Roger Bennion's photos

Happy Fence Friday, All. Radcliffe Square, Oxford. Part of the Radclffe Camera on the left. Part of All Souls College in the background.

Happy Fence Friday, All Sheldonian Theatre & Clarendon Building, Oxford. Extracts from Wikipedia - "Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, Warden of All Souls College and later chancellor of the University. Sheldon was the project's main financial backer. The theatre is used for music concerts, lectures and University ceremonies, but not for drama until 2015 when the Christ Church Dramatic Society staged a production of The Crucible by Arthur Miller." "The Clarendon Building designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor was built between 1711 and 1715. It was built to house the Oxford University Press. In 1829 the University police took over part of it as their police station with cells in the basement. It only became known as the Clarendon Building after it was adapted by the University for use as a registry in 1832. It continued as the university registry until the present University Offices were opened in Wellington Square in 1975. The Clarendon Building was then taken over by the Bodleian Library."

Happy Fence Friday, All. This is the edge of West Wycombe Park. In the Park there is a lake and the elegant Palladian Mansion that is the home of the Dashwood family. Until a couple of days ago I hadn't visited the Park for quite some time so there might be a few more photos to upload in the coming weeks :-) A link to my ipernity album of photos taken in the Park quite some time ago is as follows :-) www.ipernity.com/doc/292367/album/402843

Extract from Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_College,_Oxford#Civil_wars "New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Despite its name, New College is one of the oldest of the Oxford colleges; it was founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, as "Saint Mary College of Winchester in Oxenford". The college is in the centre of Oxford, between Holywell Street and New College Lane (known for Oxford's Bridge of Sighs). Its sister college is King's College, Cambridge. The choir of New College has recorded over one hundred albums, and has won two Gramophone Awards."

Happy Fence Friday, All. This is the Clarendon Building in Oxford. It was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and built between 1711 and 1715. It's a Grade I listed building. It was built to house the Oxford University Press and owes its name to the fact that it was partly paid for by the profits from the History of the Great Rebellion by Lord Clarendon. Lord Clarendon's son presented the University with its copyright. It was known as “The Printing House” until the University Press moved to Walton Street in 1832.

Time for another shot of one of my favourite Oxford Buildings, methinks :-) Please view Large I tend to call it the 'Biochemistry Building' but its true title is - Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building (Department of Biochemistry, Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics). Extract from Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Hodgkin "Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin OM FRS HonFRS (née Crowfoot; 12 May 1910 – 29 July 1994) was a Nobel Prize-winning English chemist who advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of biomolecules, which became essential for structural biology. Among her most influential discoveries are the confirmation of the structure of penicillin as previously surmised by Edward Abraham and Ernst Boris Chain; and mapping the structure of vitamin B12, for which in 1964 she became the third woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Hodgkin also elucidated the structure of insulin in 1969 after 35 years of work. Hodgkin used the name "Dorothy Crowfoot" until twelve years after marrying Thomas Lionel Hodgkin, when she began using "Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin". Hodgkin is referred to as "Dorothy Hodgkin" by the Royal Society (when referring to its sponsorship of the Dorothy Hodgkin fellowship), and by Somerville College. The National Archives of the United Kingdom refer to her as "Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin".

Happy Fence Friday, All Bluebells in Dockey Wood, Ashridge. Low fencing has been put up in Dockey Wood to create footpaths to discourage folks from walking amongst and damaging the bluebells. Extract from the National Trust website - "The presence of bluebells is a sign that a woodland is ancient and has been present in the landscape for at least 400 years. Bluebells, and other woodland flowers, don't spread to new areas easily or quickly, so it is vital to protect them. Woodland flowers like bluebells come out in spring. This means that they can make the most of the available light before the leaves appear on the trees and start to cast too much shade. Bluebells are also an important source of pollen and nectar for butterflies, bees, and hoverflies at the start of the season. Our feet can do more damage than we think. The clay soils and wet winters at Ashridge have resulted in very wet paths during the winter months. Whilst these paths are wet and muddy, visitors, understandably don’t want to wade through deep mud so walk along the drier edge or create alternative routes. This widens existing paths or creates new paths which can quickly widen with use. During the winter it is easy to miss the damage that this causes to woodland flowers beneath the surface. Increased footfall on these new paths or widening edges causes compaction of the ground and damage to bluebell bulbs under the surface. As tempting as it may be, bluebells are a protected species, and it is against the law to pick them as well as uproot or intentionally destroy them." And for ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Young At Heart - The Bluebells

Happy Fence Friday, All Morris Dancers in Radcliffe Square, Oxford on 20 April 2024.

Happy Fence Friday, All Radcliffe Square, Oxford. Parts of Radcliffe Camera and Brasenose College.

Happy Fence Friday, All This is a building in Oxford's High Street. The High Street is known locally as 'the High'. This could be part of All Souls College.....possibly :-)

Happy Fence Friday, All Radcliffe Camera, Oxford.

Happy Fence Friday, All. I'm a bit late uploading to Happy Fence Friday. Have been in the process of changing my Internet Provider. All is now sorted and looks like I shall now be able to work much quicker :-))) This shot was taken in Oxford University Parks. In the very far distance, you can just see a very small part of the River Cherwell. The River Cherwell has burst its banks with all the rainfall we have had lately. You would normally have been able to walk amongst the trees and sit on the seat that is in the distance. But, that is now very difficult unless you have a pair of waders to wear!!

Happy Fence Friday, All Merton College in Oxford.

Happy Fence Friday, All This is part of the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford. It was the first major commission for Christopher Wren. It is not a Theatre in the true sense of the word. No plays or theatrical performances are held here. It is more used for University Ceremonies and University concerts. There are occasions when you can visit inside and I have done this on a few occasions. But, so far, I don't think I have captured the beauty of the interior. I will undoubtedly try again this year :-)

Happy Fence Friday, All A candid street shot taken in Oxford. And, also added to - Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Walk The Line Revisited - Rodney Crowell

Happy Fence Friday, All The Radcliffe Camera was designed by James Gibbs and built 1737–1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library. The Radcliffe Camera is not open to the public. The library's construction and maintenance was funded from the estate of John Radcliffe, a physician who left £40,000 upon his death in 1714. Construction only began in 1737, although the intervening period saw a complicated purchase of the site. The exterior was complete in 1747 and the interior finished by 1748. The library officially opened on 13 April 1749. Today the Radcliffe Camera is used as the main Reading Room for the Bodleian Library. From Latin 'Camera' means 'Room'. Therefore, for 'Sight and Sound' my slightly obscure link is to "In My Room" by Linda Ronstadt. Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ In My Room - Linda Ronstadt

Happy Fence Friday, All. Was having a bit of difficulty finding a recent 'fence' photo. So worked on this one taken almost a year ago. This was flooded fields near Thame in Oxfordshire. Not too far from home as in about 10 miles away :-) With all the rain we have been having lately I imagine this area will be even more flooded. If the sun shines I think I may well visit again for some more 'fence' photos. And for ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Five Feet & Rising - Johnny Cash

Happy Fence Friday, All I wasn't able to help this silly sheep :-) But, eventually, it removed its head from the poppy tribute. The poppy tribute and the silhouetted figure were a very small part of the 'Standing with Giants' Tribute at Stowe Landscape Gardens. And, I may have used the following musical link before but for the 'Sight & Sound' Group I have chosen "The Lamb Ran Away with The Crown" by Judee Sill. Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ The Lamb Ran Away with the Crown - Judee Sill