Day 7: A Day in Oxford

18 January 2018

Today began with another long drive from York to Oxford, England. During our bus trip, we heard our second music presentation from our choir friends Seth, Caroline, and Russell. We learned about English churches and cathedrals and they talked about church architecture in particular. There are different periods that define different types of architecture including the Saxon and Norman period, the Middle Ages and the Reformation. Architecture of the Saxon and Norman period used vaulting to help hold up roofs, Gothic arches were present beginning in the Middle Ages, and ornamentation and decoration became important aspects of architecture during and after the Reformation. The group then went over how different churches and cathedrals we will visit (or have already visited) exemplify the new terms we learned. Our challenge was to find a quire, a Gothic arch, and an altar. The quire is the place that the clergy and choir would sit during a service, a Gothic arch is when arches meet at a point at the top, and an altar is any place that is used for religious offerings in the church. Later today, I found a quire and a Gothic arch in the Lincoln College Chapel and an altar in Wesley Memorial Methodist Church. 





When we reached our stop in Oxford, we grabbed lunch and then headed for our tour of Lincoln College, a branch of Oxford University. The first site was a small courtyard with very old architecture and perfect grass. We then walked into a fancy dining hall that was gigantic and just a tad bit more fancy than Estes back at school (okay, maybe more than a tad). We then went to the chapel, where I was about to complete two-thirds of my challenge given to me after the presentation. We then were able to see the room where John Wesley studied when he was a fellow at the College. While it was small and dark, there was a lot of history in the room. We were amazed when we learned that a good chunk of the students finish their education without visiting the room or knowing about it at all. 











After our tour, we walked over to Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, where we learned about Methodism in the context of the Reformstion and how it all began. While most of the information that we learned here was already mentioned in the religion portion of this course, it was interesting to hear about other little tidbits, such as the fact that John Wesley was not happy when the United States decided to have bishops in the Methodist denomination. After the discussion, I took a picture of the altar to complete my three-part challenge. 








We went back to the hotel for a bit and then we headed to dinner, where we enjoyed a nice French meal at Café Rouge. 

The last part of Oxford and Salisbury is coming up tomorrow! We get to perform in an evensong service at Salisbury Cathedral! 

- Jacob Stech 

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