|
|
4. Oxford Click on the photographs on this page to see a larger image, which will open in a new window. The city in which Lawrence grew up is one of Britain's foremost tourist destinations, and there is much to see. He and his family were associated with four Oxford Colleges. The appearance of their buildings has not changed greatly since his day. Although Oxford holds the largest British research collection related to Lawrence, almost none of this is accessible to the general public. Libraries with responsibility for conserving and safeguarding fragile archive materials generally require researchers to have appropriate academic credentials and references. Application to see materials should always be made well in advance. 2 Polstead Road
Lawrence's parents moved here in 1896. It was his home while he was at school and university. The small bungalow built for him in the garden still stands, though altered since his time. His father died in 1919 and his mother sold the house in the early 1920s. There is a blue plaque on the front (visible in the photograph). The house is privately owned and not open to visitors. Map City of Oxford High School for Boys, George Street. The five Lawrence brothers attended school here. Later the school merged with Southfield School to become Oxford School. It is now called Oxford Community School. St. Aldate's Evangelical Christianity was an important influence in Lawrence's upbringing. The Lawrence family attended services at St. Aldate's, opposite the main entrance to Christ Church. Lawrence took an active part in the life of the church, helping run its branch of the Church Lads Brigade and teaching in its Sunday School. Map Jesus College
In October 1907 Lawrence went up to Jesus College as an exhibitioner. He graduated with first class honours in 1910. At specified times, parts of the college are open to visitors. For more information, including a history and photographs, visit its website. Map St. John's College While Lawrence was at university, some of his tutorials were with Ernest Barker at St. John's. He was also familiar with the college because two of his brothers, Bob and Will, were undergraduates here. The T. E. Lawrence Society has chosen St. John's three times as a venue for its Symposia. Parts of the college are open to visitors at specified times. For further information, visit its website. Map Magdalen College In 1910 Lawrence became a Senior Demy at Magdalen College. This was a form of research scholarship, arranged by D. G. Hogarth to provide Lawrence with funds while he worked as an unpaid assistant at the British Museum's Carchemish excavations in Syria. Parts of the college are open to visitors at specified times. For further information, visit its website. Map All Souls In 1919 Lawrence was elected to a seven-year research fellowship at All Souls. This provided him with an income while he worked on Seven Pillars of Wisdom. He had rooms in the college, though he spent most of his time elsewhere. For information about All Souls, visit its website. Map Ashmolean Museum
Lawrence became interested in archaeology while a schoolboy, and scoured Oxford building-sites for fragments of mediaeval pottery. He gave the best examples to the Ashmolean Museum, where he became an enthusiastic helper. Some of the most influential friendships of his youth were with staff at the museum. He later helped build the Ashmolean's collection of Hittite seal-stones, which is one of the finest in the world. At one time he also hoped to present the originals of all the portraits he had commissioned for Seven Pillars of Wisdom; but the head of the museum's art department at the time did not share his appreciation of contemporary art! Nevertheless, the Ashmolean holds Augustus John's portrait of Feisal, used as Frontispiece to Seven Pillars, John sketches of Lawrence and of D. G. Hogarth (formerly head of the museum), and various other works and objects associated with Lawrence. For general information, visit the Museum's Website. Map Bodleian Library Lawrence was a reader at the library during his undergraduate years, generally using the Radcliffe Camera. In 1923 he presented to the library his major working manuscript of Seven Pillars of Wisdom (the so-called 'Oxford Text'). After his death, his family deposited in the Bodleian a collection of papers relating to his life. The library subsequently built up the largest British collection of printed and manuscript materials by and relating to Lawrence. Website. Map Museum of the History of Science Lawrence was a keen photographer, a skill learned from his father. Between 1911 and 1914 he was responsible for photography at the British Museum's Carchemish excavations in Syria. The Museum of the History of Science in Broad Street holds the camera that Lawrence used at Carchemish, and also his father's camera. For more information, visit the museum's website, which has a page about Lawrence's camera. Ma |
