Showing posts with label Places to see in England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Places to see in England. Show all posts

13 August 2023

Visit Oxford England

Radcliffe Camera, Oxford University

There's so much to see and do in Oxford, England. I'm posting photos for people considering a visit to England or a tour of the UK and looking for day trips from London. 

Here are my suggestions for places to see in Oxford. Click on the highlighted text for links to pages with more information on some places where I spent a few hours or most of a day.

I've been here before but in 2018, I spent several nights at a B&B close enough to walk around the city centre.


My small B&B room

Radcliffe Camera
The photo at the top of this page depicts the Radcliffe Camera (aka (Rad Cam), which is a stunning neoclassical building located on the campus of Oxford University. It was built in the 1700s and has served as an iconic image for the university in photographs and movies. 

The centuries old Bodleian Library is a must see for people who enjoy history and fascinating books like the gift of 11-year-old Elizabeth I to her stepmother.


Bodleian Library Oxford University

The Ashmolean has an outstanding collection of objects from the ancient world, Roman Britain, and so much more. See the Powhatan Mantle from the father of Pocahontas and guy Fawkes lantern.


Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University

I couldn't resist having fish 'n chips in The Eagle and Child pub made famous by the Inklings. Think C.S Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien amongst others.




Eagle and Child Pub
Oxford

St Mary the Virgin church is beautiful inside and out. The staff also serve a nice lunch. The church was at the centre of the medieval university since at least the 1100s. The tower dates to the 1270s and is the oldest part of the current building. There is a significant history of the church in the life of the university and the city.


St Mary the Virgin, Oxford

If you are interested in archeology and anthropology, check out the Pitt Rivers Museum founded in 1884. There are over 500,000 objects in the collection. See prm.ox.ac.uk for more.

Pitt Museum, Oxford University


Another pub-- The Kings Arms pub
the pub is located where Augustinian friars were in 1268. The city licensed the King's Arms in 1607.  Historically, intelligence officer Kim Philby and others had drinks here during World War II.

The Kings Arms, Oxford


The Oxford University Museum of Natural History is famous for the display of the Dodo, which went extinct in the 1600s. Plan on a long visit to see whatever is on display from the 7 million objects. 


Clarendon Building
A neoclassical building from the 1700s recently used as an administration building for Oxford University.

Clarendon Building, Oxford

For some shopping and eateries, explore the Covered Market

Covered Market, Oxford
A scene from Queen Street, November 2018.

Queen Street, Oxford, 2018

Sheldonian Theatre
The theatre was designed by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford and dates to 1664-1669.

Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford

 Sponsor

Mind the Gap on AMAZON


An entertaining and educational introduction to British culture




Google Map of Oxford, UK









Outtakes- Fine Food

Pie n Mash in the Covered Market



An afternoon tea

Fish n Chips at the
Eagle and Child




Natural History Museum Oxford England UK

OXFORD UNIVERSITY MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY 

The Oxford Dodo is world famous. The museum has soft tissue of this extinct flightless bird from Mauritius. The Oxford Dodo was listed in a collection in 1656. The last Dodo was seen in 1662.


Oxford Dodo 


The Great Debate of 1860
The museum opened in 1860. The year before, Darwin's famous work, On the Origin of Species had been published. Hundreds of people attended the debate held on 30 June between Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford and Thomas Henry Huxley.

Great Debate marker



Charles Darwin

I expected to see dinosaurs but I did not know the first record of a dinosaur bone was near Oxford. Dr. Robert Plot recorded the find in 1677. It's known as Megalosaurus bucklandi.

Of course, there are more familiar finds, which I would hope curious visitors can appreciate.



Those of us from the UK are familiar with children's stories featuring hedgehogs. Here's one.


There are a variety of popular animals. Following are a few examples.





Scientists from the ancient world and more recent times are here and there. I've included a few examples.

British Chemist, Joseph Priestly

George Stephenson, British engineer
& "Father of Railways"



Sir Isaac Newton
British mathematician, physicist, astronomer



British inventor, engineer, chemist
James Watt

Fun Facts by the Numbers

7 Million objects
30,000 zoological specimens
6,000 loans of specimens a year
#2 most visited university museum in the world
(Source: Museum website 2023)

Museum website:  oumnh.ox.ac.uk

Sponsor

Mind the Gap on AMAZON



More Pages about Oxford

Visit Oxford England

Oxford University Natural History Museum

Ashmolean Museum

Bodleian Library

Eagle and Child Pub

     Also

Visit London England

Visit the UK



Google Map locating the Oxford University Museum of Natural History



Please check out my webpage to see if any of my books on psychology topics might be of interest.
Geoffrey W. Sutton suttong.com


Ashmolean Museum Oxford England UK

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Photo 29 Oct 2018, Geoffrey W. Sutton

 Elias Ashmole donated his collection to Oxford University in 1682. The next year, the Ashmolean Museum opened to the public in the building, which is currently the History of Science Museum.

Elias Ashmole
A variety of objects provide glimpses into the lives of some people, often rulers, of ancient cultures.

SUMERIA
The text refers to  Sumerian Kings and mentions Gilgamesh a heroic king. The other side refers to a great flood. Religious scholars note the similarities to the Genesis chronologies and flood text.

Divine Gilgamesh

KNOSSOS
Excavations from Knossos, Crete include urns and coffins (larnax).

Larnax/ burial chest, Knossos



THEBES
A large collection from Thebes comes from the time of King Taharqa (d 664 BC). Artistic scenes picture the king with gods. Scholars believe Taharqa may be the same person mentioned in the Bible as Tirhakah. See examples below.



ROMAN GOLD in ENGLAND
Roman coins are plentiful in the UK but gold coins are rare. The collection of coins includes Roman coins from the Didcot hoard (coins from 54- 160) and others.



JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA
Jamestown was established in 1607. The Powhatan society initially welcomed the English colonists.

The object, called Powhatan's Mantle, comes from the man known as Chief Powhatan. His name was Wahunsenacawh (dates approximate 1550-1618). He was the father of Pocahontas (Matoaka).

Powhatan's Mantle, Ashmolean, Oxford

LONDON, ENGLAND

Do you remember the 5th of November? It was 1605 when, during the night, Guy Fawkes was caught before he could blow up the Palace of Westminster (parliament). Below is Guy Fawkes lantern taken from Guy Fawkes by Peter Hayward before he could light the gunpowder.


ENGLAND and the UK
Oliver Cromwell and his troops battled the King during the English Civil Wars. Artefacts include his watch and a plaster death mask of the ruler between King Charles I and II.



Sponsor
Mind the Gap - a fun and educational guide to British Culture

Read a FREE sample of the Kindle edition.

Google map for the Ashmolean



Please check out my webpage to see if any of my books on psychology topics might be of interest.
Geoffrey W. Sutton suttong.com

Read more at ashmolean.org

The Ashmolean and popular culture

Films/ movies featuring the Ashmolean Museum (From Bing  AI search)

  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001)
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
  • The Golden Compass (2007)
  • X-Men: First Class (2011)
  • Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

The Ashmolean Museum was also used as a filming location in several episodes of the Inspector Morse series.











12 August 2023

Bodleian Library Oxford England UK





The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford

The Bodleian Library (aka The Bod) is the main library in the Bodleian Library group. Collectively, their collection of documents is above 13 million and ranks as the second largest in the UK.

 


William Herbert, third Earl of Pembroke, stands before the Bodleian’s main entrance. He was a former chancellor of Oxford university and donated to the Bodleian collection.

The first library opened in the 1400s with a collection of books from Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester, brother to King Henry V. The current building opened in 1602.

Given the age of the collection, you might expect, there are some incredibly old books. Pictured below is a book, which eleven year-old Princess Elizabeth gave to her stepmother, Katherine Parr, on 31 December 1544. The princess (later Queen Elizabeth I) translated a French poem into English. Scholars believe Princess Elizabeth created the book's binding.



An older volume contains a selection from the gospels, which belonged to the devout Christian, St Margaret, Queen of Scots (d. 1093). The work dates from about 1025 to 1050.


Another book is the autobiography of an extraordinary woman, Mary Lacy. The year was 1759 when she ran away from home and in stolen men's clothes, she began her naval career. She began as a ship's servant. By 1763, she completed an apprenticeship as a shipwright. After she retired and received her pension, she revealed her sex.


The name, Bodleian, honours Sir Thomas Bodley who supported a renovated library, an expanded collection, and other buildings.


Sponsor

Mind the Gap - a fun and educational guide to British Culture




Google Map of the Bodleian Library, Oxford



Please check out my webpage to see if any of my books on psychology topics might be of interest.
Geoffrey W. Sutton suttong.com

Films/ movies and the Bodleian Library location

Harry Potter- several
The Golden Compass
Shadowlands
The Madness of King George
Gulliver's Travels 1996

TV series that have included the Bodleian in one more more episodes
Inspector Morse
Lewis
Endeavour