Our tour of the university town of Oxford, described by the 19th century poet Matthew Arnold as "that sweet city with its dreaming spires" will begin with a walk to Christ Church, Oxford University's largest college. As we explore we will discover the history of the college, founded in the 1500s on the site of a religious house, and hear about its famous scholars including the mathematics lecturer Lewis Carroll who was inspired to write Alice in Wonderland while at Christ Church. We will also consider the variety of architectural styles such as a 16th century stairway with vaulted ceiling and the Great Hall with its hammerbeam roof (both of which you may recognise from the Harry Potter films). If open we will also explore the cathedral, the earliest parts dating from the priory of the 1100s, with the reconstructed shrine of St Frideswide, the patron Saint of Oxford. This site will provide a good introduction to Oxford as a whole; Oxford as a university town, intellectual centre and museum of architecture.
We will then begin exploring Oxford itself, the architecturally rich university town. We will walk through the medieval streets and see the many colleges that make up Britain's foremost University institution. Oxford is home to a wide variety of architectural styles, with structures such as Sir Christopher Wren's Sheldonian Theatre, the Radcliffe Camera by James Gibbs and even the Malmaison Hotel, a converted 19th century prison. We may climb the tower of St Mary's Church or the Sheldonian Theatre to admire the "dreaming spires" and perhaps we can pop into one of the smaller colleges, such as Brasenose or Trinity College, and discuss how all colleges follow the same architectural format of courtyards, accommodation, dining hall and chapel. From this we will discuss university life, both today and in the past and hear stories of Oxford students and their traditions.
Oxford has always been one of the centres of scholarship in the country, therefore it has always been a centre for intellectual thought resulting in challenges to the status quo, whether that be religious, political or artistic. We will see memorials that bear witness to important moments from its history, including the memorial to the Oxford martyrs which bear testament to the religious upheaval of the Reformation, Charles I's Royalist headquarters in Oxford during the English Civil Wars and Oxford as a hub of religious change during the Victorian period with figures such as Cardinal John Newman, fellow of Oriel College and protagonist of the Oxford Movement.
For a full day we can also visit the Ashmolean Museum, founded on the cabinet of curiosities idea and explore the Victorian Market