Christ Church Oxford: A cathedral in your pocket.

There was a lull in the weather, sunshine, so off to Oxford Christchurch, one of the cathedrals yet to visit. Christ Church Oxford: A cathedral in your pocket.

Oxford, the spiritual home of Le Carre and Charles Ryder, boasts one of the smallest Anglican cathedrals.

Romanesque aplenty thanks to the Augustinian monks who started work in 1150, to build a monastery church. Henry VIII founded Christ Church College and the church became a cathedral.

The Becket Window, c.1332, is the oldest in the cathedral with a rare panel showing the martyrdom of Thomas Becket. Much later Edward Burne-Jones contributed the St Frideswide window colourful glass telling the story of this local saint. Bringing us bang up to date is the Bell Alter by Jim Partridge (2000) dedicated to Bishop George Bell, Bishop of Chichester, who opposed the bombing of German cities in WWII.

Christ Church is unique as it serves as a cathedral and a college chapel.

Choir Stall end carving