Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

For that Oxford accent

Stone structures, soaring spires and towers at Oxford gently wrap you in a time warp

CITY OF SPIRES The Christ Church, the largest college in Oxford

It is a university town like no other. It's like stepping into a medieval town. The historical stone structures, soaring spires and towers gently wrap the visitor in a beguiling time warp. The town of the oldest university in the English-speaking country, Oxford, has a population of around 1.35 lakh. It is referred to as the "City of Dreaming Spires", a phrase coined by Mathew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture here.

Fifty-five miles northwest of London is Oxford University, a collegiate university with 39 self-governing colleges related to the university in a federal system. Most college campuses are big, but the entrances to them are small and self-effacing. So much so we had to search for the college name.

Modest beginnings

Oxford was initially known as Oxenford — a reference to the oxen entering the city through the ford. From humble beginnings, it began to play host to royalty and scholars by the 15th Century. The Thames, when it runs through here, is called Isis, the other river flowing through the city being Cherwell.

We visited a few well-known colleges — Magdalen College which retains the 15th Century pronunciation of "Maudlin", Christ Church and Balliol colleges. C.S. Lewis was a Fellow of Magdalen, and Oscar Wilde too studied here. Magdalen Bridge is from where students traditionally jump into the River Cherwell every May Day morn after singing at the crack of dawn from the top of the tower.

We got on board the half-hour indoor ride (on four-seater wooden desks used by Oxford students of yore) at the Oxford Story Experience, which boasts 900 years of university history under one roof. (The high water mark is Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin.) This sit-down tour was a good starting point before exploring the city by jumping on to the hop-on hop-off open top sightseeing bus.

There is no fixed date of foundation of the university, but teaching was going on at Oxford in 1096 and developed rapidly from the next century when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. In the 13th Century, rioting between "town and gown" (townspeople and students) hastened the establishment of primitive halls of residence. Then came the first of Oxford's colleges, which began as medieval halls of residence or endowed houses under the supervision of a Master. University, Balliol and Merton colleges established between 1249 and 1264 are the oldest.

Christ Church is the largest college in Oxford where Albert Einstein studied briefly. At least 13 British Prime Ministers have graduated from here. Writers Lewis Carroll, W.H. Auden, religious leaders John Wesley and William Penn also studied here. This is the locale for the filming of at least three Harry Potter films. The Great Hall was the inspiration for Hogwarts, the same hall where King Charles I held his Parliament in the 17th Century.

A tutorial system is followed where the ward sits with the tutor for weekly meetings. Our former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi studied in Somerville College and the guide informs us that in 1992, when the college threw its portals open for men students, it was a controversial decision. The New College was new in 1379, but has not changed its name. We were disappointed as the Trinity College was closed for visitors.

There are half-day walking tours of the city. Since parking is at a severe premium, residents of the town prefer to ride bicycles, leaving their limousines at home. On a spot marked bang at the centre of Broad Street, Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester; Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London; and Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, were burnt for their faith almost 500 years ago.

Another place to check out is the neighbouring Cowley where today BMW Minis are being manufactured. In 1912, William Morris was the first Briton to produce cheap cars. He had begun by repairing cycles at the age of 14. The philanthropist set up the Morris Motor Co. to make cars in Cowley. When he cut the price of his car during World War I by £100, he found that his turnover touched £6 million in a few years.

Books and more books

Blackwells Bookshop houses 1,60,000 books where the shelves run a length of two and a half miles and the rooms are cavernous. The shop's slogan goes: "Live life, buy the book." Some of the names of shops are arresting: Bottoms Up for a wine shop and And So To Bed for a store dealing with cots and accessories. The OUP outlet is simply called The Bookshop. The new Bodleian Library, which looks like a three-storey building, hides 11 floors and here a student at times waits for six hours for the underground system to bring the required book from the bowels of the earth. All the books published in the country find a place here.

A sight for sore eyes are young students coming out of the Examination College and walking briskly — in formal black with carnation on lapel. As also the profusion of flowers from hanging plant baskets outside every shop and house.

SELINE AUGUSTINE

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail