Our second field trip took us to Burford and Widford towns outside of Oxford. Again we piled into a bus and drove our merry way out to see churches.
We gathered at the bus stop for a while waiting for the bus. We waited a while until we realized that it had stopped at the girls school a little distance away.
We arrived at Burford and delighted in the ''quaint" village. It was an old wool town which is why it had the money to build a beautiful cathedral. Eventually the market slowed and it was bypassed by the railway which further made it a backwater. Now the town works to keep up its historical appeal.
Original wood trim on one of the houses. I think it was from the 15th century.
The cathedral. It's a jumbling of additions and was part of Christopher Wren's restoration of churches.
The porch, where the village would have done church and secular business.
The memorial to Edmund Harman, Henry VIII's barber, which features carvings of American Indians.
What a car!
Looking back at the church's spire.
We then traveled to Widford to see the DMV. To our amusement, we discovered that we were not, in fact, going to see the Department of Motor Vehicles but a Deserted Medieval Village. There was not much left, just a cow field with a stone church perched in the middle.
Inside we found this picture of a crest of England which obscured an image of probably St. Christopher. Such representations were usually placed opposite the door so that villagers could poke their head in and see it easily. Looking upon his representation was supposed to prevent dying that day unshriven.
Simon, our fearless leader, climbed into the rickety, crooked pulpit to deliver a lecture on the history of the church.
Original murals rediscovered under a layer of plaster and paint.
Contemplating running widdershines around this church.
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