Another Sunny Day!

We had another warm sunny day today, and since I've only ever lived in Oregon and Britain I never take this for granted! I always think it's about to cloud up and rain any minute. So I went for a short walk this afternoon, and since just walking is boring, I headed to two churches in the neighborhood.

Both were built in the 19th century, when my neck of the woods (north Oxford) became increasingly populated and needed some churches. So neither are old enough to be super interesting, but I especially liked the looks of the second one.

First up is St. Margaret's, built in 1883. I begin of course with a satellite view - I'm rather addicted to them!



I had hoped to go inside but, alas, the person who was inside practicing the organ either didn't hear me try the locked door or didn't want to let me in.



Next was the Church of St Philip and St James, down a block or two further towards town. This one I really liked. It was completed in 1862 and is no longer used as church - it now houses the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies. The sign on the door makes it clear that you can't hope to go inside without an advance appointment, but I plan to do that sometime in the near future. The satellite view is especially good for this one.





For a little more history and a few more photos, you can check out my newly-written article on the St Philip and St James Church. For lots more photos (some of which were taken by David on his own solo visit), see the St Philip and St James Church Gallery.

As you can tell, I'm really enjoying the church-crawling thing! It is primarily for purposes of my website, for which I have the modest goal of compiling the biggest and baddest database of religious buildings there ever was. But also, I've "met" some fellow church-crawlers through Flickr, whose enthusiasm for architecture and local history has been quite contagious. My own visited-church count pales in comparison to my fellow members of the "Oxfordshire Churches Pool."

I've always been most interested in cathedrals and big old abbeys, but parish churches are really interesting in their own quiet way as well. The history of a village or a neighborhood has always centered on the parish church (baptisms, weddings, fairs, funerals), and it virtually always contains the best art that the period had to offer. And the older churches are invariably covered in gargoyles and funny faces! Who doesn't like that??

But I digress. Here are some other random snaps of the 'hood from my walk:


North Parade Avenue, a narrow little street lined with restaurants, pubs and shops.


Keg delivery at the Rose and Crown Pub on North Parade Avenue.


My dream house and car, just a few blocks from Wolfson on Linton Road. Sigh.


Royal Mail truck.


The Wolfson Bus, heading out.

More Spain blogging soon, honest... especially if it rains...