Ford of Oxes part II (Nov 9)

 Close to my hostel was the Oxford Castle. It did not really look that much like a castle. It's also in the center of the city. Next to the castle is a large mound of earth called a motte. On this motte would have been a bailey, hence the term motte and bailey castles. The castle would have sat on top of the mount looking over the land, surrounded by moats and walls. There has been a castle at the site since William the Conquerer who took over England in 1066. The castle was built later, but one of the towers of Anglo Saxon dating earlier than the rest of the castle.

 The Motte

 The Castle

The square tower on the right side of the picture is the oldest part of the castle. Prisoners were held in this tower in a room with open windows, no sanitation etc... Lots of people died in this tower. The walls are over a meter thick, so quite a sturdy tower.  The castle was primarily used as a prison, and would have prisoners perform meaningless tasks, which often led to death in some form. Not a happy place to be. The castle remained a prison until 1996. You read that correctly, 1996. Its been in continuous use since before the 12 century. Thats pretty impressive. Many of the windows still have the bars on it, and many rooms were the old prisons. The site has only been open for about 5 years. To my left, that section of the prison were bought and turned into luxury hotel rooms. You can still tell by the way the building is laid out.

 Looking up the motte (height of 35 feet) and very steep

 On top of the motte looking down

This is in the crypt. There used to be a church down here. There is also said to be ghosts. None have been seen, but some people have felt an icy hand upon their neck. To this day, guide dogs and police dogs will not go into this area. Maybe that means that there is something there that spooks the dogs.

 The little speck in the right hand corner on the floor that is a circle = ghost

Example of a prison cell. Window would have not had glass, and would get very cole. In this room, in the later years as a prison, there would have been up to 3 inmates in here at one time. One bunk bed, and one other. Hardly had any room to move, and the bathroom was a bucket. Not great accommodation. The queen witnessed this and closed down the prison. It was too inhumane.

 Down the hall with prison cells

Some of the meaningless forms of hard labor.

1. The Treadwheel... A large wheel with steps around its circumference. Prisoner stood in a closed stall and began stepping, it turned the wheel and thus able to walk on the spot. Prisoners would do this all day.
2. Shot Drill...pick up cannonball, move a few steps, set down, and do it again. Again, done all day
3. Oakum picking...untwisting old tar-coverd ship ropes. Fibers were used to fill prison mattresses. Left hands cramped and bleeding
4. The capstan... in the large square tower would have been a large wheel that would lead to a well and the wheel used buckets to pick up the water and bring it into the tower. To this day, on the floor you can see a circle on the floor. The floor was worn down by the years of walking in the same spot.

After the castle, I went towards the Bodliean Library. Next to the Bodliean library sits the Sheldonian theater and the Radcliff Camera (circular library). The libraries at Oxford are legendary. I learned that the man whom the library is named, made a deal with a publishing company in London, that for every book published by that company, a copy must be sent to Oxford. That means Oxford has every book published for the last 400 years. They get 1400 books a week, which means they have thousands upon thousands. Books were kept underground in tunnels, but have since been moved to a larger facility. To get access to books not immediately available, they have to be ordered and brought to you. Security is also really tight. 

My first stop was the Sheldonian Theater. It is where students matriculate and graduate. It was splendid inside. Take look. The theater was built by Christopher Wren, a former student at Oxford. He designed and built many buildings in Oxford, one that will be mentioned later.  He was also in my blog as the maker of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Another spectacular ceiling painting

 

I then tried to go into the Bodliean Library. Because class is in session, you need to be on a guided tour to get into the library. Security is very tight. The value of the books that lies within is extremely high. No devices that can make fire are allowed to enter, and pens are not allowed. Only pencils and laptops. I was not able to get in right away. I had to wait for over an hour till the next tour. That was fine, there was other stuff that I could look at before that. I tried the Radcliffe Camera. It was not open to visitors because students were using it. It's only open on the weekends, so that would not work for me to see it.

 The Bridge of Sighs

Radcliffe Camera

Down the street was the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. It was another fabulous church. There are so many churches that defied my expectations. I guess that is what I get for going to one of the oldest towns with a University. 

I got some Earl Grey tea when I left in the vaults of the church. They were serving lunch and drinks (it was a cafe) in the basement of the church. I spent my time there until my tour.

The Bodliean Library. The library starts on the second floor. The reason for this was that it kept the books dry. I did not know that. On the first floor is the University's first lecture hall (created with that purpose). I will get to that a few pictures down.

This tower shows the 5 orders of architecture. You can tell by the columns on each level. It's hard to see, but the bottom is the doric oder, followed by the Tuscon, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite. This was built after Bodliean died.

This is the first lecture hall of the University. Quite lovely isn't it. The architecture and design is one of a kind. Not many examples of the ceiling (pendant something) survive in the world. It took around 60 years to complete, because money kept running out, and it took 3 stone masons to complete the work. The 2nd mason was told to make the building less complex and therefore cheaper. Christropher Wren finished the building. The room was mainly used for the Divinity School. Lectures were held here and also examinations. Examinations happened verbally. The one being examined would sit in the thing that looks like a pulpit on one side of the room, the examiner on the other, then the principle by the door in the back. The test would be in the form of a debate. One really had to know their information.  Bible scholars also must have been fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Quite impressive! 

 pendants and crests symbolizing those important to its construction

This second room, which was through that door in the earlier pictures. The University held court in this room. It is known that Oscar Wilde was in this court for not paying rent. This room was used as parliament during the English civil wars, and is used for filming because it looks just like parliament. The university as a whole cannot be accessed in the sumer months because movie groups take over. Many of the buildings are used for movies, such as Harry Potter.

 This is still the first lecture room, but was used as the infirmary and ballroom in the Harry Potter movies.

 The Drake Chair: Looks like an ordinary chair. Nothing to grand about it. However, this chair was made from the wood from Francis Drake's ship that circumvented the globe. This chair goes on tour of the world, but this is its home

The Bodliean Library is home to many treasures. Some of these treasures are never on display, and only for short times, some of them are. So it was a once in a life-time opportunity to see some of their treasures. They have numerous medieval manuscripts that I would love to get my hands on. Some of the treasures I will show below.

 Henry Purcell Ode for St. Cecilia's Day (1692)

 Felix Mendelssohn Schliflied (Reed Song) 1845

 Magna Carta (1217). The Bodliean has 4 of the 17 engrossments of the Magna Carta

 One of the first folio's of Shakespeare's plays. The funny thing about this was that Bodliean at the time of Shakespeare did not like him, and thus got rid of the book. Later on, the Library went to great lengths to get the folio back. It was published 7 years after Shakespeare's death. This copy is the one that was in the Bodliean library. (1623)

 Copy of the Quar'an 1550. Belonged to Tipu Sultan, 18th century ruler of Mysore.

 Gutenberg Bible  (1455). Only 15 copies survive in the world today. Bodliean is one of seven complete copies in the British Isles.

 Section of the Gutenberg Bible

Codex Medoza (1541). It is a copy of a lost chronicles of Aztec lords of Tenochtitlan

Marco Polo departs from Venice (1400)

Gospel of St. Thomas (2nd-3rd Century AD). One of the oldest early surviving christian texts (papyrus)

Lyric Poems by Sappho (2nd Century AD)

Papyrus Scrolls of Herculanaeum (1st Century AD). Carbonized and preserved by volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Isaac Newton, Philosophiae naturalis pincipia mathmatica (1687)

Jane Austen, Volume the First (1793)

Jane Austen, The Watsons (1805)

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1816-17). Section depicts the climactic scene of the creature coming to life.

Gerard Manly Hopkins 'Inversnaid' (1881)

To top off my time in Oxford, I had traditional cream tea. It consists of tea or coffee, two scones, with strawberry jam, and thick cream. It was quite good. I felt very english. 

I then got my bus to London for the night where I went out with Barbara and Bob for dinner. Dinner was really good and I thanked my host family for being so gracious to me in my time with them. I feel like I have another family in the UK.