Oxford — Always Five Minutes Late

Finally…I learned why that White Rabbit was always late: It’s because Oxford is almost comically full of tradition. One of the preeminent colleges of the 38 that make up the university, Christ Church is particularly loyal to its traditions — it even has its own time zone. Before the advent of trains made it important that everyone be on the same time — hence Greenwich Mean Time — different towns routinely had their own times. Oxford, being 60 miles west of Greenwich, was longitudinally 5 minutes different. To this day, the clock tower at Christ Church runs five minutes later than official British time. My guide tied that to the fact that Lewis Carroll taught there — so it was natural that the author of “Alice in Wonderland” would create a character that was always late.

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3 Replies to “Oxford — Always Five Minutes Late”

  1. I love Oxford and Cambridge both! On one trip to England, I stayed in London and then took the train to Cambridge and spent a couple nights there to see the town; took in the Fitzwilliam Museum with its marvelous collection of art and antiquities as well as Trinity College church where the choir sings at Christmas and broadcasts the Nine Lessons and Carols.
    On another trip to England, our base was London and we spent 2 nights in Oxford and toured Ashmolean Museum and Blenheim Palace. We did not have a chance to tour the colleges but perhaps in the future.
    So I believe both Oxford and Cambridge are worthy places to visit and think you should include both in your guidebook.
    Judy B

  2. Actually the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is the Christmas Eve service held in King’s College Chapel not Trinity. I’ve attended many times.

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