Above and Beyond

If ever you find yourself dreaming of spires then it is to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin that you must go. And, while you are there, you must surely invest the £6 required to take you up to the top of the tower.

There is a sense of mounting excitement as you climb the creaking staircase, past a room which looks as though it has witnessed centuries of ecclesiastical conspiracy, past the Old Library and the historic bell-ringing chamber, past the clock built in 1714 …

Then suddenly a gush of fresh air and you find yourself pressed against the parapet walls, face to face with a lion-headed gargoyle.

Now is the time to squeeze into the spiral staircase for the final phase of the ascent. Up, up, up you go. A few more steps until …

The sight which greets you is remarkable: a stone forest of cornices, crenellations, and crocketed finials; the shimmering arc of the Thames; the packed courtyards of Brasenose; Exeter College with its needling black spire; the curve of the High Street; the distant yellow of the Observatory globe bobbling on the horizon.

But it is so much more than that. What strikes you above all as you gaze out above and beyond the spires is the saucer of hills within which Oxford nestles. And the greenness of it all, with South Parks rising above the sweep of Magdalen Bridge and flowing down into the verdant expanse of Christ Church Meadows. Thank goodness Oxford is such a watery place and there are some natural limits to the spread of concrete across the floodplain. Thank goodness also that the gentle hills which enfold Oxford are (so far) relatively unspoiled. On a good day we might even forgive the John Radcliffe Hospital its shiny whiteness, as it looms over the shoulder of Headington Hill.

There are other tower viewpoints in Oxford: from the ancient turrets of St Michael at the Northgate, St Martin’s Carfax, and St George’s within the castle precinct – all of which are open to the public. (There’s also the Castle Mound of course, on which once stood a mighty look-out tower.)

The views from the Westgate Centre are expansive and uplifting, especially when the evening sun hits the roof of the Great Hall of Christ Church. So too those from The Varsity Club above the Covered Market – the advantage being that in both places you can order cocktails while you drink in the surrounding vista.

The hills themselves afford vantage points back into the city – Cumnor Hill, Harcourt Hill, Hinksey Hill, Hurst Hill, Shotover Hill, Wytham Hill, Woodeaton Hill, and the most celebrated perspective of all: Boars Hill, the view from which prompted Matthew Arnold’s famous reference to ‘dreaming spires’.

Closer to home, from Headington Hill, there is the picture postcard panorama across South Parks, and, further north, an exhilarating glimpse of Oxford from the place where once stood Joe Pullen’s ancient elm tree.

The path down from Wytham Woods affords an interesting and subtle perspective. Port Meadow is by definition low, yet its expanse gives the approaching onlooker a special vista across to the tower of St Barnabas in Jericho and the city spires beyond (or did until the abomination of the Castle Mill blockhouses.) One can imagine the sense of rising anticipation felt by so many visitors across the centuries as they approached Oxford by boat or on foot along the Thames riverbank.

The top floors of several university buildings provide interesting vistas: the Radcliffe Observatory (of course), the Blavatnik School of Government, and the cupola of the Sheldonian to name but three.

Some of the upper-tier residents of the Lucy’s estate on the site of the former Eagle Ironworks have balconies which look over the canal and Port Meadow. And we are fortunate indeed to have a friend who lives in a roof-terraced apartment at the top of Belsyre Court, Oxford’s first major mansion block (built in 1936).

Two of the ugliest buildings in Oxford afford sensational views from their top floors: the engineering department, and the aforementioned carbuncle that is Castle Mill. It’s a case of being better to look out from than to look out at.

We’ve been promised trips up the twin towers of Blackbird Leys, the Tower of the Five Orders in the Bodleian, the roof terraces of the Old Bank Hotel, New College Bell Tower, and The Store (Boswells as was) … And we recently ventured onto the roof of Keble College Chapel …

But let’s face it: nothing really compares with Magdalen Tower, still the highest (144 feet) in Oxford as it has been since 1492. So that’s where we’ll end this brief overview. Visiting it is, alas, confined to members and guests of the college, choristers on May Day, and the occasional cadre of lucky Oxford Preservation Trust members with a head for heights.