C. S. Lewis Tours Oxford, England, UK with recommended and secure online accommodation bookings from http://www.picturesofengland.com/hotels/

Q. How do I book for the C. S. Lewis Tour with Ron Brind?
A. Visit www.cslewistours.com or send email to Ron@picturesofengland.com
Comment from Ron Brind: If you would like to read what others have had to say about the tour see the 'Tour Reviews' at: www.picturesofengland.com/cgi-bin/cslewisreviews/cslewisreviews.cgi?action=reload

Q. Can you recommend a secure online link to accommodation in the UK?
A. Yes, visit www.picturesofengland.com/hotels/  
Comment from Ron Brind: The Worlds Number 1 site for England Hotels and Pictures has internet-only discounted offers of accommodation in every town, city, county indeed throughout the United Kingdom! Save £££'s 

Q. I want to visit on my own so where is the Kilns situated?
A. It is situated in Lewis Close on Risinghurst Estate, Headington, Oxford OX3 8JD. Please note when visiting that the former Lewis home is NOT the property which proudly boasts the word Narnia showing a Lions head on the top right.
Comment from Ron Brind: Not very helpful!

Q. Is the Kilns as referred to today specifically C. S. Lewis' former home, or is it the whole 8/9 acres that once was?
A. When you visit the Kilns today, C. S. Lewis' former home, you will see a plaque on the gable end of the property that says quite simply 'The Kilns'. This was the house where C. S. Lewis lived from 1930-1963.
Comment from Ron Brind: The Kilns, or as we knew it back in the early 1950's the Clay Hills, was an area of land much greater than even the 8/9 acres of land owned by Mrs Janie King-Moore, which she shared with brothers Clive Staples Lewis (Jack) and brother Warren Hamilton Lewis (Warnie). It extended into Shotover and Haynes' field. Shotover is now a Nature Reserve in its own right. The plot of land that was once an orchard and part of C. S. Lewis' garden so to speak has since been built on. Seven houses now occupy that space with another being built literally in Lewis' back garden, just 50 yards away from the bay window where C. S. Lewis would sit and write. Who knows exactly what he did write from that all important bay window The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, Surprised by Joy, The Four Loves, The Srewtape Letters, Pilgrims Regress....the list goes on! 

Q. If I am lucky enough to arrange an internal viewing, is there a charge?
A. Yes, you are asked to make a donation to the C S Lewis Foundation.
Comment from Ron Brind: My understanding is that (pre September 2007) the person(s) who show you around benefit (s) or have benefited from the donation as well as the C. S. Lewis Foundation, but isn't the C. S. Lewis Foundation a 501 (c) 3 Registered Charity, I here you ask.

Q. Is the C. S. Lewis Foundation a 501 (c) 3 Registered Charity? 
A. Yes.
Comment from Ron Brind: So why was the money for an internal viewing shared with others who were renting rooms at the Kilns? On one occasion (referenced in my book- 'A Guide to the C. S. Lewis Tour in Oxford') and after a very difficult 5 weeks to arrange an internal visit by a group of visitors from Atlanta, a student studying literary authors and renting a room from the C. S. Lewis Foundation was given £100.00 as a donation to the C. S. Lewis Foundation. When I asked Stan Mattson (Founder and President) what did you spend the money on, he told me that the person who conducts the internal viewing of the Kilns keeps 50% and we [CSLF] get the other 50%. "Thats how we do it" he said and continued "we raised over £2,000.00 last year doing it that way". So the student earned £50 in this case, for a 20 minute (£150.00 per hour) tour of 5 rooms at the Kilns. That cannot be right! 

Q. Is the former Lewis home a museum?
A. No.
Comment from Ron Brind: Stan Mattson; Founder and President of the C. S. Lewis Foundation in Redlands, California has told me that it is not a public place, that he will never open it up on a full-time basis and neither is it a museum! I say it should be a museum and it should be open to the public on a daily basis!

Q. Is there anything original on show at the Kilns, furniture etc?
A. No, unless you count Warnie's (Warren Hamilton Lewis') old typewriter that he used whilst secretary to C. S. Lewis at the Kilns. 
Comment from Ron Brind: The C. S. Lewis Foundation via Kim Gilnett told me that they "have a sofa in the attic" awaiting restoration, but it seems its been there for many years. How long would it take to restore and at what cost? I think probably minimal in both cases!

Q.A friend of mine has a photograph sitting at C. S. Lewis' desk in the lounge under the bay window at the Kilns. Are you saying that the desk is not an original item? 
A. Yes.
Comment from Ron Brind: Students studying literary authors, but not necessarily C. S. Lewis that have previously occupied a room at the Kilns during September to June have allowed photographs to be taken at 'the desk' but have conveniently forgotten to mention that it isn't really Lewis' desk despite the blotter, the pipe and the ash tray! So you think you have a gem of a photograph to treasure forever, not so!
 
Q. I will be staying in London so can I make it to Oxford, find the Kilns, and return by a reasonable hour?
A. Yes, the Kilns is about a 20 minute journey by taxi from Oxford City.
Comment from Ron Brind: The quickest and easiest way to visit the Kilns is by taxi from any location in Oxford.

Q. Is there overland transport from London to Oxford? 
A. Yes, for transport from London to Oxford see www.oxfordtube.com . This brilliant service runs both ways every 10 minutes / 24 hours / 7 days a week. Don't forget to get a return ticket for economy. The start point for the C. S. Lewis Tour which leaves at 10am is just a 3 or 4 minute walk away in Beaumont Street, Oxford - just up from the bus/coach terminus called Gloucester Green - pronounced Glosta Green.
Comment from Ron Brind: Although the journey time from London to Oxford is normally about 1.25 hours, I would suggest you allow 2 hours for a journey into Oxford via a very beautiful countryside.

Q. Is it an easy drive into Oxford from London and are there any parking problems?
A. The drive to Oxford will take about 2 hours from London but really depends on your own ability! Parking is very difficult and expensive.
Comment from Ron Brind: The easy way to get into Oxford City from London is to drive as far as one of the Park 'n' Ride car parks on the outskirts of the City and then get a bus ride from the car park in for the remainder of the journey. Inexpensive, efficient and a service that runs late into the night.

Q. Where are the Park 'n' Ride car parks situated?
A. Travelling from London the Thorney Leys Park 'n' Ride at Sandhills on the A40 is very convenient. From Stratford the Peartree Park 'n' Ride just off of the A34 at Kidlington is very convenient. From Abingdon the Redbridge Park 'n' Ride is very convenient.
Comment from Ron Brind: I certainly recommend this mode of transport into Oxford City, your car can be parked up for free (or minimal charge). The buses stop at various locations entering the City but the Peartree service stops right outside the Randolph Hotel from where the C S Lewis Tour starts.  

Q. Who currently owns the former Lewis home?
A. The C. S. Lewis Foundation of Redlands, California.
Comment from Ron Brind: As far as I am concerned Lewis’ former home will always be part of Britain’s Christian Heritage!

Q. It seems the C. S. Lewis Foundation of Redlands, California, would rather you didn't visit the Kilns in Oxford. Could that be true? 
A. Yes, on their website they make a point of saying it is intentional! They say the C. S. Lewis Foundation will not create either a shrine, or a tourist centre at the Kilns! How disgraceful is that when so many people the world over honour such a great man, a man who has often changed their hearts and their minds, a man who continues to affect the lives of many people throughout the world!
Comment from Ron Brind: It seems that every year since 1993 the same group of people have visited the Kilns to maybe 'renovate and/or restore' the Kilns, granted in the early days with US volunteers! So is it just coincidence then that they arrive in the summer months? 

Q. Are visitors allowed into the property on a daily basis?
A. No, but if you are a friend of Stan Mattson Founder and President of the CSLF you may stand a better chance of getting in! 
Comment from Ron Brind: Opening up Lewis’ former home for viewing is not a priority for the C S Lewis Foundation. This is where Stan Mattson and I disagree entirely as I feel it should be open to all on a daily basis. I believe the property should be returned to its former ‘glory’, dusty and cobweb covered bookshelves, minimal carpets that boasted their fair share of cat’s hairs, blackout curtains at the windows and so on. Visitors would be able to see how ‘Jack’ and ‘Warnie’ really lived, in comparative squalor and yet they gave everything!
 
Q. Does anybody live at the Kilns?
A. Yes, there is a Head Resident, now referred to as a Warden (currently Malissa - very helpful indeed). Previously students studying literary authors (not necessarily C. S. Lewis) would occupy the property from September to June, and then during July and August the so-called 'Lewis Seminars' would take place at a jaw dropping $2,695 for a six day stay! Eight or nine weeks times how many bedrooms? H'mm that'll do nicely!
Comment from Ron Brind: Those studying literary authors could have done so from any other house on the planet. As for the money raised from the Seminars, well where does that go? What is it spent on because I have an email from a former student tenant at the Kilns that states, 'We receive very little funding for the upkeep'.  

Q. Is the former home as it was when the Lewis brothers lived there?
A. No!
Comment from Ron Brind: Whilst a certain amount of restoration has taken place, it appears to have been done in the interests of those who live there today. It is a thoroughly modern home and comfortable, unlike the days of Jack and Warnie when for example nicotine was almost dripping from the ceiling and walls!

Q. The former home was in a plot of about 8 or 9 acres, what has happened to the rest of the site?
A. Seven houses have been built on what was originally an Orchard and one house has been built in what literally used to be Lewis’ back garden. The brick kilns and brick drying barn, tennis courts and bungalow were also demolished. The lake and woodland also once part of Lewis’ back garden is today owned by the Buckinghamshire Berkshire Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), it having been gifted to them in 1969 by Henry Stephen.
Comment from Ron Brind: I can only hope that one day BBOWT will allow the C. S. Lewis Reserve to be seen as part of Britains history, and that nature be left to right the wrongs eg; the trees will grow again, the lake will be full of fish and the air-raid shelter that Fred Paxford (Puddleglum) built, will not be a home for bats!
 
Q. Who was Fred Paxford?
A. Fred or 'Paxford' as he was known to us, was the spare cook, gardener, handyman, caretaker, but above all the trusted friend of C. S. Lewis. He went about his business at the Kilns whistling and humming as if he didn't have a care in the world. But Douglas Gresham and I would certainly hear him when he called us for he had a voice to shake the plums from the tree's! C S Lewis modelled 'Puddleglum' on Paxford in 'The Silver Chair'. The air-raid shelter hidden away in the woodland during the war years can still be seen, but is on the BBOWT property known as the C S Lewis Reserve. However, it does look as if attempts are being made to hide it, with Holly tree's having been planted in front of it.
Comment from Ron Brind: Fred was a dear friend to Douglas Gresham and I, seemingly always on hand when things went wrong, or if we needed help.

Q. Who was Mrs Miller? Mrs Miller owned a house in Kiln Lane, Risinghurst Estate, Headington, Oxford and was official cook for the Lewis household. In Warnie's Will he bequested her £5,000 out of an Estate that was worth just over £75,000. 
Comment from Ron Brind: For that amount of money she must have been a better cook than housekeeper, for the minimal carpets and deep sofa's in the Lewis household were always covered in cats hairs!

Q. How did Douglas Gresham get on with Mrs Miller? Well lets just say that she wasn't at the top of Douglas Gresham's Christmas card list!
Comment from Ron Brind: After Douglas Gresham's mother died Mrs Miller 'hounded' him, always chasing after him on Risinghurst Estate, and on one occasion even getting the police to search for him, yet Douglas had done nothing wrong!

Q. What happened to Douglas and David Gresham after their mother died? After Joy died in 1960 Douglas Gresham was sent away to Boarding School by Jack, met a girl named Merrie who later became his wife, and then went off to Tasmania. I didn't see him again until he walked into the pub that I was landlord of in 1994 - the Ampleforth Arms. As for David Gresham I haven't heard from him to this day. 
Comment from Ron Brind: Even after 34 years I recognised Douglas Gresham instantly and the first thing he said was, "I've still got the gun you sold me" - a double barrelled 410 bore from all those years ago! David Gresham, well apparently he took up the Judaic faith as was his legal right of course, because of his mother being the American Jewess.

Q. Where does Douglas and David Gresham live?
A. Douglas did live in Ireland and maybe still does own property there, but I am told he was considering a move to Malta. David Gresham married an Indian girl and is said to own property in Zurich, Dublin and India.

Q. Who gets the Royalties from 'The Chronicles of Narnia'?
A. I am told Douglas and David Gresham.
Comment from Ron Brind: Born lucky or what?

Q. Who was Henry Stephen?
A. He owned the property that was built in Lewis' back garden, but later gifted the lake and woodland - part of the original Kilns purchase by Mrs Janie King-Moore, to BBOWT in 1969. Hence the C. S. Lewis Reserve in memory of Henry Stephen!

Q. Where did the name the Kilns come from?
A. During the late nineteenth Century there was a thriving brick industry trading from the 'Clay Hills', with members of my own family working to dig clay (from where the lake is today) which was then formed into housebricks. The bricks were stacked into 'Kilns' and fired, and then into the brick drying barn - hence the name the Kilns!
Comment from Ron Brind: It is those 'Kilns' that I would like to rebuild along with the drying barn therefore bringing the Kilns back to what it was when Jack and Warnie lived there. I can only look forward to an internal visit of Lewis' former home, following a designated route throughout the whole of the property. One day maybe?
 
This website gives a brief overview of the C. S. Lewis tour in Oxford and the possible difficulties that you may face if you try to visit the Kilns, Oxford; C. S. Lewis' former home. For more information, first hand knowledge, history, anecdotes, directions and a taxi driver 'take me there' list, please read my book titled 'A Guide to the C. S. Lewis Tour in Oxford'. ISBN 1857566262.

If you have any further questions regarding your visit to Oxford and the Kilns please e-mail Ron@visitthekilns.com