In the Footsteps of C.S. Lewis, Oxford

The New Building at Magdalen College, where Lewis taught for 29 years.
See all photos in our C.S. Lewis Places Photo Gallery.

Lewis' rooms at Magdalen College are marked by red flowers.

The Eagle and Child, where Lewis, Tolkien and others met every week.

Interior of the Eagle and Child, with Lewis and other memorabilia.

The Kilns, C.S. Lewis' home from 1929 until his death in 1963.
The upper rooms are those of Lewis' study (left) and bedroom (right).

Back of the Kilns, with Joy's rooms and Lewis' old punt under a tarp.

Pond of the "C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve" behind the Kilns.

Real-life Narnia in the C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve.

Holy Trinity Church, where Lewis worshipped for over 30 years.

The Lewis pew (left) and Narnia Window (right) in Holy Trinity Church.

Plaque marking the "Lewis Pew" in Holy Trinity Church.

Sign directing Lewis pilgrims to his grave in the Holy Trinity Churchyard.

The grave of C.S. Lewis.

Tombstone of C.S. Lewis at Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry.

The Masons Arms, where Jack and Warnie sometimes went after church.

The beloved author, literary critic, and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis was born in Northern Ireland but spent most of his adult life in Oxford.

It was in Oxford that Lewis was educated, taught literature, met J.R.R. Tolkien, converted to Christianity, wrote the Chronicles of Narnia and other classics, drank at pubs, worshipped every Sunday at his local parish church, famously fell in love late in life, and was buried.

Below is a photographic guide to the many sights in Oxford associated with the life of C.S. Lewis, accompanied by a large photo gallery and interactive map.

History

Clive Staples Lewis was born on November 29, 1898, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1908, his mother Flora Lewis died from cancer, which contributed to Lewis' early atheism. Growing up, Lewis and his brother amused themselves on rainy days by drawing a mythical world with talking animals.

At an early age, Clive announced, for unknown reasons, that he should be known as "Jacksie." The nickname stuck and he was known as "Jack" to family and friends for the rest of his life. His brother Warren was always known as "Warnie."

In 1908-10, Jack attended Wynard School in England with Warnie and in 1911-13 Jack attended Malvern School in England. It was around this time that he abandoned his Christian faith. From 1914 to 1916, Lewis was tutored privately in literature and philosophy by W.T. Kirkpatrick.

Lewis was awarded a scholarship to University College, Oxford, in December 1916. He lived in Oxford almost continually from 1917 until his death on November 22, 1963.

What to See

University College

Lewis arrived in Oxford on April 26, 1917, to attend University College. His roommate was Paddy Moore. That November, both Lewis and Moore were sent to France to fight in World War I.

Sadly Lewis' roommate and friend did not return home; he was killed in battle in March 1918. Lewis was wounded and hospitalized; he returned to Oxford on January 13, 1919 after armistice was signed.

Lewis resumed his studies at University College in August 1919 and excelled in many subjects: he received a First in Honor Moderations (1920), a First in Greats (1922) and a First in English (1923). In 1924-25, Lewis served as a philosophy tutor at University College.

University College is located on the south side of the High Street, not far from Magdalen College. Unfortunately it is not normally open to visitors.

Magdalen College

On May 20, 1925, C.S. Lewis was elected fellow of Magdalen College, where he served as a tutor in English language and literature for 29 years. His rooms were in the New Building of Magdalen College, which are marked by flowerboxes on the exterior but are still in use and not open to the public.

It was his Magdalen College rooms that Lewis converted, very reluctantly, from long-held atheism to a belief in God. In 1929, Lewis knelt down to pray for the first time since he was a child. Lewis was not yet a Christian; only a theist.

But on September 19, 1931, he had an important late-night discussion with Hugo Dyson and J.R.R. Tolkien regarding myth and the truth of Christianity. A little over a week later (September 28), while riding in the sidecar of Warnie's motorcycle back to Oxford from Whipsnade Zoo, Lewis suddenly realized he believed in Christ. He wrote to Warnie (who had only become a believer himself in May 1931) about his new faith the following January.

The Eagle and Child

In the 1940s and 50s, C.S. Lewis was a member of a small group of like-minded friends called "The Inklings." They met the Eagle and Child Pub on St. Giles Street in Oxford to discuss literature, writing, religion and life.

Another prominent member of the Inklings was Lewis' Catholic friend J.R.R. Tolkien; discussions at this pub contributed to the final form of both Lewis' Narnia books and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series.

A memorial plaque is on a wall in the middle of the pub near the bar, along with a couple portraits and a framed paper bearing the signatures of Lewis, Tolkien, and other Inklings, saying they had drunk to the landlord's health.

In addition to its historic and literary value, the Eagle and Child is also a pleasant place to stop for a pint and good pub food.

The Kilns

The Kilns was the name of C.S. Lewis' home from 1929 to 1963. It is now on a cul-de-sac called Lewis Close, but in his time it was all by itself in the middle of eight wooded acres. It is located in the village of Risinghurst, which is now an eastern suburb of Oxford (postcode OX3 8JD).

Lewis lived at the Kilns with his brother Warnie, an older woman named Mrs. Moore (the mother of Paddy, Lewis' college roommate that had died in World War I), and Mrs. Moore's daughter Maureen. Later, long after Mrs. Moore's death, Lewis' wife Joy moved in with them for the last few years of her life (and as seen in the movie Shadowlands).

It was here at the Kilns that Lewis wrote all the Narnia books and his other classics. The house plays a significant role in the stories as well. In real life, a few children who were evacuated from London during the WWII bombing came to stay at the Kilns.

And that's how The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe begins: a group of four siblings leave London in wartime and go to the country to stay at the "Professor's" house. The Professor is a gruff old man who is more than a little intimidating but believes their tale of the magical wardrobe - clearly Lewis himself!

The house is not generally open to the public but is owned by and has been thoroughly refurbished by the America-based C.S. Lewis Foundation. It is used mainly for scholars on sabbatical and for C.S. Lewis conferences, which the Foundation believes is more in the spirit of Lewis than opening it as a museum. There are occasional tours by appointment.

External stairs lead up to Lewis' rooms, which he installed so he could come and go without disturbing his housemates, especially the elderly Mrs. Moore. Lewis' study and bedroom are kept as a museum; visiting scholars don't get to stay in there. Nearby is "the children's room," where the children from London stayed during the war.

Around the back of the house is the sitting room, which has a desk from the 1940s, complete with period accessories like a Ration Book. Sadly none of the furnishings are original to Lewis' time, though. In the back corner on the ground floor is Joy's room, which is used by visiting scholars.

A path from the house leads into an enchanted wooded area with pond, now called the C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve. Lewis could see this from his study window and he used to spend a lot of time here. The very punt he sometimes paddled around the pond is now out behind the house under a tarp and partially restored after being found at the bottom of the pond. Not surprisingly, the Nature Reserve played a large role in inspiring the land of Narnia. A visiting scholar we met on our visit said that last winter she went out there when it was snowing and thought, "This is Narnia!"

Lewis died at home in The Kilns on November 22, 1963, the same day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He was buried under a humble gravestone in the cemetery of his local church (see next section).

Holy Trinity Church, Headington

C.S. Lewis attended services at Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry with his brother Warnie for 31 years, from 1932 until his death in 1963. The Anglican parish church was built in 1849. It is normally locked, but they have just started opening from 2-5pm on summer weekends.

Jack and Warnie walked to church from the Kilns and always sat in the same pew near the back on the left. Jack sat nearest the pillar, Warnie sat on the outside, and later Joy sat in the middle. It was in this very seat that C. S. Lewis came up with the idea of The Screwtape Letters after an 8am Communion. A small brass plaque marks the spot:

HERE SAT AND WORSHIPPED
CLIVE STAPLES LEWIS
(1898-1963)

Next to the "Lewis pew" is the Narnia Window, which was added in 1991 as a memorial to two children of the parish who sadly died young. It features Aslan the Lion and lots of other characters and scenes from the Narnia books.

During our visit to the church, we chatted with a lady from the parish. She said only one church member survives who attended at the same time as Lewis, but is too frail to attend services very often. But the Lewis stories still circulate.

Apparently Lewis and Warnie always arrived early for 8am communion, then left early before the service was over. Lewis didn't like sermons, church music, or small talk. Every time the Lewis brothers would leave early, the door would slam loudly behind them.

One day the churchwarden decided to line the door jamb with rubber to muffle the sound. So the next time the Lewis brothers left, it closed quietly behind them. But then when the rest of the congregation went to leave, the door wouldn't open! Someone had to climb outside through an old back door, walk around to the front and shove it open with great effort. They took the rubber off again, and had to go back to the slamming.

Warnie and Jack did not always go home after leaving church with a bang; they often went to the Masons Arms across the street for a pint. It is clearly still a popular watering hole, as evidenced by the convivial noises coming from the open door as we passed by

Grave of C.S. Lewis

The grave of C.S. Lewis is in the churchyard of Holy Trinity. The epitaph was written by his brother Warnie, who then was buried with him a few years later. The epitaph reads:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
MY BROTHER
CLIVE STAPLES LEWIS
BORN BELFAST 29th NOVEMBER 1898
DIED IN THIS PARISH
22ND NOVEMBER 1963
MEN MUST ENDURE THEIR GOING HENCE.

The final phrase is from King Lear and was on the Lewis family's Shakespeare calendar the day their beloved mother died. This timely quote came to have special significance for the family, as Warnie wrote in his memoir :

There was a Shakespearean calendar hanging on the wall of the room where she [our mother] died, and my father preserved for the rest of his life the leaf for that day, with its quotation: "Men must endure their going hence."
(published in The Letters of C.S. Lewis)

Travel Resources

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Sources

Personal visits (2007).
C.S. Lewis Walking Tour - Oxford Centre - C.S. Lewis Foundation
Jack's Life in the Kilns and in Oxford - Response magazine at Seattle Pacific University
Oxford's C.S. Lewis - TIME Magazine, September 8, 1947 (reprinted at Apologetics.org)
Lewis in Oxford - Oxford University C.S. Lewis Society
EPA's Top 100 Authors: C.S. Lewis - Educational Paperback Association

More Information

Map of C.S. Lewis Places in Oxford - our own interactive aerial map
Photo Gallery: C.S. Lewis Places in Oxford
A C.S. Lewis Pilgrimage - June 2007 post in the Sacred Destinations Travel Blog