ENTER THIS CHARMED WORLD

Join us in the heart of Oxford for lectures, special tours, and lively discussions 
designed to increase your appreciation of the complex stories told by 
the castles and country houses of England and Wales. 

    Weaving together architectural, political, military, and social history, you will trace the fascinating story of how and why the ruling class residence evolved from defensive stronghold to domestic mansion.  These structures represent a visual history of nearly 1000 years of architecture and culture as well as military, social, and political change.  Rising and expanding, or falling into decay, in accordance with the fortunes, character, and changing tastes of their owners, the castles and country houses of England and Wales present us with messages both engaging and thought-provoking.

TOGETHER WE WILL VISIT

GOODRICH CASTLE : Built in the mid-12th century overlooking the spectacular Wye River Valley, Goodrich is one of the most complete medieval castles in Britain.  This fortified, palatial pink sandstone building will give you a very real sense of the complexity of medieval life within a castle.

KIRBY HALL : A magnificent country house with a delightful mix of architectural styles, Kirby Hall (1570, 17th century alterations) is a superb Elizabethan mansion.  It still conveys a sense of grandeur and its recently restored gardens were renowned in the 16th century as among the finest in England.  Jane Austen’s “Mansfield Park” was filmed here.

RAGLAN CASTLE : Situated in Wales, and the finest late medieval fortress-palace in Britain, Raglan Castle (begun 1430s) was built to impress both socially and militarily.  The boyhood home of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII, Raglan Castle’s magnificent architecture reveals French influences that are unique in Britain.

ROCKINGHAM CASTLE : Built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, Rockingham Castle was regularly used for over four hundred years by early English Kings.  With its panoramic views, 12 acres of formal and wild gardens, and impressive mix of architectural styles, Rockingham Castle will leave you captivated, as it did Charles Dickens, a frequent visitor.  Dickens used Rockingham Castle as a model for Chesney Wold in “Bleak House.”     Return to top
 

DURING A PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR INSTRUCTION AND DELIGHT, YOU WILL:

•  visit and explore four important late Middle Age/Early Modern castles and country houses within easy reach of Oxford, one with a renowned garden that has been recently restored.

•  attend informative lectures given by expert faculty knowledgeable about the castles and country houses you will be visiting.     Return to top

•  tour Oxford, tracing its development in the late medieval and early modern periods.

•  study the English aristocracy as it evolved through the Middle Ages into the Tudor and Stuart periods, and how that development was influenced by political, intellectual, economic, and social changes.

•  discuss how castles and country houses illustrate the timeless process of adaptation to changing circumstances .

•  consider the long-term prospects for these important symbols of England’s architectural and cultural heritage.

•  attend a piano concert in the Holywell Music Room, Europe’s oldest purpose-built concert hall, or a play in a college garden.

•  live in a beautiful Oxford college, dine out at a country pub, and more . . . 
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PROGRAM FEATURES

    As the week progresses, you will enjoy interactive sessions and small group discussions with faculty and guided tours of Oxford and Trinity College.  You will also travel beyond the dreaming spires to tour magnificent castles and country houses within easy reach of Oxford.  There is free time to relax in the gardens and courtyards of Trinity College and to explore the many attractions of Oxford.  Participants often comment on how much they enjoy feeling like residents, not tourists, during their week in Oxford.  You will dine “in Hall” at Trinity College for most meals, with the college silver in use for the closing dinner as a highlight.

     Before the program begins, you will be sent an Oxford guidebook, specially prepared program materials, and useful and comprehensive information and directions that will make it very easy for you to get to, and enjoy your stay in, Oxford.

    The program begins with check in from 10:00 am – 12:00 noon on Sunday, August 18, and concludes Saturday morning, August 24.

    Dress for the week is casual.  You will want to bring comfortable walking shoes and a sweater or jacket for cool evenings.  Check the Oxford weather.      Return to top
 

BY PROGRAM’S END, YOU WILL HAVE:

•  Enjoyed learning in the unique setting of an Oxford college, and on guided visits to selected castles and country houses.

•  Learned how to 'read' the plans and architectural styles of castles and early country houses.

•  Developed a richer understanding of what life was like for those who lived and worked in them.

•  Come to understand the function of castles and country houses: their builders' intentions, the uses to which the buildings were put, and how that usage changed over time.

•  Explored the nature of the societies that gave rise to and later adapted these extraordinary buildings.

•  Examined in particular the major impact of changes in medieval warfare and aristocratic lifestyle.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

You, if you are seeking intellectual stimulation in an informal, collegial environment and are interested in architecture and history. 

     Past participants have represented a wide range of experiences, ages, and educational backgrounds.  Join us and discover that, as one past participant wrote, "spending a week with
an extraordinary faculty in a beautiful Oxford college studying a stimulating topic is a transcendent experience, and downright fun."          Return to top

THE PROGRAM FACULTY INCLUDES

• CHRISTOPHER DAY : University Lecturer in Local and Social History, University of Oxford, and Fellow of Kellogg College.  He has written extensively on the city and county of Oxford, and is a contributor to the official History of the University of Oxford.

• ROBERT MACHIN studied history at Merton College, Oxford, in the early 1960s. After teaching Architectural and Social History for thirty-five years in the adult education departments of the universities of Bristol, Leeds, and Oxford, he took early retirement. This enables him to indulge in a variety of pleasures - one of which is introducing England's architectural heritage to American visitors.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

• TOM DOWD : Senior Director of Program Development, University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies    Return to top 

PROGRAM SCHEDULE (subject to change)

SUNDAY, AUGUST 18

10:00 am - Noon: Check-In
12:30 pm: Lunch 
1:30 - 2:30 pm: Session 1, Program Introduction and Orientation
2:45 - 4:00 pm: Session 2, From Castle to Country House
4:15 - 5:45 pm: Tour Trinity College 
5:45 - 7:30 pm: Free Time
7:30 pm: Opening Reception & Dinner Return to top

MONDAY, AUGUST 19 

7:30 - 9:00 am: Breakfast 
9:00 - 10:30 am: Session 3, 11th - 17th Century Aristocratic Residences
10:30 am: Morning Coffee 
11:00 am - 12:30 pm: Session 4, Goodrich & Raglan Castles in Context
12:30 pm: Lunch 
2:00 - 3:00 pm: Session 5, “Flower of all the cities in the realm.”  Late Medieval and 
                           Early Modern Oxford
3:15 - 5:15 pm: Session 6, Guided Walking Tours of Oxford
5:15: Afternoon Tea 
5:15 - 8:00 pm: Free Time or 
8:00 pm: Dinner, Trinity Hall 
                Free Evening        Return to top

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20 

7:00 - 8:15 am: Breakfast
8:30 am: Depart for Goodrich Castle, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire
10:30 am: Session 7, Tour Goodrich Castle
12:30 am: Depart for Raglan, Monmouthshire, South Wales 
1:15 pm: Lunch, Raglan
2:15 pm: Session 8, Tour Raglan Castle
6:30 pm: Arrive in Oxford
6:30 - 8:00 pm: Free Time
8:00 pm: Dinner 
                Free Evening        Return to top

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21

7:30-9:00 am: Breakfast 
9:00 am - 10:30 am: Session 9, "A verray, parfit gentil knyght": Medieval Gentility ~ 
                                   Ideals and Reality
10:30 am: Morning Coffee 
11:00 am - 12:30 pm: Session 10, The Burgundian Connection: Late Medieval 
                                     Changes in Household Size and Rituals
12:30 pm: Lunch 
1:30 - 2:45 pm: Session 11, Rockingham Castle and Kirby Hall in Context
2:45 pm: Afternoon Tea 
3:00 - 6:00 pm: Free Time
6:00 pm: Box Dinner
8:00 pm: Jack Gibbons in Concert or play in a college garden      Return to top

THURSDAY, AUGUST 22

7:00 - 8:15 am: Breakfast
8:30 am: Depart for Rockingham Castle, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire
10:30 am: Session 12, Tour Rockingham Castle
12:30 am: Depart for Lyddington 
1:00 pm: Lunch, Lyddington
2:15 pm: Session 13, Tour Kirby Hall, Weldon, Northamptonshire
6:30 pm: Arrive in Oxford
6:30 - 8:00 pm: Free Time
8:00 pm: Dinner 
                Free Evening        Return to top

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23 

7:30-9:00 am: Breakfast 
9:00 - 10:30 am: Session 14, The Decline of the Castle ~ Changes in Warfare and 
                            Disorder
10:30 am: Morning Coffee 
11:00 am - 12:30 pm: Session 15, Definitions of the English Country House
12:30 pm: Lunch, Trinity Hall 
1:30 - 7:00 pm: Free Afternoon, or optional Tour of Trinity College Gardens
7:00 pm: Closing Reception and Dinner
                After Dinner Soiree        Return to top

SATURDAY, AUGUST 24

8:00-9:30 am: Breakfast 
Enjoy a leisurely morning 
Check out time is noon    Return to top

THE SETTING - TRINITY COLLEGE

Your home for the week is Trinity College , the most central of Oxford's colleges, where you will live, study, and dine.  Founded in 1555, Trinity is noted for the excellence of its architecture,  gardens, and food and its pleasant atmosphere for living and learning.  Among Trinity's "old boys" (women were first admitted in 1979) are Lord Baltimore, the Prime Ministers William Pitt and Lord North, John Henry Cardinal Newman, and Lord Kenneth Clark. 

     While "up at Oxford" both faculty and participants live "in college." Each person has a private single bedroom with a refrigerator and a sink with hot and cold taps.  Many feature an attached sitting room.  Bathrooms are shared.  There are a limited number of double occupancy suites.  During your stay, the College beer cellar, squash court, and laundry facilities are available for your use.    Return to top

Take an interactive photographic tour of Trinity College -  Virtual Trinity

OXFORD, ENGLAND - CITY OF DREAMING SPIRES

Oxford, home to England's oldest University and smallest cathedral, is located on the north bank of the River Thames, fifty-six miles northwest of London.  Frequent bus connections to Heathrow and Gatwick airports and extensive bus and train connections to London make it very easy to travel to and from Oxford.  Return to top
 

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travelandlearn@virginia.edu or call us at 800-346-3882 or 1-434-982-5252.