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...the
city of the dreaming spires |
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Imagine
walking through the same universities and churches attended by John
Wycliffe, William Tyndale, John and Charles Wesley, to name a few.
Explore the halls of Oxford University-- the oldest English-speaking
university in the world, and photograph majestic sites where amazing
Reformation events actually took place. Oxford certainly had its
place in history in the Reformation. Well known for monarchs such
as the Roman Catholic Queen Mary (sometimes referred to as "Bloody
Mary") who were not afraid to assert their own religious beliefs
as "law," Protestantism has a rich and, unfortunately,
deadly history in Oxford. Whether
you are in the mood to explore centuries old cathedrals, shop 'til
you drop or just relax with a cup of tea, this is a city that offers
it all!
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Christ
Church College and Cathedral. Christ Church College and Cathedral.
Founded by Cardinal Wolsey as Cardinal's College in 1524, this twelfth
century church is one of the oldest buildings in Oxford and one of
the smallest Anglican cathedrals in England. It is also the only church
in the world to be both a cathedral and a college chapel. 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. The cathedral has a famous men and boys' choir, and is one of
the main choral foundations in Oxford. To this day the bell in the
tower, Great Tom, is rung 101 times at 9:05 GMT (9 o'clock Oxford
time) every night for the 101 original scholars of the college. Famous
alumni include: Charles and John Wesley, Lewis Carroll, William Penn,
Albert Einstein and John Locke. Back
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St.
Michael at the North Gate Church. In existence prior to
the printing of the 1086 Doomsday Book and prior to the Norman Conquest,
St. Michael at the North Gate is the oldest building in Oxford (probably
dating early- to mid-eleventh century.) Beautifully restored in
1986, this tower proudly boasts its early origin. St. Michael at
the North Gate remains a flourishing city church to this date. Well-known
Reformers Bishop Hugh Latimer, Archbishop Nicholas Ridley and Archbishop
Thomas Cranmer were held in the Bocardo prison, the Town Gaol that
was attached to the tower, before being taken in 1556 to be burned
at the stake in Broad Street. The door to their cell can be seen
on display in the Tower. John Wesley reportedly preached from this
pulpit in 1726. Back
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The
University of Oxford Botanic Garden. In the seventeenth
century, Sir Henry Danvers gave the modern equivalent of 3.5 million
GB Pounds to set up a physic garden for "the glorification
of God and for the furtherance of learning". But 1633 found
the garden walls and arches built so dramatically that there were
no funds left for the daily operations of the garden. In 1642
the University named the first curator, Jacob Bombart although
they failed to pay his salary for seven years, wherein he resorted
to selling fruit grown in the gardens to make ends meet. The oldest
tree in the garden, an English yew, was planted by Bombart, himself
in 1645. The gardens have evolved from a seventeenth century collection
of medicinal herbs to become the most compact, yet diverse, collection
of plants in the world. Today the garden is still committed "to
promoting learning and glorifying nature." The gardens are
located on the bank of the River Cherwell and can be viewed daily;
hours vary by season. Guided tours are available by appt. Back
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University
Church of St. Mary’s. Anglican bishops, Latimer,
Ridley and Cranmer all underwent part of their trials here in
1554 and 1555. Their principal crime was not to believe the doctrine
of 'transubstantiation', although Cranmer, as Henry VIII's Archbishop,
had also played a crucial role in the downfall of Queen Mary's
mother, Catherine of Aragon. John Wesley attended the church in
his Oxford days and preached some of his most stirring sermons
here - notably the famous sermon the Almost Christian in 1741.
In 1744, again in St. Mary's, he denounced the laxity and sloth
of the senior members of the university. He was never asked to
preach here again. “I have preached, I suppose,” he
wrote, “the last time in St. Mary's. Be it so. I am now
clear of the blood of these men. I have fully delivered my soul.”
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Martyr’s
Memorial. This site is the newly restored Martyr's Memorial
dedicated to the memories of well-known martyred Reformers Bishop
Hugh Latimer, Archbishop Nicholas Ridley and Archbishop Thomas
Cranmer. Summoned to appear before a commission in the Church
of St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford for not subscribing to the belief
in transubstantiation, they were all found guilty. Ridley and
Latimer were burnt at the stake on October 16, 1555 in the ditch
outside the city wall, now marked by a simple cross. Archbishop
Cranmer, who had been given longer to appeal, was forced to watch
the horrid ordeal and wrote a recantation. During a subsequent
trial he withdrew all his recantations of his protestant beliefs
and vowed that when he came to the fire, the hand that had signed
them would be the first to burn. He was taken from the Bocardo
gaol at the Northgate to the same ditch on March 21, 1556 and
also burnt to death. Back
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The
Wesley Rooms in Lincoln College.
In March 1726 John Wesley's father was able to announce with pride,
"My Jack is a Fellow of Lincoln". He graduated from Christ
Church and the room in the college is now available for visits.
Lincoln College was founded by Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln,
in 1427. Back
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 Christian
History Highlights in Oxford:
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| John
Wycliffe (1329-1384), called "the Morning
Star of the Reformation", studied at Oxford where
he became a leading philosopher. Translated the Bible
into English (from Latin texts), as an early Reformer,
he preached against the Pope's secular sovereignty and
infallibility, acknowledging the Bible as the only source
of truth. His tracts, read by John Hus, sparked a reformation
in Bohemia.
William
Tyndale (approx. 1494-1536) studied at Oxford
University. He later became known as the “Father
of the English Bible” after translating the New
Testament and large portions of the Old Testament from
the original Greek and Hebrew.
1555-1556,
Bishops Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley
were burned at the stake for failure to subscribe to
the doctrine of transubstantiation. Back
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 Selected
Cultural Events in Oxford:
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| June
25 '05 Hearts and Flowers Concert (Jubilate)
June 28 '05
Oxford Chamber Music Festival
June 30 '05
Blenheim Palace Music Festival
July 23 '05
Oxford Philomusica Intl Piano Festival
Sept 8-11
'05 Heritage Open Days
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Have
you
been to Oxford?
Maybe you live there...we want to hear from you! Use the following form
to tell us your recommendations. Thank you! |
©
Reformation Tours, LLC 2003
P.O. Box 854, Belleville, IL 62222
Tel: (618) 222-9914 • Fax: (618) 222-9917 • Toll Free: (800) 303-5534
info@reformationtours.com
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