Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.
Visiting Oxford?
Allow me to be your guide... and discover the history of Oxford with an Oxford historian.
I offer a wide range of guided walks around the city and university. These can be a general introduction to the history and architecture or looking at specific themes and subjects.
I am a Catholic and a historian based in Oxford, where I am a member of Oriel College. My research, for a long delayed D.Phil., is a study of Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln in the second decade of the fifteenth century. I also work as a freelance tutor in History and as an independent tour guide.
I was received into the Church in 2005 and am a Brother of the External Oratory of St Philip Neri at the Oxford Oratory.
The Feast of St George
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St George has the distinction of being one of the earliest examples of a
Saint whose biography was recognized to be historically doubtful. A
document of th...
Meet the Reverend Thomas Blackburn, of Ripon (1)
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In March, 1570, there was an unusual spectacle in the mighty Church of S
Peter at Ripon (one of great S Wilfrid's great foundations). The sight to
be see...
Saint Gabriel
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The angels call for our veneration and awe as part of God’s creation. Part
of the destructive modernism of the 1970s included advice to Catholic
school t...
The Lord’s descent into the underworld
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At Matins/the Office of Readings on Holy Saturday the Church gives us this
'ancient homily', I find it incredibly moving, it is about Holy Saturday,
about ...
In case you have not seen it Fr Blake at St Mary Magdalen, Brighton has an excellent article, with relevant links that should also be read, about the latest bit of journalistic muck-raking to try and implicate the Pope in, allegedly, covering up scandals in the Church in the U.S. a quarter of a century ago. You can find it here. It is useful ammunition with which to respond if you are asked about this latest piece of bad, or simply lazy, journalism.
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