Keble College Chapel

Je viens de découvrir un système très pratique, qui s'intitule "virtual tour of Oxford", dont le site est www.chem.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtour/
et là vous choisissez votre College préféré, ou même n'importe quel monument de la ville.
Donc, bien sûr, on voit la chapelle de Keble.
Grâce à ce procédé, j'ai pu virutellement entrer dans la chapelle, choisir plusieurs endroits et faire un tour de 360° ! gratuitement !

Cette chapelle de college est l'une de mes préférées, et je crois bien les avoir visitées toutes (pas virtuellement !!!) J'ai donc visité le sous-sol (où curieusement, il y avait une salle de musculation)
mais aussi le toit (sur dérogation, car c'est très dangereux pour y monter)
On a vue soit sur le quad, sur Parks Road, ou sur le terrain d'entraînement de cricket (excusez du peu !).

A l'intérieur, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, dans une petite extention à droite (les Américains ne viennent que pour ça, et puis après ils repartent aussi vite...).

On peut entendre la chorale des étudiants pendant le service religieux, où l'on communie. C'est un moment très austère, mais aussi très émouvant, en raison de la façon solennelle des étudiants d'entrer dans cette chapelle de dimensions très vastes. (c'est tout un débat, même un pugilat intellectuel ... est-elle trop vaste, trop récente - fin XIXe)

Maintenant rêvons :
Il serait possible d'acheter à la loge tous les CD de la chorale, qui sont de grande qualité (en revanche il ne faut pas compter sur le personnel à la loge pour avoir une facture, ni qu'on vous parle autrement que sur un ton rogue).

On récapitule.
Une fois entrés dans le College, devant la loge, vous n'avez que DEUX options. Soit le grand panneau "CLOSED TO VISITORS", soit le petit panneau "DUTY PORTER BACK SOON", ce qui veut dire que vous ne pourrez pas acheter les CD.

Armé uniquement de sa mauvaise foi, le gardien peut aussi refuser de s'occuper de vous si vous êtes un ancien élève, manoeuvre qui peut s'avérer intensément contre-productive quand le Collège vous écrira pour un don supplémentaire...

Accès handicapé ? ça c'est purement théorique, vous n'aurez pas accès à des tas d'endroits, essentiels pour comprendre le College (le dining Hall, la bibiothèque, toutes les chambres anciennes, vous n'aurez accès qu'au nouveau building, qui n'a pas précisément l'âme d'Oxford).

Mais consolez-vous : même les anciens élèves n'ont droit à la visite officielle qu'au compte-gouttes, sur inscription, des mois à l'avance... pourtant ça en vaut la peine car le College est exceptionnel à bien des égards, sur le plan intellectuel et architectural.

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L'Equipe Qype m'enjoint de supprimer au plus vite cette partie de l'avis, qui est copiée de la lettre destinée aux anciens élèves du college : plus que quelques heures de répit !
Keble Chapel: Brief History

The foundation stone for the Chapel was laid on St Mark's Day (25 April) 1873 and was officially opened on the same day in 1876.

It was funded by William Gibbs from Tyntesfield in Somerset. He was by then an octogenarian who had acquired his wealth through a family business exporting guano from the Pacific islands. Gibbs was a devout Anglican philanthropist who approved the choice of Butterfield as architect and often supported him in disputes with the College.

Keble Chapel treasures: THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

This painting, which hangs in the Side-Chapel, is the original by Holman Hunt painted in 1853 and first hung in the Royal Academy in 1854.

The artist began the picture when he was a little over 21 years old, but it was not until he was 29 that he finished it. One of the reasons for this length of time was his desire to perfect the dawn, and this he did not succeed in doing until he took the picture with him to the Middle East and found the perfect dawn outside Bethlehem. When he was nearly 70 years old, he painted a replica which hangs in St Paul's Cathedral, London. The replica is very much larger than the original, but the colouring and details are not so perfect.

The picture was given to the College by Mrs Thomas Combe, who was a great admirer of the Pre-Raphaelites and bought as many of their pictures as she could. She later gave most of them to the Ashmolean Museum, and this one she presented to Keble through her husband who was head of the University Press at that time.

There are two lights shown in the picture. The lantern is the light of conscience and the light around the head is the light of salvation with the door representing the human soul, which cannot be opened from the outside. There is no handle on the door, and the rusty nails and hinges overgrown with ivy denote that the door has never been opened and that the figure of Christ is asking for permission to enter. The bright light over the figure is the morning star, the dawn of the new day, and the autumn weeds and fallen fruit represent the autumn of life. The writing under the picture, which is rather hard to read, is taken from Revelation 3 'Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me.'

The other picture in the Side-Chapel is The Dead Christ Mourned by his Mother by William Key which was presented in memory of its previous owner, Dr William Hatchett-Jackson, father of one of the Tutors.

Keble’s a bit off the main tourist route, but the buildings are of a different style to the central Oxford buildings and are well worth a look. Entrance is also free! The chapel is incredibly impressive, towering as high as a 3-storey building, with beautiful stained glass that looks amazing from outside. The inside is even more impressive, with colourful mosaics lining every wall and ornate candlesticks, intricately carved lecturns and a stunning silver cross at the front. The mosaics depict biblical passages about Heaven (the back of the church has a wonderful 3-panelled mosaic showing the persecution of the early Christians with Jesus looking down from Heaven, The Great Flood, and many of the early disciples.

The star feature of the chapel is the painting “The Light of the World” by Holman Hunt, which is allegedly worth more than the entire college put together (pretty impressive considering the value of most Oxford colleges!). It was the original of the three versions Holman Hunt painted and was made for the college. After the chapel’s architect refused to allow it to be hung in the chapel, Hunt ended up painting two new versions, one of which is now in London.

The painting is located through a side door to the right. A switch on the wall will illuminate it to show Jesus holding a lantern and standing by a door with no handle. There’s a sheet explaining more, and it really is worth seeing the picture itself and allowing your own interpretation before reading the official one.

It’s best to ask at the lodge about visiting, as it’s not a very touristy area, so it’s worth getting directions to the chapel. A word of warning: the door is tricky to open, but persevere – it’s rarely locked, and a sign will be up if a service is in progress. We thought it was shut when we arrived, but a couple of friendly students showed us how to use the handle correctly! The lodge also sells postcards of the college and chapel for around 50p each and bigger pictures of the famous painting for around £13.

This chapel is apparently world famous. On entering, one can appreciate why; the roof is incredibly ornate, whilst the organ at one side has a dominating presence when played. The main attraction is a painting in a side room, to see it you need to walk halfway down the chapel and then through a door on your right. Make sure you see the rest of the college, espcially the Hall whilst you’re visiting!