Chapter 5: Christ Church Cathedral Part V

(Excerpts from the brochure, pictures by myself)

A Brief Tour of The Cathedral


The Chancel Vault
William Orchard, c 1500

This remarkable stone vault is made up of intricate star-shaped patterns to creat an image of heaven. Twelve beautiful pendants hang gracefully from it.


The Shrine
Built 1289, Destroyed 1538, Rebuilt 1889, 2002

The oldest monument in this cathedral, the shrine is covered in fine carvings of plants and faces. It once held the relics of St. Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, but was destroyed at the Reformation. Frideswide was then buried beneath a nearby gravestone.


The Bell Altar
Jim Partridge, 2000

This altar was made to mark the milllennium and is dedicated in memory of Bishop George Bell, who courageously opposed the bombing of the German cities in WW2. A cross which stands near it, was cut from the underside of the altar.


St. Catherine Window
Edward Burne-Jones, 1878

The face of the central figure, St. Catherine of Alexandria, is a picture of Edith Liddell. Her sister Alice was the inspiration for the book Alice in Wonderland, and a portrait of Alice may be seen in a window in the Great Hall at Christ Church.


The Becket Window, c. 1320

This beautiful medieval window is the oldest in the cathedral, and contains a rare panel showing the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket, who died at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. Becket is kneeling between a monk and the four knights who murdered him. The panel was defaced in the sixteenth century and the original face of Becket is now missing.