Secret Christ Church

Hello all!

Despite the fact that I still haven't finished my last essay, I think it's appropriate to write another post. This way, I won't be able to use the blog as a tool for procrastination anymore, since I will be all caught up with photos after this post. So here we go!

A few weeks ago, I was selected to go on a tour called "Secret Christ Church." We got to go to some really cool, mostly unseen places in college. So not only am I one of the few Americans who can say I studied at Christ Church in Oxford, now I'm one of the very few Americans who can say I saw some of the most exclusive places within Christ Church! I am so blessed!

First, we went into Tom Tower, which is the famous bell tower of Christ Church.

This is a photo of Tom, our bell. Not everyone was allowed to go up to see Tom. The guide asked if there were any "fourth-years" on the tour, but I thought he said "foreigners." So naturally I raised my hand. We went up this rickety, wooden, spiral staircase, and as the people ahead of me walked up the stairs, sawdust fell on my head. The possibility of death crossed my mind at that point, but what a cool way to go! I felt like I was in National Treasure or something! When we got to the top, everyone started talking in British accents, and I thought, "Hey, I'm the only foreigner up here..." Oops! But it was totally worth it! I got to see and take a photo of Tom!

At this point, I thought my camera died, and I got a little sad. But then we went to the cellar of the Buttery (one of the college bars), and there really wasn't any need for photos down there. But I will say that Christ Church has some really nice wine down there. We didn't get to sample anything, but I did see some wine from 1990, the year I was born.

Then we went into the kitchen, which is one of the oldest working kitchens in the UK. It's from the Medieval Period. But really there's just one little section that's still medieval. The rest is modern. So no real need of photos there. So far, it was ok that my camera died after taking a photo of Tom.

But then we went into the Dean's Garden, which is usually locked to students. There are some really cool things in there, and I thought, "Maybe my camera will turn on long enough to take one shot." And miraculously, it worked for a few good shots!

Any Alice in Wonderland fans out there? Did you know that Lewis Carroll (real name Dodson) was a lecturer at Christ Church? His office overlooked the Dean's Garden, where Alice, one of the dean's daughters, used to play. This tree is the tree in which the Cheshire Cat sits in the story. Unfortunately not in the photo is the door we walked through to enter the garden. It separates the Dean's Garden from another Christ Church garden, which is usually open to members. This is the door that Alice couldn't get through. The dean's daughters were allowed to play in his garden, but this door was always locked. And being that the grass is always greener on the other side, Alice frequently tried to open this door to get to the other garden.

This is the back of the Christ Church Library. Dodson's (Lewis Carroll's) office was on the third floor, to the left.

I know: Alice in Wonderland seems so trippy. There's no way it could have been based in reality. But it's true. Many of the characters are based on people Lewis Carroll knew from Christ Church. Alice, as I said, was the dean's daughter. The rabbit was based on the dean, who was always late. The philosopher who sits on the rock was another lecturer. It's thought that Lewis Carroll was jealous of this man because he got to interact with Alice; so he made him an unsympathetic character. And the mad hatter was based on a furniture maker who worked on High Street in Oxford. He always wore a hat, and he would put the invoices of people who owed him money in the brim. When these people walked by his shop, he would chase them down High Street. The idea of falling down the rabbit whole also came from Christ Church. When the dean's daughters ate dinner in the Hall, they would ask to be excused early, and instead of exiting through a regular door, they went through a trap-door in the floor. And finally, it's thought that when the dean's daughters were small, they couldn't say "Dodson;" so they called him "Dodo." That's why Lewis Carroll's symbol is a Dodo bird.

Sorry if that was a little much. I just love all the interesting history present within Christ Church!

One last look at the Dean's Garden.

This was such a cool tour, and I'm so excited to share it with you all! I know this post was a little light on the photos and a little heavy on the text, but I hope you enjoy all the history as much as I do.

I guess that's it. Now back to my essay!

Love and miss you all!