reference point for touring the old city centre of Oxford. The Tower is all that remains of the 13th century St. Martin's Church. If you are fit (or simply determined) a climb to the top of the 74 foot high tower is rewarded by an excellent view over central Oxford.

Carfax Tower: The clock on the east of the tower is a copy of the original church clock, with mechanical figures called "quarterboys" which hammer out the quarter hour on bells.

Museum of Oxford: We did not really went into it (because it might be quite time consuming). :) We just walked around it.

Museum of Oxford: The museum covers 2000 years of Oxford history, archaeology, and architecture, including extensive exhibits on the University.

St. Aldates Street: Some stone pavement along the street. Really unique.

St Aldates Street: A lane along the street.. find it really interesting.

Along Broad Street, you'll see Balliol University & Blackwell.

Steampunk: Museum of History of Science

There was a convocation on on the day we visit.. :D check out the graduands' gown. :)

Sheldonian Theatre: The Sheldonian Theatre (1667) was the first major commission for an aspiring young architect named Christopher Wren. Wren, who was then Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, designed the Sheldonian in imitation of a classical Roman theatre. During the late 17th century the Sheldonian saw service as the University printing press, but its main use now is as the location of the annual Encaenia ceremony, when University degrees are conferred. Throughout the remainder of the year the Sheldonian is used for lectures or concert performances. Visitors may climb to the cupola for impressive views of the city centre. We couldn't visit the theatre as it has been taken up for the convocation ceremony. :) The buildings & surrounding is really nice though~

Bodleian Library: The Bodleian buildings began in 1613, at the bequest of former Oxford student Thomas Bodley. It is now the second largest library in the UK (after the British Library in London). The Bodleian receives a copy of every new book printed in Britain, a practice that began in 1610, so that the library contains an unrivaled 400 year record of British literature.The Bodleian is unique in that it is not a lending library - no books can be borrowed, only read on the premises. The Bodleian takes this restriction seriously; in a famous case, King Charles I was refused permission to borrow a book. The general public cannot enter the reading rooms; that right is reserved for members. Other parts of the library can be seen on one of the frequent guided tours. One of the highlights of these tours is the Divinity School, which possesses a remarkable vaulted ceiling. It is rightly regarded as a masterpiece of English Gothic architecture. One of Harry Potter's scene - The Invisible Cloak - was taken here. :)

Bodleian Library: Looks really grand. Most Oxford Uni students come to this library because it is very equipped with books. Any books printed in UK will have a copy being sent here.

Bodleian Library: The wordings of this statue was not in English, couldn't read them.. But I guess, he should be 1 of the main ppl of this library.

It looks like a castle !!

Radcliffe Camera & Radcliffe Square: The Radcliffe Camera was intended to house a new library, and designs were called for from several leading architects, including Nicholas Hawksmoor (responsible for much of All Soul's College) and James Gibbs. Originally the library in the Radcliffe Camera held both scientific and general books, but those collections were gradually moved to other University libraries, so that today the Camera functions as the main reading room of the Bodleian Library. The finished building holds some 600,000 books in underground rooms beneath Radcliffe Square. The weather just change as it wants too!! All of a sudden, the sky was so blue.. awwh, I should have taken the picture with me in it! :D

All Souls University, Radcliffe Square

University Church of St Mary The Virgin: Insight of the church.

The wall inside the church.

University Church of St Mary The Virgin: The steps at the entrance.

University Church of St Mary The Virgin: Another entrance towards High Street.

Tube bus in Oxford.

The official shop of Uni. of Oxford merchandise

Various merchandise of each university were sold here.

Oxford's famous Covered Market: The Covered Market was started in response to a general wish to clear �untidy, mess and unsavoury stalls� from the main streets. John Gwynn architect of Magdalen Bridge, drew up the plans and designed the High Street front with its four entrances. In 1772 the newly-formed Market committee (half of whose members came from the town and half from the university) accepted an estimate of nine hundred and sixteen pounds ten shillings, for building twenty butchers� shops. Twenty more soon followed and after 1773 meat was only allowed to be sold inside the market. From this nucleus the market grew, with stalls for garden produce, pig meat, dairy products and fish.

.Oxford Covered Market.

Inside the covered market.. :) It's quite modern though!

Oh my!! The Mail Stand is taller than I am?? That's ridiculous!! :D

We saw this stunt man performing while playing his violin. cool!! :)

The hop-on buses in Oxford for sightseeing tours.

Oxford City Council : It's lovely to have a city council in the building of a castle!! :D It's 'Lego'-ey~~

The 3 of us bought the Oxford hoodie!! :D Oxfordddd!!

The timeline of the Oxford Castle.

Oxford Castle-Unlocked: Saxon St George’s Tower - the 360° panoramic views over Oxford was stunning

Oxford Castle-Unlocked: The steps to the top of the tower.

Oxford Castle-Unlocked: Saxon St. George Tower: The water trails of the tanks from above where prisoners of old times used to perform their sentence.

Oxford Castle-Unlocked: In the middle of the tower.. :) a room to explain some stories. Oh by the way, this room used to be a prisoners' room that contains up to 60 ppl. They have no toilets & stuff, there were trails that their Urine actually rose up to their ankle level. Also, the were records showing that corpse in the prison were only taken away for about weeks after or even months. WOW!!

The 360° view from the top of the tower.

The 360° view from the top of the tower.

The colours.

There's this stairs leading to the view on the top of the tower.

This little girl was really cute!! :) She offered to take a photo of 'Mary' because she felt that 'Mary' is lonely. How thoughtful.

Saxon St. George Tower - It's really steep here. Careful!

Oxford Castle-Unlocked: St George's Crypt: This underground crypt is 900 year old. whoa~

It's kinda creepy down here.. LOL..

Oxford Castle-Unlocked: St George's Crypt
The crypt was once a classroom for scholars.. They kept books & food here because the temperature in this crypt never changes. :) Spot me!! I'm disguising myself right between the 2 scholars. :)

Food of the prisoners.. *urghh*

The wordings on the table of the prison

The story of Mary Blandy (the character the castle tour leader played) 

That's Mary Blandy :)

Life in a prison, experiencing it! LOL. Oh btw, that's Yin Nee, my housemate cum one of the 2 closest pal in my course. :)

Big bully in the prison... end my sentence!! LOL. That's Wai Kwan, my housemate and one of the 2 closest pal in my course. :)

18th Century Debtors Tower Clock

18th Century Debtors Tower & Prison D-wing - "Prison-ising" myself!! :D

18th Century Debtors Tower & Prison D-wing - Check out my photo shoot!! My prisoner's name is A. Visitor.!! :)

All three of us in the Prisoners' Record.

This was one of the prisoner's punishment.. notice it, we're paying to use it now in gyms or home! LOL...

3 of us in the prisoner's uniform. :)

18th Century Debtors Tower & Prison D-wing
- Wearing the 'Broad Arrow'

18th Century Debtors Tower & Prison D-wing
- Check out their exercise Yard

18th Century Debtors Tower & Prison D-wing
Modern Prisoner's bed

18th Century Debtors Tower & Prison D-wing
The door - hard metal !!

check this out!! They have ledgers since then!! wow~

"TA-DA".. the 1 pound penny souvenir !!

Look so like a star album!! :)

Oxford Castle-Unlocked: The mound of the 11th-century Motte and Bailey Castle with Vaulted Well Chamber

The photographer's trying to be artistic.. :)

A view of Oxford Castle Unlocked

We saw Brownies!! They're having an excursion!! awww... I miss Guiding! :D

woohoo.. very discipline.

My first time seeing a building in UK being cemented. :)

*heart* the iron grills. :D

The embedded wordings with the sword by the entrance.

LOL, guess we missed the sign. :)

The Long queue (to buy an entrance ticket) at Christ Church's entrance

Christ Church: Christ Church was originally founded by Cardinal Wolsey as Cardinal's College in 1524. The college buildings took over the site of St. Frideswide's Monastery, which was suppressed by Wolsey to fund his college. The monastery dated back to the earliest days of Oxford as a settlement in the 9th Century AD. When Wolsey fell from power in 1529 the College became property of King Henry VIII. Henry re-founded the College in 1546 and appointed the old monastery church as cathedral of the new diocese of Oxford. The new institution of cathedral and university college was named Aedes Christi, which is rendered in English as Christ Church. It is due to its ecclesiastical function that Christ Church's principal, the Dean, is always a clergyman. Christ Church today is a busy academic community with many more students (about 450 undergraduates and 150 Graduates) and many more academic subjects being studied than was the case in the 16th century. Since 1980 Christ Church has been co-educational, admitting women, who now make up half of the student body. The dual life of church and college continues to complement each other after 500 years, forming a unique community in the centre of Oxford.

The Cathedral: The Cathedral stands on the site of an ancient Saxon Church, founded in the 8th century by Saint Frideswide, the Patron Saint of Oxford. Though nothing now remains of this church, a saxon cemetery lies under the cathedral cloister, discovered in 1985. The present building was constructed in the last quarter of the 12th century as the monastery church for a community of Augustinian Canons. The monastery was called St Frideswide’s Priory, and inside the church stood an ornate shrine on which were kept the relics of the saint. Pilgrims visited the shrine throughout the Middle Ages, including Catherine of Aragon, who, in 1518, came to pray for the birth of a son. In 1524, just prior to the General Dissolution of the Monasteries, Cardinal Wolsey gained permission from the Pope to close down St Frideswide’s Priory in order to use the land to build a vast new college for the university. He had planned to include a new chapel for his ‘Cardinal’s College’ but died before the building was completed so the old monastery church was retained. When, in 1546, Henry VIII moved the first Bishop of Oxford into the church, he created a unique institution, ‘Christ Church’, for it’s chapel is also the Cathedral for the Diocese of Oxford.

The Olive Tree in Christ Church: A symbol of peace.

This fountain is a contemporary addition to the cloister

The window panes along the Cloister - One of Harry Potter's scene. :)

Christ Church: The vaulted roofing: The wonderful vaulted roofing (shown in the picture above) was only put up 150 years after the staircase. You would have got very wet going for dinner if it rained!

The chandelier outside the 'Dining Hall' (better known as The Great Hall)

The Dining Hall(1529), better known as the Great Hall was replicated in the film studios to create Hogwart's Hall. Also, it has many connections with Lewis Caroll's book, Alice Adventures in Wonderland.

The Dining Hall(1529), better known as the Great Hall was replicated in the film studios to create Hogwart's Hall.

The Dining Hall(1529), better known as the Great Hall was replicated in the film studios to create Hogwart's Hall. The Dining Settings.

"Only one of our portraits moves, sadly, but many of the faces are the real "Wizards" who have changed the way we understand the world." ~ I think this was the portrait used.

The Dining Hall(1529), better known as the Great Hall was replicated in the film studios to create Hogwart's Hall.

The portraits of many famous members of Christ Church can be seen on the wall, including a few of the thirteen Prime Ministers educated here. The wall portraits were also used in Harry Potter's scene.

The Dining Hall(1529) - is this the rostrum Dumbledore used?

The Dining Hall(1529) - The high Table: Dumbledore & his team eats up there~ :)

The Dining Hall(1529) stained window.

A really nice fire place in the Great Hall.

The table settings are really classic. :D Lovely.

The Dining Hall(1529) - The Hall has magnificent ceiling, of 'hammerbeam' construction.

The portraits of many famous members of Christ Church can be seen on the wall, including a few of the thirteen Prime Ministers educated here.

.The Christ Church Cathedral.

 'The Jonah Window' by Abraham van Linge(1630s): This window is of great interest because only the figure of Jonah is made of stained glass. The rest of the window consists of small panels of painted glass, showing the city of Nineveh in minute detail.

Wall Sculpture

The Chapel

The Nowers Monument

Brief description on The Nowers Monument.

Antique floor panes

They kept a monument of a monk here. :)

The Lady Chapel

'The Shrine' (Built 1289, Destroyed 1538, Rebuilt 1889,2002): The oldest monument in the cathedral, the shrine is covered in fine carvings of plants and faces. It once held the relics of St. Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, but was destroyed at the Reformation. Frideswide was then buried beneath a nearby gravestone.

'The Bell Altar' by Jim Partridge (2000): This altar marks the millennium and is dedicated in memory of Bishop George Bell, who courageously opposed the bombing of the German cities in World War II. A cross which stands near it, was cut from the underside of the altar.

 The 'Chancel': Notice the ceiling, known as the chancel Vault, by William Orchard (c. 1500) is made up of intricate star-shaped patterns to create an image of heaven. Twelve beautiful pendants hang gracefully from it.

'Chapel of Remembrance'

'Lucy Chapel': The Becket Window (c.1320) is the oldest in the cathedral and contains a rare panel showing the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket who dies at Canterbury Cathedral(1170). Becket is kneeling between a monk & 4 knights who murdered him. The panel was defaced in the 16th century. The original face of Becket is now missing.

The Cloister: The cloisters in Christ Church were first built 1000 years ago. This ancient vintage made them the ideal setting for various scenes. It is here that Harry is shown the trophy his father won as a seeker in Quidditch.

Something to be proud of?

I wonder if this gave HP movie the inspiration to build the stairway of Dumberdore's 'spiral' stairs.

Tom Quadrangle:  The name Tom Quad comes from the 7-ton bell, Great Tom, which hangs in Sir Christopher Wren's Tom Tower, over the gatehouse.

Tom Quadrangle: Flock of birds made the scene even more tranquil.

Took the Quadrangle in a closer view.

Love the wall..♥

Tom Quadrangle

A statue of Mercury, the winged Roman God, stands in the fish pond at the centre of Tom Quad.

Like the panes dodging out.. :D

There's a sundial here... is this cool or what??!!! woot woot!!

Peckwater Quadrangle: This was a medieval inn run by the Peckwater family. The building, including the library, date from the 18th century. Students now live & work here.

The Chapter (souvenir shop): Harry Potter & Alice in the wonderland merchandises are sold here.

Broad Street at night

Oxford University Museum of Natural History: It's being renovated, so it's not open for visitors. :) That's why we went there at night, since we can't visit it anyway.

The Martyr's Memorial: The Martyr's Memorial, where Broad Street meets St. Giles, commemorates the deaths of three prominent Protestant church leaders during the reign of St. Mary. Bishops Latimer and Ridley were burned at the stake in October 1555, and Archbishop Cranmer followed them in 1556. The flames from the pyre scorched a set of doors, which are now hung between the quads of Balliol College. The actual site of the burning is marked by an iron cross set in the pavement outside Balliol. The Victorian Gothic memorial, which dates from 1838, has been likened to the spire of a sunken cathedral, and indeed the narrow central pole of the memorial resembles nothing so much as a church spire.

The Randolph - Rich dudes have meals here.. LOL.

The Ashmolean Museum: Founded in 1683, the Ashmolean is the most important museum of art and archaeology in the heart of Britain. The collections span the civilisations of east and west, charting the aspirations of mankind from the Neolithic era to the present day. Among its treasures are the world's largest group of Raphael drawings, the most important collection of pre-Dynastic Egyptian material in Europe, the only great Minoan collection in Britain, the greatest Anglo-Saxon collections beyond the British Museum, and the foremost collection of modern Chinese art in the Western world.

By the time we got back, it's almost midnight.. whoa.. really really drenched out! :D The experience was awesome. Love it! Let's do it again sometime!!! :D 

Till next time, ciaoz. God bless!! *huggies*