Open Doors Day

Last weekend was Heritage Day Open Doors. Doors usually closed

are briefly opened. In Oxford this mainly means the college gates. In addition there are guided tours over and above those which are normally available to the visiting public.

For me this was not only Open Doors but Open Eyes. For many years I had been sitting at a PC in a room overlooking the 001 Taxi office. Little did I know that I was looking at in part possibly the oldest mediaeval building in Oxford and that the true name of the lane was not New Inn Yard but Kepeharm’s Lane! This I learned on Victoria Azaz’s excellent tour of Oxford's Jewish mediaeval Heritage. And as much of what is popularly known rests on the work of the Oxford historian Cecil Roth I have headed the blog with a sketch of him on the website. The map below is taken from his book ‘The Jews of medieval Oxford’.

There is also newer map, the work of Pam Manix.

To coincide with Open Doors Day the Oxford Jewish Community has launched its excellent website containing a wealth of information and valuable links to resources.

Being ‘town’ and not 'gown', entering the college gates is as if entering a parallel universe. From the extension and din of the street to the quiet enfolding quadrangle shocks the spirit into a surprised tranquillity.

Another surprise was the Reredos in All Souls Chapel , so massive, covering the entire wall. I was taken unawares.

On the 'town' side I heard an interesting lecture by Mark Davies in the Bangkok House about 'The Boatmen's Floating Chapel' . (The Bangkok House was itself a chapel for a while replacing the 'Floating Chapel' in the 1860s.)
From Wikipedia: John Jones's most unusual innovation was a houseboat – the "Boatman's Floating Chapel" – acquired in 1839, for use as a chapel serving the families working on the river and the canals. This boat was St Thomas' first chapel of ease; it was donated by H. Ward, a local coal merchant, and used until it sank in 1868. It was replaced by a chapel dedicated to St Nicholas, which remained in use until 1892.