Christ Church Cathedral & College

There are a couple photos that might look familiar to Harry Potter fans. Christ Church College was used for some of the movies’ scenes.

Christ Church Cathedral, entered from the quad, doubles, uniquely, as the college chapel and the city’s cathedral. From the 8th century onwards, this site held a priory that centred on the Anglo-Saxon shrine of St Frideswide, Oxford’s patron saint. Erected during the 12th century, the priory church became part of Cardinal Wolsey’s new Cardinal College in 1525. The original shrine was destroyed during the Reformation, and Henry VIII made the church a cathedral when he renamed Christ Church in 1546.

Inside, brawny Norman columns are topped by elegant vaulting, while beautiful stained-glass windows include a 1320 depiction of the murder of Thomas Becket, above the side altar on the right. As you leave, you’ll pass through the 15th-century cloister, another relic of the ancient Priory of St Frideswide.

next – Oxford 2nd Day

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