| OXFORDSHIRE |
| Abingdon Abbey
Buildings |
Thames Street, Abingdon |
A group of buildings, once
part of the Abingdon Abbey, escaped the Tudor demolition when Henry VIII
dissolved the monasteries. The entrance to the buildings is by the abbey's
former bakehouse and granary; separated by them is the Checker Hall. The
hall's interior has a fine timbered roof and serves as an
Elizabethan-style theatre. From the hall an old staircase leads into the
upper part of the Checker or Counting House. The 15th century abbey
gatehouse also survives, with a little church on one side and on the other
a former hospital. |
| Ashmoleon Museum |
Beaumont St, Oxford |
Named after the antiquary Elias Ashmole, the
museum was opened in 1683 and is today housed in a handsome classical
building of the 1840s. The collection includes British, European and
Egyptian archaeology. European paintings Old Masters; miniatures; European
ceramics; sculpture and bronzes. Coins and medals from all over the world. |
| Blenheim Palace |
In Woodstock |
Enter by the Triumphal
Gate and follow the curved drive up towards the palace and its 2200 acre
park. The palace was built on Queen Ann's instruction for 1st Duke of
Marlborough. The house is entered by a great hall, and visitors pass
through a suite of state rooms sumptuously ornamented with portraits,
marble busts, china and fine furniture. Marlborough's military triumphs
are depicted in a series of splendid tapestries. Winston Churchill was
born at Blenheim Palace and there are a number of Churchill memorabilia on
display. |
| Broughton Castle |
Off B4035, 2.5 miles south-west of Banbury |
Broughton was not built as a serious
military fortification, however with its encircled moat and a history of
Civil War siege behind it, it has historic pedigree. The original manor
dates from 1300 and was much enlarged in Tudor times when splendid plaster
ceilings, oak panelling and fireplaces were introduced. The castle was
owned by William Fiennes and anti-Royalist but in 1642 the castle was
captured and occupied by Royalists. The hall has arms and armour from the
Civil War and among other rooms Queen Ann's chamber. |
| Buscot Park |
Off A417, 3 miles west of
Faringdon |
An 18th century house of
Cotswold stone commands the high ground of a landscaped park. The
paintings hung throughout the house include works by Murillo, Reynolds and
Gainsborough. The rooms also rich in Regency and Empire furniture, Chinese
porcelains and Renaissance ivories. |
| Chastleton House |
Off A44, 5 miles west of Chipping Norton |
The tall Jacobean house looks over a village
of thatched cottages. It was built in 1603 and little has changed since
the 17th century: much of the original furniture survives, with
oak-boarded floors and Jacobean plasterwork. Behind the wallpaper in one
bedroom is a secret room where a Royalist escaped detection from pursuing
Roundheads. |
| Dorchester Abbey |
Off A423, 6 miles
south-east of Abingdon |
Reached by a Victorian
lich gate, Dorchester's abbey church is a 200ft long building, founded in
about 1140, with fine arcades, stone tracery and stained glass. It is
crammed with fascinating detail, ranging from a rare Norman lead font to
an unusual 14th century carving showing sleeping monks being woken by a
devil. Below the alter steps is a superb tomb effigy of a 13th century
Crusader knight. |
| Great Coxwell Barn |
Off B4019, 1.5 miles south-west of Faringdon |
The finest surviving medieval barn in
England, dating back to the 13th century, the 152ft long structure was
built of honey-coloured Cotswold stone by the Cistercian monks of Beaulieu
Abbey in Hampshire. It is laid out in a cruciform shape and its oak
pillars support a timber and stone-tiled roof soaring to 48ft. |
| Greys Court |
Off A423, 3 miles
north-west of Henley-on-Thames |
Standing among the ruined
14th century fortifications of a 13th century house, this gabled manor
house dates mainly from the 16th century; but in the kitchen the great
beams and stout posts survive from medieval times, and there is a narrow
Gothic door and an old brick fireplace. Among the outbuildings is a Tudor
wheelhouse and wheel used for drawing water from a 200ft well. |
| Oxford University Natural History Museum |
Parks Road, Oxford |
The museum displays the University's very
extensive natural history collections, which include the remains of the
Dodo, fossil dinosaur material and the historic collections collected by
scientists such as Darwin, Burchall and Hope. The museum is housed in an
extraordinary Victorian Gothic building of ironwork arches under a glass
roof. |
| Museum of Oxford |
St. Aldates, Oxford |
This museum tells the
story of the City of Oxford and the University. There are many archaeological
treasures and an outstanding medieval collection and period room settings. |
| St Mary's Church |
High Street, Oxford |
There has probably been a church on this
site since Anglo-Saxon times. The earliest part of the present building is
the Tower (1280) with its profusely decorated spire, the west side of the
tower was added in 1328. The chapel is furnished as a courtroom where the
Chancellor of the University had surprisingly wide jurisdiction: he fixed
rents, fined sellars of bad meat, and even sent a scolding woman to
prison. |
| The Oxford Story |
Broad Street, Oxford |
Located within an
extensive and historic three storey former book warehouse, you
climb aboard Europe's longest indoor "dark" ride to explore the
University's early beginnings and fascinating facts behind its
record-breaking discoveries. On your
relaxing journey through scenes from the University's past, Magnus
Magnusson (Jesus College 1948-1951) tells of the writers, scientists,
politicians and eccentrics who all had a role in the Oxford Story. |
| Mapledurham House |
Off A4074, 4 miles south-west of Reading |
Inside this red-brick Elizabethan mansion
the dominant feature is a magnificent oak staircase, built around a square
well. The entrance hall has carved wooden heads dating from the 17th and
18th centuries. The poet Alexander Pope often visited Mapledurham in the
early 18th century and dedicated some of his work to the two ladies of the
house. |
| North Leigh Roman Villa |
Off A4095, 5 miles
north-east of Witney |
Akeman Street was a major
artery of Roman Britain, connecting St Albans with Cirencester, and the
site of North Leigh Roman Villa lies close to the route. Excavations have
revealed the remains of a 4th century building complex with some 60 rooms
grouped around a courtyard. The inhabitants were farmers and the finds
show that they enjoyed hot and cold baths, mosaic tiling and underfloor
heating. |
| Rousham Park |
Off B4030, 11 miles south of Banbury |
The entrance hall at Rousham has an oak door
with three holes in it from the Civil War. Sir Robert Dormer built the
house in 1635, and the staircases and some panelling are among the 17th
century features which survive. Later improvements include pavilions to
either side and a battlemented parapet and central cupola. Inside, one
particularly fine room is the Painted Parlour on the ground floor, where
grand effects are achieved in miniature through false doorways with
moulded surrounds, marble fireplace and carved brackets. |
| Stonor Park |
Off B480, 0.5 miles north
of Stonor |
This house was the home of
the Stoner family for over 800 years and was the centre for Roman Catholic
thought during the years of persecution. The nucleus of the present house
is a group of medieval buildings dating from the late 12th century, but
new parts were added. During the 18th century, many parts of the interior
were done up in mock Gothic style, with pointed arches and heraldic
devices. Stonar has a number of fine tapestries, pictures, furniture and
Renaissance bronzes. |
