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Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to spend a couple weeks in the UK, primarily in and around Oxford. I was a scholar-in-residence at The Kilns, the former home of C.S. Lewis. This house is a special place with a storied history, and it was a joy to stay there.
I spent two days at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, delivering guest lectures on “Cultural Challenges and Opportunities for Gospel Advance in the Western World” on November 3. I also spoke at a conference in Leeds on C.S. Lewis, held by the Thinking Faith Network (which was started several decades ago with the help of John Stott).
During my stay, I was able to meet with various scholars, pastors, and authors, including N.T. Wright, Michael Ward, Alister McGrath, Krish Kandiah, Vaughan Roberts, Justin Brierley, Francis Spufford, and my friend Thomas West. Two unexpected highlights were getting some time with Aiden Mackey (the self-made scholar who was friends with G.K. Chesterton’s secretary and who recently just turned 100) and David Hanson (who heard C.S. Lewis lecture at Cambridge one summer in the late 1950’s).
Below, I am sharing ten pictures from my stay—for the enjoyment of all the fellow Anglophiles and fans of C.S. Lewis. I wish I could share them all.
Morning at The Kilns, the home of C.S. Lewis from 1930-1963.I stayed in the room that once belonged to Lewis’ stepson, Douglas Gresham. It’s the corner room downstairs. One of the windows you can see straight ahead. Directly above me, up that metal staircase, is the bedroom that belonged to Lewis.This is the view from my favorite reading nook in the house, the back corner of The Common Room—the place where Lewis received guests, spent time reading and responding to correspondence.A church planter friend of mine in London, Thomas West, spent a day with me at The Kilns as we worked on a counter-catechesis project. We did most of our work there in The Common Room, where I would occasionally sit (when not pacing!).On a Sunday evening, Justin Brierley (host of Premier’s Unbelievable podcast) dropped by with New Testament scholar and apologist Justin Bass, and Krish Kandiah and his friend Teo. I gave them a tour of The Kilns, and Krish snapped this picture in the library.Behind The Kins is the C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve. There’s a beautiful pond, as well as walking paths (some of which were created by Lewis himself). This is the view from a brick semi-circle seating area, where Lewis would look out over the water.Another area of interest in the Nature Reserve: here is a peek into the bomb shelter Lewis made when England was under threat of bombardment from the Nazis.Lewis never drove a car. He often walked the nearly four miles from The Kilns into Oxford, following various streets and walking paths. I took the bus most of the time I was in Oxford, but I chose to walk into town once, so I could experience the beauty of the surroundings. I wasn’t disappointed.I enjoyed my time at Wycliffe Hall, where I delivered guest lectures all day November 3 on cultural challenges and opportunities facing the church in the West in the 21st century.I took the train into London for one day of sightseeing. The highlight was my visit to the church where John Newton (the slave-trader convert who gave us “Amazing Grace”) once pastored. I stepped into his pulpit and gave thanks for this man whose words still resound today.
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Trevin Wax is vice president of research and resource development at the North American Mission Board and a visiting professor at Cedarville University. A former missionary to Romania, Trevin is a regular columnist at The Gospel Coalition and has contributed to The Washington Post, Religion News Service, World, and Christianity Today. He has taught courses on mission and ministry at Wheaton College and has lectured on Christianity and culture at Oxford University. He is a founding editor of The Gospel Project, has served as publisher for the Christian Standard Bible, and is currently a fellow for The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. He is the author of multiple books, including The Thrill of Orthodoxy, The Multi-Directional Leader, Rethink Your Self, This Is Our Time, and Gospel Centered Teaching. His podcast is Reconstructing Faith. He and his wife, Corina, have three children. You can follow him on Twitter or Facebook, or receive his columns via email.
